If you’ve found your way to this post, most likely you’ve acquired the most unwelcome of travel companions: the bed bug *shutters.* First of all, I AM SO SORRY. But you’ve come to the right place.
I have unluckily acquired bed bugs two times during my travels, so at this point I am sort of a pro on how to quickly deal with the annoying little vampires and resume making good memories. In fact, it’s almost a traveling rite of passage to survive bed bugs, like getting food poisoning abroad. It’s pretty much inevitable.
Here is exactly how to get rid of bed bugs while traveling, plus some info on how to prevent encountering them in the first place.
Bed bug “fun” facts:
- Bed bugs are annoying (as f%@$k) but the good news is: they are relatively harmless to humans – at least in the sense that they aren’t known to carry any diseases.
- A bed bug researcher called Regina Gries has let bed bugs bite her 200,000 times. She uses herself as a test subject for her own research! Are you okay, Regina?
- Bed bug saliva has a mild anesthetic in it, so we can’t feel it when they bite us. Evolution really set these guys up to be feasting machines.
- Even the Ancient Greeks were annoyed with them. Bed bugs were mentioned in texts dating back to 400 B.C., and later on, Aristotle noted them in his publications.
- During the period of the Roman Empire, bed bugs were believed to have medicinal properties. At the time, it was believed that bed bugs could treat snake bites and ear infections.
- Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs don’t only inhabit unclean rooms or homes. They don’t discriminate: they can be found in the most luxurious hotel to the dingiest hostel.
- They prefer the dark. They’re pretty elusive – you won’t easily catch these guys snuffin’ about in the daytime. They come out at night time to bite you undetected.
How to get rid of bed bugs while traveling
Identify signs of bed bugs
First things first, you have to figure out if bed bugs are the culprit of your bites and itching. They have certain identifiable characteristics.
Did you wake up with dozens of red bites, perhaps in a cluster or line formation? Did you see a tiny black dot(s) in the crevices of your mattress, or perhaps the bedframe?
Compare your bed bug bites with the photo of my bites below. Bed bugs are known to feed in a cluster or line formation, as you can see on my arm. If your bites look like this, then you’re probably dealing with a bed bug infestation.
Once you wake up to bites, check your mattress and surrounding areas for other signs of bed bugs. They often make tiny black or brown clusters of dots on sheets, or you might find little blood spots on your sheets from their bite. If you happen to see a bug in action, make note of the shape of its body. Bed bugs have horizontal lines across their stupid, little bodies.
Whatever you do, don’t go into denial mode like I did. I convinced myself for several days that all I had was a bad case of mosquito bites. I ignored the bed bug problem and they ended up hitching a ride in my backpack with me from Koh Phi Phi to Luang Prabang. Not fun!
Immediately wash all of your belongings
Find the nearest laundromat and request that your belongings be washed and dried on HIGH HEAT. Extreme heat does the trick to kill all bugs & possible eggs that they have hatched!
This includes underwear, backpacks, shoes, and even the clothing off your back. For electronics or non-washable items, take a disinfecting wipe and wipe it down well. I once found a baby bed bug hanging out in a little crevice on my camera lens. Take the time to thoroughly check all your belongings, or they will follow you and persist in ruining your life.
Don’t have access to a washer/dryer? You have a few other options. If you’re in a hot, tropical location, you can put your belongings into a large black trash bag and let them bake in the sun for several hours. Alternatively, I’ve heard other backpackers say that taking a hot hair dryer or iron to your belongings can rid you of bed bugs. Extreme freezing temperatures also do the trick, if you happen to have access to a massive freezer to put your stuff.
Treat the bites
Bed bugs can make a massive feast out of you while you sleep and cover your body with dozens of bites in just one night. It can be an extremely uncomfortable experience.
The more you itch, the worse you will react to the bites, so try your best to leave them alone – though this is much easier said than done. If possible, buy antihistamines at the nearest pharmacy to ease the swelling and itchiness. In my experience, icing the bitten areas can also ease the discomfort.
The bites should stop being itchy within a couple of days, and should heal from your skin in about 2-3 weeks.
Make it a habit to inspect your accommodation for bed bugs
This is super important. Make it a routine to thoroughly check your bed/surrounding areas for signs of bed bugs immediately after arrival at your accommodation. Seriously, after my first bed bug infestation, I thought, “it won’t happen to me again…” and never checked my room. Then I got bed bugs again. Now I religiously check – yes, even if I look weird in front of other people in the hostel.
Here’s how you do it:
Check the sheets first. Look around for tiny black or dark brown dots from fecal stains (ew) or even shells and exoskeletons of bed bugs that have shed, usually light brown in color. Make sure to check the pillows, padding, and blankets too. Next, you need to remove the sheets to check the mattress itself. This is their prime hiding spot. Check the corners and crevices of the mattress for warning signs also.
After that, you need to check the surrounding area. By this I mean the headboard, bed frame, and walls nearby the bed for hiding places that they could be staking out in, planning their feast on you later. Beware of small holes in the wall or bed frame. If there’s other furniture in the room (like nightstands, couches, desks), it’s also worth checking it out for signs of bed bugs too.
This may sound annoying, but this whole process takes maybe 10 minutes tops and could save you a big headache later on.
If you find signs of bed bugs, inform your accommodation immediately! Ask for another room, and if you feel really uncomfortable, you could ask for a refund and switch to a different hotel. Do keep in mind though that just because one room is infested, it doesn’t mean other rooms are.
Check bedbugregistry.com when booking accommodation
If you’re traveling in the United States or United Kingdom, there’s a handy website that tracks bed bug infestations in hotels. It’s likely that if a hotel made it onto here, they’re aware of the problem and dealing with it accordingly. But if you see a report pop up multiple times for one hotel, that’s probably a good reason not to book with them.
You can also use this website to register your own reports of bed bugs.
When you arrive home, wash & dry all your belongings again
If learning how to get rid of bed bugs while traveling seems like a nuisance, imagine the havoc of ridding your home of them. Once they’re in your home, they lay eggs and spread throughout the house with ease. Usually, you’ll need to hire a professional exterminator to get rid of a home infestation.
Before getting to that point though, ensure you didn’t bring bed bugs home from your travels by washing and drying all your belongings again. Use the highest wash and heat setting possible. Your favorite cotton dress may shrink and not survive the washing, but it’s better than sharing your home with these little vampires.
Final thoughts: don’t fret
While uncomfortable and inconvenient, bed bugs are *moderately* harmless. Again, they are not known to carry any diseases and they’re relatively easy to get rid of while traveling.
The bites will be itchy and uncomfortable for a few days, but if you follow these tips hopefully the unpleasant experience can be kept at a minimum.
