Are the hotel horror stories true? Frequent travelers often develop routines for ensuring their hotel rooms are clean and free of bugs, pests, germs, and other things left behind from previous guests and hotel neglect. Winter is the time when bugs are migrating indoors to avoid the cold. Are you a frequent traveler in need of a checklist? Here are some tips:
Always Check Behind the Headboard
The back of the headboard is one of the most neglected areas in a hotel room. Not only do most people never see it during their hotel stay, but the cleaning staff often skips this area because they assume no one is touching it, so why clean it? The result: Bugs and bacteria pile up here due to the ability to go unnoticed with the lack of light touching this area.
Bugs in particular, such as cockroaches and bed bugs, can burrow into the cushion on the back of the headboard. To protect yourself we recommend that you wipe behind the support bars with a hand wipe, and use a flashlight to check for holes in the fabric that might harbor bugs. Request a new room if you find anything!
Put Your Luggage in the Bathroom
Sounds odd to put your luggage in the bathroom, but because the bathroom floor is often tile and rarely carpet, there is less possibility of bugs and germs here. Additionally, the hotel cleaning staff spends the most time and attention cleaning this area. If you put your luggage in the rack provided or on the floor by the bed you might just be putting it where everyone else’s luggage was, and that luggage has traveled across dozens of dirty surfaces.
Lift the Mattress
No-brainer here. The easiest way to check for bed bugs is to lift the mattress to see if anything goes scurrying away from the light. Are there stains on the mattress after you remove the cover? Bed bugs gravitate to these in anticipation of finding a food source, then latch onto you as you sleep!
Under the Bed
Seeing a theme here? The bed can also be called “Bug Island” in a hotel room. The carpet is the other place where bacteria and bugs live, so it only makes sense that the place where the bed meets the carpet will hold the bulk of the bugs in your room. Use the flashlight treatment to check here while looking for holes in the mattress or marks on the bed frame. Don’t settle! If you see a mess here don’t hesitate to request a new room!
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Got a Pest Problem?
We can help! Contact Northwest Pest Control in your area by phone from this page. More preventative measures for spiders and other pests can be found here.