How to Prevent Bedbugs (and Keep Them From Coming Back)

“There isn’t anywhere you can go where you’re isolated from them,” says Eric Braun, a board-certified entomologist and manager at Rentokil. But there are ways to prevent an outbreak, according to experts.

How to Prevent Bedbugs While Traveling

To reduce the chances of that happening, adopt these travel tips:

• Inspect the hotel room or rental house before unpacking. Make sure you look behind the bed’s headboard and in furniture, says Jerry Lazarus, owner of Braman Termite & Pest Elimination in Massachusetts. “Pull back the bed sheets and check the mattress seams for pepper-like stains that may be evidence of bedbug activity,” he says. Durham says to also check any upholstered fabric, curtains, carpeting, and the corners of the room.
• Request a new room if you believe there could be bedbugs. Make sure the new room isn’t next to or directly above or below the original one, Lazarus says. “Bedbugs can easily hitchhike via housekeeping carts, luggage, and even through wall sockets,” he says.
• Never use a luggage stand. Lazarus recommends keeping your suitcase in a large plastic garbage bag that’s off the floor and away from the bed. Braun says when he travels he keeps his suitcase far away from where he’s sleeping, usually in the bathtub.
• Avoid putting your clothes in the hotel room drawers.
• Store your return luggage in a tightly tied garbage bag. You can also place it in a car parked in the sun to warm it up to 120 degrees, thereby killing the bugs.

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• If you’re staying at a friend’s or family member’s home and you suspect they have bedbugs, take precautions. Don’t leave your clothes or bags lying around near their upholstered furniture, Braun says. “You just have to be cautious,” he says. Sit on a hard surface rather than a fabric one, and keep any purses or bags on a table away from sleeping areas.

After you return home from a trip where you think you may have been bitten by a bedbug, be sure to wash and dry all of the clothing from your suitcase. Lazarus suggests drying all fabric items (even those that have not been worn) in a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes to ensure that any bedbugs that may have made it back with you don’t end up in your drawers or closet.

Shopping and Laundry Tips to Reduce Bedbug Risk

Even when you’re not traveling, there are some precautions you can take to reduce the risk of bringing bedbugs into your home.

• Thoroughly examine items before bringing them home, especially when shopping at a secondhand store. Check within the seams of the furniture for bedbug activity, and wash fabric items before placing them in your house.
• Wrap your mattress and box spring in a protective cover or mattress encasement that’s specifically designed to keep bedbugs out. That will minimize the places that bedbugs can hide. Box springs are a more likely hiding spot for bedbugs than mattresses, so don’t skip covering them, too. A high-quality cover will be made of cloth, which is less likely to rip than plastic. Check the cover periodically to make sure there aren’t any holes, and if there are, cover them with duct tape immediately.

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• Dry your clothes on high heat and bring them home to fold if you frequently visit a laundry facility. That way you’ll reduce your chances of picking up bugs while on site.
• Consider adding a door sweep to your front door if you live in an apartment or multi-unit building to keep things from the outside from coming in. It’s also a good idea to seal any cracks around plumbing or electrical work to keep bedbugs from traveling over from a neighbor’s apartment.

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How to Prevent Bedbugs From Coming Back

The best defense is following directions from a pest control professional, such as cleaning and laundering items in your home and encasing your mattress and box spring.

Keeping your home free of clutter will minimize the places bedbugs have to hide. Vacuuming frequently could also help. Be sure to use a suction wand to target the seams of your mattresses and box springs and along the edges of the carpet.

The Takeaway

• Bedbugs can be found in your home, but also in places like hotels, movie theaters, restaurant booths, libraries, and more. Their small bodies make it easy for them to travel and hide.
• People who travel or move often are at an increased risk of bedbug infestation. Properly cleaning luggage, clothing, sleeping spaces, and furniture can help prevent you from taking them home.
• Washing laundry at a high heat, using a steamer on luggage and clothing items, and wrapping your mattress can also help prevent bedbugs.
• If in doubt, a pest control professional can help guide you toward treating and preventing infestations.