How to avoid bringing bed bugs home from a holiday

Most bed bug infestations in homes start with a journey. Bed bugs hide in hotel rooms, holiday lets, hostels and sleeper trains, crawl into a suitcase or a pile of clothes, and arrive home with you. A few minutes of checking on the way out and on the way back is the simplest protection there is.

01Why holidays are a risk

Bed bugs are not a sign of a dirty hotel. Any place with a constant turnover of guests and their luggage can pick them up, however well it is kept. They hide in mattress seams, bed frames, headboards and upholstered furniture during the day and come out at night to feed. Anything left on or near the bed, including an open suitcase, gives them an easy way into your belongings.

Because they are small and hide in daylight, you will not usually see them in a suitcase. Many people do not react to the bites either, so the first sign is often an infestation at home several weeks later.

02When you arrive

• Check before you unpack. Put your bags in the bathroom, which is the least likely place for bed bugs, while you look at the bed.
• Look at the mattress seams and corners, the edges of the bed frame and the back of the headboard. A phone torch helps.
• Look for the signs: live bugs (flat, brown, about the size of an apple seed), small black spots that look like ink dots, shed skins and small blood marks on the sheets.
• If you find anything, ask for a different room, ideally not next to or directly above or below the first one, and tell the staff what you saw.

03During your stay

• Keep luggage on the luggage rack, a hard surface or in the bath, not on the bed, the floor or upholstered chairs.
• Keep cases zipped shut when you are not using them.
• Keep worn clothes in a sealed bag rather than in a pile on the floor.
• Do not store clothes in hotel drawers and wardrobes unless you have checked them.

04When you get home

• Unpack away from the bedroom, on a hard floor such as the kitchen, utility room, bathroom or garage.
• Put clothes straight into the wash at 60°C, or tumble dry them on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes. That includes clean clothes that travelled in the same case.
• Freeze what you cannot wash. Delicate items can be sealed in a bag and put in the freezer for at least three days.
• Check and vacuum the suitcase, especially the seams, zips and pockets, and empty the vacuum into a sealed bag in an outside bin. Store cases away from the bedroom, not under the bed.

05What to do if you think bed bugs have come home with you

• Keep them contained. Avoid moving bedding, clothes and furniture between rooms, as that spreads them.
• Do not use shop-bought sprays or foggers. They tend to scatter bed bugs into walls and other rooms rather than clear them.
• Get it confirmed. A clear photo or a sample on sticky tape is enough for us to tell you whether it is bed bugs.

Our guide to spotting bed bugs and what to do about them explains the signs and the treatment in more detail.