How to Travel Without Getting Bed Bugs: Packing and Hotel Checks

The best way to travel without getting bed bugs is to give them nowhere to hide in your things: pack in sealed bags, keep your luggage off beds, floors and upholstered furniture, and spend five minutes checking the bed before you unpack. Those three habits stop most hitchhikers before they ever reach your suitcase.

Bed bugs are not a “cheap motel” problem. The CDC notes that they have been found in five-star hotels and resorts, and that infestations usually occur where many people sleep: hotels, apartments, shelters, cruise ships, buses, trains and dorm rooms. South Florida residents travel a lot and host a lot of visitors, so the habits below are worth building into every trip, whether you fly to Madrid or drive to Orlando.

This guide covers the first half of the trip: planning, packing and checking your room. For what to do when you get back, read our companion guide on how to travel without bringing bedbugs home.

Why Travelers Pick Up Bed Bugs So Easily

Bed bugs do not fly or jump. They crawl into the seams and folds of luggage, overnight bags, folded clothes and bedding, and people carry them away without knowing it. The CDC says you are at higher risk if you travel frequently and share sleeping spaces where others have slept before, which describes almost every hotel room, rental and cabin.

Three things make them easy to miss:

• They are small and flat. Adults are about the size of an apple seed, and young nymphs are pale and nearly see-through until they feed.
• They hide during the day. They stay in mattress seams, box springs, headboards and furniture joints and come out at night.
• You may not feel the bite. Bed bugs inject fluids that numb the skin, and the CDC notes that bite marks can take up to 14 days to appear, often long after you have checked out.

To understand how they move from place to place, see our explainer on how bed bugs travel.

Before You Go: How to Pack to Avoid Bed Bugs

Good packing does two jobs: it gives bed bugs fewer places to hide, and it makes them easier to spot if they get in.

• Choose hard-shell luggage. The New York City Health Department notes that bed bugs have a harder time clinging to rigid materials than to fabric, and a smooth shell has fewer seams and pockets.
• Pick a light color if you can. A dark reddish-brown bug is far easier to see on a light case than on black nylon.
• Pack clothes in resealable plastic bags. Bring a few extra bags in different sizes for laundry and for anything you buy on the trip.
• Pack clothes that can go in a hot dryer. Heat is the simplest way to clean clothes when you return, so favor items that tolerate a high dryer setting.
• Bring a small, bright flashlight. It turns a quick room check into a real one. A phone light works in a pinch.
• Ask about the bed bug policy. When you book, ask whether the property does regular inspections and works with a professional pest control company.

Skip the bug spray on your luggage. The New York City guidance specifically warns against spraying insect repellents or pesticides on luggage or clothing, because they do not work on bed bugs and may be hazardous.

How to Check a Hotel Room for Bed Bugs in 5 Minutes

Do this before you unpack, before you lie down and before you put anything on the bed. You do not need special tools.

1. Park your luggage safely first. Put bags in the bathroom, in a dry bathtub or on a hard, elevated surface. If none is available, leave them in the car until you finish.
2. Pull back the sheets at the corners. Check the mattress seams, tufts, piping and tags, then the box spring. Look for live bugs, tiny pale eggs, shed skins and rusty or dark spots.
3. Check the headboard area. Look along the edges and, if it comes off easily, behind it. Headboards are one of the most common hiding places in hotel rooms.
4. Inspect the luggage rack. The EPA singles it out: check the straps and joints before you trust it with your bag.
5. Look at upholstered furniture. Check seams and cushions of chairs and sofas, especially any near the bed.
6. Open the nightstand drawers. Look inside and along the joints.

Leave wall outlets, light switches and electrical fixtures alone. Bed bugs can hide near them, but taking covers off is a job for the property’s staff. If you want a fuller picture of where else they tuck themselves away, see these unusual bed bug hiding places.

What to Do If You Find Bed Bugs While Traveling

Stay calm and keep your belongings sealed. Then:

• Tell the manager right away and ask for a different room. The New York City guidance recommends reporting any sign to management immediately.
• Ask for a room that is not adjacent. Bed bugs can spread to neighboring rooms, so a room next door, above or below may share the problem.
• Check the new room the same way before you unpack.
• Keep the clothes you wore that night separate in a sealed bag until you can put them in a hot dryer.
• Put it in writing. In Florida, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants accepts complaints about bugs and pests in a lodging room or rental unit.

If you wake up with itchy welts, wash them with soap and water and avoid scratching. The CDC says antiseptic creams can ease the itch and an antihistamine may help. See a doctor if bites swell a lot, become painful or look infected.

How to Keep Bed Bugs Out of Your Luggage During the Trip

Even a room that looks clean can have a few hidden bugs, so keep your guard up for the whole stay.

• Use the luggage rack, not the bed or the floor. The EPA recommends packing and unpacking on the rack, after you have checked it, and keeping luggage away from the bed.
• Live out of your suitcase on short stays. For trips of a few nights, the New York City guidance suggests keeping clothes in the luggage and zipping it closed when you are not using it, rather than filling drawers.
• Never drop clothes on the floor or the bed. Put worn clothes straight into a sealed plastic bag.
• Keep bags off upholstered chairs and carpeted floors. UF/IFAS advises keeping items off carpeted areas and sofas while traveling.
• Zip up overnight. Close every bag and pocket before you go to sleep.

Vacation Rentals, Cruises and Visits With Family

The same rules apply wherever you sleep. In a vacation rental or Airbnb, check every bed you will use, plus the sofa if anyone will nap on it. On a cruise, check the cabin bed and luggage area when you board. When you stay with friends or family, keep your bag in a hard-floored spot such as a bathroom or hallway, and offer the same courtesy when they visit you. Hosting relatives often? Our traveler’s alert for South Florida covers that side of the problem.

Coming Home: The Short Version

The last step matters as much as the first. The EPA and New York City guidance boil down to three steps:

• Unpack directly into the washing machine, as the EPA suggests, or in a bathroom against a light-colored surface, as New York City advises, never on your bed.
• Run clothes through the dryer on high heat. The EPA notes that just washing will generally not kill bed bugs; the dryer’s heat does the work.
• Inspect your suitcase carefully (a vacuum with a crevice tool helps), then store it in a garage or basement, never under the bed.

Bed bugs can survive more than six months without feeding in bagged or stored belongings, according to NC State Extension, so a suitcase that sits in the garage until next year is not “safe” by default. Check it before every trip.

When to Call a Professional After a Trip

Watch your bed for about two weeks after you return, since bite marks can appear late. Call a pest professional if you see:

• New itchy bites, often in a line or cluster, that appear after sleeping
• Rusty or dark spots on sheets or mattress seams
• Shed skins or live bugs in seams, headboards or the furniture next to the bed

Bites alone are not proof: mosquito, flea and other bites look similar, and UF/IFAS notes that an infestation cannot be diagnosed from bites alone. That is why a careful inspection matters. Toro’s bed bug control service starts with a free inspection to confirm whether you really have bed bugs, rule out look-alikes and see how far they have spread, and you get a clear plan and quote before any work begins. You can also compare what you find with the photos in our bed bug pest library.

Toro has protected South Florida homes and businesses since 1969, and if the bugs come back after treatment, so will Toro, at no additional cost to you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Educational content. This article is for general information about pests in South Florida and is not medical, legal or professional advice. If you have a bite, sting or allergic reaction, contact your doctor; in an emergency, call 911. Pest problems vary from home to home, so a licensed professional should inspect before treatment. When using any pesticide, always read and follow the product label.

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