Anyone who travels regularly for business or for pleasure should be aware of one important fact - there may be bed bugs in hotels!

Over the last two or three years the numbers of bed bug infestations across the USA has risen at a dramatic rate. Households, nursing homes, hotels and even hospitals have all had problems with these little blood sucking pests. Don't be fooled into thinking that because you are going to stay in a five star hotel that there will be no bed bugs. There are bed bugs in hotels of this status too!

Why have bed bugs resurfaced in such large numbers? The answer is fairly straight forward. Basically chemical pesticides were used to control and in fact in many cases eradicate pests - bed bugs included. However these pesticides one of the best known being DDT were found to be very dangerous for humans and animals and were also harmful to the environment, so they were withdrawn from use. The pesticides which replaced them wide not wide spectrum chemicals i.e. they did not kill a wide variety of pests - they will only deal with specifics for example cockroaches. Somehow due to this bed bugs slipped through the net and have once again become rife!

How would you recognise a bed bug? Bed bugs are flat and oval in appearance and measure around 1/4 inch in length when fully grown. They are a reddish brown in colour and their favourite food it blood - human blood. Although you pets such as dogs and cats will do if there are no humans around.

Where would you find bed bugs? These pests are nocturnal so will hide out in all sorts of places during daylight hours. Favourite hiding places are usually in any cracks or crevices in walls, in carpets, bed frames, bed box springs, mattresses in particular along seams, around buttons or handles and in any folds. But don't be fooled you will also find them in some very obscure places too - for example alarm clocks, picture frames, even smoke alarms. If your hotel has bed bugs it is better you find them before they find you.

How can you avoid bed bugs in hotels? Well, the simplest way is to physically check the hotel room yourself BEFORE you unpack your belongings. Probably the best place to start is the bed, remove the sheets etc. and carefully examine the mattress - bed bugs particularly like hiding in the folds of the fabric so check along seams, around decorative buttons, around handles on the side of the mattress. Next, lift the mattress and check the bed frame particularly close to the headboard. Don't forget the beds box spring too if it has one. Tell tale signs that bed bugs are in residence are often the dark faecal marks they leave behind and blood smears where bugs have been squashed. Other places to check include the furniture - thoroughly check inside closets and drawers before you put any clothing in them. If you notice any peeling wall coverings or cracks and crevices in the wall inspect these closely, you may not see any live bugs but there will be faecal marks if they are in residence.

If you are at all concerned that there may be bed bugs present in your hotel room DO NOT UNPACK! This may cause you some inconvenience but it will prevent your luggage becoming infested with unwanted passengers! The best thing to do is keep all your belongings in your case, keep it zipped shut and off the floor. Don't forget to take the same precautions with other, smaller luggage like for example handbags or laptop cases.

How do the bed bugs in hotels get there? Quite simply they hitch a ride in travellers luggage or clothing. People who regularly spend time in hotels like for example airline crew, salesmen etc. can quite innocently transfer these pests from place to place and even infect their own homes where the bed bugs will continue to breed and multiply.

Got bed bug bites? What do you do? Firstly don't panic for the majority of bed bug victims the only reaction is the red rash, welts or bumps which appear on the skin. A visit to the nearest drug store to purchase some cream such as hydrocortisone or antihistamine tablets should ease the itch. Avoid scratching the bites as this may cause them to become infected. In this instance medical treatment may be necessary. Secondly inform the management that they have a problem and leave as soon as possible.

What next? If there were bed bugs in your hotel only unpack in one closed off room of your home and do not unpack in another hotel room. If you possibly can place all clothing, shoes etc. in sealed plastic bags before leaving the infected hotel room. Once you reach your destination remove clothing from the bags and launder on a hot cycle. Items which are not suitable for washing should be put in a tumble dryer on a hot setting for about 10 minutes. This should kill the bed bugs at all stages of development. Items which cannot be treated in this way like for example business suits you could try using a steam cleaning machine in them as steam is an excellent way to kill bed bugs. Make sure you discard any unnecessary items such as magazines, newspapers and so on in sealed plastic bags. Check all suit cases and other bags thoroughly you could spray them with a non toxic bed bug spray such as Bed Bug Bully, which will kill any bed bugs without a nasty chemical smell.

It is vital that once you have dealt with clothing etc. that you thoroughly clean all work tops and flooring with disinfectant to prevent any spread of the bed bugs.

Don't let bed bugs in hotels spoil you vacation - just be vigilant!