Bed Bugs at a Hotel: What to Do Before You Go Home

At the hotel

Act before you unpack any further:

• Check the mattress seams, headboard and the crease of the box spring for live bugs or rust-colored spots.
• If you find signs, ask to change rooms (ideally to a different floor) or change hotels.
• Keep luggage on the hard luggage rack or in the bathtub, never on the bed or upholstered chair.

Before your luggage comes inside at home

Bed bugs and their eggs die with sustained heat, so heat is your tool. Do not bring the suitcase straight into the bedroom.

• Unpack in the garage or on a hard, light-colored floor where you can see bugs.
• Run all washable clothes — worn or not — through a hot wash and a hot dryer cycle.
• Items that cannot be washed can go through a hot dryer cycle alone.
• Keep the suitcase out of the bedroom; vacuum it, then store it in a sealed bag or the garage.

Watch for the first signs at home

Even with care, keep an eye out for the next few weeks: itchy bites in a line after waking, tiny rust-colored spots on sheets, or shed skins along the mattress seam. Catching an introduction early keeps it to one room.

If they made it home

If signs show up, do not move bedding or furniture to other rooms and do not use foggers — both spread bed bugs through the house. A professional inspection confirms the infestation, and heat treatment can often clear a room in a single visit.

For a sudden find before guests or a move, urgent response gets priority scheduling in Joliet and Romeoville.