Unwelcomed Travelers

Some time or another I've had someone mention to me about bed bugs being on a cruise ship. Of course, they can also be on your bed at home or at your favorite resort hotel. To be honest, I never give bedbugs a second thought, I guess because I've never been bitten by one of them, I don't think. The story is out though that if you are infested with these little critters, it will take a professional exterminator to completely do the job.

What are they, and why do they cause so much grief to the traveler? They are very small insects that can be seen with the naked eye. The adult is about the size of an apple seed. Their favorite food is human blood. They do drink the blood of animals but humans are better fare. They can lay 1-5 eggs a day and more than 500 in a life time. They go through about 5 life cycles and lose their skin every time. Often that's how their presence is identified because of the molted bodies in the cracks or folds of the bedding or pillows. Their bites can cause itching and irritating welts that prompt considerable scratching, but thankfully they don't carry any disease.

If you have checked into a hotel or taken a cruise that is infested with them they can get into your luggage and travel to your residence and crawl into your mattresses, box springs, walls, and furniture causing a hard to beat infestation. An article by Lauren Cooper in Consumer Reports suggests ways to avoid a bed bug encounter, especially while on vacation. Some of the suggestions I've never heard of, but they sound reasonable and understandable.

+ When you first enter your hotel room, put your luggage in the bathroom which is an unlikely place for bed bugs to hide, while you inspect the bedding and furniture.

• Pull back the bed sheets and check the mattress and box-spring seams for bugs, especially at the head of the bed. Adults, nymphs, and eggs are all visible to the naked eye. Also keep your eyes peeled for exoskeletons and dark, rust-colored spots.

• Lift the mattress and check underneath, using a flashlight if possible. If you see any tell tale signs, ask for a new room in another part of the hotel.

• Stow your suitcases on a luggage rack or a hard surface, after checking it to make sure it's bed bug-free. Even better, pack large plastic trash bags and keep your luggage in them during your stay.

• When you get home, kill any potential hitchhikers by tumbling your travel clothes in a hot dryer for 30 minutes (simply washing the clothes usually won't kill bed bugs). And if possible, store your emptied luggage in the garage, the basement, or a hot attic (temperatures above 120 degrees kill bed bugs).

You can bet the hoteliers and cruise lines are very intentional about making sure their assets are not invaded with these moochers, but of course, they never know the situations of those guests in their facility. It is a shared responsibility to make sure our vacations aren't victimized by these ugly critters.

The Travel Factory agents will never send you to a bed bug factory on purpose, but we love to help you with your travel plans so give us a call at 698-1421 or 800-760-4040 where we manufacture your dreams into vacation memories.