What to Know About Bed Bugs When Traveling and How to Avoid Them

Paris is the latest city where parasites have caused panic among travelers. Here's how to prevent bedbugs from entering your home, wherever you go.

This year, Paris Fashion Week was all about the little brown bedbug: bedbugs of bed. These pests have appeared on trains, airports and movie theaters, stoking fears that they are also lurking in hotels, an echo of the bedbug panic in New York in the mid-2000s. and the decades may be different, but the scourge is eternal.

Bed bugs don't just live in beds. These apple seed-sized insects can hide in furniture, waiting for the opportunity to come out, usually at night, to feed on the blood of humans (and pets) while they sleep. Their bites, usually painless, often occur in clusters or lines.

Although bed bugs generally pose minimal health risks, Bryon Backenson said, Director of Communicable Diseases for New York State. Ministry of Health, their stings can cause allergic reactions in some and, of course, they are a source of discomfort and anxiety for almost everyone.

Even if you don't go to Paris, there are several ways to prevent blood-sucking stowaways from returning home, wherever you are.

When you arrive

Check your hotel room before you settle in. inside, even if the room is spotless. Human heat, blood and carbon dioxide are far more important to bed bugs than an unsanitary environment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Bed Bug Myths website. But, the website adds, clutter can help them hide.

When you first enter the room, immediately drop off your luggage in the bathroom. bath, then do your bed bug inspection, advises Jody. Gangloff-Kaufmann, a senior extension associate at Cornell University who focuses on pest control and has a doctorate in entomology.

Adult bed bugs are wingless and have six legs and a flat, oval body. They're about the size of Lincoln's head on a dime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The eggs are pearl white and about the size of a pinhead, according to the E.P.A. says the website.

Carefully check the bedding, box spring, bed skirt, side tables and even the alarm clock, anywhere bugs may be hiding .

“The first thing you might notice are the fecal stains they leave behind, which are a bit like magic marking points in the fabric,” Dr. Gangloff-Kaufmann said.

Also check the headboard; some can be removed from the wall. If there is powder behind the headboard, Dr. Gangloff-Kaufmann said, it may indicate that the room has been treated for bedbugs in the past.

Carry a small LED. flashlight that you can use during your inspection. This will help brighten up any eggs or shells shed during molting. Finally, check the rest of the furniture and any corners or crevices (think baseboards, moldings, and floors) around the room. A sweet, musty odor may also indicate the presence of bed bugs.

Commercial bed bug tests, such as the swab-based TruDetx, which promise “reliable detection in just five minutes,” can work, but don’t have enough scientific studies to back them up, Dr. Gangloff-Kaufmann said. They can also give a false sense of security, Backenson said.

If you find evidence of bedbugs, don't stay in the bedroom. Instead, contact the hotel staff, leave the room with your belongings and request a room in another part of the hotel, not adjacent to the infested one.