20 Questions about Bed Bugs, Part 2 – About.com Home | World, Bed Bug Registry Map

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By Lisa Jo Lupo

Updated November 02, 2015.

continued from Part 1: Questions about Bed Bugs, Bites and Your Home

13. How can I tell if my hotel room has bed bugs?

Anytime you enter a hotel room, you should check for bed bugs before bringing in your suitcase or other possessions. Place your items in the middle of the bathroom floor, then lift the bed lines to inspect around the seams of the mattress for bugs, eggs, cast skins. Also check the mattress and linens for blood spots. Do the same for any furniture in the room and behind the headboard. For a complete guide to hotel room inspection, read the "Tips for Travelers" section of Prevention Tips for Top Bed Bug Cites

14. What should I do if I find bed bugs in my hotel room?

If your inspection reveals bed bugs or makes you suspect there is an infestation, immediately remove your belongings from the room, return to the front desk, and ask for a new room. You will not want to relocate to any room that shares any wall, floor, ceiling, or corner juncture with this room, and hotel management should move any guests currently in these rooms to other rooms and immediately call their pest control professional to service the rooms.

You do not need to leave the hotel altogether, however you should do a very thorough inspection of the new room to which you are assigned.

15. I've heard that running a space heater on high next to my bed will kill any bed bugs that try to live there. Is this true?

No. Although heat does kill bed bugs, they need to be exposed to temperatures greater than 122F for a sustained period of time to kill all life stages, explains University of Minnesota Professor Stephen Kells, in a report from the University of Nebraska/Lincoln adding that the heat needs to be distributed evenly and completely through the entire room (and into cracks and crevices), and monitored to ensure it does not fall too low. Additionally, it is recommended that homeowners never attempt to heat their homes or apartments to kill bed bugs because many such attempts to use space heaters to do so have resulted in fires, melted plastic, and even damaged electronics.

16. Can I kill the bed bugs by turning off my heat and freezing them out?

No. Bed bugs can withstand low temperatures much better than they can high temperatures, so it would be very difficult to get and keep your home cold enough to kill the bed bugs. In fact, in lab studies, Kells found that it takes 4 days at temperatures of 0F to kill bed bugs. Flash freezing has also been found to be effective by some pest control professionals, who shoot frozen carbon dioxide, Cryonite, into places the bugs are hiding. The immediate drop from room temperature to zero will kill bed bugs it contacts.

17. Can't I just get a bug bomb and kill them all?

You are more likely to spread the infestation further around your home than to kill them. A 2012 study by Dr. Susan Jones, associate professor of entomology at The Ohio State University, showed that over-the-counter bug bombs and foggers had little effect on bed bugs even through direct exposure for two hours. Some of the bed bugs were resistant to the pesticide, other simply burrowed further into the mattress, furniture, or other area in which they were hiding and avoided the fog altogether.

18. Why are bed bugs so hard to kill?

According to new research, scientists have learned that bed bugs have genes in the outer shell that create a protective "armor" by which they can resist insecticides and survive in homes and hotels.

19. How can I get rid of bed bugs?

Unfortunately, bed bug control is not recommended as a do-it-yourself service. The bugs are difficult to detect and difficult to eliminate, and when done wrong, you are more likely to spread than to get rid of bed bugs. Thus, it is recommended that you seek professional service and carefully follow all instructions for preparation and follow-up.

20. What can I do to keep from getting bed bugs in the first place?

Because bed bugs are brought into your home from other infested locations, your best defense is conducting a thorough inspection of any overnight accommodation, and inspecting your belongings before bringing them into your home if you have any doubts or suspicions about anyplace you or your family and guests have been. More tips and guidance are available at Controlling Pests that Pester You: Bed Bugs and Do's and Don'ts of Bed Bug Control.

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