Hotel rooms: the 5-minute bed bug check

On arrival: luggage first

The number-one reflex of seasoned travellers: never put your suitcase on the bed when you arrive. Not on the floor by the bed either, not on an upholstered armchair. The only two safe spots while you inspect:

• In the bathtub or shower: smooth surface, tile, no hiding spots. It's ugly, it works.
• On the metal luggage rack, away from the bed and the wall — after quickly inspecting it too (the straps are classic hiding spots).

Only then, inspect the room.

The 5-minute inspection, step by step

• 1. Pull back the sheet and look at the mattress seams, especially corners and along the piping. Look for: tiny black spots (droppings), translucent skins, flat reddish-brown insects the size of an apple seed.
• 2. Lift the mattress and inspect the box spring: bugs hide underneath and in the frame too.
• 3. Look behind the headboard — pull it from the wall if it's freestanding. It's the number-one hiding spot in hotel rooms: dark, close to the sleeper, rarely deep-cleaned.
• 4. Open the nightstand: check drawer joints and the underside of the top.
• 5. Glance at baseboards near the bed and heavy curtains.

Five minutes, no more. If it's all clean, settle in: the risk is low. If you find the slightest sign, move to the next step.

If you find signs: change rooms (or hotels)

Characteristic black spots, shed skins, and all the more so live insects: don't sleep in that room. Ask to change rooms — and not the one next door: ask for one on another floor or in another wing, since bed bugs circulate between neighbouring rooms.

Redo the 5-minute inspection in the new room. If the second try is positive too, change hotels: that's the sign of a building-wide problem. Report it to the front desk either way — a serious hotel will call an exterminator, and your report protects the next travellers.

During the stay: good reflexes

• Keep the suitcase closed on the rack, never open on the bed.
• Store clothes in resealable bags rather than piled in dresser drawers.
• Don't bring home textile "souvenirs" from a flea market without inspecting them seam by seam.

Airbnbs, B&Bs and hostels: same vigilance

Private rentals deserve the same inspection — if not more. Turnover is high, cleaning between guests is sometimes cursory, and there's not always a professional detection protocol. On arrival at an Airbnb or B&B, apply exactly the same method: luggage in the bathroom, inspect mattress, headboard and nightstands. If you find signs, photograph them and contact the host immediately — most platforms have a process for this.

Back home: the no-bring-home protocol

Unpack in the garage or bathroom, not the bedroom. Run everything that tolerates it through the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes — heat kills all stages, eggs included. Inspect the suitcase itself, inside the seams and pockets, before storing it. Caught it in time? One hot dryer cycle beats one infestation, every time.