Exploring a new hotel room is typically exhilarating, but before you settle into your temporary home, always put your baggage in the bathtub.
This may sound odd, but according to industry experts, the tub is the safest place to store personal belongings, reducing the likelihood that you will bring more than just memories home.
What do you do as soon as you check into a hotel room? Maybe you tested the mattress’s bounce, looked at the minibar, or smelled the bathroom’s amenities.
Before doing anything, you probably dropped your suitcase on the bed or luggage rack. According to travel and hygiene experts, this common practice could be one of the worst mistakes made by visitors.
You should utilize the tub instead of the floor or bed because it is the safest area for your luggage due to its cool, hard, and (hopefully) clean surface.
So why is the bathtub the ideal place to put your bag? The obvious answer is the bedbug.
breeding grounds
No matter how luxurious or well-maintained a hotel room is, these microscopic pests, stowaways looking for a free ride to a new home, can flourish there.
“Bedbugs are excellent hitchhikers.” According to the pest treatment company Orkin, bedbugs can quickly move through a place in a single night and climb luggage or anything left on a bed or floor. “Bedbugs thrive at hotels due to the high rate of guest turnover,” the company says. They are also found in these places since hotels have a hard time controlling bedbugs due to the sheer number of rooms.
The eerie little animals are expert predators that lurk “near the humans they feed on,” Orkin warns.
Area devoid of bedbugs
The pests will only thrive if you place your luggage in warm, soft areas like carpets, mattresses, and even upholstered furniture.
The bathtub, on the other hand, is devoid of bedbugs. Because hotel bathrooms are typically cleaned more carefully than bedroom areas and because these bugs have a difficult time climbing smooth surfaces, your luggage is much less likely to come into contact with the annoying creatures.
Entomologist Katelyn Kesheimer, PhD, told Reader’s Digest that she always places her baggage in the toilet while thoroughly checking the room for bedbugs.
As soon as I’m positive it’s clear, I carry my stuff out into the main room. However, Kesheimer said, “I never put anything on the bed just in case.” The toilet is the least likely place for bedbugs to be found in a hotel room since people, the bedbugs’ food source, spend so little time there compared to the rest of the room.
S.L.E.E.P.
When traveling, Orkin suggests using the acronym S.L.E.E.P. to avoid bringing bedbugs back home.
Check the hotel room for signs of a bedbug infestation. Be on your guard against dark, ink-like stains on bedding, mattress fissures, and box springs. Additionally, make sure you know how bedbugs look at all stages of life, including eggs, newly born bedbugs, and adults.
Bedbugs hide under the mattress, box spring, bed skirt, and other furniture, so check behind baseboards, photographs, and even torn wallpaper.
Keep your possessions away from the bed and the wall. The safest place is in the bathtub.
Both while you’re packing again and after returning from a trip, check your luggage.
After you arrive home, spend at least twenty minutes in the dryer on the highest setting with all of the dryer-safe items from your suitcase.
Professionals at hiding
After you’ve inspected your hotel room and found no signs of bed bugs, Orkin suggests being extra cautious to “keep your belongings secured from a potential infestation.”
Here are some simple strategies to protect your belongings.
Luggage: While you’re there, leave your bag in the bathtub to help prevent bedbugs off of your belongings.
Clothes: To keep the crafty creatures from adhering to your clothing and shoes, store them in resealable bags. Additionally, clothes that are kept in closets or drawers are more likely to harbor bedbugs, so avoid unpacking and live out of your suitcase.
Personal property: Bedbugs are skilled at hiding and make great hitchhikers. They have been seen lurking in non-metal personal items like cloth toiletry bags and books. Make sure your belongings are fastened securely throughout your trip.
No food? No problem
It may seem like a lot of work, but remember that bedbugs are quite resilient and live for a very long time. They may endure months or perhaps more than a year without a blood meal, Kesheimer continues, adding that “if left in a suitcase or on clothing, they can definitely survive and infest later when there is access to food.”
It may seem odd, but packing your bag in the bathtub will drastically reduce the chance that you will bring unwanted guests home from your vacation.
So the next time you check into a hotel, ignore the luggage rack and leave your suitcase in the tub rather than the bed.
What tips would you provide someone planning a trip to help them stay away from carrying bedbugs? Please tell your friends about this story and share your thoughts with us!
