How Do You Get Bed Bugs?

Hotels, apartments, and shared housing are prime bed bug hot spots. This is especially true in big metropolitan cities. When looking at the top 50 bed bug cities in America, most are big cities.

A revolving door of guests and many hiding places make for perfect bed bug conditions.

Single-family homes and apartments are the most common sites of infestation. Hotels and motels come in second. Nursing homes and offices are tied for third. College dorms are the fourth most frequently affected, followed by hospitals and transportation.

It’s impossible to avoid all these locations while going through life.

Most infestations come from visiting an infested home.

Keep an eye out and inspect beds before spending a night on them. Do this even when staying with friends or family.

Follow these instructions on how to check a room for bed bugs.

Plenty of regular people have no idea they have bed bugs. It’s easy to assume that you might be dealing with fleas or a busy mosquito season.

Learning to identify the most common symptoms of bed bugs will be useful for the rest of your life.

Check out the bed bug pictures page for visual examples.

Leasing and purchasing used furniture can be risky. This depends on the seller or company.

Leasing companies without well-enforced bed bug policies are a big problem.

It may seem over the top but checking is the best way to make sure you aren’t bringing home a huge expensive headache.

Steam is great because it kills bed bugs at all life stages. It does so instantly and leaves no residue, unlike sprays.

Other used furnishings like small carpets and curtains can be treated in a dryer set to high. Run it for at least 30 minutes.

Every few months, news breaks of someone burning down their home or apartment with one.

Heaters are very affordable these days, especially compared to the cost of a new home.

When buying used clothes, it’s a good idea to clean them as a precaution. It’s a simple matter of running them in the dryer for at least 30 minutes on high heat.

A dryer can also be used on small items like plush toys, backpacks, and shoes.

If dealing with delicate items, a bed bug heater is the best option. Dry cleaners are also an option, although most don’t guarantee bed bug elimination.

Don’t bring infested clothes to the dry cleaners without calling first.

If you’d like to treat delicate or larger items that can’t be tumbled in a dryer, personal bed bug heaters like the ZappBug heater will easily do the job.

Cooperation is necessary. Treatment needs to happen in every single infested unit at the same time.

Units neighboring infested units should be treated or monitored at the very least.

Bed bugs will escape through plumbing and electricity routes when they feel heat treatment starting. Those routes end up in next-door units.

What rights do landlords and tenants have when dealing with bed bugs in California? Check out this post for the most recent laws.

Laws about the burden of payment for treatment vary from state-to-state. Check with your local office.

Even with constant housekeeping and bed encasements, a bug or two can slip through the cracks.

Traveling safely with bed bugs in mind is the best way to prevent bringing an infestation home.

We have written on how to check your hotel room for bed bugs.

When checking for bed bugs, you’re unlikely to find a live bug outside of an advanced infestation.

That’s why it’s so important to know the most common signs they leave behind. Pictures of bed bugs and their signs are will help you get a clear idea of what to look out for.

Every year, Terminix looks into the number of bed bug services it gives across the country.

They then share the top 50 bed bug infested cities in the US.

Cities like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington make the top 10 every year.

Being especially careful in big cities is worth your time.

It is good to be extra aware when staying in budget travel accommodations. Budget options usually see more customers. High turnover and overworked staff can lead to bugs slipping through the crack.

We recommend checking reviews online for mentions of bed bugs before signing up to stay. I’ve seen hostels with reviews mentioning bed bugs several times myself. That bed may be cheap for a good reason.

We have a guide on how to check for bed bugs in hotels as well.

Buses, planes, and trains in big cities put you shoulder-to-shoulder with lots of people. In these conditions, crawling onto your clothing or bag is easy for a bed bug.

“Bed bugs are a huge problem for hotel and homeowners, particularly in some of the world’s biggest and busiest cities.

Once a room is infested with bed bugs, they can be very difficult to get rid of, which can result in people having to dispose of clothes and furniture that can be costly.

Our study suggests that keeping dirty laundry in a sealed bag, particularly when staying in a hotel, could reduce the chances of people taking bed bugs home with them, which may reduce the spread of infestations.”

During the study, bed bugs wound up in bags with dirty clothes twice as often versus bags with clean clothes.

These days, many hotels use bed bug proof encasements. Your open suitcase full of worn clothing lying on the ground is easier to get into than the bed.

Researchers specifically shared that:

“Potential ‘vehicles’ for passive dispersal, such as luggage, are likely to contain recently worn clothes (i.e., those soiled with sweat and volatiles) that release human odor, especially since travelers tend to take home their dirty laundry. Odors from soiled clothing (or luggage containing soiled clothing) may therefore influence host-searching behavior in bed bugs and consequently facilitate the passive dispersal of bed bugs via long-distance transport networks.”

The study brings home the importance of keeping luggage off the ground and out of the reach of bed bugs.

Keeping bags sealed and away from the bed will go a long way.

For more on checking rooms for bed bugs, there’s this post on the topic.

Frequent travelers should invest in a decent bed bug heater. The peace of mind you get from tossing your luggage in and setting a timer is priceless.

Exercising extra caution during your summer travels is always a good idea.

Bed bugs aren’t picky at all. That lack of pickiness has helped them thrive all over the world. Bed bugs are so common that 1 in every 5 Americans has had bed bugs or knows someone who has.

All 50 states deal with bed bugs.

You could deny visitors, avoid public places, check every car and bus seat you ever sit on, and still get them from a neighbor.

Everything you’ve read on this page will help reduce your chances of bumping into bed bugs in the wild. Prevention is the only other meaningful way to take control.

Read this section on easy ways to prevent bed bugs for more.

It doesn’t take much work to set up early detection tools. These days, traps are cheap and convenient.

We recommend interceptor traps to anyone wanting to prevent or treat an infestation. They’re easy to install, catch bed bugs early, and don’t need replacing or maintenance.
Once installed, prevention becomes as easy as checking interceptors every few weeks.
When you pair interceptors with encasements, your bed becomes a fortress.

By denying bed bugs easy access to your bed, you save yourself from bites and have a way to detect them early.
Click any product name or picture to go to the corresponding review:

	LightsOut	ClimbUp	BB Alert	SenSci
Bait	You	You	You	You, Optional Lure
Trap	ABS Pitfall	Powdered Pitfall	Comfy Harborage	Pitfall
Lifespan	Forever	Forever	1 Infestation	Forever
Rating	100 / 100	92 / 100	92 / 100	74 / 100
Relative Cost	$$	$	$$	$$ - $$$
Full Review	View	View	View	View

For more information on traps and in-depth reviews, check out the bed bug traps page.

Our guide to getting rid of bed bugs will walk you through the entire process.

Having a plan lets you start treatment immediately once you confirm that you have bed bugs on your hands. Doing it in advance means you won’t have to spend time researching.

You’ll be miles ahead of most folks dealing with infestations.

• Do not jump the gun and begin treating for bed bugs if you’re worried about mystery bites. Find other symptoms first.
• Do not begin treatment if your operator doesn’t offer you proof of bed bugs. Knowing how to find a great exterminator will make a big difference.
• Do not use generic bug solutions. Bug bombs and foggers make things worse by scaring bed bugs into every room of the house. The gas used in consumer foggers will not kill bed bugs.
• Do not randomly apply pesticide powders. If you decide to use preventative powders, wear a respirator. Learn how to properly apply bed bug powders.

• Do not trust any product labeled as a “bed bug repellent.” Bed bug repellents do not exist. Like bug bombs and foggers, they can make things worse by scaring bed bugs deeper into your home. A good encasement and interceptors will do the job of keeping bed bugs off your bed.