Bed Bug Rash
and Bed Bug Odor
Are you aware that your favorite hotel may have bed bugs? Bed bugs
are fast travellers and there is a 90% chance that at some time a hotel, whether it is a three or a five star
hotel, a presidential suite or a standard room, may have bed bugs.
The three following questions now are:
1. How do you know if your hotel has bed bugs?
2. What are the signs and symptoms of a bed bug infestation?
3. What should you do to prevent your home being infested if the hotel has bed bugs?
The common signs and symptoms of a bed bug infestation are:
Bed Bug Rash
When you are bitten by a mosquito you feel the sting when it sucks the blood. You know immediately when you have a
mosquito bite. With bed bugs it is different the itch will only be felt an hour or more after the bite. Bed bugs
pierce an opening in the skin and inject anaesthetics and anticoagulant, to avoid blood clotting, before it will
suck blood from your skin.
A bed bug rash will appear an hour after you were pierced. It starts with an itch, but the rash won’t be visible
yet when you feel the itch. With some people, the bed bug rash appears only after some days or week from being
bitten. This depends upon the body's reaction to the chemicals being secreted by bed bugs.
What does a bed bug rash look like? When a bed bug rash becomes visible, it may just be a single, swollen bump. For
people who move a lot in their sleep the rash may look like a few in-line bite marks. Bed bugs that are disturbed
during feeding time will often use the same blood vessel when they continue their feed. One feed can take up to 10
minutes. When you notice that the rash is multiplying it means that other bed bugs are biting you as well.
When you have a rash that you suspect as a bed bug rash, observe it for some days. A bed bug rash is itchy even
days after the rash appears. Also, a bed bug rash does not heal as fast as mosquito bite marks. It stays swollen
for weeks.
Bed Bug Odor
Next sign to look for after the bed bug rash appears is the bed bug odor. A heavy bed bug infestation has an
offensive, sweet-like, musty odor that bed bugs release. You may search for this odor under the mattresses and
bedhead. If your hotel has a wooden chair or a sofa with crevices, smell them too for a bed bug odor. The odor is
not easily detectable with a light infestation.
How to avoid infesting your house with hotel bed bugs
The night before you check out, remove every item from your suitcase. Bed bugs are effective hitchhikers. They can
survive for years without food and if they hitched in your luggage, they can start an infestation in your home.
Check your wooden items for bed bugs. Bed bugs like wooden items, cloth and paper. These are the materials in which
they create their habitat.
Spray on a water based insect killer around your suitcase. Shake off your clothes for any bed bugs. Wipe your bath
tub dry and put your items and clothing in there. Bed bugs like to hide in crevices. A tub is made of ceramic or
marble and doesn’t have crevices. A white bath tub makes it easy for you to identify these parasites. Wash your
used clothing before you leave for home.
Remember, this is not a simple matter. Once your bedroom has been infested with bed bugs, it will spread fast to
neighboring rooms. Getting rid of bed bugs is a very tough job. Often you even need to throw away your bed and sofa
to wipe your house clean from any trace of bed bugs.
For more information on how to prevent bed bugs visit http://www.bedbugsuncovered.com
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