{"id":15351,"date":"2019-01-02T12:40:31","date_gmt":"2019-01-02T11:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/?p=15351"},"modified":"2026-05-21T14:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:36:23","slug":"avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/","title":{"rendered":"How to avoid bed bugs when returning from a trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The holidays are over. It&#8217;s time to go home and get back to your routine. However, if you are returning from a trip, you should check out the following tips to avoid bringing bed bugs home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With global travel on the rise, the prevalence of bed bugs can be a fast-growing problem for travellers.&nbsp;There have been reports in recent years of passengers being bitten by more than the travel bug. Do you know why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contrary to their name,&nbsp;<a title=\"Bed bugs species\" href=\"http:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/bed-bugs\/cimex-lectularius\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bed bugs<\/a>&nbsp;are not only found in beds. They can be easily transportable in clothes and baggage.&nbsp; Luggage stands in&nbsp;hotel rooms&nbsp;are a hot spot for&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/bed-bugs\/how-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs\/\">bed bug activity<\/a>. Bed bugs often use luggage to travel and infest a new home. Because of this, luggage stands are often the first point of contact for&nbsp;bed bugs.&nbsp; For this reason, when you return from a trip, you might have brought bedbugs home&nbsp;unexpectedly and that may cause <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/bed-bug-bites-what-you-need-to-know-3\/\">bed bug bites<\/a>&nbsp;. Therefore, it&#8217;s better to keep an eye on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/bed-bugs\/signs-of-bed-bugs\/\">signs of bed bugs<\/a> to avoid an infestation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to prevent bed bugs when returning from a trip<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you get back home, remember to use your&nbsp;<strong>WITS:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>W<\/strong>ash your bed clothes at a temperature of at least 60\u2103, and if possible place the items into a tumble dryer for at least 30 minutes. Bed bugs aren\u2019t great survivors in high temperatures. Washing clothing will help eliminate both adult bed bugs and bed bug eggs, reducing the risk of a bed bug in your home.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>I<\/strong>nspect your luggage, clothes, beds and furniture for signs of infestation. And remember to check after visitors too.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>T<\/strong>idy your rooms. You can see signs of infestation more clearly when your rooms are clean and tidy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>S<\/strong>end old clothes and linens to charity shops. Don\u2019t leave them lying around in closets. If you don\u2019t wear it, you don\u2019t need it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"post-single-content box mark-links\">\n<p>If you find out any signs of bed bugs, you can try DIY bed bug spray products will help to kill some bed bug. However, the DIY solutions are not usually powerful enough to eradicate the presence of bed bugs.&nbsp;They have built up resilience to many types of conventional pesticides, making even professional treatment difficult. You should contact a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/bed-bugs\/\">professional bed bug exterminator<\/a> as soon as possible because they have a range of solutions such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/technical-expertise\/entotherm\/\">heat treatment<\/a> to help you<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/bed-bugs\/how-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs\/\"> get rid of bed bugs<\/a> and to help prevent re-infestations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bed Bug Treatment with Heat by Rentokil\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pmPx0bbjYdI?list=PLAKzHZsh58Cve6VBAxWRWMpUkgpvb_URk\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember to &#8220;<strong>Look before you book&#8221;<\/strong>&nbsp;accommodation to avoid bed bug problems!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you need some advice on bed bug treatment, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/contact-us\/\">contact us<\/a> today for further assistance from your local expert.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/contact-us\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"148\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Blog-CTA-Contact-a-Rentokil-Expert-300x148.png\" alt=\"rentokil contact\" class=\"wp-image-15010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Blog-CTA-Contact-a-Rentokil-Expert-300x148.png 300w, https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Blog-CTA-Contact-a-Rentokil-Expert.png 386w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holidays are over. It&#8217;s time to go home and get back to your routine. However, if you are returning from a trip, you should check out the following tips to avoid bringing bed bugs home. With global travel on the rise, the prevalence of bed bugs can be a fast-growing problem for travellers.&nbsp;There have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[2409],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-15351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bed-bugs","tag-bed-bugs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Post-Holiday Bed Bug Prevention Tips | Pest Control Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Holidays are over, time to go home! If you&#039;re returning from a trip, check out these tips to avoid a bed bug infestation and bed bug bites.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Post-Holiday Bed Bug Prevention Tips | Pest Control Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Holidays are over, time to go home! If you&#039;re returning from a trip, check out these tips to avoid a bed bug infestation and bed bug bites.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"deBugged\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-02T11:40:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-21T13:36:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/how-to-avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-a-trip.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"534\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@debugged\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/\",\"name\":\"Post-Holiday Bed Bug Prevention Tips | Pest Control Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-trips\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/how-to-avoid-bed-bugs-when-returning-from-a-trip.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-02T11:40:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-21T13:36:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.rentokil.ie\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7db989bebd3291c60b3cb37cdedb87e3\"},\"description\":\"Holidays are over, time to go home! 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