Why Bed Bugs Are Invading Las Vegas in Record Numbers

In recent years, people are not as careful as they once were when dealing with bed begs. Bed bugs are quickly becoming a headache for hotel and resort owners, tourists, and locals in Las Vegas. These little pests have recently made a resurgent rebound in this popular tourist destination, largely due to arriving in town hidden in people’s luggage and clothing.

During World War II, bed bugs were a problem in the United State with soldiers returning from overseas and bringing the pests back with them in backpacks, knapsacks, clothing, and luggage. At that time, the problem was dealt with by the use of certain pesticides and frequent vacuuming. In most cases, the bugs were eradicated from homes and businesses simply by vacuuming the entire home and mattresses on a daily basis.

Today, resort owners do their best to avoid bed bug infestations, but many still think it cannot happen in their hotel. That is not the case, as tourists are bringing these uninvited guests into Las Vegas on a daily basis. Hotels and resorts need to better educate housekeeping staff and perform daily room inspections to check for bed bugs. In addition, when infected rooms are discovered, they need to address the situation immediately, rather than waiting until guests check out. By then, the bugs can easily migrate to adjoining rooms and continue to spread throughout the hotel.

People visiting Las Vegas also need to be educated about what to do to protect themselves while visiting the city. Prior to leaving home, it is recommended you obtain a bed bug travel kit from Mattress Safe®. The kit should contain a mattress encasement, pillow encasements, a laundry travel bag, and a luggage encasement. Each of these products helps reduce the likelihood you will bring back more than souvenirs from your trip to Vegas.

Upon arrival at your Las Vegas hotel, make sure to do a room inspection. You can place your luggage into the bathtub to keep it off of the floor. Pull back the bedding and sheets and look for small brownish colored bugs, dark dirt spots, and reddish-brown dots. If you find any of these on the bedding or mattress, there are bed bugs in the room. In addition, check along the seams of mattresses, and lift the mattress and look underneath it. Look around the lamp shades and behind the headboards, in the chairs and sofa.

If you do not find any bed bugs, promptly put the encasements on the mattress and pillows. Keep your clothing packed in your suitcases, and use your suitcase encasements to keep bed bugs from getting into your bags. Store the suit cases stacked off of the floor on a luggage rack. Hang the laundry travel bag in the closet on a hanger or on the hook on the bathroom door and use this for your dirty clothes.

If your room has bed bugs, promptly request another room far away from the infested one. If the hotel argues with you about the problem, do not be afraid to inform other guests in the lobby the hotel has a bed bug problem. If the hotel still refuses to move you to another room, leave, and stay at a different hotel. While it might seem like an inconvenience, in the long run you will be happy you did not expose yourself to bed bugs and risk bringing them back home.

To obtain items for your bed bug travel kit, you can find everything you require by calling Mattress Safe® at 770-205-5335.