There are many ways a stay at a hotel can turn unpleasant, and bed bugs can be one of the worst ways to ruin a trip. In addition to leaving irritating bites, bed bugs can also leave bite victims at risk of developing an infection, culminating in additional medical bills and distress.
Unfortunately, hotels and motels are favorite spots for bed bugs, and guests who encounter an infestation may wind up bringing them home, resulting in an even larger infestation within the house that requires extermination.
Here are some steps to take when you suspect an infestation or identify one during your stay.
Conduct a Thorough Inspection of the Room
One of the best ways to avoid an issue is to inspect the hotel room before unpacking and settling into it. All you need to do so is a small flashlight.
First, you’ll want to inspect typical infestation areas, which will include beneath and along the seams of the mattress. Carefully remove the bedsheets and the mattress pad, and use the flashlight to look at all four corners of the mattress and box spring.
Next, you can inspect the crevices throughout the mattress, followed by an inspection of the headboard. You should also look behind pictures hanging on the wall, along with furniture around the bed such as the nightstand and the luggage rack.
What to Do if You Find Bed Bugs
If you happen to find any bed bugs or signs of them in any of these areas, notify the front desk immediately and either move to a new room or check out. However, you need to make sure you collect evidence that confirms an infestation.
When inspecting, you may spot brown specks on mattresses, which could be bed bug blood spots or bed bugs themselves, whose bodies are oval-shaped and wingless. Black spots can indicate bed bug fecal matter. Bed bugs also molt, leaving gold shells behind that you might find.
Photograph anything you see, and once you have collected enough evidence, immediately report your findings to management and evacuate the room. The hotel should provide you with a report, which you should maintain, along with taking down the names of every hotel staff member you communicated with.
Consult with a Bed Bug Bite Lawyer
If you have been bitten by bed bugs, and you are certain these bites resulted from an infestation in a hotel, you may be eligible for compensation if the neglect of hotel staff resulted in the infestation.
With the help of a reputable attorney, you may be able to recover both monetary and nonmonetary damages. The last thing you should do is leave bed bug infestations and bites ignored, but with the right precautions, you can avoid bed bug bites, or if you are unsuspectedly attacked, you can file a claim with the help of a competent legal representative to help ensure you and your loved ones receive compensation for your injuries and damages.
I recently stayed at a hotel in Ohio went to the bathroom and I saw one crawling across where I was laying. I quickly grabbed it in a quart size plastic bag I used for my liquids on a flight and I packed my bag and went to the front desk. No one was there found the phone number for the hotel on a business card and was hung up on twice just rang on the third call so I left and next day went to the website emailed the manager from website and all I asked for was a refund for the room. I never got a response. But do not stay at Ameristay Inn in Batavia, Ohio.
yeah recently had a 2-day stay in the motel and we woke up covered in bites today me and my fiance we we did find the the bugs in the bed and we even contacted the motel manager brought him in here and when we did he pretty much said while you stayed here what do you want me to do about it and had no regards to what happened to us so I need to know what I can do about this and I have taken pictures and skin somebody please get back to me and let me know what steps to take next to thank you