For this holiday season, amidst the celebrations and the busy activities, keep in mind this basic, common sense tips for keeping your mattress away from bed bites. These are from Protect-A-Bed...

Protect-A-Bed’s basic tips for travelers to follow upon checking-in to their hotel:

• Using a travel flashlight, conduct a very basic inspection of the bed by pulling back the bed linens and checking the visible edges of the mattress. Look for evidence of live bugs, dark brownish to black spots or stains that could indicate bed bugs.
• Inspect the headboard and the spaces between the carpet and the wall where moulted skins, excrement and eggs of the bed bugs could be found.
• Do not place your luggage near the places where bed bugs are typically found – on the bed, near the bed, on the couch or any type of upholstered furniture.
• Elevate your luggage on a luggage stand.
• Keep your luggage closed at all times. If possible, use hard shelled luggage.
• When not in use, keep items like laptops, books, toiletries, jewelry and electronics in sealed plastic bags.
• Notify the manager-on-duty immediately if you suspect bed bugs or if you begin to develop itchy welts on your body.

Protect-A-Bed’s basic tips for travelers to follow upon returning home:

• If you are a frequent traveler, encase mattresses and box springs before you leave home.
• Do not take luggage inside your home.
• Unpack your luggage in an area that is well-lit and away from furniture and sleeping areas, such as a garage.
• Unpack one suitcase at a time. Immediately place all of your clothing that can be hot-laundered into the washing machine or into a garbage bag that can be sealed and placed aside.
• All items being laundered should be laundered in the hottest possible wash cycle and placed in the dryer on the hottest possible setting.
• Place all dry-clean clothing in a garbage bag, seal it and place it aside. Consider using dissolvable laundry bags to transport your clothes from your luggage to the washing machine a simple one-step process.
• Empty items that you sealed in plastic bags (computer, books, toiletries, etc.) and immediately discard the bags in an outdoor trash can.