How to Check a Hotel for Bed Bugs: Travel and Luggage Tips

By Jeffrey Grill, Editor | Last reviewed and fact-checked: October 30, 2026

Quick answer: To check a hotel room for bed bugs, leave your bags in the bathroom. Then use your phone's flashlight to check the mattress seams and tags at the pillow end, the box spring, behind the headboard, the nightstand, upholstered chairs and the luggage rack. Look for live bugs, tiny dark spots like marker ink and rusty stains. If you find any, tell the front desk and ask for a room far from that one.^1,2,3,4,5

Key Takeaways

A clean mattress isn't enough. In hotel pest-control data, the box spring was the most common hiding spot, and bugs were usually in more than one place.⁶
Keep bags off the bed and floor until you've checked the room.^1,4
Don't spray your suitcase. Experts advise against it, and most bed bugs resist common insecticides.^7,8
Your dryer is the key step at home. 30 minutes on high kills bed bugs and their eggs.^1,9
No bites doesn't mean no bugs. Bites can take days to show up, and many people never react.^10,11
Heaters work only if the load gets hot enough, long enough. Pack loosely and check the temperature in the middle.^12,13

Bed bugs turn up in budget motels and five-star resorts alike, and travelers carry them home in luggage and clothes without knowing it.¹⁰ A five-minute check when you arrive and a few steps when you get home are the best protection. For prevention at home, see how to prevent bed bugs.

In this guide

How to check a hotel room for bed bugs
What to do if your hotel room has bed bugs
How to protect your luggage while traveling
Do luggage sprays and repellents work?
Bed bug proof luggage and portable heaters
Bed bugs on planes, cruise ships, trains and buses
What to do when you get home
Bites after a trip
Travel insurance and bed bugs
FAQ

How Do You Check a Hotel Room for Bed Bugs?

You don't need special tools. A phone flashlight works.¹ Before you start, put your bags in the bathroom or bathtub, or on a hard surface like a dresser, not on the bed or floor.^4,5,7

Mattress, pillow end first. Pull back the sheets and mattress pad, and check the seams, piping, tags and corners.^2,11,4
Box spring. Lift a corner of the mattress and check the box spring's seams, corners and folds. Don't open a mattress encasement, since you may not be able to reseal it.^4,7
Headboard. Shine your light into the gap between the headboard and the wall. Don't try to take down a wall-mounted headboard.^11,5
Bed frame and nightstand. Check joints, cracks, screw holes and drawers.^4,5
Upholstered chairs and sofas. Look along seams and under cushions.^3,5
Wall art and curtains. Check behind framed pictures and in curtain folds.^2,5
Luggage rack. Check where the straps meet the frame, then pull it away from the wall before you use it.^4,5,7

What bed bug signs look like

Rusty or reddish stains from crushed bugs.²
Dark spots, like ink from a marker that bled into fabric. These are droppings.²
Tiny pale eggs about 1 mm long, and shed skins.²
Live bugs: young ones are about the size of a poppy seed and adults about the size of an apple seed, light to reddish brown.⁴

Bites alone aren't a good sign, because many other things cause itchy bumps.^2,7 For photos, see signs of bed bugs and bed bug identification.

Hotel bed bug checklist

Tip	Why it works	How strong is the evidence?
Bags in the bathroom or tub until you've checked	Keeps them away from the bed, where bugs live, on a surface where bugs are easy to see	Strong: expert consensus
Check mattress seams, tags and corners	The classic first hiding spot, and quick to check	Strong
Lift the mattress and check the box spring	The most common spot in more than 9,000 hotel pest-control jobs	Strong: industry data
Shine a light behind the headboard	A common hotel hiding spot	Moderate: expert consensus
Check the luggage rack before using it	Bugs arrive in other guests' bags	Moderate
Check the nightstand, chairs and wall art too	Bugs were in more than one area in most infested rooms	Moderate
Keep luggage zipped and clothes out of drawers	Fewer chances for bugs to crawl in	Moderate: expert advice
Bag dirty laundry	In one study, bugs preferred worn clothes to clean ones	Moderate: one study
If you find signs, report it and move far away or leave	Infestations can spread to nearby rooms	Strong: expert consensus
Don't spray insecticide in the room or on luggage	Resistance is common, and spraying can spread bugs	Strong

Sources:^{1,2,3,11,4,5,7,8,6}

A small flashlight helps; one option is a travel inspection kit (we earn a small commission).

What Should You Do If Your Hotel Room Has Bed Bugs?

Tell the front desk right away. If you can, catch a bug on tape or in a bag and bring it.^4,5
Take photos of bugs, stains and where you found them.¹⁴
Ask for a room that isn't next to, above or below the first one, ideally in another part of the hotel, or change hotels.^3,11
Bag your belongings. Double-bag and seal clothes for the trip home, and check what you're wearing if you handled anything in the room.⁷
Don't spray anything. Leave treatment to the hotel's pest control company.⁷

Ask the hotel for a written note of what happened and keep your receipts in case you seek a refund or file an insurance claim. See bed bug lawsuits and bed bug laws.

How Do You Protect Your Luggage While Traveling?

Use a plastic bag. Keep your suitcase inside a large plastic bag or cover for the whole trip, and pack a few trash bags for clothes.^3,7 Large zip-top storage bags (we earn a small commission) work well.
Use the rack or a hard surface, pulled away from the wall, never the bed or floor.^1,4
Keep it zipped, unpack only what you need and keep clothes out of dresser drawers.^11,4
Bag dirty laundry separately.⁴
Hard-shell luggage may help. Bed bugs avoid smooth plastic, so there are fewer places to hide, though no study has compared luggage types.⁸

The bathroom is a good place for bags because it's away from the bed and bugs are easy to see on hard, light surfaces. Don't count on bugs being unable to climb, though: adult bed bugs can grip smooth surfaces.^5,15

Do Bed Bug Luggage Sprays and Repellents Work?

No. NC State entomologists say not to spray luggage, clothing, skin or hair, and most bed bugs now resist the pyrethroid insecticides used in these sprays.^7,8 In one lab study, fabric treated with permethrin didn't repel bed bugs, and only 22% of a highly resistant strain died after 10 days on it.¹⁶ Mosquito and tick repellents don't seem to work as well on bed bugs, though Rutgers says a DEET repellent on the outside of your clothes may help prevent bites if the label allows it.^11,8 Heat and plastic bags are better tools.

Is There Bed Bug Proof Luggage?

Nothing makes luggage bed bug proof, but heat can kill any bugs that get in. Bed bugs die quickly at about 122°F. At lower temperatures it takes much longer: at 113°F, eggs can survive for about 7 hours.¹³

ThermalStrike heated luggage

ThermalStrike made a hard-shell suitcase with built-in heating panels and a 2-, 4- or 8-hour timer, in a 20-inch carry-on and a 24-inch size.^17,18 We took the 20-inch model on a JetBlue round trip. It fit in the overhead bin and had no trouble at airport security, though we didn't test it on live bugs. The company's website now lists only its portable heater, so the suitcase appears to be discontinued.¹⁹

Portable bed bug heaters

A portable heater is a fabric chamber you can load with a suitcase, shoes or anything that can't go in the dryer. Rutgers lists these heaters as a cost-effective tool.⁸ To make them work:

Pack loosely. In a Rutgers test, three loosely packed suitcases were heated for about 4.5 to 5 hours, and every bug and egg died. In two tightly packed suitcases, the centers never reached 122°F in 8 hours. All the adults and young bugs died, but one egg in each suitcase hatched (those young bugs died the same day).¹²
Use a thermometer probe in the densest spot. Once it reads 120°F, keep heating for at least an hour, and add an extra hour as ZappBug advises.^13,20
Take out aerosol cans, cosmetics and anything that could melt, and check electronics' heat limits.^17,20
Follow the maker's directions. Heat chambers aren't regulated by EPA or any federal agency.²¹

Options include the ThermalStrike Ranger (we earn a small commission) and the ZappBug heater (we earn a small commission). An older ThermalStrike model, the Expedition, was recalled in 2014 as a fire hazard, so don't buy one used.²²

Can You Get Bed Bugs on Planes, Cruise Ships, Trains or Buses?

Planes: it happens, mostly in seats, but there's no data on how often. In October 2026, Qantas canceled a Rome-to-Perth flight after bugs were found on a few seats.^23,14 Check seat seams, armrests and cushion edges with your phone light.¹⁴
Cruise ships: the CDC lists them among places bed bugs are found. Check your cabin the same way as a hotel room.¹⁰
Trains and buses: in 2018, 19% of pest professionals reported finding bed bugs on public transportation.²⁴

Keep bags closed and off seats, and treat travel clothes when you get home.

What Should You Do When You Get Home From a Trip?

Step	How
Unpack outside the bedroom	Use the garage, a bathtub or a hard floor, and check luggage seams with a flashlight
Dryer first	Clothes straight into the dryer on high for 30 minutes. Washing alone often won't kill bed bugs.
Washing	A 140°F wash killed every stage; a 104°F wash left most eggs alive
Backpacks, duffels and shoes	Most can go in the dryer for 30 minutes
Things you can't heat	Seal them in a bag and freeze at 0°F for at least 4 days, or use a portable heater
Store luggage	In the garage or basement, never under the bed
Watch for signs	Put interceptor cups under the bed legs and check them every week or two

Sources:^1,4,7,8,25,9

One option for monitoring is ClimbUp interceptors (we earn a small commission). See our guide to bed bug traps.

What Do Bites After a Trip Tell You?

Less than you'd think. Bite marks can take a day to several days to appear, sometimes up to 14 days.¹⁰ About 30% of people in infested homes don't react to bites at all.¹¹ And bites look like mosquito or flea bites, so only finding a bug confirms bed bugs.^10,26 Treat your luggage and clothes when you get home either way. See bed bug bites.

Found bed bugs at home? See how to get rid of bed bugs and how to choose an exterminator. For free quotes from local bed bug exterminators, call 1-877-673-2704 (we may be paid when you call), or ask an exterminator online (we may be paid when you use this link).

Does Travel Insurance Cover Bed Bugs?

It depends on the policy. Some insurers say medical care for bites may be covered, while at least one says it won't pay for moving to new lodging. "Cancel for any reason" add-ons let you cancel a trip over bed bug worries.^27,28,29 Read your policy and keep photos, receipts and the hotel's written response. Readers have asked about this below, including does travel insurance cover bed bugs?

What the Research Shows

Check under the mattress. In more than 9,000 hotel bed bug jobs in 2014, the box spring was the most common spot (over 25%), and bugs were in more than one area in about 86% of rooms.⁶
Packing matters for heaters. Loosely packed suitcases got hot enough to kill everything; tightly packed ones didn't reach 122°F in 8 hours.¹²
Time and temperature go together. Eggs survived about 7 hours at 113°F but died quickly at 122°F.¹³
Overnight traps can miss light infestations. In apartments with only 1 to 9 bed bugs, one monitor baited with a lure, heat and CO2 found bugs in just 10% of them in one night.³⁰
Permethrin fabric didn't repel bed bugs in a lab test.¹⁶
The dryer works. 30 minutes on hot killed every stage; a 104°F wash left most eggs alive.⁹

Bed Bugs and Travel: Frequently Asked Questions

How do you check a hotel room for bed bugs fast?

Put your bags in the bathroom, then use a flashlight on the mattress seams and tags, the box spring and behind the headboard. It takes about five minutes.^1,4,5

Where do bed bugs hide in hotel rooms?

Mostly in the bed: the box spring, mattress, frame and headboard. They also hide in nightstands, chairs and behind wall art.^6,11,5

What should I do if my hotel room has bed bugs?

Tell the front desk, take photos, and move to a room that isn't next to, above or below it, or leave. Bag your belongings.^3,11,7

Can you get bed bugs on a plane?

Yes. A bed bug expert says reports on planes aren't uncommon, though there's no data on how often it happens. Bugs have been found in airline seats. Check the seat seams and keep bags closed.^23,14

Does luggage spray keep bed bugs away?

No. Experts advise against spraying luggage, and most bed bugs resist the insecticides in these sprays.^7,8,16

Is there such a thing as bed bug proof luggage?

No luggage keeps bed bugs out completely. Portable heaters can kill bugs that get in if the center of the load gets hot enough. Heated suitcases were sold for this, but they appear to be discontinued, and we found no independent test of them.^8,12,19,17

How long should I put clothes in the dryer after a trip?

At least 30 minutes on high heat.^1,9

What temperature kills bed bugs in luggage?

About 122°F kills them quickly. At 120°F, keep the center of the load that hot for at least an hour.^12,13,20

Can I have bed bugs if I wasn't bitten?

Yes. Bites can take days to show up, and many people don't react at all.^10,11

Does travel insurance cover bed bugs?

It depends on your policy. Read the wording and keep photos and receipts.^27,28

Free Bed Bug Travel Guides

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References

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Bed Bugs: Tips for Travel. U.S. EPA, updated October 8, 2026. www.epa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. How to Find Bed Bugs. U.S. EPA, updated September 8, 2026. www.epa.gov
National Pest Management Association. Tips for Travelers (bed bug prevention). NPMA PestWorld, n.d. (© 2026). www.pestworld.org
Green J. Bed Bugs: Souvenirs to Avoid When Traveling. University of Nebraska–Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County, © 2018–2019. lancaster.unl.edu
Shindelar A, Kells S. Inspecting Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs. University of Minnesota "Let's Beat the Bug!" campaign (EPA/MDA funded), 2011, updated November 16, 2012 (UNT Web Archive copy, Dec 27, 2016). webarchive.library.unt.edu
The Steritech Group (vice president of technical services). Bed bugs in hotel rooms: where activity is found (analysis of 9,000+ services in 2014). Pest Control Technology, June 2015. pctonline.com
Waldvogel M, Alder P. Tips for Preventing the Spread of Bed Bugs, Insect Note ENT/rsc-39. NC State Extension, n.d. schoolipm.ncsu.edu
Wang C, Cooper R. Cost-Effective and Money-Wasting Bed Bug Control Methods, FS1251. Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension, March 2019. njaes.rutgers.edu
Merchant M. Bed bugs and laundry (on Naylor RA, Boase CJ, J. Econ. Entomol. 103(1), 2010). Pest Control Technology, March 2012. pctonline.com
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Bed Bugs. CDC, April 26, 2024. www.cdc.gov
Potter MF. Bed Bugs, ENTFACT-636. University of Kentucky Entomology, rev. March 2026. entomology.mgcafe.uky.edu
Rutgers University Department of Entomology. Research update: portable heat chambers (ThermalStrike Expedition test). Pest Control Technology, March 2016. www.pctonline.com
Kells SA, Goblirsch MJ. Temperature and time requirements for controlling bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) under commercial heat treatment conditions. Insects 2(3):412–422, 2011. www.mdpi.com
Newcastle Herald (ACM). Bedbug outbreak on flight to Perth forces Qantas to ground plane. October 13, 2026. www.newcastleherald.com.au
Kim DY, Billen J, Doggett SL, Lee CY. Differences in climbing ability of Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus. Journal of Economic Entomology 110(3), 2017 (CORE PDF). core.ac.uk
Jones SC, Bryant JL, Harrison SA. Behavioral responses of the bed bug to permethrin-impregnated ActiveGuard fabric. Insects 4(2):230–240, 2013. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Schlichter S. This suitcase beats bed bugs (ThermalStrike heated luggage review). SmarterTravel, June 19, 2017. www.smartertravel.com
Touch of Modern. ThermalStrike Heated Luggage (sale listing). Touch of Modern, n.d. (accessed October 30, 2026). www.touchofmodern.com
ThermalStrike. Homepage (ThermalStrike Ranger). ThermalStrike, accessed October 30, 2026. thermalstrike.com
ZappBug. ZappBug Heater user manual (2020). Hosted by DoMyOwn, 2020. www.domyown.com
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Protecting Your Home from Bed Bugs. U.S. EPA, published 2014, updated July 6, 2026. www.epa.gov
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. PAB Two Recalls Bed Bug Heat Treatment Systems (ThermalStrike Expedition), recall 15-702. CPSC, October 8, 2014. www.cpsc.gov
Pest Control Technology. Up in the air (bed bugs on aircraft; excerpt from Doggett SL, Miller DM, Lee CY, eds., Advances in the Biology and Management of Modern Bed Bugs). PCT, June 2020. www.pctonline.com
National Pest Management Association. Bed Bug Facts & Statistics (2018 Bugs Without Borders; 2011 Bed Bugs in America). NPMA PestWorld, n.d. pestworld.org
Olson JF, Eaton M, Kells SA, Morin V, Wang C. Cold tolerance of bed bugs and practical recommendations for control. Journal of Economic Entomology 106(6):2433–2441, 2013 (Rutgers archive PDF). archive.sebs.rutgers.edu
Hahn J, Kells S. Bed bugs. University of Minnesota Extension, reviewed 2023. extension.umn.edu
Generali Global Assistance. FAQ: Can travel insurance help if I encounter bedbugs on my trip? Generali Travel Insurance, n.d. www.generalitravelinsurance.com
Fast Cover. Does travel insurance cover alternative accommodation if I'm affected by bed bugs or other insect infestations? Fast Cover (Australia), n.d. fastcover.com.au
Travel Insured International. Protecting against bed bugs with Cancel for Any Reason. February 23, 2024. www.travelinsured.com
Wang C, Tsai W-T, Cooper R, White J. Effectiveness of bed bug monitors for detecting and trapping bed bugs in apartments. Journal of Economic Entomology 104(1):274–278, 2011 (Rutgers archive PDF). archive.sebs.rutgers.edu

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How to Check a Hotel Room for Bed Bugs (and Keep Them Out of Your Luggage)