Sleep tight – don’t let the bed bugs bite!
An entomologist named Cassie Krejci, Ph.D., has taken to TikTok in a recently resurfaced video to share some expert tips about how to inspect your hotel room for bed bugs.
Krejci, who goes by “Cassie The Bug Doc” on the social media platform, works to study insects and their relationship to other species and the environment.
The expert began the video by putting her suitcases in the bathroom, where there was hardwood floor.
“So, the first thing that I do is I always put my luggage in the bathroom,” she explained in the clip which has already racked up over 8,000 views.
“This hotel room doesn’t have any carpet, but if they did have carpet, you’d want to put your luggage on a hardwood surface or a tile surface so that you didn’t pick up any bed bugs before you inspected the room,” she alleged.
According to Krejci, bed bugs are “mostly nocturnal feeders,” which means that they really like to feast on others at night.
These bugs are typically flat and small, and have a reddish-brown color, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The insects “feed solely on the blood of people and animals while they sleep,” the organization explained, like Krejci said.
Krejci described that you should start your bedbug examination in the hotel bed, as that’s the place you’re spending the “majority” of your time in at night – hence more opportunity for potential bed bugs.
The first thing that she does in the room is pull back the sheets on the bed to make sure that they’re all clean.
“But then, you take the bottom sheet, and lift it up as well,” she explained. “Make sure that you don’t see any spots. You’re not just looking for bed bugs, you also don’t want to see any brown spots.”
“Those brown spots are what we called fecal spots, because when bed bugs take a blood meal, they digest blood and leave behind brown fecal spots resembling that of blood,” Krejci claimed. “As long as you don’t see any brown spots, you’re good.”
The entomologist explained that if you wanted to take things “a step further,” you could see if the mattress has an “encasement” on it, which is a protective sheet to prevent bed bugs from getting deep into the mattress, and unzip that to take a closer look.
She then revealed another helpful bed bug inspection tip, which is to open up the drawer that’s typically in between hotel beds to check for any blood spots or creepy crawlies inside.
Krejci also advised to check furniture cushions.
“If you have any chairs in your hotel room, this is a good idea to go ahead and lift up the bottom cushion and do the same inspection on that cushion that you did on your mattress.”
For the last tip, she recommended putting luggage on an elevated surface so that it’s not on the ground and won’t have the potential to pick up any bed bugs or other insects.
Typically, bed bug bites look like “inflamed spots” with a spot that’s a bit darker in the middle, according to The Mayo Clinic.
Sometimes, the appear in a cluster or a “rough line.”
The Post reached out to Krejci for further comment.
However, if you do end up getting bit by these creatures at some point or another, it’s typically not something poses a serious risk to your health, according to The Cleveland Clinic.
They advise to rinse your bites “gently with soap and water,” and apply an anti-itch cream to the area.
