It’s PCS season. It’s vacation season. You may be laying your head down on a lot of pillows that are not yours.

Which means you may encounter some unwanted travel companions, such as bedbugs.

The tiny, flat, sometimes nearly invisible pests can hide anywhere: hotel rooms, theaters, libraries, nearly all public places.

People are their main source of food. They are active only at night and leave bite marks much like a mosquito or flea. While bedbugs do not spread disease, they can very difficult to get rid of and that process often causes the most distress.

If you can’t see them, how can you avoid them?

You can start at The Bedbug Registry, bedbugregistry.com

The online clearing house of all things bedbug was started by a computer programmer who got bit, and had enough. She created the site so that travelers could post their encounters and where they happened.

Users searching for bedbug warnings can enter a hotel name or street address to see if there are any reports. Travelers who come across the nasty little boogers can hop on the site and write an alert.

The registry creator tells visitors that while most of the entries are posted by honest travelers, it is impossible for her to travel to each location and validate the existence of bedbugs. So, take the report with a grain of salt. Any site that does not have another report made within two years is removed.

Experts cite the registry as the place to begin when you are booking your vacation. Check for bedbug reports and the frequency of reports at one location. One sighting? They may or may not be hiding in that hotel. Ten sightings, you might want to pick a new location.

The registry also offers detailed instructions on how to check for bedbugs when you arrive at your destination, what to do if you think you’ve found them and most importantly, how to keep them from coming home with you.

Happy travels, try to sleep soundly.

https://membracid.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/how-to-inspect-your-hotel-room-for-bed-bugs/