Once a pest of the past, bed bugs are back with a vengeance. After a long hiatus, these unwelcome six-legged bugs are crawling into bed with us uninvited and staying well past their welcome. When it seems like every time you turn on the news there are reports of bed bugs wreaking havoc, including at your favorite five star travel destinations, how can you put your mind at ease when it comes time to book your next vacation?
Bed bugs aren’t picky – they are as likely to infest an old curbside mattress as they are a luxury hotel. Any place that sees a high volume of people, bedding, and luggage is a place that will likely also see a high volume of bed bugs.
This tendency in particular of bed bugs can be a high cause of stress when planning a getaway. Since we can’t avoid our every want and need to travel, there is a tool that can help you plan your vacation around reported bed bug sightings.
The Bed Bug Registry is a free, online public database of user-submitted bed bug reports from across the United States and Canada. Founded in 2006, the site has collected about 20,000 reports covering 12,000 locations. It’s interactive map feature makes it easy to investigate instances of bed bugs in hotels and apartments with just the click of a mouse.
Based on user reports and without any affiliations, the website is an unbiased source of bed bug information to help those looking to vacation or relocate to a new city.
Bed bugs are a certainly a nuisance, but their existence is no reason to keep yourself hidden away in your home just to avoid them. Even sites that are reported to have had bed bugs at one time according to The Bed Bug Registry may not have an ongoing problem. As long as the previous infestation was handled properly by a trained professional and you observe best practices to help you avoid picking up bed bugs, you should be safe traveling anywhere you wish to go.