How to Clear Bedbugs From Your Luggage
If you know or suspect that you’ve stayed somewhere with a bedbug infestation, it’s important to ensure your luggage is clear of bedbugs or bedbug eggs before you bring it into your home.
One of the easiest ways to fall victim to a bedbug infestation is to unknowingly bring them home in your suitcases or bags.
When you stay in hotels, don’t put your suitcases on the bed, under the bed, or beside the bed. If possible, shut away your luggage in a wardrobe or, at the very least, in an area as far from the bed as possible.
Use a magnifying glass to check luggage for bedbugs
Before you take your luggage into your home then check it carefully (particularly in the seams), with an eye glass or magnifying glass if necessary, for any signs of bedbugs or bedbug nymphs or eggs.
bedbugs are flat, oval-shaped and reddish-brown in colour. Their moults are the same shape but translucent and bedbug nymphs are just like the adults but a lighter colour and, of course, smaller. The eggs look like tiny, elongated oval-shaped grains of rice.
Thoroughly scrub your bag or case, inside and out, with a stiff wire brush. Give it a good spray with a specialist bedbug insecticide (carefully following all of the manufacturer’s instructions before doing so).
Ensure the contents of your luggage is also free of signs of bedbugs. Wash it immediately in as hot as temperature as possible.
One handy way of ensuring that your luggage and any items inside is bedbug-free is to leave it in the trunk (boot) of your car for several hours, preferably a whole day, in the full heat of the sun. However, this only really works in the summer in temperate climates.
