Experts have warned that more bed bugs than ever before are circulating through travel. The current global outbreak reached a crescendo this week, grounding a Qantas plane flying from Rome to Perth, forcing a US school closure and halting a UK rail service when bed bugs were spotted in classrooms and on the train.
“We are at peak bed bug,” Martim Gois, the co-founder of Valpas, a company which produces technology to trap and track bed bugs in hotel rooms, told The Times this week. “Bedbugs correlate with traveller volume. The more arrivals and departures there are, the higher the surge of bedbugs,” said Gois.
With bed bug outbreaks left, right and center, you might be wondering what you can do to protect your home from the critters and derail them from finding their way to your mattress. We spoke to a bed bug prevention and control specialist to find out, plus identify which home and behavior type is most at risk of succumbing to an infestation.
Who is most likely to get bed bugs?
Anyone can fall foul of a bed bug outbreak. However, there are certain habits and circumstances that can increase our risk. They are:
- 1. Frequent travel: Valpas estimates that 1 in 49 hotel rooms has bed bugs.
- 2. Living in a major city: According to current estimates, bed bug populations are swelling in population by 20%-25% each year in major cities like London, Paris and Amsterdam, due to insecticide tolerance.
- 3. Buying secondhand furniture: Particularly soft furnishings like sofas and mattresses, where bed bugs can burrow deep inside
- 4. Living in high turnover housing: Such as college dorms, HMOs and shared rentals in densely populated cities, where people (and, potentially, bed bugs) can frequently come and go.
“Bed bugs are strictly indoor pests, meaning they are entirely unaffected by outdoor weather conditions,” Lyuben Kiryakov, Director of pest control agency Bed Bug Specialist, tells Tom's Guide.
“However, human behaviour changes significantly with the seasons. During the summer months, people travel far more frequently. Staying in infested hotels, hostels, or short term rentals is one of the primary ways people pick up an infestation.
“Bed bugs are purely opportunistic," Kiryakov continues. "Given the first chance, they will crawl directly into luggage, clothing, and personal belongings to be carried home."
Which type of home is most at risk?
According to Kiryakov, there is one particular home type that is most at risk from the current outbreak: “Blocks of flats [apartments] are significantly more vulnerable to bed bugs than single family houses, primarily due to the widespread use of ineffective DIY treatments.”
“Insecticide sprays, powders, and smoke bombs often agitate bed bugs rather than killing them, causing the infestation to scatter through wall voids, electrical sockets, and structural gaps into adjacent flats.
"Residents also tend to leave infested furniture directly outside their building or in communal areas, from where they can easily hitch a ride back inside on other residents and spread the infestation further," says Kiryakov.
How to protect your mattress and bedding
Bed bugs are opportunistic critters that have one goal in mind: to inhabit your mattress. Here, they can hide out of sight while staying close to their food source —you.
At night they'll crawl out and bite you while you're sleeping. Here's how to protect your mattress and bedding from bed bugs:
1. Check for bed bugs now
"Bed bugs reproduce quickly, and an isolated issue can turn into a full scale home infestation," says Kiryakov.
So if you think that you're at risk of bed bugs, don't wait to get bitten before taking action. Inspect your mattress now for signs of bed bugs, paying close attention to any creases or seams, where bed bugs like to hide.
Live insects are reddish brown in color, oval shaped, and measure approximately 5-7mm. Additionally, look out for dark specs (bed bug poop), as well as live eggs. These look like grains of rice.
2. Thoroughly vacuum your mattress
Even if you haven't found signs of bed bugs, giving your mattress a thorough clean with a vacuum is highly recommended.
"Use a high powered hoover to meticulously capture bed bugs and eggs along mattress seams, bed frames, and skirting boards, immediately sealing and throwing away the hoover bag or emptying the canister," says Kiryakov, who notes that bed bugs are becoming resistant to insecticides.
3. Buy a mattress encasement
If you don't opt for full coverage of your mattress during a bed bug outbreak, even the best mattress protectors can leave you vulnerable to infestation.
For proper protection, we recommend buying a fully zippered mattress encasement. If there are bed bugs in your mattress, covering them with a full encasement means they will be starved of their food source (your blood) and die off.
A mattress encasement also provides a barrier to bed bugs taking up residence in your mattress in the first place. So if there's an outbreak in your area, this is your first step to keep your bed safe.
4. Remove outside clothes before entering your bedroom
The urge to come in after a busy day and collapse straight onto your bed might be strong — but don't.
Wearing your outdoor clothes – the ones that have been pressed up against public spaces, such as buses and trains and communal seating – could give bed bugs a one way ticket to their forever home (your mattress).
Instead, change out of your outdoor clothes in a separate room. If you think there's a high chance you came into contact with bed bugs, wash your clothes at a minimum temperature of 60°C (140°F) to kill bed bugs and their eggs.
5. Leave your luggage in the bathtub after travelling
"Prevention is better than cure," says Kiryakov. "When traveling, thoroughly inspect hotel rooms, hostels, or short term rentals before unpacking, specifically checking the mattress, bed frame, headboard, and any soft seating areas."
When you get home, refrain from placing your suitcase directly on your bed to unpack. Instead, put it in your bathtub, where bed bugs can't escape — the sides are too slippery for them. Remove your clothes from there and place them on a hot wash.
6. Hot wash sheets and bedding
Heat and active removal are your best shot at removing bed bugs and their eggs before an active outbreak takes hold in your mattress and bedding.
If you feel at risk of having brought bed bugs home with you, give your bed sheets a hot wash today.
To kill bed bug and their eggs, you need to launder your sheets at 60°C (140°F). Then throw them in the tumble dryer for good measure as "direct dry heat kills bed bugs and their eggs on contact," says Kiryakov.
Pay attention to the care label, as some delicate fabrics won't stand up to very hot washing and machine drying.
What to avoid
❌ Don't use DIY foggers, sprays or powders: "Instead of eliminating the infestation, DIY insecticides agitate the bed bugs and cause them to scatter deeper into wall voids, electrical sockets, and adjacent rooms," says Kiryakov.
❌ Don't immediately ditch your mattress: The temptation to toss every soft furnishing you own will be strong, but moving your furniture around risks spreading the infestation. Instead, a professional can likely treat and save your mattress. However if your bed is over eight years old or shows signs of sagging and deep staining, then a new mattress could be in order. Our best mattress guide contains our latest lab-tested recommendations.