The Gross Reason You Should Avoid Using The Luggage Rack In Your Hotel Room
When you first enter your hotel room, the urge to dive headfirst into the plush mattress is strong. It's common to discard your luggage in the rack and sink into the welcoming embrace of high-thread-count sheets. Sadly, this isn't something you ought to be doing, at least according to experts — not unless you want bed bugs to cling to you and your belongings.
Dr. Brittany Campbell, a staff entomologist for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), warned travelers against putting their bags and luggage in beds and racks since they can potentially be hotspots for pesky bed bugs. "Avoid using racks with hollow legs, since bed bugs can hide within the legs," she told Apartment Therapy. "For added protection, you can place your suitcases in plastic trash bags during the duration of the trip. Tie the plastic bag when luggage is not in use to prevent bed bug entry."
While luggage racks are mostly made out of metal, some have fabric that could serve as nests for the nasty critters, per Jim Dill, a pest management specialist and director of the diagnostic and research laboratory at the University of Maine. "The webbing is so nice and snug; the bed bugs really like to get underneath," he explained in a video, adding that the rack's proximity to the bed is a contributing factor, too. "In most cases, they're within 20 feet of their hosts," he said. Instead, you'll want to store your luggage in the bathroom, where bed bugs rarely venture.
Stash your luggage in the bathtub instead
Stowing your stuff in the room where you, err, handle your personal business may not be appealing, but to minimize the chances of bed bugs sneaking their way into your bags, the bathroom is your best bet. Even better, make the bathtub their temporary home base since bed bugs are incapable of scaling smooth surfaces.
"A bathroom is the least likely place that bed bugs will be found in a hotel room due to the short amount of time that humans (the bed bugs' source of food) spend in the bathroom relative to the rest of the room," Katelyn Kesheimer, an entomologist with Auburn University, explained to Reader's Digest. "Bed bugs also prefer more natural surfaces, and tubs and tiles do not provide this. Plus, towels and bathmats are removed and cleaned between guests, so any potential hiding places are constantly in flux."
But if you insist on keeping your stuff within reach, inspect every nook and cranny of the room to ensure no bed bugs are hiding. Ideally, with a flashlight in tow, check every piece of furniture. Fortunately, these critters aren't too hard to spot; they're identifiable by their brown or red bodies, which experts say are reminiscent of an apple seed. And if unable to find them, you don't have to lose sleep over it. "If you don't see anything, nothing's there," Dini Miller, a professor of entomology at Virginia Tech, assured in an interview with The New York Times.