Keeping bedbugs at bay

Bedbugs might not be in your house, but they are increasingly showing up in hotel rooms. Here are some tips to avoid them -- or minimize the damage.

Check sites such as www.TripAdvisor.com or www.bedbugregistry.com. Keep in mind that one comment does not mean the hotel is rife with bugs, but multiple postings could indicate a problem.

Before unpacking at a hotel, look for signs of bedbugs behind pictures, under bed covers and on baseboards. One telltale sign is their waste, which looks like coffee grounds. Also check for eggs, which are white with a red spot. If you find these signs, report the infestation and ask for another room.

Use solid-sided luggage, not cloth. Keep your luggage on the racks, not on the floor or under the bed. Don't unpack your clothes into the hotel drawers.

Before hauling luggage into the house, remove clothing and anything else that could harbor a bedbug and launder it in hot water or have it professionally cleaned. Store your luggage in the garage, not in your bedroom closet.

After unpacking, vacuum to remove bedbugs that might have attached to your shoes or other items, and freeze the vacuum bag before throwing it in the garbage.

The small, red, itchy bites often appear in a line on the skin, usually on the face, hands, arms or legs.

If you do have an infestation, immediately contact a pest-control operator. Don't move to a new bed or someone else's house -- you'll only spread the problem there.

Pest control usually takes two to three applications to eradicate the bedbugs.