San Francisco Injury Lawyer Blog
It’s summer and many peopl
e are anticipating an upcoming vacation. As you think about everything you want to do on your trip, remember one thing you definitely do not want to do – encounter a hotel bed bug infestation or run into the pests elsewhere during your travels. Bed bugs in hotels, transit vehicles, and travel destinations can ruin your vacation by causing itchy red bites. Worse still, they may also try to hitch a ride with you and infest your home causing trouble long after your trip. Our Oakland bed bug lawyer wants to help you avoid these nasty pests and is also here to help if they turn your dream trip into a nightmare.
A Bit of Bed Bug History
Bed bugs are not a new problem, but they have made a resurgence in the past decade. In a 2010 article titled They’re Back: A Bed Bug History, a History.com reporter notes that bed bugs appear to have been plaguing people for millennia. There is evidence of bed bug problems on 17th Century ships bound for the Americas and archaeologists found fossilized bed bugs at a site in Egypt dating back some 3,550 years. Still, there has been a notable resurgence in the number of bed bug infestations over the past decade.
Avoiding Bed Bugs When Travelling
One source of the rising bed bug problem is the increase in travel. Hotels are not the only culprit, but there have been numerous cases of hotel infestations and travelers should be alert. The Environmental Protection Agency provides a number of tips for travelers to help prevent bed bug problems. These include:
- Inspect all rooms you’ll be staying in for bed bugs. Examine the mattress, headboard, and luggage racks in particular. A flashlight may help, but bed bugs are visible with the naked eye. Bed bugs love to hide in crevices, mattress seams, and in other upholstered furniture. See the EPA’s How to Find Bed Bugs page for more details on spotting bed bugs and other evidence of their presence.
- While at a hotel, place your luggage on a luggage racks while packing and unpacking rather than placing it on the bed or floor. Additionally, store your luggage away from the bed if possible.
- The EPA’s printable travel tips pocket card also recommends placing luggage in the bathtub and suggest not placing clothing in dressers.
- When you return home, place clothing directly into the washing machine. Inspect emptied luggage carefully for the presence of bugs. While a wash alone is usually not enough to kill bed bugs, drying laundry at a high temperature will kill the pests.
- Do not store suitcases in your bedroom and, in particular, never keep luggage under your bed. A basement or garage is a good choice for suitcase storage.
An Experienced Bed Bug Law Firm in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Oakland
Victims of bed bugs have filed successful lawsuits against a range of defendant including landlords and hotels. If you are a resident of or have travelled to the San Francisco Bay Area and you encountered a problem with bed bugs at a hotel, our bed bug law firm in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and Oakland may be able to help. We have experience dealing with bed bug cases and we can help victims obtain compensation for their suffering.
See Related Blog Posts:
Bed Bug Science and California Bed Bug Law
Back to the Basics – California Bed Bug Litigation
(Image by Gilles San Martin)