SPONSORED — Bed bugs can infiltrate even the tidiest of houses, and you might not even know it until you start waking up with itchy red spots on your skin. Every time you go traveling, you run the risk of bringing these invisible hitchhikers home with you. That doesn’t mean you have to cancel your summer vacation plans, but you will want to take steps to protect your home against bed bugs.

Inspect hotel rooms before settling in

If you do this, you have a good chance of catching the buggers before they hop a ride home with you.

“I travel a lot for my job and find bed bugs in one out of twenty of the hotel rooms I stay in,” said Randy Schilling, regional sales manager of Eden Pest Control. “When you check into a room, search the four corners of the mattress, looking for live bugs and staining on the mattress and sheets.”

It’s also a good idea to inspect the box spring and bedside furniture before bringing any luggage into the room. Adult bed bugs are about a quarter-inch long and rusty red in color and will sometimes leave small blood spots in seams and crevices. If you find any evidence of bed bugs, alert the front desk immediately and ask to have a new room assigned to you.

Keep luggage off hotel beds and floors

While staying in hotels, don’t lay your luggage on the beds or floors. Use the provided closets and luggage racks and keep suitcases zipped closed when not in use (keeping in mind, however, that young bed bugs can easily pass through luggage stitching and closed zippers).

Store clothing in sealed bags when returning home

When it’s time to head home, seal all clothes, whether clean or dirty, in bags and consider getting a luggage bag for your suitcase as well (so nothing infests your car on the way). Have a family member inspect the clothes you’re wearing for signs of bugs.

Don’t rely only on the appearance of bites to diagnose a presence of bed bugs. According to the Washington State Department of Health, it can take up to 14 days for bites and itchiness to develop.

Wash and dry clothes with high heat when you get home

Immediately upon your return home, wash and dry all dirty laundry on high heat. Clean laundry can simply be placed in the dryer for 20 to 30 minutes on high heat.

Clean your luggage before storing it

Don’t bring luggage into your home until you’ve thoroughly inspected, vacuumed and, preferably, steam-cleaned it. In the meantime, keep it isolated in a garage or other outdoor area and never store it in or near bedrooms.

Don’t try to self-treat for bed bugs

If bed bugs are introduced to your home, don’t try to tackle them on your own. They don’t react to bug bombs and aren’t repelled by mosquito repellant, but these measures might harm you or your family.

In an interview with The Daily News Online, Joanne Prado, with the state Health Department, said that the inappropriate use of pesticides in battling bed bugs has resulted in several people being hospitalized in the state of Washington.

She also warned, “If you used a high-percentage DEET product on little kids’ skin, (then) put them under the covers for eight hours, there’s increased dermal absorption. They can get very sick.”

If you suspect that you have an infestation of bed bugs in your home, it’s important to contact a well-reputed pest control company immediately. These professionals will have proven methods of finding and controlling bed bugs quickly and efficiently.