A hotel stay should end with good memories, not an infestation at home. Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers, and hotels, motels and short-term rentals are one of the most common places travellers from Regina and Saskatoon pick them up. The good news is that a careful five-minute check when you arrive, and a careful routine when you get home, greatly reduces your risk.
This guide is for Saskatchewan travellers — for a hockey tournament in Saskatoon, a work trip to Regina, or a family visit. The same steps work in every hotel and motel.
What Bed Bugs Look Like
Adult bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are about the size of an apple seed — 5 to 7 millimetres long. They are oval, flat and reddish-brown, with a banded abdomen, six legs and two short antennae. After feeding they swell and look darker red. Young bed bugs are smaller and paler, almost translucent, which makes them harder to see.
Bed bugs do not fly or jump. They crawl, hide close to where people sleep, and come out at night to feed. During the day they tuck into seams, cracks and folds only a credit card thick. That is why you will rarely see one walking across a clean sheet in daylight — you need to look in their hiding places.
Before You Unpack: Keep Luggage Out of the Bed Zone
When you first enter the room, resist putting your suitcase on the bed or the floor next to it. Place luggage in the bathtub or on a hard luggage rack away from the bed while you inspect. The bathtub is useful because bed bugs struggle to climb its smooth sides and are easier to spot against white porcelain.
If there is a problem, ask for a different room — ideally not next door or above or below the first one.
How to Check Your Hotel Room in Five Minutes
Use your phone flashlight and work in a set order.
1. Check the mattress seams. Pull back the sheets and mattress protector at the head of the bed. Look closely at the piping and seams, especially the corners. Look for live bugs, pale shed skins, tiny white eggs, and clusters of small black dots — bed bug droppings — that look like marker dots.
2. Check the headboard and bed frame. Bed bugs love the head end. Inspect behind the headboard if you can, along joints, screw holes and cracks in the frame, and inside the box spring edges. Lift and look underneath where fabric meets wood.
3. Check nearby furniture. Look at the seams of upholstered chairs, the nightstand drawer joints, and behind picture frames near the bed. They usually stay within a few metres of the sleeper, so focus close to the bed first.
4. Check for other signs. Small rusty or reddish stains on sheets, a sweet musty smell in a heavily infested room, and shed skins in seams can all be clues. One sign alone is not proof, and bites alone are not proof either — people react very differently to bites. Live bugs, skins or droppings in the seams are the strongest evidence.
If you find signs, take clear photos, do not move your luggage into the sleeping area, and tell the front desk calmly. Ask to be moved to a room that is not adjacent. Re-check the new room the same way before unpacking.
While You Stay: Simple Habits That Help
Keep your suitcase closed when you are not using it, and keep it on the rack or in the bathroom rather than on the bed or upholstered furniture. Keep worn clothes in a sealed plastic bag inside your case, separate from clean clothes. Do not leave clothes draped over chairs or on the floor overnight.
Careful luggage habits and the arrival check do far more than sprays, which can simply move bugs deeper into hiding.
When You Get Home to Regina or Saskatoon
This is the step that matters most — and the one most people skip when they are tired from travelling.
Unpack outside the bedroom if you can, ideally in a garage, laundry room or bathtub. Put washable clothes straight into a hot wash and then a hot dry cycle, following care labels — clean, dry heat in the dryer is what helps for items that can tolerate it. Keep travel clothes separate from bedroom laundry baskets until they are washed.
Inspect your suitcase inside and out, especially seams, pockets and wheels, with a flashlight. Vacuum seams and pockets, then empty the vacuum outdoors into a bag and seal it. Store luggage in a garage, basement storage area or large sealed bag — not under the bed or in a bedroom closet.
For items that cannot be washed, isolate them in a sealed bag and get advice before bringing them into sleeping areas.
What to Do If You Think You Brought Bed Bugs Home
Do not panic, and do not fog the house. Foggers and heavy do-it-yourself spraying usually scatter bed bugs into walls and neighbouring rooms, making a professional job harder. Do not throw out your mattress right away either — that can spread bugs through hallways and does not remove the source colony hiding in the frame, baseboards or furniture.
Note where you are seeing signs — which room, which side of the bed, and when bites or bugs appeared. Save a clear photo or, if safe, a sample in a sealed jar for identification. Reduce clutter around the bed so an inspection can be thorough, but do not move bedding or furniture from an affected room to other rooms.
Professional bed bug treatment in Saskatchewan homes is chemical-only at Green Pest Control: a licensed technician inspects to find the source colony — the harbourage where bugs cluster, lay eggs and return after feeding — and applies targeted chemical treatment to those areas and the routes bugs travel. Treating only where you saw one bug misses the colony. Follow-up inspection confirms whether activity has stopped.
The sooner an inspection happens, the smaller the colony is likely to be.
A Quick Checklist to Save
On arrival: luggage in the tub, check mattress seams and corners, headboard, frame and nightstand. During your stay: case closed and off the bed, worn clothes bagged. At home: unpack outside the bedroom, wash and dry travel clothes promptly, inspect and vacuum luggage, store luggage away from bedrooms. If you find signs at home: do not fog, do not move items between rooms, take photos and call promptly.
Travelling does not have to mean bringing bed bugs home to Regina or Saskatoon. A few careful minutes at the hotel and a disciplined unpack at home protect your family and your sleep.
Worried you may have brought bed bugs home? Call Green Pest Control at (306) 716-6900 or visit greenpest.ca. We provide bed bug inspection and chemical treatment in Regina, Saskatoon and communities across Saskatchewan, focused on finding and treating the source colony.
Featured photo: Bed bug (Cimex lectularius) by Piotr Naskrecki, CDC, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
