Avoiding bed bugs in your Airbnb unit:

Bed bugs. The word that makes every Airbnb host’s skin crawl. These pesky little vermin cling to travellers and can cause a lot of problems for Airbnb hosts from refunding unhappy customers to bad reviews or even future booking cancelations and having to decontaminate the area. It is for these reasons that it’s best to try and avoid getting bed bugs in the first place. So here are 6 ways to try and avoid these stowaway bugs.

Use a hamper with a lid and stash it in the bathroom

Numerous studies have concluded that the one thing bed bugs are attracted to most is dirty laundry. Although you can’t avoid those dirty clothes, what you can do is use a hamper with a lid and place it in the bathroom, or a convenient area away from beds. In this way, if travellers have brought bed bugs with them, then the risk of contamination is lessened.

Invest in a proper mattress

It's in the name- bed bugs. So avoid them calling your bed home, with the right mattress. The best kind of mattresses to avoid bed bugs are ones that have bite-proof fabric, Polyurethane-lined covers, and tight zipper teeth. These features of the mattress will protect against bed bug stains and make it more difficult for bed bugs to get into the mattress in the first place.

Use a metal bedframe/luggage rack

Metal is the best material when considering bed frames and luggage racks because it won't have any of the cracks and crevices that bed bugs love to hide within. Also, bed bugs hate climbing on metal surfaces, and a luggage rack can stop travellers putting their suitcases, which could be infested with bedbugs, on the bed.

Use a foam sealant to cover cracks 

If your guest does accidentally bringbed bugs with them then it is important that these bugs don’t have anywhere tohide. To stop these bed bugs playing hide-and-seek, make sure to use a foamsealant to cover any cracks in your walls or bedframe (if it’s wooden.)

Make/buy bed bug traps

It's probably not the best look for your business to install bed bug traps when guests are over but it could be good to install them between guests, or if you have a feeling you could have an infestation. There is an endless supply of bed bug traps including sugar traps, glue traps, climb up interceptors, and snares. To make your own bed bug trap mix 2 cups of granulated sugar in a bottle with 2 liters of warm, filtered water, and mix it with a little bit of yeast. You can then place the trap somewhere close by the bed to catch them. This trap works as the yeast mimics the carbon dioxide that humans produce, which the bed bugs are attracted to. However, if you don’t find any bed bugs in the morning, it doesn’t necessarily mean you don't have bed bugs, it just means that they may not be hungry. Because of this, you may want to put this trap out a few days in a row.

Keep pesticide handy

If your guests havecomplained about a few bites, or you have a suspicion that your Airbnb propertymay have bed bugs, then if you spray pesticide you may be able to kill thembefore they continue to spread. Just remember to keep a close eye on this andmake sure they have all been terminated.

In conclusion, it can be very difficult to remove bed bugs once found in your Airbnb property, so it is important that you take all necessary precautions to make sure they don’t spread in the first place. For more information on bed bugs stay tuned for Friday’s article, which will follow from this one. This article will explain what bed bugs are, how you can tell if your Airbnb property is infested, and what to do when you have a bed bug infestation.

Click here to find out what to do if you find bed bugs in your property.

Written by LaurenMiddleton