Health Canada warns travellers to check for bed bugs
Posted March 13, 2016 9:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A warning for Spring Break travellers: Don’t bring bed bugs back into the country! Vacationers are being told to inspect their hotel room for signs of the pest.
Pat Currie with Health Canada says the insects are good hitchhikers, so it is also important to take a close look at your luggage and its contents when you get home.
“Even if you haven’t found any, because sometimes it takes a while before bites actually show up…..put [your luggage] on a hard surface and unpack all your contents. Put them in the washing machine in hot water and then in a hot dryer.
Bed bugs can hide under wallpaper, behind picture frames, electrical outlets and mattress pads. “So actually lift up the corner of the mattress, examine all the creases and ridges, behind the headboard and the walls behind the bed. You want to check the furniture and the electrical outlets.”
Bites are usually harmless, but they can cause skin reactions and in rare cases, severe allergic reactions.
