Tips for travelers to avoid bedbugs

Corporate travelers can take steps to avoid bringing bedbugs home with them.

In hotel rooms, bedbugs can hide in drapery, mattresses, headboards and at the base of the bed, said Neal Nakashima, corporate director of risk management and insurance for hospitality company Outrigger Enterprises Inc. in Honolulu.

Because the bugs can crawl into luggage or hide around the wheels, travelers should keep their luggage off the floor and the bed, he said.

Guests also can look for small, rust-colored stains on sheets, pillowcases at mattresses, as well as checking around headboards and drapery for bugs.

“If you see a bug or droppings notify the hotel,” Mr. Nakashima said, adding that the hotel will then take the proper steps to secure the room.