Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers. Here is how to avoid picking them up while travelling and bringing an infestation back to your Melbourne home.
The World's Best Hitchhiker
Bed bugs do not fly or jump - they spread by hitching a ride on luggage, clothing, and second-hand furniture. With more Melburnians travelling and staying in hotels, short-stays, and hostels, travel is one of the most common ways an infestation starts at home. A little vigilance makes a big difference.
Check Your Hotel Room (The 5-Minute Inspection)
- Pull back the sheets and inspect the mattress seams, piping, and tag for tiny rust-coloured spots or live bugs
- Check the headboard, bed frame, and bedside tables
- Keep your luggage off the bed and floor - use the luggage rack, ideally away from the wall
- If you see signs, ask to change rooms (not next door - bed bugs spread between adjoining rooms)
When You Get Home
- Unpack away from the bedroom, ideally in the laundry or garage
- Wash travel clothes on a hot cycle and tumble dry on high - heat kills bed bugs and eggs
- Vacuum the suitcase and store it away from sleeping areas
Watch for the Signs at Home
Itchy bites in lines or clusters, rust-coloured spots on sheets, and dark specks along the mattress piping all point to bed bugs. They multiply fast and hide deep in cracks, so DIY rarely works.
Suspect you brought bed bugs home? Pest Eraze provides heat and chemical bed bug treatment across Melbourne. Call 0416 528 547 before they spread.
What If You Already Brought Bed Bugs Home?
If you spot rust-coloured spots on the mattress, itchy bites in a line, or an actual bug after returning from travel, resist the urge to reach for a supermarket spray first. Bed bugs hide deep in mattress seams, skirting boards, and even power points, and surface sprays only scatter them further into the home, making the problem harder to treat. A professional bed bug treatment combining heat and targeted chemical application reaches the hiding spots a can of spray cannot, and is the only approach with a realistic chance of full elimination in one to two visits.
Cost of Bed Bug Treatment in Melbourne
Bed bug treatment in Melbourne typically starts from around $349, varying with the number of rooms affected and whether heat treatment is required. Acting quickly after a suspected travel exposure - before bed bugs spread from one bedroom to the rest of the house - keeps the treatment area smaller and the cost lower.
