A hotel worker has explained why you should turn off the lights as soon as you enter hotel rooms - to help you spot whether your it is infested with a certain creepy crawly.
Taking to social media to share her advice, hotel employee Halee said this tip can help guests locate bedbugs. The small insects can leave sleepers covered in itchy bites, which will no doubt put a damper on your trip.
Known as @haleewithaflair on TikTok, she shared a video after spotting a clip of a couple who woke up covered in scars after being bitten by the critters in their hotel bed, the Irish Mirror reports.
Halee explained: "This is how I check my room before I unpack and get settled into the room. The first thing you're going to want to do is make sure your room is dark.
"Turn off lights, close any shades and use the flashlight on your phone. While everything is off, you're going to come up here under the covers. This one does have a mattress pad, but you're going to check under all the creases."
Bed bugs are nocturnal, so turning off the lights may make them more likely to come out to search for prey.
The TikToker demonstrated where holidaymakers should examine their hotel bed. She said: "They usually like to hang out in the corners and the creases."
She lifted the mattress to show how to check under the mattress and under the mattress pad. The hotel worker warned: "Even if you don't see bugs, make sure you check for spots, like blood spots, because that's not a good sign either."
Halee recommended people check for bed bugs before they unpack as the pests can slip into luggage. Additionally, she said travellers should never put their luggage on the bed, but rather leave it on a luggage rack or by the door of the room.
Some experts say you wash all their holiday clothes as soon as they get home to kill any stowaways. The hotel worker also advised checking ironing boards and curtains for the bugs.
Bedbug bites can be red and itchy and are often in a line or a cluster. Some people may have an allergic reaction to the bites.
The bugs can be dark yellow, red or brown and generally only about 5mm long, while eggs are usually white in colour. If tourists can't see the bugs, they can look for red or rusty stains on the mattress, which could be a squashed bug.
Dark spots could be bedbug excrement and may bleed onto the fabric like a marker pen would. Bed bugs tend to hide in the seams of furniture including on any chairs and sofas that may be in the room.
The bugs can survive at low temperatures, but will die when their body reaches 45 degrees.
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