At home:

Open suitcase and pack items sealed in either a BugZip bag or Ziplock bags. Once sealed they will remain bedbug free until you unseal so no need to worry about non clothing items getting infected during the journey.

Seal suitcase in a few layers of pallet wrap or saran wrap for the journey, some airports offer this service which we would advice with fabric or cloth sided bags and backpacks.

While travelling:

Check areas around you as much as possible but avoid looking suspicious at the airport by checking under everything and check the seat before you sit down on the plane.  Simple furniture is always preferable to upholstered and if it does not look like it has been cleaned thoroughly don’t take the risk.

Upon arrival at destination:

Outside of home remove the protective layers of wrap and place in bin / recycling this has ensured your bags always remain safe and therefore the contents are also safe.

Place bag inside of the property.

If you feel you may have been exposed or want to be 100% certain step into pre arranged smooth sided plastic box container placed just inside the front door.

Remove outer layer of clothes and place in dissolvable laundry bag and wash at 60 degree centigrade or equivalent or PackTite or place in hot dryer for extended time. Personal items such as phones, wallets and cards are highly unlikely to become infected if you check locations.

Move your bags to the bath and leave there until you are happy the sleeping and sitting area has been inspected and is clear, the bath effectively isolates the bags from any contamination while you check the room.  Finding bedbug monitors does not mean the location has an issue but that they are sensible enough to be proactive and take guest comfort seriously as an organisation.

To help this see the linked video which is of me inspecting a hotel room in Chicago when I was over in the US for the bedbug summit 2010:

Once you are happy the location is clear then unpack your bags.

Once you are unpacked take the BugZip bag and place your luggage in that while it is in the property and you know it will be safe till you do the return trip which is just a repeat of the process in the opposite direction.

The following was written as a quick overview of how to ensure that you can travel from one location to another without the risk of taking bedbugs with you.  It does not include any preventative sprays because they simply don’t work, only use insecticide as and when it is needed.