US Spring Break Travel Warning: Bed Bug Outbreaks in Four States, Orkin Expert on Checking Luggage

Bed bugs surged across multiple US states during the 2026 spring break travel season, and experts are urging travellers to inspect their clothing and luggage repeatedly. According to TheTravel, reporting on 24 March 2026, cases rose in Georgia, Florida, Texas and Tennessee, often tied to popular holiday destinations; pest control company Terminix also flagged increases in major travel hubs including Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. Benjamin Hottel, a Georgia-based entomologist with Orkin, warns that bed bugs are skilled at hitchhiking on travellers’ personal belongings — onto planes, into hotels, and eventually back home.

Why spring break is high-risk

• Bed bugs are expert hitchhikers: they hide in clothing, luggage and bag seams, moving from place to place with human traffic.
• Peak travel means peak spread: during spring break, hotels and hostels run at high occupancy with fast guest turnover, and bed bugs spread faster along with it.
• Budget accommodation carries higher risk: youth hostels and other cheaper options, with crowded rooms and a constant rotation of guests, are more likely to become bed bug hotspots.
• Young travellers check rooms less: the report quotes a travel expert saying spring breakers, mostly young people focused on a cheap trip, tend to pay little attention to the state of their room — which gives bed bugs their opening.

First thing on arrival: inspect these spots

• Start with the sleeping area: mattress seams, beneath the mattress, headboards and surrounding furniture are where bed bugs most often hide.
• Know the signs: small dark or rust-coloured spots on bedding or furniture, shed skins, or tiny eggs tucked into seams and crevices can all indicate an infestation.
• Keep luggage off the bed: while inspecting the room, keep bags on hard surfaces or in the bathroom rather than on beds or upholstered furniture, to reduce the chance of bed bugs climbing into them.

Getting home is the critical moment: don’t carry them indoors

• Inspect luggage and clothing immediately: Hottel advises checking luggage and clothing after the trip — the last line of defence before bed bugs reach the home.
• Heat-treat clothes if exposure is suspected: placing travel clothes in a dryer on high heat for about 30 to 45 minutes can kill the insects before they spread inside the home.
• One female can lay hundreds of eggs: according to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, a female bed bug can lay 200 to 500 eggs in her lifetime — and bed bugs can go 20 to 400 days without a blood meal, depending on temperature and humidity. Leaving a suitcase untouched in a corner does not mean anything inside it will starve.

What happens when bed bugs bite?

• Bed bugs mostly feed on human and animal blood at night, while their hosts are asleep. Bites usually appear as small red marks, sometimes in clusters or lines, causing itching, irritation and discomfort.
• While feeding, bed bugs inject a natural anaesthetic, making bites hard to notice at the time. Reactions can take hours or even days to become visible, and they vary widely — some people develop noticeable swelling, while others show almost no signs at all.
• According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bed bugs do not transmit diseases the way mosquitoes do, but intense scratching can break the skin and increase the risk of secondary infection.

Why Hong Kong travellers should pay attention

Although this is a spring report, its inspection advice applies all year round — and with the Christmas and New Year travel peak approaching, Hong Kong travellers should follow it before and after every trip. Before departure, read the Travel Hotel Bed Bug Checklist; on return, inspect luggage immediately and heat-treat clothing. If you find bite marks, compare them with the Bed Bug Bites Symptoms Guide; and if bugs did make it home, the DIY Bed Bug Removal Guide has the full treatment process.

Sources

• TheTravel (published 2026-03-24) — https://www.thetravel.com/spring-break-travelers-told-to-inspect-clothing-and-luggage-multiple-us-states-bed-bug-outbreak/

(Written 2026-10-15; compiled from TheTravel’s public reporting.)