Doctor Warns This Hotel Room Area Is a Hotspot for Bed Bugs
Imagine this: After a steaming hot shower in your hotel room, you cozy up in a complimentary plush robe and cue up the TV with an assortment of minibar snacks to keep you company… only to wake up from your peaceful slumber to clusters of inflamed, itchy red bumps all over your arms and legs. It quickly becomes apparent that the hotel room was already occupied long before you checked in. And now, you’re stuck with a serious case of bed bugs.
Bed bugs are the stuff of hotel nightmares. And as summer travel heats up, doctors and pest control experts are sounding the alarm about how common they can be.
While most travelers know to check a hotel room’s mattress, one viral TikTok is warning that there’s another spot these bloodsucking pests love—and it might be the first place you unpack your clothes.
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Where Bed Bugs Could Be Hiding in a Hotel Room
Primary care physician Jason Singh, MD, alerted his TikTok followers in a June 2024 video of other places these pesky critters may be lurking—and how you can beat them at their own game.
“So, how many of you completely unpack your clothes from your suitcases into a hotel dresser?” asks Dr. Singh before revealing that “hotel dressers, especially those that are made of wood or have joints and crevices, are a risk for bed bug infestation.”
“It’s not just beds that have bed bugs; hotel dressers can have them, too,” he reiterates.
While hotel furniture gets a quick wipe down in between guests, Dr. Singh explains that the actual hinges, tracks, and drawers in the dresser aren’t being “readily cleaned.” If there is a bed bug infestation brewing, you and your clothes could be at serious risk.
How to Avoid These Areas
An easy way to protect yourself against bed bugs is by skipping the dresser altogether and taking advantage of the closet, according to Dr. Singh.
“I recommend to utilize hotel closets or hanging spaces to store your clothes or just pull your clothes straight out of your suitcase,” he says in the clip.
Likewise, Anthony O’Neill, a pest expert with more than 20 years in the industry, previously told Best Life that the safest place to stow your luggage is the hotel bath or shower. “Bed bugs cannot climb smooth surfaces and you’d easily spot a bed bug in a light-colored bath,” he explained.
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Travelers Share Their Own Tips
In the comments section of Dr. Singh’s video, hundreds of TikTokers chimed in with their own anti-bed bug rituals:
- “Keep your suitcase in the bathtub and get your clothes that you need from it,” one retired pest control operator confirmed.
- “Nope, stays in the suitcase. I use a trash bag for dirty clothes and go straight to the washer after the trip,” another said.
- “I never unpack anything, even in luxury hotels,” one user added.
- “I always bring alcohol spray and mist the drawers and bed every night,” someone else shared.
Why Bed Bugs are a Big Hotel Room Risk
While bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, their bites can lead to itching, skin irritation, allergic reactions, and expensive home extermination bills if they hitch a ride back with you.
They’re most commonly found in the mattress, as they “prefer to hide in close proximity to their hosts, so they can sneak out at night and draw a blood meal without being noticed,” Nancy Troyano, PhD, a board-certified entomologist with Ehrlich Pest Control, previously told Best Life.
You should also avoid wooden dressers, keep your luggage elevated or in the bathroom, and think twice before unpacking into any hidden crevices.