The most common bugs found in hotel rooms are bed bugs, German cockroaches, carpet beetles, and small flies like drain flies and fruit flies. Bed bugs top the list as the pest travelers worry about most, and for good reason: they hitchhike on luggage, hide in mattress seams, and can follow you home. But knowing what to look for, and how to inspect a room before you unpack, makes a big difference.
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, with flat, oval-shaped bodies that turn reddish-brown and swell after feeding. They feed on human blood, typically at night, and around 70% of the time they’re found in or near the bed itself, close to where a person sleeps. But they also turn up in sofas, chairs, nightstands, and even dining areas and hotel lounges.
Guests, employees, and laundry carts all bring bed bugs into hotels. A five-star property is not immune. Once a few bugs establish themselves in a room, they can spread to adjacent rooms through wall voids, electrical outlets, and housekeeping equipment.
Signs of Bed Bugs
You’re unlikely to see the bugs themselves during the day. Instead, look for the evidence they leave behind:
- Fecal spots: black dots about the size of a period, found along mattress seams and on sheets
- Blood stains: rusty or reddish smears on sheets or the mattress from crushed bugs
- Eggs: tiny, pale yellow, about the size of a pinhead, tucked into seams and crevices
- Shed skins: translucent husks that look like the bugs themselves, left behind as they grow
These signs cluster in predictable spots: mattress seams, piping, and tags; bed frame joints and screw holes; headboard cracks; and the gaps behind nightstands and baseboards.
Bed Bug Bites
Bed bug bites typically appear as small, itchy, reddish welts, often in a line or cluster on skin that was exposed while you slept. Some people react within hours, while others don’t develop visible marks for days, and roughly 30% of people never react at all. The bites are not known to spread disease, but the itching can be intense and the welts can last a week or more.
German Cockroaches
German cockroaches are the species most likely to infest hotels. They’re small (about half an inch long), light brown with two dark stripes behind the head, and they thrive wherever moisture and warmth combine. In hotels, that means kitchens, service areas, break rooms, and locker rooms. They can also ride into guest rooms on employees’ belongings or housekeeping carts.
You’ll rarely see cockroaches during the day unless an infestation is severe. If you spot one scurrying when you flip on a bathroom light, there are likely many more hiding nearby. Droppings that look like ground pepper along baseboards or inside drawers are another telltale sign.
Carpet Beetles
Carpet beetles are small, oval-shaped insects often patterned in black, brown, white, yellow, or orange. Unlike bed bugs, adult carpet beetles don’t bite. The confusion comes from their larvae, which are fuzzy, bristly, and resemble tiny hairy caterpillars. These larvae feed on natural fibers like wool carpet, upholstery fabric, and even lint buildup under furniture.
The larval hairs can irritate skin on contact, producing a bumpy, itchy rash that’s easy to mistake for insect bites. If you wake up with welts but can’t find any of the classic bed bug evidence (fecal spots, blood stains, shed skins), carpet beetle larvae are a possibility. Look in hidden spots: under furniture edges, along carpet seams, and inside closets where fabric fibers accumulate.
Drain Flies and Fruit Flies
Small flies are common in hotels wherever wet organic material builds up. Drain flies (also called moth flies) breed in the slimy residue inside floor drains, shower drains, and grease traps. They’re fuzzy, moth-like, and tend to hover near bathroom sinks and showers. Fruit flies and phorid flies appear around poorly cleaned beverage areas, garbage disposals, and dumpster zones, though they can wander into guest rooms.
These flies are more of a nuisance than a health risk. A few drain flies in a bathroom usually point to a drain that hasn’t been cleaned recently rather than a serious infestation. Still, a swarm of small flies in your room is worth reporting to the front desk.
How to Inspect a Hotel Room
A quick inspection when you arrive takes five to ten minutes and can save you weeks of dealing with an infestation at home. Here’s how to do it.
Leave your luggage in the bathroom. When you first walk in, set your bags in the bathtub or on the bathroom tile floor. Bed bugs are far less likely to be hiding in these hard, exposed surfaces. Don’t put anything on the bed, upholstered chairs, or carpeted luggage rack until you’ve checked the room.
Start with the bed. Pull back the bedspread and sheets completely. Using your phone’s flashlight, check the mattress seams, piping, tags, and corners for black dots, blood stains, or shed skins. Lift the mattress and inspect the box spring, paying attention to the wooden frame. Then examine the bed frame joints, headboard cracks, and screw holes.
Move to nearby furniture. Check nightstands, dressers, and desk drawers, especially along joints and the undersides. For upholstered chairs or sofas, remove any cushions and inspect the seams, creases, and zippers with your flashlight.
Check the room’s perimeter. Look along baseboards where the wall meets the floor, behind wall hangings and mirrors, and around electrical outlets and light switches. Bed bugs can hide in wall voids and emerge through these entry points. Inspect curtain folds, hems, and edges, and glance at the carpet edges around the bed and furniture.
What to Do If You Find Something
If you see any signs of bed bugs or other pests, notify the front desk immediately and request a room change. The American Hotel and Lodging Association recommends that your new room not be adjacent to, directly above, or directly below the suspected room. When an infestation is spreading, it typically moves to the closest rooms first, through shared walls, outlets, and housekeeping equipment. If the hotel can’t offer a room far enough away, consider switching properties entirely.
Keep your luggage sealed and away from soft surfaces in the new room until you’ve inspected it with the same process. If you’ve already unpacked in the affected room, inspect your belongings carefully, checking seams, zippers, and folds of bags and clothing.
Protecting Your Home After Travel
Even if you didn’t see signs of bugs, a few precautions when you get home can prevent a problem from taking root. Unpack on a hard surface like a garage floor or in a bathtub rather than on your bedroom carpet. Inspect your suitcase seams and pockets with a flashlight.
For clothing, a household dryer set on high heat kills all bed bug life stages, including eggs, in 30 minutes. Run everything through the dryer before putting it away, even items that weren’t worn. For items that can’t go in the dryer, sealing them in a plastic bag and leaving them in direct sunlight or a hot car for several hours can help, though the dryer method is more reliable.
Store your suitcase away from bedrooms between trips. A garage, basement, or sealed plastic bag keeps any stowaway bugs from migrating to where you sleep.