There are few things as heavenly as climbing into a warm, plush hotel bed after a long day of traveling.
However, before you order room service and dive into a “Law & Order: SVU” rerun or immediately conk out, there’s one thing you should always do. Actually, it’s the first thing you should do as soon as you walk into your room:
Check for bed bugs.
“I have two really good friends who have gotten bed bugs in New York [hotels] before,” HuffPost Senior Editor Caroline Bologna told us — Raj Punjabi and Noah Michelson, co-hosts of HuffPost’s “Am I Doing It Wrong?” podcast.
Listen to the full episode here to discover lots of tips and tricks for your next stay at a hotel.
The tiny critters, which feed on human blood while we’re sleeping, are “about the size of an apple seed” and “big enough to be easily seen, but often hide in cracks in furniture, floors, or walls,” according to a NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene guide to stopping bed bugs in hotels. The insects often hitch a ride into a hotel room in a guest’s suitcase or on their clothes and then continue to thrive there by snacking on new, unsuspecting travelers.