You don’t have to turn guests away to avoid bed bugs — a few quiet habits handle the small risk that a visitor (or a visit to their place) brings bed bugs home, since bed bugs travel on bags and coats, not people.
Key Takeaways
- Bed bugs hitchhike on bags and coats, not on people — so manage belongings, not guests.
- **Give coats and bags a spot off beds and soft furniture.
- After visiting an infested home, hot-dry your clothes.
- Use interceptors to catch any early arrivals.
Remove Your Shoes Before Going Inside
Decrease the chances of getting a bed bug infestation from your shoes by taking them off before you go into your house. Encourage your friends to do the same. You may have to deal with some unpleasant smells, but the trade off is worth it!
Further reading: How to get rid of bed bug in your shoes?
Bed bugs are transported by shoes, clothes, luggage and almost anything that you carry with you when you travel.
Don't worry, you won't have to explain why you're having your friends take their shoes off (they'll likely only think you want to keep your floors clean!). In fact, according to a survey performed by YouGov, 34% of Americans already ask their visitors to remove their shoes.
Shift All Luggage & Belongings To A Designated Location
If you're worried about potentially bringing back bed bugs from a friend's home, do not bring any luggage and other belongings into your living area. Instead, leave any potentially contaminated objects in an isolated location like a garage.
Your goal should be to NOT let any luggage or belongings enter into your living area before they are vacuumed or cleaned. (More on this later)
The situation becomes a little trickier when you are worried about potential bed bugs brought in by your guest's luggage. You don’t have to ask your guest to drop their luggage off in a designated room. Instead, do it yourself; you can even do it under the pretense of simply helping out. However, do it as soon as possible as to not let bed bugs invade your home by crawling into the carpet or other materials in your home.
Even if your designated luggage area becomes infested, it is easy to treat a single isolated area. However, if you bed bugs find their way into your entire home, the infestation might get out of control and force you to call an exterminator.
A few easy preventative measures can save you hundreds of dollars on an exterminator.
Treat Incoming Items For Bed Bugs
Want to decrease the chances of a bed bug infestation even more? Use these 3 treatment options:
1) Heat Treatment
This is one of the easiest options to use. 113°F (45°C) of heat for 90 minutes kills bed bugs. For a quick solution, use a portable space heater (close all windows and doors to seal in heat).
2) Washing
The washing machine is your friend. If it's washable, wash it to get rid of bed bugs. For example, shoes, bags, purses are usually washable. If you did wind up with bed bugs in your shoes, read our article to learn how to get rid of Bed Bug in shoes.
3) Bed Bug Powder
Our take
Across 1,139 verified reviews (3.74★, 67% rated 4★+), buyers most often praise kills bed bugs and fleas and kills on contact. The recurring complaint: no adhesive on the trap, so bugs can walk in and out, and does not work as a repellent, so it needs to be used consistently to be effective.
Alternatively, use bed bug powder. There are a lot of bed bug powder products available in the market. Cimexa dust is our favorite bud bug powder which can be used on almost anything.
Sprinkle bed bug powder on items that were at your friend's house and leave it for a few hours in an isolated location. While bed bug powder products can't fully eliminate large bed bug infestations, they can bring an otherwise out of control infestation under control.
4) Bed Bug Monitor
A little extra technology never hurts. Place bed bug monitors under each post of your bed to ensure that there are no bed bugs present.
What 1,139 verified buyers say
What buyers love
- Kills bed bugs and fleas
- Kills on contact
- Provides up to 8 months of control
Common complaints
- No adhesive on the trap, so bugs can walk in and out
- Does not work as a repellent, so it needs to be used consistently to be effective
“It killed every bug bed and I only used for 2 times, I still have a lot of it.”— 5★, Verified Purchase
“We saw bed bugs on my daughter's bed after a sleep over. We used this ONE time and have not seen anymore. I have never seen something so effective! It's great to get rid of other pests too. Much better than the thousands we spent on a contract years ago.”— 5★, Verified Purchase
Based on our analysis of verified customer reviews — how we research.
Get the Treat Incoming Items For Bed Bugs on Amazon
Visiting Your Friend’s Place
We discussed preventing bed bugs from entering your house, but what if you are visiting someone else's home?
Bed bugs can spread both ways; either by hitchhiking on your friend's belongings or your own. When visiting a location that has a bed bug infestation, you might very easily bring bed bugs back to your own house.
To recap, here is what you need to do:
- Wash all clothes and shoes you are bringing back from your friend’s house or anywhere else you visited; and
- Put items in a separate room and use the above mentioned techniques to kill as many bed bugs as possible.
REMINDER
These techniques aren’t guaranteed to eliminate every bed bug but they can significantly decrease the chances of an infestation. BIG TIME!
Conclusion
Implementing the above preventative measures will decrease your chances of getting a bed bug infestation in the first place and save you hundreds of dollars on an exterminator.
Bed bug treatment is one of the most expensive procedures in the pest control industry.
Have any questions? Or suggestions that we can add? Feel free to contact us!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you get bed bugs from a friends house?
You can, but it is uncommon and easy to manage. Bed bugs hitchhike on bags and coats, not on people, so keeping belongings off beds and soft furniture handles most of the risk.
What should I do after visiting a home with bed bugs?
Hot-dry the clothes you wore for 30 minutes, inspect and isolate any bags, and check your own sleeping area over the following weeks. Heat is what kills any hitchhiker.
Can my guests give me bed bugs?
Only if an infested bag or coat sits long enough for a bug to cross over. Give guests a spot for coats and bags away from beds and upholstered furniture, and use interceptors as early warning.
Should I stop having visitors if I am worried about bed bugs?
No. A few simple habits — managing bags and coats, hot-drying clothes after high-risk visits, and monitoring — handle the small risk without turning anyone away.
Remember: no single product clears bed bugs
Even the best product here is one part of a plan. Bed bugs hide in cracks a spray can’t reach, and many are resistant to common pesticides. Combine any treatment with hot-dryer laundering, encasements, steaming, and monitoring — see our guide to getting rid of bed bugs.