Depending on where you are in the country, the winter months may be quite severe, with low temperatures and volatile weather. It’s a struggle for many animals, and even some people, to survive through this period.
If you’re staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast during this time, bed bugs are probably the last thing on your mind. Surely small insects are virtually non-existent during the winter?
Bed bugs survive through the winter
While it is true that bed bugs, like most insects, thrive in warmer conditions, they are more resilient than you think. All they need is a source of food and they can easily see out the cold weather. Some establishments make the mistake of believing that they can put furniture into colder storage areas to kill off any infestations, only to bring the items back into rooms at a later date. In all likelihood, being placed in cold storage will not be enough to kill off a bed bug infestation completely.
Bed bug bites may sound minor, and for the most part, they do not cause serious health complications. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean they don’t cause discomfort and it only takes one bad reaction for a bite to become seriously infected.
When you make a booking at a hotel or bed and breakfast, at the very least you expect to be comfortable and have a clean environment. Bed bug bites are not something you should ever have to put up with. If a hotel has exposed you to an infestation, be sure to look into your legal options.