Hosting Holiday Guests in Montreal? How to Prevent Bed Bugs, and What to Do After They Leave

Set up a "luggage spot" away from the beds

Bed bugs can't fly or jump. They crawl, and they love soft, fabric-covered places close to where people sleep. A suitcase tossed on a bed is the easiest way in.

• Pick one spot for luggage: a hard floor, a hallway, or a luggage rack. Not on beds, couches, or carpets.
• A bathroom floor or entryway works well. Bed bugs have trouble climbing smooth surfaces, and they're easier to spot on light, hard floors.
• If you have a guest room closet, put a large plastic bag in it for suitcases.

Prepare the guest bed

Wash the guest sheets and run them through the dryer on high heat before guests arrive.

• Take two minutes to check the mattress seams, the corners, and the headboard with a flashlight. You're looking for small dark spots, tiny pale shells, or live bugs.
• If your guest bed or pull-out couch has been stored for a while, give it a quick check too. Bed bugs can survive for many months without feeding.

Coats go on hooks, not on beds

At holiday parties, coats often end up in a pile on the bedroom bed. Set up a coat rack or hooks by the door instead.

While your guests are staying

You don't need to treat your guests like suspects. Keep it simple:

• Keep luggage in the luggage spot and zipped when not in use.
• Encourage guests to unpack only what they need.
• Keep clothes off the bedroom floor.

If a guest mentions they've been waking up with bites, or found something in their hotel before arriving, don't panic. Take note of it and follow the steps below after they leave.

After your guests leave

This is the part most people skip, and it's the most important.

Wash and dry everything they used

Run all guest bedding, blankets, pillowcases, and towels through the dryer on high heat for at least 30 minutes. A hot dryer kills bed bugs at every stage, including eggs.

Do a quick inspection

Check the guest bed, the pull-out couch, and the luggage spot with a flashlight:

Not sure what you're looking at? See: How to know if you have bed bugs

• Small dark or rust-coloured spots on sheets, mattress seams, or the couch
• Tiny pale, empty shells (shed skins)
• Live bugs, flat, oval, and brown, about the size of an apple seed
• Tiny white eggs, about 1 mm, often in seams and cracks

Keep watching for a few weeks

Here's why one check isn't enough:

• Bed bug eggs typically hatch in 6 to 17 days.
• Bites can take up to 14 days to appear, and some people don't react to bites at all.

So a problem that arrived with a December visitor might not show up until January. Check the guest bed again about two weeks after they leave, and keep an eye out for bites.

What to do if you find signs

1. Don't move to the couch or another room. That spreads them through your home.

2. Don't use sprays or foggers. DIY products tend to scatter bed bugs into walls, outlets, and neighbouring units.

3. Take photos of anything you find, and if you catch a bug, keep it in a sealed bag or on clear tape.

4. If you rent, notify your landlord in writing. In Quebec, the landlord is generally responsible for extermination. See: How to get your landlord to pay for bed bug treatment in Quebec

5. Call a professional early. A small, fresh introduction is much easier and faster to treat than an infestation that's had months to spread.

Enjoy the holidays. We'll handle the rest.

If you find signs after the holidays, EliteXterm treats bed bugs with professional heat, in one visit, and you keep your belongings.

Travelling yourself this season? Read: Bed bugs in your luggage after vacation