This Flight Attendant's Quick Bed Bug Check Could Save Your Vacation-Here's How It Works

"Hannah, a cabin crew member from Chicago, shared her quick hack on TikTok, which she says she does in "every hotel room" she checks into to ensure it's bed bug-free. And that's simply breathing all over her hotel bed. "Bedbugs are attracted to your carbon dioxide that you breathe out," she explained in her quick hack video alongside her uncle, who is also a longtime flight attendant. "So, I flip up the corners [of the hotel or home's mattress] and start [breathing] on the bed.""

"including a Rutgers University study that found CO2 to be an "effective alternative to conventional fumigants for eliminating bedbugs hiding in infested household items such as clothing, shoes, books, electronics, sofas, and so forth." Another 2012 study from Oxford found that exposing bed bugs to high concentrations of carbon dioxide can effectively kill them at all life stages. However, it did also note that you likely need to expose the bed bugs to 100 percent CO2 for about 24 hours for it to be effective."

A simple hotel bed check involves flipping up mattress corners and exhaling onto the mattress to attract bed bugs using exhaled carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide acts as an attractant and can draw bed bugs out of hiding. Laboratory studies show CO2 can be an effective fumigant and can kill bed bugs at all life stages when used at high concentrations, though complete mortality typically requires near-100 percent CO2 exposure for about 24 hours. Additional risk-mitigation steps include placing luggage in the bathroom, entryway, or other areas away from the bed and keeping belongings off carpeted surfaces.

Read at Travel + Leisure