#bed-bugs

#bed-bugs

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."

As a food and travel writer, I sometimes feel like I'm playing a high-stakes game when visiting hotels. While many people go their whole lives not encountering bed bugs -and I have yet to myself-I live in fear because, thinking logically, if I am in hotels more often than the average person, doesn't that mean I also am putting myself at an increased level of risk?

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed on human blood, causing itchy bites and skin irritation, and may lead to allergic reactions in some individuals.