Q – We are approaching the holiday season, or as it is known in our family, the traveling season. Our neighbors recently came back from vacation with bed bugs.

How can we avoid having the same bad luck?

Dorothy in Acworth

A – Well first off, don't travel or stay in the same places your neighbors did…

The dreaded bed bug is out there just lurking to find a warm space to crawl on and suck some blood and repeat.

Here are a few things you can do to impede their goal…

• Carry a small flashlight with you to help you inspect your room upon arrival.
• Don't place your suitcase on the carpeted floor or on the bed until after you have checked it out. Set it in the bathroom or in the tub (which is easiest to inspect).
• OK – now start checking with the bed as this is the most popular spot for the BB's to congregate. Carefully pull back the sheets and inspect all around the edges of the mattress (this is where the light comes in handy).
• Now check around the bed, thoroughly check the nightstands, and check the walls including looking behind that pop art festival hanging over the bed. All are popular bed bug hang out spots.
• It is a good idea to take a plastic suitcase liner to keep your suitcase in during your stay (they are sold just for this purpose and altho they can be mildly difficult to get a suitcase into, they do their job).

Ok – next step – if you find bed bugs and still want to stay in that hotel, notify the front desk and asked to be moved to a room not adjacent to the bed bug room, preferably on a different floor. Make sure you give the new room the same look over.

Think you are done? Not so fast…

Whether or not you find the bugs when you return from your trip promptly wash your clothes and vacuum out your suitcase. After you vacuum out your suitcase empty the vacuum cleaner into a plastic bag, seal it and put it outside into your trash can. No, not your suitcase, the stuff you vacuumed out of it.

Store your suitcase in a plastic bag until next time.

Enjoy your trip and don’t worry about the bugs. You checked and you didn’t find any so don’t spend your time sweating it…