Entomologist: Keep Your Luggage in Hotel Tub

Forget about throwing your suitcase into your hotel room's closet—and don't even think about throwing it onto your bed to unpack it. That's what an insect expert tells the Apartment Therapy blog, and the reason may make you cringe: It's to avoid bringing home any unwanted guests. Brittany Campbell, an entomologist with the National Pest Management Association, says bedbugs that hide out on hotel mattresses, couches, and other upholstered surfaces can easily crawl into your luggage, and that even luggage racks that keep bags off the floor can have critters hiding out in the device's legs if those legs are hollow.

"Bedbugs are extremely skilled hitchhikers due to their ability to survive in temporary habitats, such as personal luggage," Campbell says. So where does she recommend hotel patrons stash their belongings? In the hotel bathroom, preferably in the bathtub, as bedbugs are least likely to end up there; Property Management Insider notes they have a hard time climbing slippery surfaces typically found in bathrooms, like glass and porcelain, and they don't fly. Campbell's other suggestion, if you're afraid you'll forget your bags are in the tub and give them a good soaking: Put your luggage in plastic trash bags and seal them up after each time accessing them. (More bedbugs stories.)