What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas.
That’s a great slogan, but it’s not always true.
If you marry a random stranger, pick up a sexually transmitted disease, or bet your mortgage payment at the blackjack tables, that doesn’t actually stay in Vegas.
Those issues, of course, are all at least somewhat your fault. Now, Las Vegas has another problem that can linger well after you leave Sin City, and it’s not actually your fault, nor is it easy to avoid.
“More than 80 reports of bedbugs for properties on the Strip were received by the SNHD between 2024 and July 9, according to records obtained, but only six resulted in confirmed cases of bedbugs. These properties have confirmed cases: Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, The Strat, Resorts World and Horseshoe Las Vegas,” The Las Vegas Review Journal reported.
Las Vegas Strip fights bedbug problem
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite” turns out to be pretty good advice from an otherwise fairly meaningless nursery rhyme.
Bedbugs are not only nasty creatures that can bite you and produce nasty welts, but also sneaky ones. If you encounter bedbugs in a hotel, they can easily follow you home.
That can create an expensive problem, as bedbugs are also notoriously hard to get rid of. A bedbug infestation can spread, and treating it requires professionals.
Any hotel fears bedbugs, but the reality is that they’re impossible to avoid. The challenge is that even the best-cleaned hotels with the tightest protocols can’t control what their guests bring in.
A guest can unknowingly bring bedbugs into a room, where they can spread and eventually hitchhike to another guest’s belongings.
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That makes bedbug sightings on the Las Vegas Strip a little tricky to categorize. There have been some, but many would argue that the city’s hotel operators have done a good job of keeping the issue under control.
Diego Rodriguez, technical specialist and associate certified entomologist with Preventive Pest Control, said that when he inspects an entire hotel, he expects about 5% to 10% of the rooms to have bedbugs. If it’s a nicer hotel, typically it is around 1% to 2%, he told the Review-Journal.
Here’s what bedbugs are and what they can do
“Bedbugs (Cimex species) are small, flat insects. Bedbugs bite people and animals at night while they sleep, feeding on their blood. Bedbugs are reddish-brown in color, are wingless, and range from 1mm to 7mm in size (roughly the size of Lincoln’s head on a penny). They can live several months without a blood meal,” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
On the positive side, bedbugs are not known to spread disease. However, they cause irritation, itching, and loss of sleep.
It’s not always easy to know when you have been bitten, and different people have varying reactions.
“When bedbugs bite, they inject fluids (anesthetic and anticoagulant) that prevent a person from feeling the bite when it happens. Most people do not notice the bite marks until they appear from one to several days after the initial bite,” according to the CDC.
How to stay safe from bedbugs
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shared a multi-step method that people should use to check their hotel room for bedbugs.
- Pull back all sheets and check the mattress seam and tag, as this is where bedbugs typically hide.
- Inspect behind the headboard. Use a flashlight if necessary.
- Never put any of your belongings on the floor. Put them up on a desk, luggage rack, or even in the bathtub. Bedbugs have weak claws and can’t climb up smooth surfaces; however, they can climb up fabrics.
- Use an active or passive trap. Place the traps under bed frames or furniture legs. These helpful home detectors will stop bedbugs from climbing up on you.
- If you bring bedbugs home on clothing or fabrics, put the items in the dryer on the highest heat for 30 minutes to kill the pests.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association has specific advice for what you should do upon entering any hotel room.
“Place your luggage in the bathroom. When you arrive, temporarily place your luggage in a tiled area, like the bathroom, while you inspect your room. There are fewer spots for bedbugs to hide in bathrooms, so you can check your room without worry,” the association shared.
Bedbugs aren’t going away on the Las Vegas Strip
Bedbugs are not a new problem on the Las Vegas Strip.
“Last year, bedbugs were found in four Vegas Strip resorts, which a Southern Nevada Health District spokesperson told SFGATE was par for the course with over 150,000 total hotel rooms in the area,” SFGATE reported.
Rodriguez made it clear that the occasional presence of bedbugs is not a black mark on a hotel or a sign that it’s not doing a good job cleaning.
“Just because someone has bedbugs doesn’t mean that they’re dirty people or anything like that. Because honestly, bedbugs don’t discriminate,” he said. “They will go with whoever they can hitch a ride with.”
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