Bed Bugs in Thailand – What are they and how to avoid them? 

I have to admit, of all the things I thought I had to be worried about when embarking on our Southeast Asia backpacking trip, bed bugs were not one of them! While our unfortunate encounter with bed bugs in Thailand did occur in a hostel, don’t think that staying in a fancy hotel will mean you won’t have to deal with them. 

Visitors from all over the world visit and travel around Thailand, meaning the little pests move around with them. You never really know where you are going to find them next! Luckily, we like to blog about all our mishaps and mistakes during our travels, so hopefully, this article will help you know exactly what to do if you do find bed bugs in Thailand. 

Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, are the best products possible whilst travelling.

How can you tell they’re bed bugs?

It can actually be pretty tricky to tell if you have bed bug symptoms and many people won’t realise for a few days. I was personally covered in all sorts of bites the whole time I was in Thailand. However, most of the time these were mosquito bites or sandflies.

Mosquito bites

• Mosquito bites tend to be small, red and raised. Their appearance can differ depending on your body’s natural reaction to the bite
• Mosquitos can bite through clothing so can be on unexposed skin 
• Mosquitos bite usually around 1-3 times but these are usually random in location

Bed Bug Bites

• Bed bug bites are very itchy and resemble more like a spot, and will appear red and puffy. Sometimes there will be a small dot in the centre where the bite was. 
• You’ll usually find bed bug bites in areas where your skin will have touched the bed. So depending on your pj style, they could be anywhere. 
• Bed bugs also tend to move and bite in a line with 1-3 bites per cluster. If you have a large trail around your back with lots of tiny bites, you probably have had a bed bug encounter! 

Bed bugs are actually pretty hard to see as even the adults are really tiny. You’re best off looking for tiny specs of brown and red in your clothing and bed. These are classic tell-tell signs that you have some bitey friends! 

Whenever you arrive in a new hostel, hotel or house, it’s best to check the bed’s corner in between the seams under the sheets to check for signs.

What to do if you do have bed bugs?

If you do find you have bed bugs when travelling Thailand and beyond the first thing to do is not to panic! Whilst they are annoying and a pain to get rid of, it’s not impossible. 

It is best to alert the hostel or hotel staff but remember to try to do this quietly and not to cause a scene. In our experience, the locals do panic when they occur as one review on Hostelworld with the mention of bed bugs and they could lose their tourism for the whole season! 

The best thing to do is to pack up all of the clothes in your backpack (and the ones you are wearing) and take them all to a nearby laundromat. If you tell them you have bed bugs they’ll know what to do. They put all of our clothes on a very high heat and then put them out in the sun to dry. 

We then cleaned out our whole backpacks and left them outside on a hot day too! This will allow the hostel to clean the mattress as best as they can. Our hostel owner told us she vacuumed up our mattress and that it was fine to sleep on but they are really hard to get rid of so it’s always best to not risk it. 

If you’ve had a bad reaction to your bed bug bites Thailand pharmacies were amazing and gave us all sorts of creams to ease the itching. 

The important thing is to make sure you have fully got rid of your bed bugs before you move on to your next hostel as you can actually carry them with you. 

How to get rid of bed bugs?

It can sometimes be tough to get rid of bed bugs but there are numerous ways to do so. Firstly, wash all your clothes in hot water for 30 minutes before tumble drying on the highest heat setting for another 30 minutes. This should also be done to the bedding by your accommodation. Secondly, the mattress should be thoroughly cleaned with a steamer and especially in all the corners.

For a chemical method of killing these awful insecticides, why not try pyrroles, pyrethrins or pyrethroids? It’s recommended that this is only as a last resort!

How to avoid bed bugs in Thailand 

There is no fall-proof method of 100% eliminating your chances of experiencing bed bugs in Thailand but there are a few ways you can minimize your chances. 

Firstly I ALWAYS check reviews for any signs of bed bugs! Especially after seeing how hush-hush the owners were about our experience. If the reviews were from a year or so ago and the owners have replied saying it’s been dealt with, it’s usually a safe bet. While bed bugs can get anywhere, usually more expensive hotels and hostels will have more money to spare when it comes to effectively getting rid of them. 

After our experience, whenever we get to a hotel now, we always put our bags well away from the bed. That way if we do find bed bugs, we won’t have to wash every single thing we own. 

Always check your beds and towels at a new accommodation for spots of red and black as these are signs of bed bug blood and faeces. 

If you do find evidence of bed bugs before you have even stayed in your room, you are going to want to leave or switch rooms immediately. Admittedly, it can be a bit tricky in large dorm-like hostels. However, it’ll be worth losing the cost of a couple of nights’ stay and finding somewhere else, then having a bed bug problem. Trust us, we have been there! 

FAQs about bed bugs in Thailand 

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There you have it, everything you need to know about bed bugs in Thailand. Setting out what to do if you have bed bugs, how to get rid of them and how to avoid them! Despite getting bed bugs once, that is pretty good going since we were in Thailand for two whole months! That being said, it’s not a nice experience as you don’t know where they’ve got to and you just feel horrible. Nonetheless, follow the simple steps above to reduce your chances significantly so you can enjoy your trip that much more!

Disclaimer: Some of the links included on our website may contain affiliate links. We may receive some commission from purchases made via these but it will NOT affect the price you pay. This is to allow this site to stay online and ensure that readers use, what we believe, are the best products possible whilst travelling.