What happens in Las Vegas doesn't always stay in Las Vegas. This applies to bed bugs that may travel with you back to your home.
At least four guests staying at popular hotels on the Las Vegas Strip found pests in their rooms between September and January, according to Las Vegas-based KLAS-TV, which cited reports from the local health department.
Health inspectors with the Southern Nevada Health District confirmed bed bug sightings at Encore, Venetian, Excalibur Hotel & Casino and Mirage. A bed bug detection dog deployed by Encore found a live bed bug on Dec. 5 after a guest complained, according to the news station. The hotel closed that room for service.
The Southern Nevada Health District said it provided inspection reports to the station in response to a public records request about “complaints about beds for public accommodations” over a six-month period.
“We understand that people find the topic interesting and that bed bugs are a nuisance; however, we are not conducting any ongoing investigations,” Southern Nevada Health District communications officer Jennifer Sizemore wrote in an email.
Nevada Resort Assn., a gaming and resort advocacy group, said the health and safety of guests is the top priority for the resort industry.
“With approximately 155,000 hotel rooms and 41 million annual visitors, four rooms affected over a period of almost five months generating millions of nights of accommodation show that these are extremely rare and isolated events,” the association said. “The minuscule number of incidents reflects the comprehensive and proactive health and safety measures and pest control procedures that Las Vegas resorts have in place to prevent and address problems.”
The association added that when hotels find bed bugs, guests are relocated and exterminators are called, in accordance with health and safety guidelines. But the association warns that bed bugs can be transported virtually anywhere in luggage or clothing.
While bed bugs themselves do not experience wanderlust, world travelers flocking to major tourist destinations such as Las Vegas may encounter bed bugs as their new travel companions.
The report of a handful of bed bugs over a five-month period comes shortly after Las Vegas hosted approximately 450,000 visitors during Super Bowl LVIII earlier this month. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, a government agency charged with promoting Sin City to the world, estimates that nearly half a million visitors walked the Las Vegas Strip during Super Bowl weekend. Steve Hill, president and CEO of the visitors authority, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that there were 300 pregame events in Las Vegas. It is unknown how many of those visitors actually stayed in the city.
Attorney Brian Virag, who specializes in suing hotels and short-term rental companies on behalf of clients who have been bitten by bed bugs, said the few incidents reported in Las Vegas are probably a conservative and under-reported figure.
“When someone is exposed to bed bugs, they will deal directly with hotel management,” Virag said. “Only in a handful of situations do people exposed to bed bugs go to the health department.”
That means many bed bug encounters are not reported to a government agency, he suggested.
Virag advises guests to always check their hotel rooms before going to sleep. That includes checking the mattress, baseboards, behind the headboard, nightstands and curtains. The advice applies to the cheapest hostels and the most luxurious resorts around the world.
“Bed bugs don't discriminate,” Virag said. “They don't check TripAdvisor before infesting a particular property.”
While they are not poisonous, bed bugs persist in staying longer than expected. They can live for a year without eating and will emerge when a new food source arrives, such as a human or animal, according to pest control company Orkin. Female bed bugs can lay one to five eggs a day and can lay 200 to 500 eggs in their lifetime.
“While bed bugs are visible to the naked eye, they are excellent at hiding. Involving a trained professional is recommended when introducing bed bugs,” Orkin entomologist Ben Hottel said in a statement accompanying a recent report ranking some of the worst bed bug offenders nationwide.
Chicago topped the list, while Los Angeles ranked fifth and Las Vegas entered the list for the first time at number 35.
