Although huffing and puffing on a mattress might seem like an odd way to kick off a vacay, it’s how this bedbug-phobic flight attendant is able to breathe a sigh of relief prior to hitting the sheets.
“The first thing we do in every hotel room that we come to is check for bedbugs,” Hannah, a cabin crew guru, based in Chicago, explained in a trending TikTok how-to.
“Bedbugs are attracted to your carbon dioxide that you breathe out,” said the brunette, a registered nurse and flight attendant newbie. She and her uncle, who’s been in the airplane biz for more than 13 years, shared their best tips for baiting the bitty bloodsuckers to her over 50,000 virtual viewers.
“So,” continued Hannah, “I flip up the corners [of the mattress] and start breathing on the bed.”
And she’s not just blowing hot air.
Experts claim that the carbon dioxide humans emit from our breath, combined with our body warmth, attracts bedbugs.
It’s also been determined that “CO2 is an effective alternative to conventional fumigants for eliminating bedbugs hiding in infested household items such as clothing, shoes, books, electronics, sofas, and so forth,” per Rutgers University entomologists.
And most folks would do just about anything to eliminate the vile vermin from their everyday lives — especially in major cities like Paris and the Big Apple, where the nasty nuisances are known to run rampant.
An American Airlines passenger’s first-class cloud cruise from NYC to Detroit was recently ruined after they spotted a bloodthirsty bedbug crawling up their leg while at 30,000 feet.
“I put it on the cocktail napkin to show the [flight attendant] who promptly informed the Captain using the phone/intercom,” the grossed-out flire ranted on Reddit, adding a pic of the pest as proof. “Hoping no stragglers got on my backpack or checked bag.”
But Hannah’s hacks take things far beyond hope.
To ensure that neither she nor her online audience beds down with the little devils while on the go, the travel pro says, “you need to pull up all the sheets and check the corners to see if there’s any bugs.”
“The other thing that you can also do is put a bar of soap at the end of your bed,” she continued. “The bar of soap draws out the bedbugs.”
And while it may seem funny, Hannah insists that a nip from the icky insects is no laughing matter.
“Bedbugs are no joke,” she warned. “Whenever they bite you, they are painful, they are red, they are big, they will cause swelling.”
“So make sure you check for bedbugs.”