I always check hotel mattresses for bedbugs, and it finally paid off in Zurich

• I always check the mattresses in my hotel rooms for signs of bedbugs.
• I spotted possible hints of a bedbug infestation for the first time at a boutique hotel in Zurich.

I've never had bedbugs, and I plan to keep it that way.

That's why I always take 15 minutes to inspect my hotel rooms for signs of the blood-sucking critters when I check in. I've been doing it for years, and I believe it recently saved me from a bedbug exposure.

Before this, my inspections had never given me a reason to suspect bedbugs. But two weeks ago, when I lifted up the sheets and saw rust-colored spots speckling my hotel mattress, I was so glad I'd been diligent all these years.

I thought of all the times I've resisted the urge to immediately flop onto the hotel bed, or asked the friend I was traveling with to check the mattress with me. Just a few nights before, in another hotel room, I had watched news reports about a skin-crawling bedbug outbreak in Paris.

It's been two weeks, and there's no indication that I brought any tiny, nefarious hitchhikers home with me. I remain bedbug-free!

Here's what I did to protect myself and my luggage.

I inspected a few key spots in my hotel room for bedbugs and didn't place my bags on any upholstered surfaces

That day, I had taken a train from the Swiss Alps to Zurich, where I was flying out the next morning to return home. I had booked a room in an affordable boutique hotel that was just 15 minutes from the airport.

When I got to my assigned room and opened the door, I was dismayed that it was fully carpeted inside.

I don't allow my luggage to touch the carpet, bed, curtains, or upholstered chairs in a hotel room. Any of that fabric could harbor bedbugs.

So, I carried my suitcase across the small room, hoisting it high above the bed as I passed by to get to the wood desk, where I placed all of my bags.

Then I pulled up the corners of the sheets to look directly at the mattress, which sported some kind of old brown-and-cream colored print. It was obviously stained from age.

When I shined my phone flashlight along the seams, though, I noticed a lot of tiny rust-colored spots, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence.

The closer I looked, the more spots I saw, even going past the seams and up onto the main spread of the mattress. I checked another corner and saw the same thing.

I hid in the tiled bathroom to search the internet for confirmation. Indeed, those spots are exactly what the US Environmental Protection Agency says to look for. The reddish stains can be caused by bedbug droppings and be signs of bedbugs being crushed.

So I aggressively washed my hands, gathered my things, and went downstairs as quickly as possible.

I was in such a rush to get out of the room that I didn't even stop to take photos of the evidence. I was probably in and out within 15 or 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, my suitcase did touch the hallway carpet because I rolled it up and down the hall.

I ultimately moved to another hotel that night

I told the woman at the front desk that I'd spotted signs of bedbugs, and she went to the room with me to see what I'd found. She was concerned and said she'd just had a crew come sanitize the mattresses two weeks prior. I felt bad for her.

She showed me another room, two doors down, to see if I could stay in that one. We found the same spots on that mattress, though there were fewer of them. She was very kind and let me cancel my room without charge.

I'm still not 100% sure that what I saw came from bedbugs, but I'd rather be safe than itchy and fighting an infestation in my own home.

I went outside to sit on the patio with my bags and booked a room at the nearby airport Hilton instead. Although bedbugs don't discriminate and can be found even in the cleanest places, I figured a chain hotel with standardized practices and economies of scale might be my safest bet.

I also threw away the shoes I'd worn inside the bedbug-suspicious hotel. That may have been a bit over-the-top, but I didn't like the shoes anyway, they were a bit too small, and it freed up some much-needed space in my bags.

As it started to get dark, I hopped on the bus toward the Hilton.

Once again, I inspected my room for bedbugs

At the Hilton, I was dismayed to find more carpeted hallways and rooms. So, as soon as I entered my room, I lifted my bags into the bathtub and on the bathroom counter.

I even scanned the edge of the carpet this time, though I'm not sure I would've seen anything because it was dark and patterned.

I was relieved to see how white and spotless the mattress was.

I also checked all the pillows along their seams. They looked squeaky clean to me!

I took a very hot shower and bundled up the clothes I'd been wearing in the other hotel in a plastic bag, then stuffed that inside another plastic bag.

At last, I went downstairs to treat myself to a glass of wine in the hotel restaurant.

In the future, I can take even more precautions to avoid bedbugs

After my trip, I turned to online resources to learn even more about avoiding bedbugs while traveling.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bedbug infestations can emit a sweet, musty odor. That's another thing to look (or sniff) for in a hotel room.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends using hard-cased luggage, since the bugs are less likely to attach to it than a fabric suitcase like mine.

The department also recommends packing your clothing in resealable plastic bags. I've never considered doing that, and it seems kind of annoying and wasteful, so I don't know if I'll take that advice.

I may incorporate one of the NYC health department's tips into my routine, though: Checking behind the headboard and in the nightstand drawer. It's one little extra step, and it could save me a lot of pain one day.