Six Strip hotels had confirmed reports of bedbugs within the past two years, according to reports from the Southern Nevada Health District obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
More than 80 reports of bedbegs for properties on the Strip were received by the SNHD between 2024 through July 9, according to records obtained but only six resulted in confirmed cases of bedbegs. These properties have confirmed cases: Caesars Palace, Bellagio, Cosmopolitan, The Strat, Resorts World and Horseshoe Las Vegas.
Here are the confirmed cases:
Bellagio
A guest made a complaint about the presence of bedbugs during their stay from Jan. 25 to 26, 2024, according to a complaint investigation from Feb. 8, 2024.
The room tested positive for bedbugs, although adjacent rooms did not. The room and adjacent rooms underwent pest control treatment and tested negative on Feb. 6, 2024.
MGM Resorts International, which operates the Bellagio, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Cosmopolitan
During a stay from May 14 to 18, 2024, a guest reported the potential presence of bedbugs to the Cosmopolitan. The room was immediately placed out of service, as were two adjacent rooms.
The hotel contacted Ecolab, a pest control company, which detected bedbugs during its inspection on May 20, 2024. When Ecolab returned the following day for a follow-up treatment, all rooms tested negative for bedbugs.
The investigation was completed by the SNHD remotely on May 28, 2024, and no further action was required.
MGM Resorts, which operates the Cosmopolitan, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Resorts World
Bedbugs were reported during a stay from Feb. 4 to 8, 2024, according to a SNHD complaint investigation from March 12, 2024. The room tested positive for bedbugs, and Ecolab treated the room.
According to a statement from Resorts World to the Review-Journal: “The issue reported in March 2024 was promptly addressed and resolved.
“We continue to maintain comprehensive preventative measures, including routine inspections, proactive monitoring and established response protocols to help ensure a clean and comfortable guest environment,” the statement said. “We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and guest care across the resort.”
The Strat
A guest at The Strat reported the presence of bedbugs on Feb. 3, 2025, according to a SNHD complaint investigation from Feb. 13, 2025. Once the guest checked out on Feb. 4, the room was placed out of service.
The room was inspected the same day by Premier Pest Control, which found bedbug activity and began treatment. By Feb. 7, the room tested negative for bedbugs.
According to the complaint investigation, The Strat “followed proper protocol with inspecting and treating for bed bugs.”
Golden Entertainment, which operates The Strat, didn’t provide a comment.
Horseshoe Las Vegas
During a stay from March 5 to 7, 2025, a guest said they “developed severe bed bug bites” all over their body, according to a SNHD complaint investigation from March 17, 2025. The complaint also alleged seeing two “live nymphs” on a polo shirt, one inside a shoe, on the bedding and mattress, and a “dead adult” bedbug on the bathroom floor.
The guest brought a bedbug on a tissue to show the front desk and was moved to a different room.
The facility completed a three-day pest treatment with Premier Pest Control, according to the complaint investigation.
Caesars Entertainment, which operates the Horseshoe, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Caesars Palace
A guest staying in the Caesars Palace Octavius Tower made a complaint about the presence of bed bugs on July 15, 2025, according to a SNHD complaint investigation from July 21, 2025.
The guest said they witnessed a bug crawling on the pillow and brought it to reception, where both the pillow and bug were disposed of. They were then moved to a new room in the Colosseum Tower.
The complaint also alleges their son was “bitten up” by the bed bugs and was treated at Sunrise Medical Center, where he was prescribed medication.
The room was placed out of order on July 15, 2025, underwent a three-day treatment and was returned to service on July 18, 2025.
Caesars didn’t respond to a request for comment.
How prevalent are bedbugs in hotels?
Diego Rodriguez, technical specialist and associate certified entomologist with Preventive Pest Control, said when he does an inspection of an entire hotel he can expect around 5 to 10 percent of the rooms will have bedbugs. If it’s a “nicer hotel,” typically it is around 1 to 2 percent.
Rodriguez said complaints for bedbugs may be more prevalent in Las Vegas, and the West Coast, in general, due to a lower “pest threshold,” as opposed to the East Coast.
When checking into a hotel, Rodriguez has a five-minute protocol to check for bed bugs:
1. Place luggage down on a luggage rack, desk or bathroom counter. Anywhere away from furniture.
2. Get down and inspect the foot of the bed. Look underneath, check the bed skirt, box spring and dust cloth.
3. Then, inspect the mattress by peeling back the fitted sheet and check along the edges and pleats of it.
4. Pull the bed away from the wall and repeat the process at the head.
5. Inspect the headboard and, if possible, remove it to inspect further.
6. Inspect other furniture in the room. On couches and chairs, look under arm rests, along the front and bottom edges, down the back and the sides.
Rodriguez said to take extra care when inspecting the bed skirt, which he said is “rarely or never” washed in hotels.
When inspecting, people should be looking for live or dead bedbugs (which look like apple seeds), fecal droppings (which look like small black dots or stains) and cast skins, their papery-looking outer skins.
Bedbug bites typically appear on exposed skin, like hands, feet, neck and face, said Rodriguez, with the small pests rarely biting through clothes. Although, only around 50 percent of the population will show signs of bedbug bits, this is because not everyone is allergic them.
Furthermore, there have been zero known cases of disease transmission from bites, said Rodriguez.
“Just because someone has bedbugs doesn’t mean that they’re dirty people or anything like that. Because honestly, bed bugs don’t discriminate,” said Rodriguez. “They will go with whoever they can hitch a ride with.”
Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on X.
