A pillow protector – yes, definitely. A pillow cover – not necessarily. There is a difference between the two. A protector is designed to keep bed bugs and dust mites out of your pillow. Once they get inside there, they are very difficult to remove. A cover is simply a cover to keep the pillow clean. Often, the two terms are used synonymously but they shouldn’t be. A high quality pillow protector will have a zipper to close it. Not just a zipper, but one designed to keep bed bugs and dust mites out – with very tight teeth (the zipper, not the bugs). Some pillow ‘cases’ or pillow ‘slips’ are open ended and are intended only to keep the pillow clean from cosmetics, saliva, and other contaminants – but not necessarily bugs or mites. So make sure you know what you are buying before paying for it.