# Bedbug worries?



## legalskier (Aug 23, 2010)

They seem to be popping up more and more, e.g. just last week in the Empire State Building of all places. What with all the media attention, is it unrealistic to be concerned that you might pick up an unwanted "hitchhiker" during a business trip? Or even, dare I say, a ski trip, as these pests can survive up to a year waiting for their next blood meal, while living  indoors, making them impervious to winter, unlike mosquitoes. From what I've heard, they're a b*tch to get rid of too. Does anyone take any prior precautions against them, like checking the bedsheets when you check in?


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## Black Phantom (Aug 23, 2010)

If you acquire these friends in your travels, you are in it deep. 

http://www.bedbugsguide.com/


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## dmc (Aug 23, 2010)

I check the sheets...  And carry a silk sleep sack to protect me as well..


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## WakeboardMom (Aug 23, 2010)

dmc said:


> I check the sheets...  And _carry a silk sleep sack to protect me _as well..



THAT'S what I needed to hear.  Thank you.


My sister-in-law's husband brought them home from a business trip; she was the only one affected by them, and it took the doctors a very long time to diagnose it.  (This was a couple of years ago...maybe now they'd figure it out faster.)

After her episode, I was with her on a trip and she insisted on checking all the beds, but didn't have a clear plan on what she'd do if she found them.  Ask for another room?  In the same hotel...?  It didn't seem to make a lot of sense, but if the silk sack works...then we have a plan.


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## dmc (Aug 23, 2010)

WakeboardMom said:


> THAT'S what I needed to hear.  Thank you.
> 
> 
> My sister-in-law's husband brought them home from a business trip; she was the only one affected by them, and it took the doctors a very long time to diagnose it.  (This was a couple of years ago...maybe now they'd figure it out faster.)
> ...



So far so good...  I bought it a few years ago after one of my co-workers came in from Sweden.  He stayed in the same hotel as me in Stamford CT (Holiday Inn).  I stay on the top floor because of my status...  He's on one of the lower floors.  Second day - he starts getting bite marks... uuuuug... bedbugs...  I checked out immediately... 

Turns out that floor is used by international aupairs that stay at the hotel before they go to their families they're working with...

I've used it all over the US and the world...  again.. so far so good..


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## severine (Aug 23, 2010)

My sister-in-law was affected a couple years ago. Stayed at a high end hotel and brought them home. It was expensive eliminating them from the home after that. I don't sleep well away from home anyway but that was just one more thing to stress about. I checked very thoroughly when we went on vacation this year.


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## wa-loaf (Aug 23, 2010)

dmc said:


> I check the sheets...  And carry a silk sleep sack to protect me as well..



A sleeping bag liner or something more roomy?


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## dmc (Aug 23, 2010)

wa-loaf said:


> A sleeping bag liner or something more roomy?



Way more roomy..  I have used it as a liner and to sleep in when it's hot out..  It's called a Dreamsack..

I also have small bottles of "Rest Easy"  - it's bedbug spray - supposedly "green"...  You can get it a drug stores.  I used it in India and other countries.   Spray the bed with it..  Because i don't think a Dreamsack will protect me 100%..
Another thing I do is spray my suitcase before packing while traveling..  As well as unpack everything in the kitchen and doing laundry immediately when i get home..

I guess i have to start doing it on domestic trips now... sucks


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## WakeboardMom (Aug 24, 2010)

severine said:


> My sister-in-law was affected a couple years ago. Stayed at a high end hotel and brought them home. It was expensive eliminating them from the home after that. I don't sleep well away from home anyway but that was just one more thing to stress about. I checked very thoroughly when we went on vacation this year.



Just out of curiosity...what would you have done if you had found them?  Did you have the spray with you that DMC recommended?  Now that I know about these remedies, I'll be sure to carry them; but prior to that I was just praying.  ; - )


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## severine (Aug 24, 2010)

WakeboardMom said:


> Just out of curiosity...what would you have done if you had found them?  Did you have the spray with you that DMC recommended?  Now that I know about these remedies, I'll be sure to carry them; but prior to that I was just praying.  ; - )



Demanded another room. That was about the only weapon in my arsenal for that trip.  I meant to get the spray at the very least, but it would have been problematic getting it there since we only brought carry-on down and our liquids bags were full.


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## WakeboardMom (Aug 24, 2010)

severine said:


> Demanded another room. That was about the only weapon in my arsenal for that trip.  I meant to get the spray at the very least, but it would have been problematic getting it there since we only brought carry-on down and our liquids bags were full.



Yeah...when I was with my s-i-l and she was checking, I was thinking, we are totally SOL if she finds anything.


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## bvibert (Aug 24, 2010)

This thread is making me feel itchy....


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## Black Phantom (Aug 24, 2010)

*Report: NYC, Philly, Detroit top bedbug list*

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A leading pest control company has released a list of the 15 most bedbug-infested cities, and New York, Philadelphia and Detroit have scratched their way to the top.

Terminix released its report Tuesday, basing it on an analysis of call volume to the Memphis, Tenn.-based company's 350 service centers.

Bedbugs can be found in mattresses, furniture and clothing, and they feed off animal and human blood. Insect scientists say bedbugs are appearing on a scale not seen since before World War II. High-traffic areas such as hotels, airplanes and cruise ships are especially prone to infestations.

Ohio has three cities in the top 10 — Cincinnati is fourth, Columbus is seventh and Dayton is eighth.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.


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## Geoff (Aug 24, 2010)

dmc said:


> Way more roomy..  I have used it as a liner and to sleep in when it's hot out..  It's called a Dreamsack..
> 
> I also have small bottles of "Rest Easy"  - it's bedbug spray - supposedly "green"...  You can get it a drug stores.  I used it in India and other countries.   Spray the bed with it..  Because i don't think a Dreamsack will protect me 100%..
> Another thing I do is spray my suitcase before packing while traveling..  As well as unpack everything in the kitchen and doing laundry immediately when i get home..
> ...



Aw crap.   I do way too much business travel.   Packing a "dreamsack" and bug spray is going to suck.


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## ctenidae (Aug 24, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Aw crap.   I do way too much business travel.   Packing a "dreamsack" and bug spray is going to suck.



I just bring my own bedbugs with me. Easier that way.


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## dmc (Aug 24, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Aw crap.   I do way too much business travel.   Packing a "dreamsack" and bug spray is going to suck.




Yeah... no shti.. I just checked into my hotel in Columbus..  And checked everything..


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## drjeff (Aug 24, 2010)

Geoff said:


> Aw crap.   I do way too much business travel.   Packing a "dreamsack" and bug spray is going to suck.



Well on the flipside, you could just itch and scratch and itch and scratch and get your daily dose of cardio in that way  :lol:


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## 2knees (Aug 24, 2010)

dmc said:


> I stay on the top floor because of my status...  ..



wow, you really must be important!


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## dmc (Aug 25, 2010)

2knees said:


> wow, you really must be important!



I am..  Don't tell anyone.

I spend a lot of nights in hotels..  So they take care of me.


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## legalskier (Aug 26, 2010)

_***Luckily, adorable beagles may help combat the bed bug menace. The National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA) is increasing its efforts to certify beagles as legitimate help to sniffing out bed bugs.***_
http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2009/04/bed_bugs_are_spreading_but_bea.html


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## legalskier (Aug 27, 2010)

Now we might get them at movie theaters?? Great, just great.

_*Bedbugs found, attacked at Monmouth Mall movie complex*
EATONTOWN — Bedbugs have been found at the Monmouth Mall movie theater complex, causing the theater to close early while an exterminator treated the cinema overnight, a company spokesman said today. Prompted by customer complaints, the virulent bugs were found in three of the AMC Loews Monmouth Mall 15 movie auditoriums on Wednesday, according to Justin Scott, a Loews spokesman. The theaters closed earlier than usual Wednesday and treated by an exterminator.***
The AMC chain has had at least two other instances of bedbug infestations in recent weeks. In New York City, a Times Square theater was treated after bedbugs were found there on Aug. 3. Another theater in Harlem was also affected in July. Finding bedbugs in movie theaters is not necessarily unusual, bug experts said. "Wherever people rest, that's where they like to be," said John Daly Jr., manager of Allison Pest Control in Wall. *That includes movie theaters, bedrooms, waiting rooms and other places where people gather and are inactive for a period of time*, Daly said._
http://www.app.com/article/20100826/NEWS/100826082/1001/rss


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## ctenidae (Aug 27, 2010)

legalskier said:


> Now we might get them at movie theaters?? Great, just great.
> 
> _ *That includes... bedrooms... and other places where people gather and are inactive for a period of time*, Daly said._



Clearly, they're doing it wrong, then.


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## legalskier (Aug 31, 2010)

_*Gov. Paterson signs bedbug law*
August 31, 2010 12:00 PM
Gov. David Paterson signed legislation into effect Monday requiring landlords to disclose any history of bedbug activity in a building to possible tenants. The move follows a spate of bedbug complaint calls to 311 in New York City: 11,000 such calls were made last year, compared to just 537 in 2004. The "Bedbug Disclosure Act" was sponsored by New York State Assembly member Linda Rosenthal, whose district includes the Upper West Side and portions of Hell's Kitchen. Ms. Rosenthal said that the legislation is crucial for helping city residents avoid an increasingly prevalent problem. New York City has seen several high-profile locations succumb to infestation in recent weeks, including the Empire State Building and the AMC movie theater in Times Square._
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100831/REAL_ESTATE/100839973# 

Every little bit helps I suppose.


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## skiNEwhere (Aug 31, 2010)

I'm pretty sure I was exposed to bedbugs when I was on a Forward Operating Base in Iraq, I woke up with a figure 8 in individual bites on my arm and it was itchy as hell, thats what happens when it is someone higher up's bright idea to have you sleep outside on the ground, my friend was stung by a scorpion though so I guess I can't complain


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## SkiDork (Aug 31, 2010)

drjeff said:


> Well on the flipside, you could just itch and scratch and itch and scratch and get your daily dose of cardio in that way  :lol:


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## legalskier (Sep 13, 2010)

_*** Here are some tips from experts:
Use the luggage rack for your suitcase, and keep the suitcase off the floor or an extra bed. Don't put clothes in the hotel dresser or drape them on hotel furniture. Consider setting your suitcase on the bathroom counter, where it's less likely bugs will be.
Inspect the entire bed area. That means pulling off the fitted sheets and searching the crevasses of mattress sides, box springs, the headboard and nightstand. Look for adult bed bugs and also dark smears of blood or fecal matter that these insects typically leave behind. If you find evidence of bedbugs, call hotel management immediately and request a different room.
When you get home, immediately wash your clothes in hot water and dry them on high heat. Don't let them sit in the hamper. Some duffel bags can be heated in the dryer to kill bugs that could be lurking. Carefully inspect suitcases; it might be best to keep them in the garage to make sure nothing gets into the house.
Searches on sites like BedbugRegistry.com and TripAdvisor.com can alert travelers to recent bedbug problems at particular hotels. Or, go straight to the source: Before booking, ask the hotel about its procedure for dealing with bedbugs.
Says Mr. Harrison: "I don't think there is anything wrong with asking 'What program do you have for bedbugs?' when you make your reservation."_
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703467404575486402630258146.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


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