I've read a few articles last year about the resurgent spread of bedbugs in all levels of accommodation, from hostels to five-star hotels to luxury apartments. I did a search here, and I found people complaining of bedbug experiences at major name-brand four-star hotels.

From what I've read, if you are unfortunate enough to get bedbugs in your home, it can take an extreme amount of time, dedication, and money to get rid of them. And it's supposed to be easy to transfer bedbugs from one place to another inadvertently. In a recent article I was reading about welfare hotels, the reporter was told to stand in the middle of the hallways so he wouldn't catch bedbugs from the walls.

With so many people here who hotel hop, are you taking any precautions against bedbugs?

I've thought of the following, but perhaps I'm being overly paranoid. I haven't actually implemented any.

* Take along plastic garbage bags in your suitcase. When you arrive at the hotel, place your suitcase in that plastic bag. Don't use the dresser drawers to store clothing. In addition, use Ziplocs for all clothing, particularly used items.

* Switch from soft-shell luggage to hard-shell.

* When you return home from a trip, strip down in the garage and (if possible) shower, before putting on a completely new outfit, and leaving one's luggage in the garage. Later, with plastic bags for transport, take the bags to the laundry, and launder the items in hot water (and bleach if possible).

Would these steps help? Has anyone been so unfortunate as to bring bedbugs home? I've never had a close encounter so far as I know, but I admit I'm a bit afraid of the creatures, so I'm trying to gain as much knowledge as possible.

It sounds like those steps would help (e.g. sealing your bag inside of a platic bag) - the last thing you want is for them to get into your luggage. If you're worried, I'd avoid putting my luggage down on the floor or in the closet - use one of those foldable luggage racks that most hotels provide.

Stripping down in the garage, however, seems a bit excessive.

good topic. I wonder the same thing myself.

A bedbug FAQ from the NYC Dept. of Health. (annoying boxes to close/cancel to read whole info sheet)

From the info sheet for one's home but pretty much the same for hotel:
Make you itchy reading it, doesn't it?

Thanks, driscj.

Has anyone tried this in their hotel room?

Yes. Scary.

I brought some home from, I believe, Romania.

When the exterminator came, he consoled my mom, who was concerned about his truck being parked in fornt of our house, that he'd just finished his work at the Munich Four Seasons.

I guess there's no way to escape...

jpdx, sorry to hear that your home required an exterminator. Did it work? I agree it's ridiculous that they all seem to favor prominent vehicles with advertising plastered on them.

Despite an apparent lack of bedbugs at home, reading about how they live in clutter is somewhat motivating to get rid of it to forestall future problems.

Just got back from Honduras where I was feasted on my a number of critters, including I think bed bugs. Here's what I did when I got back, and so far it seems to have worked.

I returned late at night, so I took off all my clothes and put on fresh clothes. All clothes went directly into the hamper. The next morning, I washed everything - including my fresh clothes from the night before and my sheets.

While things were washing, I sprayed my mattress, clothes hamper and luggage with ample amounts of Lysol disinfectant.

So far, so good. Of course, I'm not positive anything hitched a ride back with me. But they don't appear to have taken hold.

As a pest control professional, I can tell you the disenfectant will do absolutely nothing. After washing in hot water, make sure you dry the clothes etc in a hot dryer, preferably for 30 minutes AFTER the clothes are dry. This will insure that any eggs that were laid are killed as well. (140 for 30 minutes). It is basically the same treatment if your kid comes home with lice. In fact, they look a lot like them. Here is a link to see a picture of one:

http://news.ifas.ufl.edu/print/2001/bedbug.html

You can buy a portable steamer at Walmart for about $50.00. I would flip your mattress over and slowly steam the seams. Same for the luggage.

Hotel tips: There were some good ones listed above, but the best tip is this: Don't put your suitcase on the bed!!! I used to get rooms with two beds so I could do that! They can reside in cracks as thin as a business card. If you find one in your room, treat your room as the center square of the hollywood squares and make sure you are at least two rooms and floors away from the affected room.

The good news is that bedbugs are not a vector of diseases, which means they will bite you, suck your blood to feed their young and move on. You get a little welt and that is about it. They will make your skin crawl and make life difficult for a couple of days, but if you were in the 3rd world, you would have a one in 3 chance of living with them. So you have that going for you!!

Good luck!!!

When I worked in restaurants, I always did... too many gross bugs in pantries and back rooms.

I would:

(1) always try to book rooms at spaking new hotels
(slightly less chance of bedbugs in newer sheets/mattress)

(2) bring my own sheets and a steam iron as mentioned
above.

(3) bring my own air mattress...(a bit extreme)

(4) travel everywhere only in my RV.

Personally, I don't worry so much and try to ignore it if
possible... just think about all the other disgusting things
you can frequently encounter in a hotel(even nice ones)
One example: hotel guests who urinate while swimming
in hotel pools Yes, I've seen this before, which is why I
never even dip my feet in hotel pools.

Bedbugs from a hotel room, headlice from the aircraft seat back, spider bite from the airport toilet, gastroenteritis from the client's cafeteria, syphilis from your new "friend" in Pittsburgh. It's all a little too much. I need to give up travel!

dare I mention the possibility of bird flu?

giving up travel? staying home can be just as dangerous
for your health... about a week ago, someone spotted
a real big bug in the neighborhood... in the form of a big
black bear. the animal control people came out and told
everybody to keep their dogs/cats/small children indoor...

Ah well, at least my mattress smells pine forest fresh.

Off-topic, but where do you live that you are lucky enough to catch site of a black bear in the neighborhood? I would love to see that...through my kitchen window, of course.

We used to have bobcats running around when we lived at Lake Powell. It was pretty cool.


Topic? I had never given bedbugs a second (or first) thought before FT. Now I'm feeling a little paranoid. And itchy. I'll be inspecting all of the rooms very carefully this week.