bed bugs

[jessmarimba]

and what about if you don't have a dryer?

I travel all the time, I'm so worried about bringing them home from a hotel.

[JennK13]

My husband is an exterminator and deals with bed bugs on a daily basis (Jess, I'm sure you can imagine the influx of calls they've received with all the recent press locally about them!!).
You can actually get rid of them by calling an exterminator - he treats for them all the time without "flames" or heat - he uses a spray to kill them, but only professionals have it (not something you can get from HomeDepot or some thing). The best way to NOT get them is to NOT bring them in. Check the stuff you buy BEFORE bringing it into your house. You can see them; they look like miniature ticks. You can also see their feces (like black dots) on things. Whenever we travel, before we unpack or anything, he pulls up the sheets on the bed and looks at them to see if he sees anything - like I said, it's pretty obvious if they're there.
Something I find really odd (Jess, don't get grossed out!), we moved to Colorado from California. He would do one or two jobs a YEAR in California, mostly at hotels from travellers bringing them in. Here in Denver, he does one or two (or more) A WEEK!!!! A person's financial situation doesn't matter - he services poor people in the ghetto just as often as he services rich people. And usually they are brought in by either people who have recently travelled, or those who have bought furniture used and brought it into their homes, or the college kids who come home for a break (who have bought stuff cheap as college students do).

[Chicken Little]

I leave my luggage in the garage for 24 hours after I get home. The only thing that comes in the house goes directly into the washer/dryer.

[OakLeaf]

I read to take everything out of your luggage outside and put it on white garbage bags. The white plastic makes it easier to see the bugs.

+1 on checking hotel mattresses. Also never put your luggage on the floor.

[jessmarimba]

I'll just hope all of his work here is in hotels too!

[marni]

while you still should check the beds in hotels, a catalog store called gaia used to carry a silk travel bag/ sleeping bag style sheet that kept you off of the questionably cleaned sheets in a hotel. I have one and use it whenever I do a cross country tour because between dealing with a) finding a motel that can house 20-30 women for one night, all preferably in ground floor, non smoking rooms, that is not in a huge suburb, and b) finding the next one withing a doable days ride for 6-8 weeks is a challenge which means that at times, the nights' lodging ends up being in less than totally desireable locales.

I also leave anything new or returning luggage outside in the garage and then go straight to the washer or a white garbage bag for 48 hours.

just saying....

[badger]

this may sound stupid, but what does leaving luggage in the garage for 24 hours do? will the bugs leave? die?

[JennK13]

I'll just hope all of his work here is in hotels too!

haha! nope, it's all residential - from Cherry Hills Village and the Pinery to Colfax. No one is safe!

And, no, 24 hours isn't enough time to do anything about them. After a job, my DH will spray himself down and disrobe his uniform in the garage before coming inside, then straight up to shower.

Also, don't think they only live in mattresses/couches. They can live in wood, too, so simply hanging your clothes in a wooden armoire won't protect you if there's an infestation. The good news - back in CA, the one to two bed bug jobs he did were in hotels. Here, the several a week he does are all residences - like I said, college kids coming home with them from buying used furniture, people picking stuff up on craigslist, people bringing them home from their OUT OF COUNTRY travels (most hotels here are pretty good about staying cleaning and taking care of problems).

[sundial]

When we were vacationing in NM I woke up one morning with a bed bug making its way up my sheet. It is shaped like a lady bug so it's easy to spot. I told the front desk about my plight and they had just treated the room last week for BB. They said that with the military coming home some of them are bringing the uninvited guests along for the ride.

My exterminator told me to use hot steam to kill the bugs and eggs and to look for them along the edge of the mattress and bed rails. Fortunately I didn't find any of them after we got home from our trip.