bed bugs

[GLC1968]

Just like mosquitoes, black flies or any other biting insect, if bed bugs are present, they will bite me. Put me in a bed with even a single bed bug in it and I will get bitten. I have no idea why, either as I'm regularly cold to the touch and bed bugs are drawn to human warmth.

I got involved with bed bugs about 15 years ago. A guy I was dating at the time picked them up from this family he was renting a room from. I had given him my old futon to use and it got infested when he lived there. I never stayed with him when he lived with the family (unrelated to bed bugs), so it wasn't until he got his own place that we noticed anything. Once he got an apartment on his own, I started staying over. Everytime I slept there, I woke up with many bites. He never got a single one. At the time, there was NOTHING about bed bugs in the news or anything, so we had no idea what was going on. At first, we assumed it was mosquitos, actually...but since my ankles were prime target areas and always under the covers, we ruled that out. I would stay with him for a weekend and then head home (I lived 5+ hours away). I never got bitten at home. This went on for a couple of months (maybe 4 or 5 weekend visits total) before we figured out that it was bedbugs. I forget how we put two and two together, but we eventually did. We tossed out the futon, washed all his sheets and vacuumed the apartment. That's it. No fumigating. No washing his entire wardrobe. No going through his roommates stuff either. We did notice that some idiot took the futon out of the trash before the truck came by...stupid. That'll teach them not to do that again!

I guess if we weren't prepared to throw out the futon, getting rid of them might have been harder to do, but really, it was no big deal. And like I said, 4 or 5 weekends of travel back and forth between his place and mine (with a bag and a dog) and I never got them at home. I know this because I never once got a bite in my own bed (still use that matress to this day).

Maybe bed bugs are different now, but I just don't get all the panic. Bedbugs live off human blood, so it's not like they will spread throughout your house. They want you, so they will reside in a place where it's easy to get to you. Why in the world would they go into someone's closet or even into the carpet unless someone is sleeping/laying on it? Clothing that you are wearing? Sure. Sheets? Sure. Beds? Of course - and even into drapes or pillows or headboards that are in very close proximity to where humans sleep. But why would they hop into a random suitcase?

Maybe I'm naieve, but the panic seems super overblown to me and like I said, I've basically had them before.

[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.

[Cataboo]

Not everyone who is bitten by bedbugs actually reacts to them. many people have no idea they have an infestation till a guest comes to stay that is allergic to them.

Bed bugs are being spread by travelers - so obviously, they're hitching rides on clothing and in luggage - so it's not unreasonable to expect them to hitch a ride in your clothing or your luggage if you've left them open on a soft surface. Bed bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to chemicals.

I do have a silk liner bag - but I'm not entirely certain why people think bed bugs won't crawl into a silk liner bag just because y ou're in it?

I know I'd be extremely upset if I had a bed bug infestation, so when I know that I have been around them, I take preventative measures. It doesn't cost me anything and it's not really all that much hard work. Just like if I have been staying with a friend or whatever that i know has roaches - I leave my suitcase & such in the shed or outside for however long and inspect very carefully before I will take it into the house.

A landlord once gave me roaches (gave me a used fridge that was infested with them) and it took me about 3 or 4 months of intensive chemical warfare before I managed to get rid of them. It wasn't fun.

[GLC1968]

Bed bugs are being spread by travelers - so obviously, they're hitching rides on clothing and in luggage - so it's not unreasonable to expect them to hitch a ride in your clothing or your luggage if you've left them open on a soft surface.

I should clarify - I understand that they DO travel by hitching a ride or they never would have spread at all. My point is that a little common sense goes a long way. If you suspect that you stayed in a place where they could (or do) live, then take precautions. My guess is that they travel to new and exciting places by accidentally ending up in suitcases/bags because they hitch a ride in clothing/sleepwear, not because they are malicious and trying to infest new homes. I would think that carrying around your own silk sleeping bag is actually inviting them to come home with you. Kind of like people carrying their own pillows when they travel - a perfect bed bug hiding place!

I think everyone should just sleep naked and shower first thing, then the bed bugs wouldn't have any place to stowaway for the ride to your home.

[badger]

and what of folks like me who don't have a garage or a shed to leave the suitcase out? I don't really have a place to spread my stuff out on white garbage bag or sheet to inspect my contents after a trip. I guess I'll just have to run the vacuum all over the outside of the case and dump the contents into the tub and sort things out that way.

[kjay]

However you feel about these critters, these are some very good points. Never thought of vacuuming luggage. :-)

[tctrek]

Ewwwwwww.. this thread makes me itchy!

[myjas]

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/bedbugs.asp

[OakLeaf]

Here ya go.

[KnottedYet]

One of my coworkers brought in pictures today of bedbug bites she and her mom suffered all over their legs a few years ago.

They became pustulent and welted, the pus had to be drained. She ended up with impetigo and had to wear bandages and do antibiotics for a while. The bedbug bites left scars.

They threw away everything they'd taken on their trip and that had been in the hotel with them.

Not my idea of a good way to spend a vacation, and since I welt up from the anticoagulant in mosquito bites I would assume I'd also welt up from the anticoagulant in bedbug bites.

Yuck.

[Cataboo]

costco is selling Veriluz UV sanitizer wands - they have a travel and a home one in the package. It claims to kill dust mites and bacteria. The 2 pack was like $50.

I've googled around a bit and seen some sites that claim uv sanitizer wands will kill bed bugs but I don't know how accurate that is. Now obviously, I don't think you can disinfect or get rid of an infestation with them or kill all the bed bugs in a hotel room - but I wonder if they could be used to treat luggage and any clothing that won't take high heat after you come back from staying in a hotel for those of you that don't have an outdoor space to leave luggage when you get home...

[Biciclista]

I have read this thread with interest. Since I am like GLC, whatever bites will bite ME first I have always been worried about/afraid of bedbugs.
I travel a lot and so far have been very lucky.
I have also read a lot about the critters. Leaving your suitcase outside for 24 hours will not do anything for you.
However, when you are in your hotel room, keep your luggage away from the bed and away from you.
Serious infestations of bedbugs are easy to find, but light infestations are not.

The bedbugs are not attracted by your warmth, they are attracted by the carbon dioxide that you exhale. There are now "bedbug traps" that do essentially that, they release small amounts of CO2 and if there are bedbugs in the house, one or two will eventually find the trap. (they won't trap all the bugs)

I am surprised and happy to hear that there is a chemical that kills these things. Google bedbugs and discover how serious an effect they have on some people.

[Grog]

I agree with you Oak, bedbugs are much less of a serious problem than, say, flea, which can be a vector for disease.

However, as someone else mentioned above, bites do get itchy (at least for some people), and left unattended the problem can grow to pretty big proportions and one gets covered with bites pretty quickly. I have seen people with bedbug bites all over their neck and chest and arms and although they were not life threatening they were really, really were enough to scare me into being very careful. It's also not very nice to have blood stains all over your sheets and mattress.

[Koronin]

I'll add that I'm also grossed out by an infestation of any kind of bug. I really don't care if it's bedbugs, fleas, moths, beetles, ect. Preventative measures are always best. However, like someone else mentioned, it is much harder for those of us who do not have a garage or any way of leaving things outside. Plus living in a warm weather climate leaving things in a shed or garage all winter won't work. Although maybe in July or Aug in a shed would work. It's gotta get hot enough. Esp with the outside temps reading in the mid to upper 90s.