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Okay, I am freaked out by the thought of bed bugs at hotels, and have heard that you can bring home bed bugs in luggage, getting infested in an airplane cargo area. Am I a freak? Does anyone else not want to travel because of this issue? I have to travel for work, and stay in a lot of hotels. I bring home my clothes, and put them in the wash immediately. Anyone else worried about bed bug infestation? Bed Bugs - Should Bed Bugs Worry You? Bed Bugs on Plane: British Airways Passenger Claims Bites, Bugs - The Huffington Post
I used to be really freaked out by them but you can drive your self crazy thinking about them and in the end IMO it basically comes down to luck or bad luck. You can pick them up in a nice hotel, (new) furniture stores, the dressing room of a clothing store, or your neighbor could bring them home. Short of never going anywhere and never buying anything I don't think you can really avoid them if you happen upon them. So I just hope for the best.
Coming from someone that (1) had the unfortunate occasion to stay in a very high-end hotel room that, unbeknownst to me, was totally infested w/them, and (2) also finding out at this time that I am completely and totally allergic to these boogers... take it from me... you do NOT want to run across these! The bites turned into a rash that turned into a crusty rash that turned into swelling around the throat, etc., a typical allergic reaction most people suffer that suffer from any allergy. And, itched like crazy! Honestly, I looked so bad, I couldn't even stand to look at myself!
The hotel did cough up some dough to reimburse me for all the doctors/specialists and emergency room visits, meds, aggravation, etc., but it took me a long time to get over this one episode... and it was even longer before I'd even sleep in a bed again... anywhere! All clothes, luggage, shoes, etc. - everything - had to go through a thorough cleaning as well.
These are the things to look for...
(1) Is there an almost perfumey/cologne smell to the room when you walk in? Major tipoff - as this is exactly how the room smelled when I went in -- and I dismissed it as maybe one of the handymen having too much cologne on or maybe they overused a strong fragrance spray. Not! Depending on how infested determines the strength of this smell.
(2) While these little brown bugs are small... you can still see them with the naked eye. Search the bed... everywhere... remove the sheets, especially around the top of the bed... and check the creases in the mattress edges and the full mattresses themselves. Slide the mattress off the springs, and check the springs, uncover these as well. Check around the headboard carefully, pushing the mattress back enough to look up under it and check it from the top as well - a flashlight will serve you well! Check under the bed, again especially around the headboard.
(3) Even if you still don't see any, check the sheets for any spots on them, red or brown. Check the drawers in the chests... take out the drawers and check underneath them.
(4) If there is a chair or a couch, do the same thorough search on each, i.e., remove the cushions... move it around, check the bottom, top, middle, etc.
Just be very vigilant about doing a thorough check on everything in a hotel room. And, if there is anything at all that gives you pause, ask for another room! Or hotel!
Note: The type reaction I described above that I personally had to these bugs is limited to those of us allergic to them. Most people will never even notice the bites or even when they do, these bites will not progress into anything more than the bites themselves, much like mosquito bites.
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Last edited by BstYet2Be; 03-20-2012 at 02:30 AM..
I will also add to never put your luggage on the bed. If you can, pack everything in plastic baggies (those giant ziploc ones are AWESOME) and only take out what you need, keep everything else zipped up.
I am a gold level at Hilton and Marriott, so I spend my fair share of time in hotels. I do a quick check of the bed when I arrive just to ease my paranoid mind. It only takes a couple minutes to flip the sheets and look around the mattress. With that said, I have never seen a bed bug or stayed anywhere with an issue (fingers crossed my luck continues). Like anything, I take reasonable precautions (quick bed check upon arrival) and then let it go. I am generally more concerned with my bare feet touching nasty hotel carpet.
Thanks. Glad to know I am not a "freak". I need to go to Vegas, I am sure the place is going to be infested. I am dreading going there. I usually stay at the Marriot, I have a rewards card.
I have no desire to go to Mexico, or go on a cruise...I heard cruise ships are infested. Just would rather stay in my own bed.
We did 60 nights last summer during a road trip, in a range of motels from Fairmont class & high end Marriott, to dives out in the boonies...
never saw one, never got bitten, didn't bring any home. Any 'level' of motel/hotel could have them, but based on our experience, it's a bit overblown, imo.
GL, mD
Thanks. Glad to know I am not a "freak". I need to go to Vegas, I am sure the place is going to be infested. I am dreading going there. I usually stay at the Marriot, I have a rewards card.
I have no desire to go to Mexico, or go on a cruise...I heard cruise ships are infested. Just would rather stay in my own bed.
Jasper, you just never know... and certainly cannot tell by the name or price of the hotel... or the country, USA or not!
Some time after that, I did a consulting job in MX for a bank with locations in both Mexico City & Toluca (40 miles NW of Mexico City) and stayed in a hotel in Toluca for five months that was one of the cleanest, most well-maintained hotels I've ever been in, bar none! The service was extraordinary and everything was meticulously cleaned every day of my stay there! I actually even slept in the bed with no qualms about it, too!
Definitely do not let something like bugs keep you from going anywhere and enjoying yourself!
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Note: The type reaction I described above that I personally had to these bugs is limited to those of us allergic to them. Most people will never even notice the bites or even when they do, these bites will not progress into anything more than the bites themselves, much like mosquito bites.
Thanks for adding that. I've slept in hotels in more than 120 countries, all of them rock-bottom minimalist-budget kinds of places that most of you will never want to go near, and have never yet found a bed bug, nor been bitten by anything else in a hotel. (except the ubiquitous fleas in Valparaiso and Tananarive, which have been in every house for centuries.)
I would expect that a person who is allergic to bedbug bites is probably also allergic to lots of other kinds of bites, and already knows about the risk. The rest of you can pretty much ignore such petty inconveniences. Don't leave home without Benadryl, just in case.
Last edited by BstYet2Be; 03-21-2012 at 04:09 AM..
Reason: repaired quote
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All clothes, luggage, shoes, etc. - everything - had to go through a thorough cleaning as well. 
