Neo-bed bug epidemic

[Reverend Conehead]

If for any reason you need to stay in a hotel, whether it's a cheap or an expensive one, check for bed bugs! I used to think that expression "Don't let the bed bugs bite" was figurative. Turns out, it was based on reality. It used to be that 1 in 3 beds had bed bugs. Our grandparents or great grand parents had to deal with those awful literally blood-sucking bugs. However, bed bugs are making a comeback. I had a scare recently. One morning, I woke up with bites all over my right arm and right leg. I informed the property management, and they said they would send an exterminator to check it out. Meanwhile, I threw that bed into the dumpster. I hated it anyway. After that, the bites stopped. The property management sent an exterminator to check for bed bugs, and they found none.
...
I lucked out. The old bed may have had a spider or fleas in it. I have no way of knowing. Or it could have been the start of a bed bug infestation, which luckily did not expand past the bed. I put out a bunch of bug traps where bugs get caught in a sticky substance, and nothing has shown up. However, the exterminator confirmed that there's a resurgence of bed bugs that started in Paris. I watched a bunch of Youtube videos on how to spot bed bugs, and I recommend you do the same. They said that when you go to a hotel room, first put your luggage in the bathtub where it's not possible for bed bugs to jump onto. Then do a thorough inspection of the bed, under the covers, on the mattress, and on the box spring. The videos show you exactly what to look for. They also say to check the hotel room's other furniture such as chairs or sofas. The bed bug resurgence is because they've developed a lot of resistance to pesticides.
...
They said the cheaper the hotel, the more likely it is for there to be a bed bug infestation. However, it's still possible in an expensive hotel. I had some friends go to China and stay in an expensive, posh hotel, but they got all bit up by bed bugs. If you do get bit, take an antihistamine. You don't want bed bugs. They're a nuisance and are a beast to get rid of.

 

[VaqueroTD]

Had a friend who stayed in a Holiday Inn Express and got a bad case. Told me about throwing away his clothes when he got home, red all over him, losing hair, etc. I think you would assume while not 5-star, Holiday Inn is standardized enough to prevent that, but I guess not. He was paranoid since and would check any hotel bed no matter where with flashlight and some of the steps you list. My wife is a certified bugaphobe and buys a new large bottle of bedbug spray literally every two weeks. While we’ve never had an insect in any house because of my wife’s anal cleanliness, unfortunately, I probably will be dying early of some type of cancer from all the chemicals. LOL

 

[HungryLion]

If for any reason you need to stay in a hotel, whether it's a cheap or an expensive one, check for bed bugs! I used to think that expression "Don't let the bed bugs bite" was figurative. Turns out, it was based on reality. It used to be that 1 in 3 beds had bed bugs. Our grandparents or great grand parents had to deal with those awful literally blood-sucking bugs. However, bed bugs are making a comeback. I had a scare recently. One morning, I woke up with bites all over my right arm and right leg. I informed the property management, and they said they would send an exterminator to check it out. Meanwhile, I threw that bed into the dumpster. I hated it anyway. After that, the bites stopped. The property management sent an exterminator to check for bed bugs, and they found none.
...
I lucked out. The old bed may have had a spider or fleas in it. I have no way of knowing. Or it could have been the start of a bed bug infestation, which luckily did not expand past the bed. I put out a bunch of bug traps where bugs get caught in a sticky substance, and nothing has shown up. However, the exterminator confirmed that there's a resurgence of bed bugs that started in Paris. I watched a bunch of Youtube videos on how to spot bed bugs, and I recommend you do the same. They said that when you go to a hotel room, first put your luggage in the bathtub where it's not possible for bed bugs to jump onto. Then do a thorough inspection of the bed, under the covers, on the mattress, and on the box spring. The videos show you exactly what to look for. They also say to check the hotel room's other furniture such as chairs or sofas. The bed bug resurgence is because they've developed a lot of resistance to pesticides.
...
They said the cheaper the hotel, the more likely it is for there to be a bed bug infestation. However, it's still possible in an expensive hotel. I had some friends go to China and stay in an expensive, posh hotel, but they got all bit up by bed bugs. If you do get bit, take an antihistamine. You don't want bed bugs. They're a nuisance and are a beast to get rid of.

When I bought my first home, bed bugs were found after we had agreed to purchase the home. We made an agreement with the sellers that they would pay for exterminator services after they cleared out and before we moved in.

Bed bugs can be very tough to get rid of because they can hide in very very small spaces. If only a couple survive the treatment, they reproduce and come back.

It was easier for the exterminator to get rid of them in our situation because when they treated the house was completely empty. No furniture or clothes to hide in.

The exterminator was very knowledgeable. He said that bed bug numbers declined drastically when they used to use DDT to spray for mosquitoes and other insects.

However, some bed bugs built up immunity to the poisons and their offspring are now immune or resistant to them. So the numbers are growing rapidly again.

Another time when I worked in the youth correctional facility, it got bed bugs from one of the kids who had them in their clothes when they came in.

The facility hired exterminators that used heat to kill them. They used dogs trained to smell bed bugs to locate all the areas they were hiding. They then sealed off all the areas the bed bugs were found with plastic and tape. They then use big heating systems to heat the entire infested areas to a temperature the bed bugs can’t survive. They even use infrared sensors to make sure the entire area gets up to the needed temperature.

It was very effective, the best way to get rid of them but that type of treatment is very expensive, it can cost 10’s of thousands of dollars depending on the size of the building that needs to be done.

 

[HungryLion]

Also, heat kills bed bugs. Whenever we stay at a hotel and are worried about bed bugs what we do is, when arriving home. All our bags are kept outside. We go inside and all shower. We immediately throw all our clothes in the washer then dryer. Check your bags to make sure there’s no bugs in them.

If you do all that. You should be able to eliminate them prior to them getting into your house.

When I was a case worker going into peoples houses a lot, I used to worry about bed bugs from that too. There is bed bug repellant you can buy. It’s made from different oils and cinnamon. Bed bugs can’t stand cinnamon. Spray that on the bottom of your shoes and bottom of your pants. You can also use that when you go to a hotel if you want. Spray around the edges of the bed.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Also, heat kills bed bugs. Whenever we stay at a hotel and are worried about bed bugs what we do is, when arriving home. All our bags are kept outside. We go inside and all shower. We immediately throw all our clothes in the washer then dryer. Check your bags to make sure there’s no bugs in them.

If you do all that. You should be able to eliminate them prior to them getting into your house.

When I was a case worker going into peoples houses a lot, I used to worry about bed bugs from that too. There is bed bug repellant you can buy. It’s made from different oils and cinnamon. Bed bugs can’t stand cinnamon. Spray that on the bottom of your shoes and bottom of your pants. You can also use that when you go to a hotel if you want. Spray around the edges of the bed.

Yup, heat kills those monsters. My dad said when he was a kid, which would have been in the 40s, their house got bed bugs, and the exterminators killed them off with DDT. However, that's no longer an option. I may have dodged a bullet. It's possible that I had a budding new infestation in that bed, and then throwing it away got rid of them before they spread. But I don't know for sure. I looked over both the mattress and the box spring carefully, and didn't find any of the tale-tell signs that I saw in the Youtube videos. There were no shells (discarded exoskeletons) or the black dots caused by bed bug feces, and I found no bugs. But SOMETHING bit me all up and down my right arm and my right leg. I had these big, red welts, and it didn't make me itch just there. My whole body itched, and I started to feel short of breath. One of my best friends urged me to take an antihistamine, and to go to urgent care if I didn't start feeling better. So I took that med and rubbed anti-itch creme into the affected skin, and I felt a lot better. Maybe it was one or two little devils in that mattress that got me, and they hadn't had time to cause a huge infestation. Or it could have been some other insect like a spider or fleas. The exterminator found no evidence of any infestation, but those menacing little vampires are great at hiding. I've bought a steam cleaner, and I'm going to use it to zap every possible nook and cranny just in case they're hiding there or if their eggs are there. That's a difficult part. You could kill every single bed bug, but if their eggs aren't destroyed, you just end up with a new generation of those little external parasites.
...
I've tried to figure out how some insect might have entered. Over the summer, when I went to visit my parents, I drove there and overnighted in a budget hotel each way. I DID check both those beds for bed bugs, but that was before I was apprised on what to look for. Over the summer, I also bought a 38-year-old used acoustic guitar and a used Marshall guitar amp. I also bought a used stereo from a thrift store. However, the exterminator inspected those items and found nothing. It may always be a mystery what bit me.

 

[CyberB0b]

Never use a luggage rack or put your luggage on a bed. They hate cold hard surfaces, so put your luggage in the tub as soon as you arrive.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Yup, heat kills those monsters. My dad said when he was a kid, which would have been in the 40s, their house got bed bugs, and the exterminators killed them off with DDT. However, that's no longer an option. I may have dodged a bullet. It's possible that I had a budding new infestation in that bed, and then throwing it away got rid of them before they spread. But I don't know for sure. I looked over both the mattress and the box spring carefully, and didn't find any of the tale-tell signs that I saw in the Youtube videos. There were no shells (discarded exoskeletons) or the black dots caused by bed bug feces, and I found no bugs. But SOMETHING bit me all up and down my right arm and my right leg. I had these big, red welts, and it didn't make me itch just there. My whole body itched, and I started to feel short of breath. One of my best friends urged me to take an antihistamine, and to go to urgent care if I didn't start feeling better. So I took that med and rubbed anti-itch creme into the affected skin, and I felt a lot better. Maybe it was one or two little devils in that mattress that got me, and they hadn't had time to cause a huge infestation. Or it could have been some other insect like a spider or fleas. The exterminator found no evidence of any infestation, but those menacing little vampires are great at hiding. I've bought a steam cleaner, and I'm going to use it to zap every possible nook and cranny just in case they're hiding there or if their eggs are there. That's a difficult part. You could kill every single bed bug, but if their eggs aren't destroyed, you just end up with a new generation of those little external parasites.
...
I've tried to figure out how some insect might have entered. Over the summer, when I went to visit my parents, I drove there and overnighted in a budget hotel each way. I DID check both those beds for bed bugs, but that was before I was apprised on what to look for. Over the summer, I also bought a 38-year-old used acoustic guitar and a used Marshall guitar amp. I also bought a used stereo from a thrift store. However, the exterminator inspected those items and found nothing. It may always be a mystery what bit me.

Sounds similar to the experience my wife and I had when we moved into our current house. Her parents owned the house and had been using it as a rental property for many years. When we took it over the first few months we were getting this horribly itchy bites and red welts. The bites seemed to almost travel in a line on our arms and legs. We obviously suspected bed bugs but never found any trace of them.