It’s amazing what it’s possible to find out about Web traffic. A few clicks reveals that the most popular post ever here at Health*Conscious*Travel was my bedbug report: what to know before you go a few months back.
The timing was good, because since I posted the national news has continued to feature one report after another about the growing bedbug menace, including the news that the AMC Empire 25 movie theater in New York City’s Times Square had to shut its doors in August for a deep-cleaning after patrons reported being munched while trying to enjoy Toy Story 3.
The offices of elegant Elle magazine and several New York Victoria’s Secret Stores have had infestations, as has — by some reports at least — practically the entire state of Ohio. (In August, Ohio petitioned the EPA to allow re-introduction of a potentially toxic chemical, propoxur, which is supposedly effective against bedbugs but harmful to children. The request was unsuccessful, and reveals a fair amount of desperation.)
And poor Toronto, set to host the Toronto International Film Festival in a couple of weeks, is rushing to defuse reports that the ScotiaBank Theatre, where the bulk of the press screenings are held, is being fumigated to rid the seats of bed bugs.
And while much of the news has centered on the east coast and midwest, here in the west we have a role to play as well. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is convening bed bug symposiums around the country and this week there’s one in our own Oakland, California.
But rather than jump on the bandwagon of alarm, let’s look at the many educational comments on our previous post to glean some practical, useful, non-alarmist bed bug advice.
1. Hotels are not at fault. Or at the least, hotel cleaning staff do not deserve the blame. According to knowledgeable commenter Trisha, the persistent pets are being spread in the clothing of travelers, so that’s where we need to start to combat their spread.
2. Plastic bags are the weapon of choice. Terrabyte, Trisha, and other commenters recommend that travelers keep all belongings (not just clothes, but everything) in airtight ziploc plastic bags to prevent bed bugs from finding a cozy hideaway.
3. Rely on hot water and a hot dryer upon re-entry. When you get home, bring your suitcase straight into the laundry room and wash everything in hot water, then dry it in a hot dryer for good measure. If possible, steam clean your suitcase; a low-budget option is to leave it outside in the sun for a few days.
4. Consider an airtight mattress protector. This may sound like overkill, but if you live in a bedbug area, or travel a lot, it makes perfect sense to be proactively protective. Bed bugs come by their name for a reason; mattresses are their first choice when it comes to lodging because of the easy access to an all-night buffet. So seal your mattress up securely in an anti-bed bug protector and they can’t settle in.
5. Be a conscientious — and cautious — houseguest. If there is any chance at all that you yourself are hosting bed bugs, then all I can say is, friends don’t let friends get bitten by bed bugs. I haven’t dealt with bed bugs myself, but I have dealt with lice when my children were little, and the same courtesy of full disclosure applies. If you will be staying in a private home and are worried about bed bugs, use the same plastic bag and laundry techniques you’d use when staying in a hotel.
6. Consult the ultimate authority. If you want to know everything there is to know about bed bugs, check in with the folks at www.Bedbugger.com, who keep up with all the latest sightings and scratchings. As of this weekend, they were reporting bed bugs in Google’s Chelsea, New York offices. Bet that’ll get a lot of hits!
More bed bug tips I haven’t thought of? Share them here, please!
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The news about this certainly is alarming. The advice about plastic bags is a good one, but certainly makes travel difficult!
Yikes!! One of the problems is that college students and young people in urban areas will find a mattress on the street and drag it back to their apartment. Or they'll leave an old ratty couch for the next tenants, who inherit their bed bug problem. I'm a bargain hunter myself, so I'm not totally against used furniture, but I try to buy new upholstered furniture to limit my possible exposure to bed bugs.
Thanks, Hannah, for the tip about Excella-tec, I'll check it out. There are certainly a lot of people racing to solve this problem and it sounds like new solutions are becoming available.
That's a great point, Susan, not to bring home upholstered furniture that might harbor bed bugs. I'm a free box person myself, so I need to keep that in mind. I once introduced cockroaches into my house via a free cabinet… yuck!
This is all so creepy — like some kind of plague. As a mother, I remember the lice infestations, but at least those could be knocked out fairly easily. Bedbugs, in contrast, seem to be so damned resilient. I've read horror stories about how much it costs to eliminate them.
This is great. We just posted a piece on avoiding bed bugs when traveling and I think all that you mention is a great addition. Check out our advice here: http://www.thehealthyroadwarrior.com/bed-bug-bites-when-staying-in-a-hotel/. Thanks for this!
Yikes! As someone who takes in a LOT of movies, I'm always conscious about what might be lurking in the seats, be it bed bugs or lice or something else.
I tend to sit in the side-seats, instead of the more popular middle seats, and my long hair is always tied up and covered with a hoodie.
Would love any more tips or hints to avoid those critters at the movies.
Great post, Brett. I mentioned the bed bug spray in my previous post, too; it seems to work though I never know if there are actually bed bugs there that I'm fending off! What's been your experience?
Sounds horrible. They aren't a big problem Down Under at the moment and I hope it stays that way, but international travel being what it is may not.
They are taking over it seems! My friend had them and their exterminator said never to sit on public benches that are wooden as the buggies can hide in the cracks.
I didn't even realize this was such a problem–and I live in Ohio! Yucky.
I have been lucky never to experience these critters – knock wood – and hope to never meet one. The whole experience sounds so, so bothersome.
The only thing I can think of to say when I see news reports on this is "Ugh." It makes me not even want to travel. I'm going to NYC next April for ASJA and hope the problem is controlled by then.
These mattress and pillow protectors don't cost an arm and a leg. I had to get them because I'm allergic to dust mites, which also live in mattresses and pillows. Easy precaution.
A hard post to read while on the road, Mel. I'm feeling itchy already!
Oh dear, this made my skin crawl. I know several folks who have had to deal with bed bugs in the past year. It almost destroyed their lives for a while.
There's a lot of really really good and useful info here. I learned a lot. Thank you.
I don't think we need to let this gross problem stop us from traveling – that would be like letting the bugs win the battle, it seems to me! But I do think it's important to feel empowered to pull off the sheets and check the mattress, and call down to management if we have any question at all. I used to feel intimidated about doing this, and I don't anymore. I'll sleep better if I feel everything's been double-checked!
A sobering blog Melanie. So far I've been lucky and I have to say I rarely think about bed bugs on my travels. Famous last words. I know some of Vancouver's higher end hotels have been hit but because outbreaks impact the bottom line I'm hopeful that the better hotels will try and find a long term solution. Better still would be a permanent solution for all levels of accommodation.
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