Bed Bugs and what to do?
 

I know everyone has a story on Bed bugs. What I'm looking for is is their a ritual that some of us do to ensure that they don't end up sleeping with these creatures?

Is there a product you can use, does anyone take any precautions? If so what?

After watching Primetime? last month or so they stated that these bugs can be found in 5 star hotel just as easy as your run down motels.

O'k lets hear the horror stories!

tc

"I know everyone has a story on Bed bugs."

Huh? With years of travel I have no such story. And I'm sure thousands of others don't either. Your post would seem to indicate you think there's a very good chance you'll encounter bed bugs in your travels. I think the chances are very, very remote.

I saw that report also but thankfully have never encountered the critters. What would frighten me even more would be the thought of accidentally bringing them home with me if I did share a bed with them. :(

Although we have slept in many different beds, in many different hotels, apartments, etc. during many trips to many places, to our knowledge, we have never encountered bedbugs, so I do not have any horror stories to share. I heard the stories also, so maybe we were just lucky!

I don't think there are any personal products one can use to prevent bedbug bites.
If you saw the show, they gave some tips on how to detect bedbugs in a room. If you don't detect any, you're probably ok. If you do detect them, don't stay in that room. If you put your luggage on the floor, you need to clean it out completely and launder all your clothing -before- changing rooms or hotels (so you don't perpetuate the problem).

Travelnut, if I recall correctly, one of the tips was to check behind the headboard, even rip a little off the backing (if there is any) to see if any bugs are in there. I did that recently on our trip to Italy since the headboard in one of the hotels was a stuffed fabric type. No problem there, thankfully! Do you remember if that was one of the tips?

Yes, that is one. Check the wallpaper, bedding, mattresses for 'spots', and also they give off an odor (sweet-ish?)...

I am grateful that I have no bed bug stories.

Sorry, no bedbug story (or does it count when a coworker's second cousin's friend read in a newspaper that bedbugs had been found in hotels somewhere ?)

Does it make sense that any reputable establishment in which bedbugs HAD been seen or reported would make an attempt to get rid of them?

I somehow think there are ways in which this could be accomplished.

Yes, there probably IS a "ritual" that some people do to ensure they don't encounter them..they stay in places that DON'T have them.

How do we do that? Not sure. Is it dumb luck? Is the (un)likelihood of encountering them related to the cost of a room? Those questions I cannot answer.

Thanks Heaven, so far I have been bugs free...:)

There ain't no bugs on me
There ain't no bugs on me
There may be bugs on some a you mugs
But there ain't no bugs on me!!!!

No stories here either I'm glad to say.

Take a look here:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=....com&meta=

In past years I have slept in some pretty dumpy looking 2* hotels in Europe, but I never got bed bugs

Have never had a problem with any bedbugs thank goodness. But when I was growing up the last thing my Dad said to me everynight was "don't let the bedbugs bite".

Crefloors, I love that commercial. Wonder if the product would work for any potential bedbugs? :)

Luckily, I have never encountered them at home or away. However, my daughter returned from Christmas vacation to find her college apt. infested with them. She and her roomates were told to wash what they could in hot water and dispose of all fabric items that could not be washed. All the bedding (mattress, pillows,etc.) and the sofa and chairs were burned. They were given a new apt. so I don't know what happened to the first one.

You must be American. American TV programmes are always geared for shock value. Primetime's shows would never go over well in Europe because we are not obsessed with dirt, sex, and bodily functions.

If a Brit came across a bedbug, he would pour gin on it.

If a Frenchman came across bedbugs, he would sautee them in a pan with a little butter and white wine.

If a German came across bedbugs, he would put them to work.

If an Irishman came across a bedbug, he would tell it his life story, becoming weepy when talking about "dear ol' mum."

If an Italian came across a bedbud, he would bless himself and light a candle.

If a Pole came across a bedbug, he would ask it out on a date.

Cheers

Bedbugs--and many other bugs--seem to hate fresh ground black pepper. I first read about this in George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London; he wrote that it worked to chase all the bedbugs to other rooms in the Parisian flophouse where he was living.
I haven't experience bedbugs, but we did have problems with ants wandering into our British cottage (because the front door isn't hung right and there's a gap). I spread a line of fresh ground pepper by the gap and sure enough, they haven't been back since.

No bedbug stories here, either. But I must admit that after watching a television special on them, I do look behind the headboard at the mattress . . . have yet to find any signs of any critters.

"Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite!" We heard that every night, too, LoveItaly. Thanks for bringing back that nice memory!:)