mercedes355

I will be staying at the Marriott New Orleans the weekend of March 26-28. I recently read a review on tripadvisor that said there were bedbugs in this hotel. After researching a little bit on the internet, I found out that New Orleans is one of the top three cities in the US for bedbug infestation.

So has anyone experienced this problem staying in New Orleans, especially at the Marriott New Orleans? I know I sound a little paranoid but I thought bedbugs were a thing of the past and I don't want to wake covered with bites

JeanH

I don't know anything about the Marriott, but I just read an article in the paper this morning about the incidence of bedbugs increasing. According to the article, the reasons are the increase in international travel and the changes that have been made in by the pest exterminators, who have altered the way they spray for insects. Makes me itch thinking about it.

Tandoori_Girl

I read that bedbugs eat sloughed-off skin cells (flesh) and other body parts, such as toe and fingernails. In ordinary circumstances, I would think that this would mean that hotel is not a clean one, and is not cleaning its linens or its bed covers.

But if New Orleans has a huge infestation rather than this one occurence, then I would imagine that's because the city's climate and environment makes it a good breeding ground for the pests, which multiply rapidly.

I don't know what you could do to make sure you don't get bitten aside from spraying your linens or yourself with a bug spray. I think I'd rather get a few bug bites myself. A lot of those sprays are caustic and tres stinky.

Dan

Bedbugs? This is a new one for me. Stay in a nice establishment and it shouldn't be an issue. I worked in the hotel biz for a few years in N.O. and never once had anyone complain about bugs in da bed!

Wayne

You can actually buy an evening dusting powder that you can sprinkle between the sheets of your bed an hour or more before going to bed. If there are bedbugs, which is doubtful, they will skeedaddle because the powder, though nice for humans, repels insects. Go to a specialty place like Bed, Bath, and Beyond and they'll direct you to the product. I'm sorry but I don't remember a specific brand name; however, my wife has used the powder just to freshen the bed (not because of bedbugs) and it was quite pleasant.

Ronda

I am not a backpacker, but have read suggestions for backpackers staying in youth hostels in Europe to bring a sleep sack and spray with Off or some other repellant.

I also read here on Fodors about a lady who brings her own sheets with her. She did get quite a bit of flack over that idea.

Bird

I wonder what kind of research was done in coming to the conclusion the there was a bed bug infestation at the NO Marriott. Seems fishy to me. I bet some nutty customer complained about it to get an upgrade or a free room.

jor

We stayed at a B&B in Juneau, Alaska which had bed bugs. We left the room and spent the remainder of the night in the living room. We had dozens of bite marks in the morning and got a refund. It was pretty discusting.

schmerl

There was an article in our local paper this morning about a family that encountered bed bugs on their vacation and unknowinly brought them into their house. They had to discard all their bedding and other furniture. It cost them $20,000 to replace all the things they had to discard and pay for all the fumigation.

emmiegirl

I've heard about the family who lost $20,000 in furnishings and extermination fees. Believe me it can happen...and it is just that costly if you end up with a bedbug infestation.

I stayed at the Vagabond Inn Hollywood California in December and woke up to bugs in the bed and bite marks on my body.

I did not know that they were bedbugs, sadly they traveled home in my suitcase and infested my house.

Bedbugs feed on you while you sleep. They hide during the day in the tiniest cracks and under carpeting, behind picture frames and in light sockets. So, while they are big enough to see, unless you catch them when they are up at night feeding on you...they can be hard to find and exterminate.

I know, I have lost thousands of dollars in extermination fees, ruined furniture, carpeting and clothing.

What's worse is waking up to more itchy bite marks and the loss of sleep and constant worry. Bedbugs are a NIGHTMARE!

J_Correa

Lavendar and eucalyptus are effective at repelling spiders - maybe there is something similar that will repel bedbugs.

We have a lot of spiders in our area during the summer and they seem to love me, so I put small cloth bags with fresh lavendar in them around the house - under the bottom sheet in the bed, under the cushions in the couch, and so on. This is very effective at keeping the spiders away.

dgarland

I just read an article in either Ladies Home Journal or Good Housekeeping a few weeks ago about bedbugs. It said they were eliminated from this country in the 1950s but because of the changes that have been made with insecticides,(many of the strong chemicals are now illegal) they are now coming back. The article showed a picture of one, they are about the size of a watermelon seed. It said that they only come out in the dark, and people don't realize they are being bitten because they emit something that numbs the skin while they are biting. They hide in the crevices of the mattresses, and behind baseboards and in cracks in the floors, etc and in luggage, etc. The article said that in extreme cases, people have had to tear out that baseboards and carpets in order to get rid of them. It also said that they can show up anywhere they are carried to, and being a dirty place, or clean place has nothing to do with it. It also said that years ago, people used to put a bowl or saucer of kerosene under each leg of the bed because they actually climb up the legs of the bed (they don't fly). The article recommended putting vaseline on the bed legs. It sounds horrible. They also said that many people who have gone to the doctors with the bits have been misdiagnosed as allergies because doctors now days haven't seen bedbug bites. Out of 100 doctors they surveyed, one doctor had seen them, and he was over 70 years old. It's scary and makes me itch just to think about it. I feel sorry for emmiegirl!

peggym

The bottom line its that you don't look for bargain plafs to stay in NO. Just stay at reputable places. Nothing bad willl happen. It is when we as americans think we will get a bargain for nothing that things happen. I love NO.

cigalechanta

Bedbugs live in the mattress, bed springs , wall paper, so bringing your own sheets will not help. Yes, if the place is dirty they love it living off skin deposits, the whole place needs to be exterminated and the bed taken apart.

annesherrod

Just curious.......when they ruin furiture, etc...does it look like termite damage or what? I can't picture it?
Yuck. Now I am itching all over and just ready to go to bed!!

cigalechanta

They are too tiny to chew the furniture but they leave their eggs and waste imbeded in the wood. If you ever stay anywhere and feel itchy BUT have the bites, more importanely. wait in the dark, then jump out of bed turn on the light, and, if's bedbugs you will see them scurry away.

turn_it_on

RE: "Just stay at reputable places"

Is this really a solution (to a problem that sounds like it's getting a little blown out of proportion in the last several days here)? From what it sounds like, bedbugs can infect any space as long as someone brings them in, from a Motel Six to a Four Seasons--beds are beds.

Furthermore, if they are really that difficult to get rid of, it's possible that due diligence by an upscale place OR a cheap place could still leave them infested.

Right?

itchin' for your love,
roxy

cigalechanta

http://www.smilepop.com/index.cfm?ac...05&page_id=605
I hope this works, this one's for you, GoTravel

GoTravel

Thanks cigalechanta! I laughed my butt off!

emmiegirl

Message: RE: "Just stay at reputable places"

That is not the answer...
turn_it_on (Roxy) is right...bedbugs can show up at either a Motel 6 or a Four Seasons. The problem comes in when a Hotel doesn't work diligently to to resolve the problem and continues to let hotel guests occupy rooms that have been reported to be infested.

Some great hotels have had the misfortune of having bedbugs brought in. The answer is to quarantine the rooms while going thru the extermination process, which often involves ripping out carpeting and throwing away the furniture... hotels should not let people stay in those rooms.

A property that cares will go thru that process, a hotel prpoerty that doesn't care and just wants to keep the cash flowwing in will let guests pay to spend the night in a bug infested room, letting the guest get bit while they sleep and then possibly carrying the bedbugs home with them.

Your furniture gets ruined when it's been sprayed with professional insectisides and you still have bedbugs. Nothing kills the egss so they just keep hatching. Who wants to sit or sleep on furniture that has toxic chemicals on it (sprayed on several times). What's worse, if the bugs don't die, your next step is throwing the furniture away to get the furniture and bugs out of your house. That is what I had to do. I've been being bit for 5 months in my own home since the stay at The Vagabond Inn in Hollywood.

I am an educated professional who once had a beautiful home...i didn't want to tear things up and throw things away, but I had to...bedbugs are hard to get rid of.

I do not invite anyone over, I don't want to risk them being bitten or having them carry the bedbugs to their house.

The Vagabond Inn should have quarantined the rooms with the infestation, they didn't because I was there in December and a post on BestHotel.com indicated the bugs are still there in March 2004.

Bedbugs can make you sick. Especially for children. So this is a major public health concern. It is a law in most states that hotel establishments provide a bug free environment for the guests.

The Vagabond Inn was $85 per night with a $6 utility fee, while not expensive...it was hardly a bargain. We chose this location on Hotels.com because it was close to Paramount Studios where we had to be by 7 am. Since the Vagabond corporation is a huge chain on the West Coast we felt like we were staying someplace reputable.

Thank you to dgarland for the info you posted.