Hey! Good to "see" you guys!

Patrick? *The* Patrick?

And bugwife too?

Hey the gangs all here!
Woo!

But if bedbugs in 4-5*,
what are the alternatives to avoid?

Here's some excellent info on bed bugs--far more than you probably ever wanted to know! But it does help identify them, and gives signs and visuals of what to look for in/around mattresses. http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ent...ruct/ef636.htm

I rarely agree with HowardR (especially regarding Wicked) but "running rampant" does seem a bit over the top. I saw the segment on the Today show and the thing that seemed very strange to me is the woman RETURNED TO THE HOTEL TWO WEEKS LATER! She said it was because of a contractual obligation her husband had to speak at that location again - but if I were filing a lawsuit for MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, you wouldn't find me back at the same place ever - much less two weeks later. Something just doesn't seem right.

Emergency room visit = back again in two weeks? Very strange. Very strange.

I don't understand the NYC part of this post's title. That seems a bit alarmist as well. The woman was not staying at a NYC hotel.

Welcome back, Neopolitan. You have been missed.

Hi Starrsville, you didn't read my post carefully, I said the Today Show story reminded me of the articles I read about regarding NYC's problem, I never said the woman on the Today Show stayed in NYC, I said she stayed at the Nevele in Ulster County. I wanted to know if the NYC problem had been brought under control and was berated by Howard because he didn't know there was a problem (therefore it didn't exist) and then said I blew it out of proportion. From everything I read, there was a very significant problem, and the exterminators were having a extremely difficult time brining it under control. I thought people here would be interested in it because the problem was not limited to dumpy properties - this was a problem in nice, upscale Manhattan hotels. This post, (with the exception of a few comments) quickly lost it's focus.

But hey, thanks to Howard trying to type when he was angry, we all have a new word to use: "Sarcasism"

I did read your post. I understand that you opened with the Today show segment and tied it to a problem you had read about earlier this year in NYC. Got that. My opinion stands.

Hi Starrsville, thanks for the response. I didn't mean to elaborate, but I thought that you didn't understand the NYC part of my post title and I tried to explain - oooh sometimes I hate having a discussion on these threads - much easier to actually talk to in person! Thanks for contributing though

A more appropriate title would be "Catskills and The Bedbugs" but I doubt that would draw as much attention - hence my opinion that the post title is alarmist. Yes, I am aware that bedbugs do exist and are reported in 5 star properties as well as budget accomodations - but would not call it "running rampant" by any stretch of the imagination.

LOL, Sarcasism
One catches it from posting often on certain travel boards. The only cure is going Cold Turkey for a week at least and getting plenty of fresh air.

Or so the doctor said ~

oh good Scarlett! Maybe Howie will try that be cured!

Still say something is not right with the Nevele woman's story. Ya sue for 20 million dollars but go back only two weeks later? I promise you I'd CAMP before I'd go back. There's at least 20 other options (hotel / B&B) within 10 miles of the Nevele. Something is fishy.

And Howard made a typo. Whatcha gonna do? Sue him for $20M?

What is happening with bedbugs is the same thing happening to human germs - they are becoming resistant to the usual pesticides (antibiotics for human germs) used to zap them. In addition, many of the insecticides that are wonderfully toxic on bugs, also seem to be toxic to humans - so they are banned.

Also, as commerce of goods and travel of humans increases, bugs travel too (is there a travel board on which they post?).

In Massachusetts there was a recent newspaper article in which someone suggested a ban on putting used mattresses in same truck with new mattresses. What happens is people buy a new mattress, sometimes because of the little critters, and the mattress company service of removing your old bedding, puts the used mattress right next to the nice new ones - so the next customer gets an unwanted living gift.

I think we have no way of knowing how much this problem is increasing - I am sure that many people have returned from trip to find weird bug bites on their bodies (some questions about same posted here). Many did nothing - took some Benadryl, used hydrocortisone and wondered about mosquitoes.

Now that media has publicized problem, everyone says "bedbugs" really loud to all their friends. And those unfortunate enough to be especially sensitive to these bites or unlucky enough to get a really gross mattress, show up on TV.

Let the lawsuits begin!

Gail, intersting information, thanks for sharing it. Someone commented on another forum that they wondered how much of this was covered up by the hotel industry simply becasue, let's face it, it's not good PR!

Starrs, I was joking with Howie about the typo - he is addicted here just like the rest of us.

Well, that's...."intersting".

..."simply becasue"....

We definitely need the ability to edit our posts on this forum!!!

grantop, please don't refer to me as "Howie." Only my friends do that!

This topic was discussed tonight on Dateline NBC; they mentioned several hotels here that have had "issues." Super 8 and Crowne Plaza were two of them. It seems that it is a worldwide epidemic that may be getting worse. A nightmare!

Now if we get a bed bug that carries the avian flu.....

I saw the same report, ekscrunchy.
I think Gail's post accurately
describes the situation.
But now, how to avoid?
Buy / sleep in one of those
sheet bags? (or whatever
they're called!)