Andrea - Thankfully, I have NOT encountered them.

I have heard that it's a good idea to keep your luggage off the floor to prevent the bugs from getting in. I almost always live out of my luggage when I travel, so I also try to keep my luggage zipped when I'm not accessing my stuff.

Posted By Sheila from GoVisitHawaii on August 27, 2010, 3:02 PM

I had a run-in with the little buggers in Bozeman, MT at a backpackers this summer. My boyfriend and I spent the entire next day washing all of our clothing and spraying our luggage and car in case some of them hitched a ride. Luckily, there haven't been any more outbreaks.

Posted By Katie on August 27, 2010, 5:32 PM

what we do a few days before we leave is to spray our suit case with jt eaton bed bug spray ,, water based so it doesnt smell,, then the day before i spray febreeeze and finally a few fabric softners,, and then were all set to travel,, once we get to our hotel we spray the bedding, carpet, headboards, couch and chairs, and under the bed,, might be a little crazy but so far so good,,

Posted By brett on August 30, 2010, 10:20 AM

When I return home, I bring the suitcases right down to the basement laundry room. I wash the clothes right away and then shake out and inspect all the corners and seaming of the luggage. (I also inspect the hotel bed, of course.)

Posted By Amanda on August 30, 2010, 12:27 PM

I'm a touring so I get into a lot of motels; haven't had a bedbug problem, but I carry a spray bottle of Texas red cedar oil and liberally spray carpets & bedding. You can get it online, both oil-based for indoor, and water-based for killing bugs/diseases on outdoor plants. The great thing is, it doesn't stain & is totally safe to use on babies/people as mosquito repellent, it smells nice, like my grandma's old cedar chest, and it kills fleas, cockroaches, & ALL the other creepy insects as well, without harming good ones like ladybugs & butterflies. Have used it for yrs to deal w/ my cats' fleas. Hope this helps!

Posted By Diane Schneider on August 30, 2010, 12:50 PM

I always check http://bedbugregistry.com/ before I register and try to update it if I find anything.

Posted By rjr on August 30, 2010, 1:07 PM

I never had a problem with bed bugs. However, I recall reading two things which may be helpful.

In George Orwell's Down and Out in Longon and Paris, he mentions the use of red pepper to stop vermin. I don't recall if it was bed bugs or lice.

I recall a superstition about not throwing a hat on a bed. While this may be a bit of fancy, it might have prevented bed bugs from being transmitted to one's hair.

Posted By David Reno on August 30, 2010, 1:21 PM

I had bedbugs once several years ago. They didn't show up for more than a year after a trip I took, and I was told by the exterminator that it's usually only about 6 months of wait time when they show up. (I have my suspicions about what happened, as our building was owned by slumlords at the time and they wanted me out, but I never could prove anything.)

What the exterminator also told me is that the only way to get rid of bedbugs is to treat your room/home with the stuff he used. Regular bug sprays, oils, anything that you would use to keep other bugs away, won't work on bedbugs. He said that extreme heat or extreme cold would also work, but unless you get someone in to steamclean your whole room/home, your home isn't likely to get close enough to one extreme or the other.

Those things are nasty nasty nasty! I still have the occasional nightmare that they are back, and it's been almost 5 years. I do think checking for them whenever you stay someplace is definitely a great idea. Be safe out there!

Posted By Chloe on August 30, 2010, 2:33 PM

My son brought them home in his baseball bag from a weekend tournament in Bloomington, Indiana. We didn't notice for awhile and then had to go into all out warfare.

There is no real defense...wash everything in hot water and dry in a hot dryer...I mean EVERYTHING. Get your mattress and box spring encased into a zippered bag and put duct tape over the zippers. Continue to monitor your dryer over time, b/c you will still find some bedbugs...they are resilient. We used a product called Hot Shot...in every nook and cranny of his bed and room (and ours just in case). These bugs can travel several feet to get to their host, including down the hall to your room. Persistence and Hot Shot helped us minimize the cost of dealing with these nasty bugs.

Posted By MamaCat on August 30, 2010, 2:38 PM

My father used to travel a lot of overseas. He said he would use baby powder in between the bed sheets, then cover it for 20 minutes, and watch the bugger's fly if there were any. It suffocates them!

Posted By kgp on August 30, 2010, 3:01 PM

Can you please tell me where I can purchase sither Texas Red Cedar Oil or JT Eaton Bed Bug Spray?
These both sound great...
Thanks for the information!!

Barbara Eisenstadt

Posted By Barbara Lynn on August 30, 2010, 3:08 PM

I ,luckily,have not been exposed-but heard they leave behind a sickingly sweet smell-not unlike anti-freeze.I also heard they will hide in books-maybe even the bible in your hotel room-YUCK!! Sleep tight-DON'T LET THE BEDBUGS BITE!!!

Posted By Christiane Donner on August 30, 2010, 3:34 PM

I, too, want to know where to get these products:
JT Eaton Bed Bug Spray & Texas Red Cedar Oil.

Posted By Susan Heffernon on August 30, 2010, 3:48 PM

OK, so I can see that we are not the only travelers that brought a great souvenir home from our travel. We did not go too far. We went to Niagara falls and stayed at one of the 3 stars hotels on the U.S. side. Few weeks after we came back my kids where bitten everywhere. They had 50-60 bites each. Horrible. We had a hard time finding where is it that they are hiding. We got our landlord a love letter from the building department, after he told us he wasn't going to take care of it. Thank God for building department. We haven't seen them since, it's been 5 months. But as few of you said, now we see a bite, we don't blame mosquito anymore....We think it is a BED BUG>>>I have chills just thinking of it. So from now on. We'll check the beds and use plastic bags for all our stuff and get our laundry and luggage cleaned straight away. No way I'll leave it for the next day. OH and I am going to research those sprays you guys recommend. Thanks and good luck to all....

Posted By JJ from NY on August 30, 2010, 4:27 PM

If you spot evidence of the critters, get out of the hotel immediately; don't just take another room. The critters move fast, even from one building to the next.

We live in New York City, a great place to encounter bed bugs. We tried all sorts of commercial products with no significant results. The sprays only seem to taunt them. We couldn't afford the professional chill treatment. The one thing that did the trick was this: natural diatomaceous earth. After washing (in hot water) and drying (forever) all clothing and bedding, and encasing mattress and pillows in bug-proof casings (any retail bedding department), we sprinkled diatomaceous earth under the bed, around the baseboards, behind bookcases, etc., and especially around the feet of the bed to keep the critters from returning during the night. This earth (a white powder) needs to be left in place (or renewed) for several months. You can buy this relatively eco-friendly product on the Internet. It is much less expensive than any alternative. It looks awful (only for while) but it really works.

Posted By Maureen on August 30, 2010, 4:28 PM

I pack everything in gallon-size or the even larger zip-loc bags. Take something out of the ziploc... then zip it back up. Duct tape on the zippers of the luggage, with double face tape on top to catch anything that might get in! Bag on the dresser, and purse hanging on a hanger in the closet. I had a friend who got bedbugs, and it was a nightmare to get over-- luckily, she had a friend who had a sauna and she was able to put most of her large stuff like mattresses inside to zap the buggers. Also, she had to dry-clean many of her clothes-- the costs were exorbitant! Take steps to prevent and you may not get them at all!

Posted By Lynne on August 30, 2010, 4:28 PM

Google JT Eaton Bed Bug Spray as well as the other and a whole lot of outlets come up... that should help.

Posted By Lynne on August 30, 2010, 4:31 PM

So these oils and sprays? Can you take them on planes? Do they come in travel size?

Posted By Linda Smith on August 30, 2010, 4:38 PM

I used to handle PR for a pest control company that was expert in bedbug-spotting and control. This story and post has me itching like I used to when I wrote about this subject!

Upon arriving in your hotel room, use the fold-out luggage rack if provided, or the dresser/desk, never the floor.

Next, remove the sheets and inspect the top and bottom seams of the mattress - on the sides, the foot and at the headboard. Look for tiny black dots - bedbug calling cards. You won't see blood on the sheets until you've slept in the bed and they've bitten you. That sickly-sweet smell mentioned in a post may be there if there's a real infestation, but not if the bugs have recently arrived.

And, yes, if one hotel room is infested, others likely are as well. That's why it's so important to inspect/treat a whole apartment building or hotel, not just one room. And to do it professionally.

To truly exterminate a bedbug infestation, you need a professional pest control company who can prove that they can do the job. The red cedar oils and do-it-yourself steaming/dry heat will just reduce the population, and they can travel under your baseboards or to another room and wait til the coast is clear.

Posted By Mary on August 30, 2010, 5:29 PM

a well meaning friend gave me a chair he did not want, nice chair, UNTIL, i started itching and noticed blood on the sheets, after about 3000.00 later, two new beds and one new couch and a new bedroom suite, thats not the 3000.00 the 3000.00 was spent on pest control, 500.00 a pop, pest control products because terminix did a half assed job, etc..
it was a nightmare from hell, i slept in the car for 3 days before the heat set in, i slept at the dining room table, i am so paranoid now, i spray once a week with a heavy duty pesticide, wash my sheets twice a week, dry them, vacuum 2 x weekly, and i still check the bed every night. rx cost me about 100.00 plus, scars on my arms and legs from this crap. the buddy lived in an apartment and i guarantee they came from his apartment, all his furniture prob has them in there, some people are not bothered by them, i itch to death, scratch,
the itching is so intense, horrible, i would not wish this on anyone unless i really hated them.
dont take used furniture,especially bedding, i dont care if they are giving it away, do not do it.
hotels, i take my own sheets now, check the bed with a flashlight, i swear, i could not eat or sleep for about 2 weeks, i cried, felt like i was going crazy, it was horrible. be careful check your beds in hotels. dont put suitcases on the floor and do not walk barefoot. good luck

Posted By katherine on August 30, 2010, 9:04 PM

Tenants in our building come and go. We suspect
that new tenants since January,brought bedbugs in!
There were none before this.Our exterminator told
us to use 91% Isopropyl Alcohol to kill them and it
does!Put a sprayer onto the bottle or pour it into
a spray bottle and zap them.100% effective!Also,
read warning on bottle.It is flammable.Keep away
from flames/electrical outlets( where they hide ).
91% Isopropyl Alcohol can be bought at Walgreens.

Posted By EB on August 30, 2010, 11:13 PM

Sleep sacks might work - use and then put into a zip lock plastic bag to take home - wash and dry ASAP. How about a disposable sleep sack - new each time and then throw away?? That would be the best if it were available.

Posted By jane on August 31, 2010, 1:17 AM

Always inspect the seams of mattresses. Look for cobweb like stuff along the seams which is an indicator of bedbugs. Check the internet so you can see what they look like.
Had bedbugs in Egypt, at the Garden City House Hotel a few years ago. Wouldn't stay again for that reason.

Posted By Noreen Lerch on August 31, 2010, 7:03 AM

Any on cruiseships?

Posted By regina on August 31, 2010, 8:53 AM

I was bitten in New Orleans in a very nice hotel. Fortunately, it seemed as if there really was only one bedbug because I got two bites on the second night I was there and no more. But man, did they hurt, then itch! The hotel refunded my entire stay.

Posted By Eve on August 31, 2010, 10:37 AM

there are several hotels motels in pigeop forge Tn. that have them be careful these are 4 star hotels

Posted By s smith on August 31, 2010, 1:26 PM

Don't forget pillows..My wife likes to sleep on her home pillow when traveling...Will have to be more careful in the future.

Posted By Russell on August 31, 2010, 10:21 PM

Thanks for the info. Plan to get some of the sprays and try the alcohol. This is scary.

Posted By Pat on September 3, 2010, 4:28 PM

Am headed to Pigeon Forge, TN end of Sept. Can you tell me the names of the hotels there that had the bugs? I'm not sure where we're staying yet.

Posted By Brenda on September 6, 2010, 5:18 PM

I had bedbugs for a breif time last summer 2009 and it was the worst two months in my life. i recived them from a bed that i had purchased through a order catalog (Fingerhut). I at first tried bleach to get rid of them but that did not work. then I ended up having to pay Termnix to come out and get rid of them i had them come out twice just in case. i still think constantly about getting them again, i still look through my bed and my sheets to check. they are the worst thing to ever have and i would not wish these on my worse enemy. the best thing to do is just get some professionals to do the job.

Posted By Tiffany on September 7, 2010, 4:32 PM

From what I've read, it will take extreme cold or heat to get rid of them and few of the sprays mentioned previously are really effective. Preventives include not putting your clothes in drawers and keeping your suitcases in the bathroom (where they can get cockroaches instead!)in addition to the inspections, and emptying out of luggage outside at home if possible.

We just purchased some of the Eagle Creek compression bags, for not only bulky items, but I was thinking they would be a barrier to bed bugs.

Does anyone know exactly how long to put things in the high heat of a dryer? I've read freezer storage should be 3-4 days. Lets hope manufacturers are working on an effective, but non toxic solution. The good news is at least they don't seem to spread disease, like ticks, mosquitoes. PITA!!!!

Posted By North Coast on September 9, 2010, 4:35 PM

i carry a portable clothes steamer and use it on the bed of any hotel i stay in.

Posted By flo on September 10, 2010, 12:26 PM

Does the clothes steamer work?

Posted By PAat on September 21, 2010, 3:13 AM

I really hate staying in hotel rooms because of any infestation. What I have decided to do is to contact the hotel prior to my visit and let them know I require them to launder my sheets twice. I let them know up front that I will check for bed bugs prior to checking in and that I am an active contributor to yelp and various hotel rating systems. Upon reaching my room, I will spray the entire room with an organic, non toxic bug spray. I place my luggage in a garbage bag for storage, and remove my prepacked clothes that have been neatly organized in extra large ziplocked bags. I microve water twice on the beverage setting untill the water is extremely hot, then douse the bathroom cups with the hot water to sanitize them. I do not remove my slippers at any time during my stay (except when I am in bed). My bed is sprayed with a cedar oil/ water combo and I always bring my own cover slip to sleep in . I like to use the hotel shower cap to protect my head from lice and sleep with that on. In the morning, I will request an early cleaning crew to work on my rooom, and I will order breakfast in the room, in order to watch them clean and make sure it is done thoroughly and properly. I have even given cleaning lessons to the hotel staff! I shower in my own shower shoes and avoid touching any surface of the shower stall. If I have to use the facilities, I have my own toilet seat protectors (you can order them direct from the company) and I will line the seat with three liners. before and after use, I spray the seat liberally with lyesol and I carry my own homemade mixture of bleach and distilled water to disinfect anything I touch. One thing that I insist upon when the cleaning crew is in the room, is that the room is properly vacuumed with the housekeeper working backwards in order to vacuum up their own filthy shoe prints as they go. Lastly, I insist the cleaning crew vacuum all drapery, and lift and vacuum under all furniture in the room. Doing this has kept me healthy and and has given the cleaning crew a sense of pride in a job well done. I frequent hotels every month so I can deep clean my home. The hotel I go to already knows me well, and I rarely have to ask them to reclean my room. I like to think I've raised their standards!

Posted By Vince on September 23, 2010, 2:54 PM

vince is crazy. he is why some people in the service indsy hate guest like him. he should clean up his own stuff. i wonder how he leaves the place when he checks out of his room. i am sure it is not how he makes the cleaning crew do it when he gets there. or else he is just a clean freak who will some day get a unknown germ and die from it.
it will serve him right.
i bet the cleaning crew are from south of the boarder and they cant complain to anyone.
if i was on that cleaning crew i would pay some one to clean that room if i was the one who had to clean yr room believe me it would be worth it.

Posted By steelrose on September 29, 2010, 5:21 AM

OMG, I can't see thee things but I am sure being bit. At first I thought my niece upon bringing her dog over for a visit, has infested us with fleas. But the thing is they aren't biting on my legs and feet, only back, arms and neck area. I am going out tomorrow to by some of the JT Eaton spray and plan to spray my entire room down three nights in a row; bag up everything in there and heat up the room on Sunday above the 115 mark and leaving it all day (have a kersonsene heater and electric heater for this job) and then pray they are gone.

Posted By T on September 29, 2010, 11:22 AM

how do you know if theyre fleas, dust mites, or bed bugs?
it seems like the bites look very similar to all three.
or am i just living in denial...oh the itch is unbearable!

Posted By eddie on September 29, 2010, 8:09 PM

Vince: stay home. You are absolutely NUTS. Hey - life is full of risks. Bedbugs are not cancer or aids or lymphoma. Chill. You will live, buddy.

Posted By sandra on October 18, 2010, 12:56 PM

Vince has an OCD obviously! If I had to go through that much to be comfortable in a hotel, I simply would not travel. I good psychiatrist might be helpful, Vince.

Posted By Lisa on October 18, 2010, 5:45 PM

Hey Diane, I'm sure the owners of the establishments you stayed in really appreciate having an oily substance sprayed all over their rugs and beds, which will stain and be near impossible to get out. If you're that neurotic about possible bed bugs, then don't travel.

Posted By Eduardo Garcia on October 25, 2010, 4:12 PM

Well Vince wins the prize for the pain in the a** neurotic hotel guest. Truly needs therapy. If it were my hotel, I would tell him to stay somewhere else, that we just were not able to accomodate his bizarre paranoid neurotic requests.

Posted By GetReal on October 25, 2010, 4:17 PM

Vince, oh Vince....you do keep busy, don't you? No time go have fun! Sounds like Jack Nicholson's character in 'As Good as it Gets'

Posted By Debi on October 25, 2010, 5:44 PM

diatomaceous earth must be food grade!!!! Not the stuff you get at the home depot! Just be advised. It will work.

Posted By MB on October 28, 2010, 9:05 PM

be fair to vince. he obviously took time to post here because he was trying to be helpful, and even though his ideas are extreme, i'm sure he's just trying to do his best to stay clean and healthy--all of us are here for the same reason, just to varying degrees. and with someone who has had bbugs before, i can tell you that when i had them, it made me quite neurotic for awhile and much more concerned with cleanliness. i think the point is, if someone is going to be so demanding with a cleaning staff, hopefully he or she tips them extra well or otherwise it's unfair. but it's also unfair to attack someone on a discussion post who was just trying to contribute.

when i go to hotels, i take those sticky rollers and roll them on the bed and carpet near the bed. you can peel off the layers of tape. i also try to make sure that blankets aren't dangling on the carpet so bbugs can crawl up them easily. if you're having problems at your own home, you can put vasiline or sticky double sided tape on the leg posts on your bed--i heard it keeps them from crawling up. i don't know if it helps, but it helped me sleep a little better. that, and washing my sheets, pillows, and comforter every other day.

Posted By k on October 30, 2010, 4:18 PM

Well, all these interesting comments make me think of Dorothy's famous line "there's no place like home, there's no place like home'. And thank God for that!!!!

Posted By Susan on November 2, 2010, 8:16 PM

GIVE ME A BREAK! EVERYBODY IS ENTITLED TO THERE OWN OPINION. DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU HAVE NO PROBLEM GOING INTO A HOTEL RM KNOWING THAT IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN CLEANED TO IT'S FULLEST. DOSEN'T IT CREEP YOU OUT THAT THE CARPETS MIGHT NOT BE VACUMED, OR THE GLASSES ARE DIRTY, THE SHEETS DON'T GET CHANGED? IF I AM PAYING TO STAY IN A HOTEL I WANT CLEANLINESS, NOT LAZINESS. WAIT UNTIL YOU BRING HOME BED BUGS AND WE'LL SEE HOW YOU FEEL!

Posted By JENNY on November 3, 2010, 10:38 AM

VINCE does sound exactly like he has obcessive compulsive disorder. but he should know that there is medicine to help people that have it [ocd]--not to mention that people with ocd are so miserable for the rest of the world to be around. Vince --this is from a nurse.

Posted By kay on November 5, 2010, 7:46 PM

Am I the only one who has common sense on here?! Vince is JOKING! He is making fun of all the people who are so neurotic about bugs and cleanliness. Geez, I guess I get it b/c I have the same sarcastic sense of humor...

Posted By julie on November 7, 2010, 9:42 AM

Use your digital camera to take pictures of the mattress seams and then zoom in when you view the picture. This really helps see any black spots AND if you find anything it is digital proof of the possible presence of bed bugs and therefore your situation. A magnifying glass that has as much magnification as you can buy will help if you don't have a good digital camera. Google will help with the magnifier. I also agree that it might not be nice to have to stay in a room where lots of people have sprayed oils and other things all over the mattress, carpet, and bathroom.

Posted By Ray on November 13, 2010, 8:45 PM

Check behind the headboards in hotels. They can hang out there during the day.

Posted By lh on December 20, 2010, 5:08 PM

Does anyone know whether bedbugs are less likely to infest mattresses that are foam or like temporpedics(sp?)If so,I will happily replace my mattress at home and also will go straight to the laundry room, before entering my apt.after trips. Thanks for any info on this!

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