BootsnAll Travel Community

CNN travel story on Bed Bugs

eeee bleh-bleh! That's just... yuck!! Um, no thank you.

you know...I thought I've been itching a lot lately

"And the trouble is, if you don't risk anything, you risk evem more." Erica Jong

"Dwell in possibility" Dickinson

watch out for them in Movie theatres and in sleeper cars on railways etc..they are not just in hotels! camomille lotion works on the itching...

before you leave home, buy a silk sleep sheet - bed bugs cant bite through them.

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/mary/

Who knew? Countless people, apparently.

What is Fear Of Bed Bugs?
Defined as "a persistent, abnormal, and irrational fear of scabies", each year, this surprisingly common phobia causes countless people needless distress.

To add insult to an already distressing condition, most fear of bed bugs therapies take months or years and sometimes even require the patient to be exposed repeatedly to their fear. We believe that not only is this totally unnecessary, it will often make the condition worse. And it is particularly cruel as fear of bed bugs can be eliminated with the right methods and just 24 hours of commitment by the phobic individual.

Known by a number of names Scabiophobia dn Fear of Scabies being the most common, the problem often significantly impacts the quality of life. It can cause panic attacks and keep people apart from loved ones and business associates. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences fear of bed bugs in their own way and may have different symptoms.

Though a variety of potent drugs are often prescribed for fear of bed bugs, side effects and/or withdrawal symptoms can be severe. Moreover, drugs do not "cure" fear of bed bugs or any other phobia. At best they temporarily suppress the symptoms through chemical interacti

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At best they temporarily suppress the symptoms through chemical interacti

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It worries me when someone who is posting in the health topic drops off while in mid-post.

The surge of backpacking and international travel has been blamed for the spread of bedbugs... They were all but extinguished in the 'Western World' until they were brought over in people's packs and clothes Bedbugs has been a real problem in hostels in the past couple of years, unfortunately, and many managers don't know how to get rid of them.

However, nowadays, it seems the 'panic' has gotten to the point where everytime a backpacker itches the least, s/he immediately screams BEDBUGS!!!! Trust me, you'll know when you've been bitten by bedbugs... and if you do get bitten by something, it would be helpful to the hostel manager (and future guests) if you told them about it (discreetly). Hopefully, they'll care and know how to take care of the situation.

They are hard to get rid of, and most exterminators (at least here in the US) don't have a CLUE what works and what doesn't. If anyone gets bedbugs where they live, email me and I'll be happy to let you know what you can do.

(And they can't be smelled unless the infestation has been left untreated for months, and the room is positively crawling with the little buggers).

Cheers,
Kath

Curiosity never killed anything except perhaps a few hours!

A mini articles from ServeYourWorld.com on bed bugs:

Beg Bugs and Plastic Baggies

_____________________________
ServeYourWorld.com -How to Volunteer Abroad
Eurailblog.com -4 Months in Europe, Starts Mid-May

bed bugs are not all that bad. I was bit about 15 times on each leg in Vietnam and all it did was itch. Not to mention with all the terrifying illnesses you can catch on the road, who wants to worry about bed bugs too!

Well you're tougher than me!

I NEVER want bed bugs EVER again. I had them on my arms, my legs, my stomach, my hands, my feet, my neck and my face. I literally wanted to rip my skin off. It was so frustrating that I cried (a lot!!!!) because I knew I shouldn't scratch them for scarring.

Never, never, never, never again.

I didn't know that about silk bed sheets. I shall get one!

Ok, I know I might get a ripping for this, but trust me - it works.
Being in the US Army gives you the wonderful experience of visiting and living in some of the nastiest, dirtiest, arm pits of the world. Among many other things, you expect bed bugs and/or fleas.
May soldiers will tell you to use flea collars, but the chemical on the collars can burn skin. What really works is using flea sprays and shampoos (no joking). I've traveled with the Army and worked in several pounds and have NEVER been infested - the occasional bite, yes, but MUCH less than coworkers.
The best brands I have found are the Hartz Control shampoos and sprays, which are packaged in blue and silver and are available in most pet stores. These are gentle enough to be used regularly, last about a week, chase off a wide array of nasties and believe it or not - the flea shampoo has a great conditioner in it that leaves your hair pretty.

For pictures of the products:
Hartz Control Shampoo
Hartz Control Spray

Best of luck all!

So what do you have to do exactly when on the road to get rid of bedbugs, if you should be so unlucky :-(

Bed bugs are bad. They are very bad. They can give you a permanent fear of going to sleep, and once you are bitten about 10 times, you CAN't get to sleep. For some reason, their itches, and all itches, intensify in the half hour to hour before you fall asleep.

Now, when I find nasty bites on areas that contact with the blankets or bed, I take action. I either:

Put my handy thermorest mattress on the floor
Put my handy thermorest on the mattress

and then take out my silk sleeping sac.

It doesn't have to be beg bugs, it could be flea bites. Sand fly bites are also very bad, and so are green flies. Theres a kind of fly whose bite can cause blindness in the Peten jungle.

So, it COULD be worse, unless you plan on a career as a supermodel and can't afford those nasty bug bite scars.

Heres another hint:

Wear thick socks to bed. It does help sometimes, because the buggies really like your ankles, and ankle bites are about the worst kind as far as itching is concerned.

Bedbugs may get into the socks, so perhaps when the socks have worked, it was some other kind.

As for discreetly telling hostel owners they have bed bugs, I tried this and the guy said "well, we've never had that problem before"...as if I had something to do with it! It was rude. I checked out of there (It's the Grapevine in Brighton, England, but the way). I had been staying in a flat before that and had never had a single bite until I moved into a private room at that hostel. I saw the bugs crawling on my things after my mom described to me over the phone what they look like. Yuck!

I washed everything I owned in hot water and sealed them in plastic bags while at the laundromat before moving on to a new place.

ok I know this thread is really old but I'm planing a trip to Rome, to a hostel and yeh I have that fear up there discussed (my grandmothers were in the concentration camps and I am chock full of stories about how the bedbugs would go on the mattress of the bunkbed above and pour on you in the middle of the night like water).. I wanted to know if the bedbug warning was still in effect and what I could do to protect myself short of sleeping in a park.. good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite, if they do, BITE BACK -Fishfool @ The Reef Tank

wow flea shampoo
i heard of people using mane & tail shampoo
interesting
hey i don't care, call me a dawg, just don't let me get bitten