Bed bugs. A little freaked out.

[Danestress]

I am taking my husband to NYC for his 50th birthday over Labor Day.

 

Anyway, we travel a lot regionally, and I know there are bed bugs in many places other than NYC. Still, I am just really freaked out about the possibility of bringing them home because there does seem to be a particular problem there.

 

I was going to wait until the day before we left and get a room on Priceline.

 

Now I am wondering. I know there are places online where you can check to see if a hotel has had bed bug problems. But if i have a hotel though Priceline, I can't filter that way. And the "how to prevent them" sites all say to check the room carefully when you get there. Well, if I see evidence of beg bugs, would I be able to make a change anyway if I have booked through Priceline?

 

Ugh. I hate bugs.

[gingersmom]

You may not want to go shopping in NYC either.

 

Several stores have already dealt with them and Bergdorf Goodman now has a beagle who comes in at night to sniff for them.

[Starr]

There is still the theater! :D

[Starr]

There are articles on line about how travelers deal with the possibility of bed bugs. They have been found in the city but most places don't have them. I think you could read up on what the bites look like and then just relax unless you encounter them. Have a great trip!

[Danestress]

Is look at art and eat.

 

We will be there 3 days. One or two at the Met, a half day at the Frick, and a day in galleries. I know. Boring. My Dh is a total art nerd.

 

We are definitely going, and I can't get DH nearly as freaked about bugs as I am. Sigh.

[Laurie4b]

Google images of what to look for on a mattress. Then, when you arrive, put your luggage on a hard surface like a desk or bureau and go check the mattress. Just because a hotel has them in one room doesn't mean they are all over. So you can ask to change rooms if they are there. Don't know how this affects Priceline.

[G5052]

They're ubiquitous is most major urban areas these days, and many places in between. I got bit pretty badly at an upscale, name-branch hotel in July in another state, and we're hoping that we didn't bring them home.

 

Don't put your luggage on the carpet, and wash everything and go through it when you return.

 

That's about all you can do!

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/opinion/08berenbaum.html

 

http://bedbugregistry.com/

Edited August 14, 2010 by GVA

[Farrar]

We once stayed in a room that turned out to have them (in Costa Rica...) they were all over us and the kids in the morning too. It was pretty gross. We left the hotel, got reimbursed for the nights we didn't stay and got them to pay up for doing our laundry. We washed EVERYTHING at a laundromat. I worried, but they didn't come home with us. Phew. Anyway, I guess what I'm saying was it wasn't the end of the world - mostly just a big annoying inconvenience.

[bookfiend]

... and put your luggage outside for a week after you get home.

[Rebecca VA]

I agree about putting your luggage outside for a week (after you pull out all the clothes and put them into the washer). In fact, I'd keep my luggage in the car, where the temps can go very high in the summertime. That should kill any critters who crawled in and hid among your things.

 

When my husband travels, I wash everything immediately after he walks in the door. I never leave it sitting around. He goes to some out-of-the-way places on business, and I don't want him bringing anything "live" back to our house.

[ChristusG]

Yikes! I just try not to think about it. We camp in our camper most of the time so we don't have to worry about it. But in a few weeks we will be staying in a hotel so that we can go to a water park.

 

I've read up on it some. First, don't bring your luggage into the room before you've inspected it. You don't want ANY to get on your belongings. Go into the hotel room and pull up the sheets. Check for black dots (tiny bug droppings) on the mattress, especailly in the edges. Check behind the headboard of the bed with a flashlight. If it is bolted to the wall, you'll just have to do the best you can.

 

Other than that, there's not much you can do. If for some reason you think there may be bedbugs after you've already spent the night there, go immediately to the front desk. They should pay to have your belongings specailly laundered. I read that very hot water is the only way to kill them.