Bed Bugs at Poly???

[eeyore27]

Can someone please tell me how to tell if you bed bugs? I have seen pictures on the web, but it says they are very small that most people will never see them. I almost feel like I want to treat my house just in case. I would rather be safe than sorry.

[Patty]

Can someone please tell me how to tell if you bed bugs? I have seen pictures on the web, but it says they are very small that most people will never see them. I almost feel like I want to treat my house just in case. I would rather be safe than sorry.

I am by no means an expert, and maybe someone will come along with much better advice, but I will try to help. Bed Bugs are definatly visible to the naked eye, but you have to be looking for them. I think they say most people will never see them because when they come out to "eat" is in the very late hours of the night, and people are usually asleep. To check for them I have been told to check the along the sides and sewn areas of you mattress and look for black spots (this would be there waste) or little blood spots on the sheets, and from what I understand the bugs themselves are little flat bugs about the size fo a grain of rice. Please someone correct me if I am wrong. There are alot of products out there that say they will help prevent bed bugs, but I would check with an exterminating company before I spent any money on them because I am sure alot of them just give false confidence. Now the bad part about checking for them is that the bed is not the only place they are, these little critters like to hang out in furniture, pictures, headboards, cracks in wall or wallpaper and so on. I hope that I have given you correct information, it is correct as I know it to be, if someone else comes along with better info please let us know. I would hate to go on vacation and look for all the wrong things.

[nyobabe2]

Patty,
You definetly sound like you know your stuff. On all of the websites I've gone on you are pretty much on with your info. We did see the bug in our bed and it was 3 in the afternoon,(we never got the black spots on the mattress though) It was at the foot of the bed and in between the mattress and boxspring, after we discovered it, we pulled up the dust ruffle and saw more, smaller ones on there, then finally saw teeny ones on our comforter They do live everywhere and anywhere and to treat your house would be so extensive you would not even believe! We have only been treating our small bedroom and it has been since March
15th we've been doing it since. We still can not move any of our clothes back in the bedroom yet. I have had no bites in the past 9 days, but were waiting 3 more wks. to see what happens.

On another note, Disney did call me back and they said that they "checked to see if there are any other situations like mine associated with the room we stayed in" and "we had a pest control person go out and check" and there have been no other "situations" reported and they found nothing in the room.
Not that I thought that they would find anything and come running back to tell me. I'll still go back, I love disney that much, but I'll be well prepared next time.( and that goes for any place I visit in this wonderful world)

[Patty]

I am so glad to hear things are still improving. Hopefully you have seen the end of this. This is becoming quite an issue and I strongly believe the hotel industry needs to step up to the plate on this one and do more to protect its guests. I will continue to keep my fingers crossed for you, and hopefully now you can relax a little.

[Tinkerfreak]

Thanks for all the info everyone has posted. When I first read the post I was totally freaking out but now that I know what to look for I will definately be checking for bed bugs in any hotel I stay at. At least if we notice them as soon as we check in we can move out of the room asap. I will also be getting some of the luggage spray mentioned.

[Mousemates]

After reading an article a few years back about the increase of bed bug infestations (especially in accomodations frequented by international travelers), we do a cursory check each time we move into a new room...looking both at the matress/boxspring and wall/headboard.

[crltkcagle]

Oh this post has me itching from head to toe. I am going to have to check our beds when we go in september. thanks for the tips!

[smartinez1]

I also heard some percautions to take to try and avoid home infestation after traveling. What you should do is take your unpacked suitcases put them in a garbage bag and tie it up tight, then leave it outside on a porch or a garage. Bedbugs don't like the cold and will die in extreme temperatures. Now obviously this is not going to work if you go in the summer, so what I would suggest people do when they are traveling in the summer is to take your suitcase to your back yard or porch (don't even take them through the house) unpack the clothes and immediately dump them in the washer and wash on hot water with color safe bleach. Or take the clothes out of the suitcases, put them in trash bags and leave them outside along with the suitcases. I would probably even spray the luggage with that bed bug spray and also spray the clothes in the bag and let them sit for a few weeks outside before washing them. I figure if they are stuck in the bag, and not able to feed, they would also eventually die. I would probably call an exterminator and find out what their life span is when they are confined with no food, wait for the period of time, then wash. A lot of the ways people get them in their home beds is because we take our suitcases inside, put them on our beds and unpack and voila, if there are some hitchiking, then you have just infested your bed.

Also, they say not to unpack your suitcases and put them in the drawers at hotels, and don't put your suitcases on the hotel beds. Stack your suitcases on the luggage rack they provide and live out of your suitcase. The clothes you have worn to bed, fold and put on top of the night stand, do not put on your suitcase. At the end of your trip when you are leaving, put dirty clothes in zip lock or garbage bags and seal up. If any bugs were in your bed and got on those clothes, they won't infest the other. Then follow the unpacking procedures I outlined above. I hope this helps a little. Sorry it was so long.

[Mousemates]

just a note about bed bug repellents (since lots of folks seem interested in buying them) from what I was able to glean from the various articles I read (msnbc has a few rather lengthy ones), there are currently no trully effective repellents at this time...just insecticides that will kill them by contact. So, while some random spot spraying might offer some psychological comfort, chances are any spraying a person might do in a motel room would not be thorough enough to really make a difference.

So, (this is just my opinion) I think the best and most reasonable approach is just to take a look at things in your room upon check in, keep the clothes off the beds, and then chill out...vacation is to get away from worry, not increase it.

[nyobabe2]

Correct on the post above, the insecticides you use in your home will have a lasting affect for up to 2 months to kill any bugs that hatch after spraying. If you buy a spray for vacation you actually have to spray it on the bug to kill it. That's why buying the luggage spray is the best bet, if they are in your room at least you won't be taking them home with you!!

[Patty]

Correct on the post above, the insecticides you use in your home will have a lasting affect for up to 2 months to kill any bugs that hatch after spraying. If you buy a spray for vacation you actually have to spray it on the bug to kill it. That's why buying the luggage spray is the best bet, if they are in your room at least you won't be taking them home with you!!

Do you remember the name of the luggage spray, I know you had posted earlier that you exterminator had recommended it, but I don't think you put the name. (If you did, I missed it). I am getting ready to go on vacation, and just wanted the little extra piece of mind, and I know that there are probably alot out there claiming to do the job, but I would rather one that is truly recommended by an expert. I meant your exterminator, but I guess you are becoming one too. Are you still having continued luck? I'm rooting for you

[nyobabe2]

I am having continued luck with it thank you so much for asking!!! I don't know the actual name of the spray, I just know when I was in the exterminators I saw the bottle and it had LUGGAGE written on the from real big, I believe it was red and white. It cost about $8. Just don't go to any store for it, it will not do what you need it to. Have fun!!!

[Patty]

thanks for letting us know about the spray and I am happy to hear you are continuing with the good luck spree!

[bird]

Sorry about your experience with those nasty bugs, I've known people who came in contact with them and it's not nice. We just came back from the Poly and we had no problems with any type of bug, and hopefully we won't. Our room was very clean everyday although I think they can do something about the spiderwebs on the stairs outside. How soon when you returned did you notice the bed bugs? I'm going to be watching out for them. I hope you are doing much better.

[nyobabe2]

I actually never really took notice of it for a while, I always saw bites on me and was itchy but I guess not until I was home for about 2 months did I start noticing that the bites would be in clusters. I work for a pediatrician so she took a look and asked me if I had a dog (I guess thinking it was flea bites) when I told her no, she said bed bugs, as soon as I came home from work, I searched in between the mattress and boxspring and discovered one roaming at the foot of the bed.

3 weeks and no bites now!! YAY!

[Patty]

3 weeks and no bites now!! YAY!

[MatterhornMiss]

Just wanted to add something here. Since reading this post, I have been concerned whenever I travel. I am going to the world in less than a month, and have been looking for something to spray on my luggage. But no pest control business in this city will sell chemicals to an individual. I checked at TrueValue as another poster suggested, but the product they had was for killing bed bugs, not repelling them, and didn't indicate how long it would last if I applied it to soft luggage. So I did a search and found from wikipedia that neem oil has been used for a long time to repell and kill bed bugs and other pests. It is sold in hardware and home improvement stores, and I think even at WalMart and Target. I know the OP wrote that you should only buy chemicals from a pest control agency, but it's not an option for me. I'm going to give the neem oil a try. At least it's doing something rather than taking a chance.

[Mousemates]

what does it smell like...(i.e.is it scented somehow?)....because from what I had read said that natural neem oil had a strong garlic like smell...(not too bad if your going to eat Italian at Tony's, but maybe not quite the scent you want for the California Grill)... not being a smart alec, just wondering if it smells bad.

[nyobabe2]

You won't care if it smells like doo doo as long as it keeps those bugs away I'm the one that had them and you should see how I am when I go away now!

There is also a product called SteriFab which is basically pure alcohol that you can buy but that won't last long term. It's really for when you see the bug. I can not believe the exterminator won't see you the luggage spray! It doesn't have ddt in it so what the heck??!!

So believe it or not, we're going back to the Poly after all I've been thru. But I am bringing all my back ups and bags and the info I've learned with me! NEVER AGAIN!!! It's been 3 months clean

[TINKERBELL_82]

Good for you Nicole!! Thank you for posting so much information about this here. Bed bugs won't keep us for staying at WDW resorts, but at least now we are all armed with the info we need to protect ourselves and prevent an infestation in out homes.

I'm glad you decided to give the Poly another try. Did Disney ever offer you any comensation for your troubles?