Bedbug hotel worries.

Not at all.

Yes, and I found a bedbug once at a hotel (not NYC). I take the following precautions:

1) Take quilt/decorative pillows off bed
2) Do an inspection of the bed, looking at the corners, under the mattress, etc.
3) After a first night's sleep, look for tell-tale bloodstains
4) I keep my clothes in suitcase, rather than unpack.
5) After coming home, I wash the "away" clothes separately.

Sorry - saw the title of discussion too late. I would be worried!

Yes--worried. I no longer go to movie theaters because of bed bug concerns. I've even stopped sitting on those wooden subway station benches, which I've heard can harbor the critters.

"Yes--worried. I no longer go to movie theaters because of bed bug concerns. I've even stopped sitting on those wooden subway station benches, which I've heard can harbor the critters."

Wow you must be exhausted.

I imagine you also never sit down on subways, in cabs, on planes, in restaurants, in church, or other people's homes. I can't imagine you have a job that would involve you sitting on someone else's furniture, either.

So what's life like inside the plastic bubble?

bramstar! I was just going to write exactly that.

Matt: Actually I don't take the subway. If I did I wouldn't sit on the benches.
At the park I will only sit after lining the seat with newspaper. But I don't go to public movie theaters.

And unless I'm staying at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton hotel, I request in advance that the bed not be made up with anything more than sheets. (at Island hotels I search under the bedding for reptile critters.)
It does take extra time but I don't mind.

>>So what's life like inside the plastic bubble?<<

Blessedly bug free.

Truth
about 4 hours ago
ignore this person
report abuse bramstar! I was just going to write exactly that.

Matt: Actually I don't take the subway. If I did I wouldn't sit on the benches.
At the park I will only sit after lining the seat with newspaper. But I don't go to public movie theaters.

And unless I'm staying at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton hotel, I request in advance that the bed not be made up with anything more than sheets. (at Island hotels I search under the bedding for reptile critters.)
It does take extra time but I don't mind.

bramstar
9 minutes ago
ignore this person
report abuse >>So what's life like inside the plastic bubble?<<

Blessedly bug free.

so is mine. and i sit where i please, go to movies, etc. your life is sad

i also get my groceries delivered, my laundry done and delivered and i don't know what other crazy activities i partake. i live in a building with a couple of hundred apartments. and no bed bugs. my daughter goes to a pre-k with all kinds of other children. the horror

Sorry, I meant my question to apply specifically to Apex--a condo that shares half of the building with Aloft hotel. The worry is that if the hotel has a bedbug problem in the future, it might spread to the residential units.

yea, the Ritz and the Four seasons have never had bed bugs... right...

Oddly enough, I'm with NYCMatt and Jim Hones on this.

I stay in hotel rooms about 150 nights per year - I take the same precautions that nyc10023 listed above, and I have never had a problem in terms of bringing them home. Also - sharing space with a hotel is probably better than not, as hotels tend to be very aggressive and proactive about bedbugs, while apartment owners can be less so.

I don't live inside a plastic bubble - I take the subway, go to the movies, restaurants, all those things. The key difference between doing those things & staying at a hotel is - the bedbugs LIVE in hotel beds and other beds. The chance of getting a bedbug deposited on your clothes, and bringing them home is small by sharing a seat with one. And even if the bedbug gets on your clothing and comes home with you, they don't survive long w/o having a human to bite. So add another rule - don't put clothes on your bed at home. Also, bedbugs aren't that tiny. You can see them.

I have found a bedbug on a hotel bed in the middle of the night. Took reasonable precautions, and we didn't bring anything home.

"And even if the bedbug gets on your clothing and comes home with you, they don't survive long w/o having a human to bite."

Bedbugs can survive more than a year between feedings.

That's pretty long.

True, but that contradicts their habit of wanting to feed at least every 5 days. So this hypothetical bedbug that lands on your clothes while you're sitting in the subway is going to venture out to feed at night. I think the likelihood of a bedbug actually finding a warm body in that situation is small.

The bottom line is, I expect to encounter another bedbug in the next year. I refuse to be freaked out by it, and will deal with it as it happens. This is the price I (willingly) pay to go out and do things.

Also, lots of people you encounter in every day life have had bedbugs and most don't spend thousands to eradicate them. And, they don't exactly go out of their way to tell you. In Europe, they don't do much to eradicate bedbugs either - certainly don't go all out with freezing/heating/CO2 techniques.

Agreey, nyc10023. This bedbug hysteria is absurd. They don't carry disease, they're small, and they're mainly just a nuisance. But people absolutely FREAK OUT if they hear that someone within 500 feet may have been in contact with one.

Serioiusly. COCKROACHES are much worse, and yet people treat them like no big deal. Call exterminator, move on.

I get preview screeners so I can watch movies at home. I sit on benches in the park but would always cover them anyway. I'm more worried about dirt and germs.
And like 10023 I never throw worn clothing on the bed or any other furniture.

I don't like any bugs/insects.

Matt: I don't treat roaches like no big deal. I roach-proofed my Manhattan condo. It's not impossible.
Had citiproof install weatherstripping, sealing off the entire apt. door. I had caulking whereever the walls met the floors. And I never keep bags from Dag or any other wrappings around. Out to the garbage/reclycle bin they go along with bottles/cans.

Truth, I'm with you on the cockroaches.

My point is, people are WAY more paranoid about bedbugs than roaches, and yet roaches are MUCH more prevalent and even accepted as a fact of life here in NYC.

True, Matt.
Bugs are bugs. The bedbug thing got a lot of media attention and people got nervous.

Jhomes place all bedbugs just like him.. a pest.. an insecure one.. a lowly insecure bottom of life being.. a pest

Agreey, nyc10023. This bedbug hysteria is absurd. They don't carry disease, they're small, and they're mainly just a nuisance. But people absolutely FREAK OUT if they hear that someone within 500 feet may have been in contact with one.

Serioiusly. COCKROACHES are much worse, and yet people treat them like no big deal. Call exterminator, move on.

Sorry Matt, but you are obviously very uneducated about Bebugs. They are extremely difficult to get rid of, much more so than cockeroaches, although roaches are more prevelant obvioulsy. A friend of mine picked them up from a trip to the Carribbean and they are the biggest pain to get rid of- you have to dry clean or wash and dry all your clothes (EVERYTHING) and bedding, everything else has to be treated in a packtite and it takes several treatments for them to be gone. I'd much rather have a few roaches in my kitchen then some bugs in my bed biting me at night. They are much more difficult to get rid of vs roaches. You should go to www.Bedbugger.com and educate yourself about them before you say things about bedbuges, which you clearly know nothing about.

>>Blessedly bug free.

so is mine. and i sit where i please, go to movies, etc. your life is sad<<

I'll be the first to admit I'm a bit extreme about this. My friends rib me mercilessly about the movie theater thing. But I know two people who've gotten bedbugs and it was a complete nightmare for each. When we moved recently I was pretty wigged out worrying about getting infested since moving trucks/supplies are notorious for spreading bugs of every kind--thankfully it didn't happen.

As for the movie theaters--I've saved a ton over the past year or so on popcorn, soda and overpriced tickets. And hey, there's always cable.

Bramstar, you're just as likely to get bedbugs from sitting on furniture in your workplace ... the library ... Barnes and Noble ... airplane seats ... the hair stylist ... the subway ... cabs ... limos ... the list is virtually endless.

Do you just NEVER sit in your life anymore, outside of your home?

If there was a way to avoid bedbugs 100% by not going to the movie theater, I'd be there. But bedbugs are so ubiquitous, and unavoidable that beyond a few measures, I don't do anything. Throw in the fact that most people who get them don't have thousands of dollars to spend on extermination.

Keep your suitcases in the bathroom on the floor. Apparently, that helps keep them away from infesting your suitcases. By law, landlords are required to tell you about their bed bug record in the past year or so. Don't know about hotels and people they share space with.

5thgen: That's true about the difficulty exterminating bedbugs. I saw an episode of "Infested" on cable.
Their entire home was infested. I don't know how it turned out, I had to change the channel.

There are never just "a few roaches in" any kitchen. Those are the only ones you see maybe but there are many others around.

bramstar: Me too. I also pack lysol wipes and wipe down the hotel room surfaces: the phone, t.v. remote, doorhandles. And that's before I even get to the bathroom. I carry "Charmin-To-Go" and their disposable paper toilet seat covers.( In my bag, not just for hotels).
If you can top that: my hat's off to you ;) !

Here’s another bug to worry about……

SCABIES

They are found in same places as bedbugs in hotels, seats on trains, airplanes, etc. But unlike bedbugs they cannot be seen but, you can certainly feel them. Dermatologists aren’t very familiar with them so they will tell you that you’re crazy and the itching will drive you mad.

We travel a lot and so it’s impossible to know where we picked them up.

The good news is that it’s easily treated with a skin cream that destroys their nervous system and the mites can only live a couple of days not on a body. So washing the sheets and clothes is usually enough.

So, if you think that you’ve got bedbugs but can’t find them you probably have SCABIES!!!!

oh,lordy!

bramstar?

BRAMSTAR?

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE GO CHECK ON BRAMSTAR?!
she may have fainted.

>>bramstar?

BRAMSTAR?

CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE GO CHECK ON BRAMSTAR?!
she may have fainted.<<

Whew... felt a bit light-headed there...

>>bramstar: Me too. I also pack lysol wipes and wipe down the hotel room surfaces: the phone, t.v. remote, doorhandles. And that's before I even get to the bathroom. I carry "Charmin-To-Go" and their disposable paper toilet seat covers.( In my bag, not just for hotels).
If you can top that: my hat's off to you ;) !<<

I'm afraid I cannot top that, though my sister-in-law just might be able to... She sprays Lysol on the mall Santa before she'll let the kids sit on his lap. I kid you not.

bramstar: lysol-to-go. I pack it in my travel AND everyday bag.
My props to your sister-in-law. My kinda gal.

:-d

Wait--I meant :-D

You can see how this can really create problems in a co-op or condo when someone comes down wih bedbugs.

Right, and who's going to tell their neighbors if they can help it.