From the article: The Travelers' Guide to Avoiding Bed Bugs at Hotels
Bed bug infestations have skyrocketed in the past few years, so more and more people are dealing with the maddening problem of getting rid of bed bugs. Have you had a bed bug infestation in your home? Have you had any vacation encounters with bed bugs in hotels? Share your bed bug horror stories! Share Your Story
It's WAR!
- My story started a few years ago. I woke up one morning with two bites on the inside of my ankle that itched and looked like flea bites. A few hours later, my skin swelled up and the bite area had blisters on it. I associated this to being a spider bite and a few weeks later it went away. A few months later, I got two more...the same thing happened. Over the past year, I have been getting one or two bites every few weeks. I finally found one crawling on my arm one night and put it in a zip bag. I was determined to find these pests that made my life a living hell! My sister and I decided to use a spray and steam my whole bed room. After about six months, I didn't have a single bite. Then all of a sudden, I got more. I decided this time to check the couch. Sure enough, on the side of my couch I found a live one, eggs, and skin! I steamed the entire couch and used some powder. Hopefully, with my fingers crossed, I got rid of them! We will see!
- —Guest Chele
Bedbug War
- My girlfriend went to the doctors complaining of a rash and was given a cream for scabies. I was at her house one night and her teenage son was complaining of being bitten. When I checked his bed....woah. There were bugs running everywhere. By this time my girlfriend was getting bad reactions to bites. After researching bed bugs I decided it was war. Over a 3 week period we used foggers in all the bedrooms, steamed the whole house, thrown out all the wooden beds AND mattresses to be replaced with metal beds and new mattresses and special anti bedbug zip up covers, covered the house with DE and sprayed the whole house with special sprays. We also sprayed everywhere, everyday, with fly spray. Yes, fly spray IS very effective at killing bed bugs (I did a few experiments). It's been 14 months since any bites or sightings but we still spray once a week with the special spray together with fly spraying every week and we still put down DE after hoovering up. It's the only way to beat them. EDITOR'S NOTE: WHEN USING PESTICIDES, THE LABEL IS THE LAW. IT IS ILLEGAL TO USE A PESTICIDE LABELED FOR CONTROL OF FLIES TO TREAT BED BUGS.
- —Guest Mark
Bed bugs from the Marriott
- Can you say freaked out. I just came from Michigan Detroit (fairfield). Me and My boyfriend spent the night at the Marriott and when I woke up in the morning and felt something on my sholder I knocked it down and open my eyes and low and behold was a small bright red bug. I sat up and noticed bumps. I had bite marks on my chest and legs. I pulled the cover back and saw several of these bugs. I was so distraught I didn't no what to do. Of course my luggage was in the worst place ever (on the floor against the wall). Me and my boyfriend got out of that room so fast. But first we had to shower and wash our hair. We wrapped our luggage in plastic bags and sprayed them down with some Bed Bug spray (Please let that Work) I resprayed my stuff again today and will take to the laundry mat tomorrow (still in garbage bags in my trunk) and will throw in a hot dryer for an hour or so. What is really freaking me out my boyfriend just texted me and said his arm is still breaking out.
- —Guest baby
Uninvited guests
- After being on vacation, I hung some clothes in the bathroom on the shower curtain rod. I noticed these tiny purple/brown bugs I'd never seen before. At the time, I was having a problem with hives, so another bump didn't register that those creatures were responsible. We decided my hives were from the plastic mattress on my new hospital bed. Therefore, we started sleeping in the guest room. After they bite, the itch is so intense it awakens me. One night, about three or four days after seeing them in the tub, I saw one on the bed when I went to treat my bite. My husband was not bothered by them. I mentioned to my sister that I found these strange bugs and she said they had just exterminated for bed bugs, brought to them by their son from California. The next week, while I was in the hospital from a fall, my nephew and husband used a solution found on the internet. After three applications, the bugs were gone. The doctor said they only bite people with type A blood.
- —Guest Lee
Creepy Crawlers
- I have a 2 bedroom apartment with my family. About 2-3 weeks ago I started noticing red bumps and rashes on my arms and so did my younger sisters. I saw something on tv about bed bugs and what their bites look like. I flipped my matress over and there they were. I would like to say my mattress was the "heart" of them all. We were too late to catch the infestation, but since then we have bagged, sprayed vaccumed anything and everything we could. Sad too say I couldn't save my own mattess and box spring. Since then none of us have had any bites, but you never know. Our goal is to spray with rubbing alcohol and bed bug killer for a least another month. You can never be too sure. I suggest ANY bites you see on yourself that you check for bed bugs. Don't be so blind and don't go to garage sales and buy used furniture :)
- —GorgouseNightmare
Melbourne Hostel
- So I have pretty much traveled around the world and have never encountered bed bugs. Until I went to MELBOURNE. I stayed in this hostel, which seemed clean and nice, but little did I know. One night I came home from work and saw this little bug on my bed. Thinking it was nothing, I just squished it. After a couple of days staying in that bed, realization hit that I was being bitten everywhere. When everyone was asleep one night, I was watching something on my laptop with the lights off and found a flattish brown bug gravitating towards me. I took my thin white cover to the bathroom and found two monsters trying to locate my blood. It was disgusting. Since then, when ever I have a bite, be it mosquito, fleas, whatever. I always think its bed bugs. I can't sleep. I get scared of being in my bed. Its horrible. Piece of advice, if you have bed bugs and return home. Do not bring your suitcase in your room! Leave it outside or bag it up in bin bag. Helps ease your sanity. TRUST ME.
- —Guest Scarredforlife
The buggers are gone!
- Got bedbugs from very nice, but used bunkbeds. Thought it was mosquitoes...but too suspicious the way our daughter reacted one night. We got rid of the mattress and washed/dried bedding in hot water. Carefully and lightly dusted DE around all furniture/ baseboards and put all toys, extra clothes, bedding etc. in black garbage bags and left them out in the hot summer sun until we had things under control (later washed or carefully disposed). Clothes being used were stored in large Zip-locks after being washed. It took almost 3 months from first bites until the last bite. Got pretty skilled at identifying them at different stages and finding/killing them. My daughter and I each got about 15 bites total. Bites were not seen on anyone else in the house. Overall light infestation, caught early, but still stressful! It has been almost a year now and all is well.
- —Guest Ronnie
THIS WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE
- I have been bitten for the last eight months. I kind of figured it was bed bugs, but my boyfriend or my children did not get bit. I searched my bed and found nothing. It wasn't until my daughter slept in my bed and woke with bites that i knew it had to be BED BUGS. I researched the little critters online and I found a lot of helpful solutions green rubbing alcohol was my first step. Then I vacuumed my entire bed and then I brought a streamer machine and steamed my bed and i bought vinyl covers and that was the end of my problems........luckily I did not have an infestation.
- —Guest monica
Piecing It Together
- One fine day in my single owned home when I was studying, I pulled on one of the many pillows for some added comfort... I discovered a slight creature scurrying away! I captured it and drowned it in the drain thinking it to be an ordinary bug. On uncovering more pillows, I discovered more of these bugs mostly trying to remain still on the dark portions of the bed spread! I drowned these too one at a time but then I assumed this could be something serious when I realized that maybe these are some sort of parasites that would explain the recent itchy blotchy bites that I've blamed on mosquitoes! I immediately scoured the bed for more and while capturing one for further analysis, I mishandled it and it bled. That's when I was confirmed of dealing with blood suckers! And the blood smear it left left no doubt that these could be bed bugs. Running a search on the web my fears were confirmed! All the tell tale signs and evidence! That night I couldn't sleep there. Nightmares and poor sleep quality!
- —AllThingsAreOne
Horror of Bed Bugs
- I have a aunt that lives in a apartment and she has twins that live there. Her house isn't considered clean but you can see some things in her home, in other words you can walk around in her house. There was a night that I stayed at her house and I slept in her bed; and I'm telling you that I will never sleep in her bed ever again. I woke up at about 5:00AM and I started seeing bugs all over the bed. I started screaming and I ran out of the room and instantly took a shower. I found out on my upper thigh that i was bit multiple times and they led to itchy skin and red marks. I cried and cried and I felt horrible, because i knew that she had bugs in her part of the apartment but i didn't know that she had bed bugs and now I'm scared to even walk one foot into the front door. I recommend every one that you need to ask questions about someone's house and rooms before you go sleeping off, waking up, and finding yourself in a puddle of red Bed BUGS! It's important for the little kids as well.
- —Guest Amanda
Darn Bugs
- Okay, so me and my baby got this nice one-bedroom apartment and we been staying here for about a year. About seven months into staying here we started experiencing bed bugs. She didn't notice them but of course I did. She didn't take me seriously when I first told her because she was at work but ohhh boy when she got home I already had the mattress outside waiting for her. You know how ants look wants you disturb there nest? Well, this is how they look in their hiding spot. My girl almost died when she saw I wasn't pulling her leg, so we got rid of the infested furniture and got air beds. Now we are okay. I think it came from my upstairs tenets to tell you the truth. Y'ALL BE CAREFUL BED BUGS - DON'T DISCRIMINATE!
- —Guest troy
We have found a way to fight the bugs!
- We rented a vacation house and it turned out the beds, mattress and frames were infested. Our entire family was mauled by these vampire- like bugs. I was very concerned we would transport them home from our vacation in our luggage, clothing, etc. and so I did a lot of research and learned there is a natural enzyme-based spray that is safe for everyday use and safe for the bedding of young children. We use it all over our house every day since the summer and I did find 4 live bed bugs in a box of toys we brought back, sneaky buggers, and I sprayed them with this spray and couldn't believe my eyes when they were all dead within seconds! and put them in a plastic container to check and see that they stayed that way and checked them everyday. Dead! their shells fell off too! So with care and daily checks you can control the problem and protect yourself from bed bugs.
- —Guest Caroline, NYC area
eaten alive
- I live in a single family home, but three homes on my street are infested that i know of, where the neighbor stated they had it, plus they have that tell tale pattern of bites (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). Make that 4 homes on my street now! We discarded everything that could not be boiled, bleached, or stuffed into a washing machine. We have always hated regular furniture and used to have airbeds. But these always collapse, even the $200 ones. We deep cleaned the house and bought a trampoline to sleep on. It is just like an airbed without the collapse. If you think I am crazy, check out the news videos of "new" furniture that is already infested or filled with improperly recycled material. I do not plan to sleep on the trampoline forever, but at least until half my neighborhood is not infected. I am telling you these bugs do not care what your income, race, or habits are. They want blood and carbon dioxide. I have made my home hostile to them until I can afford fumigation.
- —Guest dawn
Curbside Furniture
- This summer my apartment got infested with bedbugs because I mistakenly brought a bookshelf inside that i had found on the street. I didn't realize that the bookshelf was infested for about 3 days after bringing it inside, then I started noticing little bugs emanating from it. When I realized what the bugs were I freaked out because I've heard how hard they are to get rid of. Anyway, this is what I did to get rid of them, and hopefully someone reading this will find some useful advice: placed all belongings that would fit into tied plastic bags, washed all laundry (clean or dirty) and dried it on high heat, took apart and scrubbed all furniture in pine-sol (i read that the eggs can't survive pine-sol for some reason), vacuumed and vacuumed and vacuumed and changed the bag daily, covered my mattress with a vinyl mattress cover, moved my bed away from the walls, and put oil in cups under my bedposts. After doing this I never got another bite.
- —Guest Emily
They follow you everywhere...
- After almost three years in a large apartment complex, I had decided it was time to find something larger. One weekend, as I was going through my apartment cleaning, I stripped the bed only to find some very tiny bugs awaiting me. After talking to the caretaker, I found out that one of the other tenants had had an infestation in his apartment but denied that they were bed bugs. The rental company sent over their exterminator, who sprayed the place and all my furniture. I also washed everything that I could possibly put into the washing machine. I moved into my new place, and for the first while things were good. But then I started noticing I had bites again, and it turns out my couch was not sprayed properly. So now once again I have to go through the same routine, except this time I'm finding my own exterminator to make sure things are done right this time.
- —Guest Sharon
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