# Glad I got a kindle dont have to worry about those bed bugs!



## tiggeerrific (Jan 22, 2010)

I read where a book drop box in Denver had tons of bed bugs! anyone else read about this


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

The flagship Nike store has bedbugs.  So even if don't get your books from the bookdrop, there's still something to worry about.


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## tomatogirl (Aug 27, 2010)

I heard the Penguin offices in NYC had to shut down because they had a bedbug infestation. My niece works for Penguin UK, and they were having a laughfeeling bad for their coworkers.


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## Guest (Sep 21, 2010)

I like bed bugs because then I can tell myself I'm not sleeping alone.


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## angelmum3 (Sep 12, 2010)

on the morning talk shows, bed bugs are everywhere - if you go to a movie theatre, and sit, beg bugs can come with you - 

Clinton's office in Harlem - bed bugs!

They dont like heat, so if you dont want to use chemicals to get rid of them, blast them with heat (113 deg F at least)

I always check motel rooms - so far so good, I hear some Disneyworld Resorts have had reports (a message board poster posted pictures!)


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## KindleMom (Dec 11, 2008)

We picked up bed bugs in a hotel room across the street from Disneyland.  Luckily we realized it before we brought all of our suitcases into our home.  We steamed everything, including our car, before it was brought back into the house.  The kids all loved taking off their clothes outside and then walking into the house.  I think the neighbors thought we'd lost our minds.  But that was over a year ago and we never had any bedbugs in the house.

And we've never returned to that hotel.


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## southerntype (Aug 17, 2010)

tiggeerrific said:


> I read where a book drop box in Denver had tons of bed bugs! anyone else read about this


One of the reasons I don't go to the library anymore. $3000 to get rid of something from a free book? No thanks.


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

I'm planning my first trip to New York. While doing research, I read about these bed bugs. I had no idea that such things existed! I even watched a documentary about them. Particularly charming is their habit of climbing up the wall and then dropping down onto sleeping victims from the ceiling! 

I find them fascinating; you can't deny that they're good at surviving. Still, I'd rather not meet them in person. I told my mother about the critters and just hearing about the existence of such things made her so anxious that she had nightmares about being bitten. You often hear about the frightening creatures in Africa and Australia, but bed bugs are far scarier to me than spiders or snakes.

If you've stayed in a hotel that had bed bugs, please add the name of the hotel to the bed bug registry.


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## southerntype (Aug 17, 2010)

Prazzie said:


> I'm planning my first trip to New York. While doing research, I read about these bed bugs. I had no idea that such things existed! I even watched a documentary about them. Particularly charming is their habit of climbing up the wall and then dropping down onto sleeping victims from the ceiling!
> 
> I find them fascinating; you can't deny that they're good at surviving. Still, I'd rather not meet them in person. I told my mother about the critters and just hearing about the existence of such things made her so anxious that she had nightmares about being bitten. You often hear about the frightening creatures in Africa and Australia, but bed bugs are far scarier to me than spiders or snakes.
> 
> If you've stayed in a hotel that had bed bugs, please add the name of the hotel to the bed bug registry.


DDT practically eradicated bedbugs in the US, but they're coming back now that DDT is gone. I hope pest people either find something as effective as DDT or bring it back. BB infestations are gross and creepy and makes me wary of hotels (they often deny the presence of bed bugs). Even mass transit in larger (and probably smaller cities) are infested with BBs. *shiver*


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## Tripp (May 28, 2009)

On a related note, I just heard on the radio today that one of our local school districts has decided not to send kids home if they have head lice.  The superintendent said something to the effect that lice didn't spread disease and were only an inconvenience.   I am so glad my kids are nearly grown and I am also glad we aren't in that school district.  
Wanna bet they get a bad infestation in their elementary schools this year?


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I live in NYC and haven't seen any bedbugs yet. There is so much in the media about the infestations that I hesitate to put my bags on the floor in offices, but I haven't picked up any yet. Reports in the media about the bedbugs make great scare stories -- perfect for local TV stations.

This is the cover on the current issue of The New Yorker:


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## thetonyclifton (Aug 26, 2010)

What the hell - why are you talking so much about bed bugs are you in the middle of a plague!? 

I know they exist here (UK) but have never really heard of anyone real who had them - maybe while backpacking through Asia (I vaguely recall someone claiming bites etc)


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## Tam (Jan 7, 2010)

Some friends of ours recently discovered them in a motel they had checked into. They read that you should slide the mattress back from the headboard and look there, as well as the seams of the mattresses. Sure enough, they found a few, got on their laptop immediately (their bags were still in their car) and looked it up on the internet. The info they found said you don't need to change hotels if they will move you to a room on another floor or way down the hall - apparently MANY motels have them but they tend to concentrate in small groups of rooms. So moving motels might be fruitless. So they checked out their new room and it was clean. Internet advice was that if you don't see the actual bugs or their "dirt" around the headboard area underneath the mattress or in the mattress seams, you are pretty sure to be safe. Also that you don't feel being bitten and the bites take awhile to show up - usually in lines of 3 or so little tiny pinprick marks that start to itch. Also supposed to take the precaution of NOT setting your suitcases on the floor but up on racks or counters (but what about shoes?)

I am only passing on what they told me - I have not had the nerve to look this up myself yet because of the creep-out factor! I 
AM a bit concerned as we are going to Orlando in October for a convention...


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

southerntype said:


> One of the reasons I don't go to the library anymore. $3000 to get rid of something from a free book? No thanks.


Another reason to buy a Kindle. I'd love to see that ad campaign!


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

> They read that you should slide the mattress back from the headboard and look there, as well as the seams of the mattresses.


Thanks for this info! We are planning to travel soon and stay in a motel.

Linda


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## BruceS (Feb 7, 2009)

Tripp said:


> On a related note, I just heard on the radio today that one of our local school districts has decided not to send kids home if they have head lice. The superintendent said something to the effect that lice didn't spread disease and were only an inconvenience.  I am so glad my kids are nearly grown and I am also glad we aren't in that school district.
> Wanna bet they get a bad infestation in their elementary schools this year?


If the worst thing your kids catch while going to school is lice, consider yourself and your family very lucky.

I admit it was many years ago when I attended school, but I caught measles, mumps and pneumonia while attending.

Since no one in my family had any of them before I came down with them and there were other students with the same diseases before I came down with them, I can almost guarantee I caught them at school.


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

Tam said:


> Also supposed to take the precaution of NOT setting your suitcases on the floor but up on racks or counters (but what about shoes?)


If there is not a rack for your luggage, you are advised to put your bags in the bath or shower. I guess you could put your shoes there as well.

So first step is to not put your luggage on the floor, then start inspecting for bugs. You have to lift up the sheets and look for red or black spots (traces of blood and feces - get this, if you're being bitten and you move, the bugs will spit out the blood and run - that's where the blood spots come from! EW!). A bed bug will shed its exoskeleton 6 times before reaching adulthood. Although these shed husks are light, you can still spot them if you look carefully. Important places to look include the seams of the mattress, behind the headboard as mentioned, in drawers and inside screw and nail holes.

















Only 50% of people who get bitten have a skin reaction, so it is possible to get feasted on without showing any symptoms.

Here is an excellent article on the prevalence of the problem and why it's kept silent: Bedbugs in the Duvet


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## KindleMom (Dec 11, 2008)

When we were bitten, we didn't realize we had been until we were on our trip home.  And only two of us showed symptoms.

We never did see any actual bedbugs in our luggage, car, laundry, hotel, etc. during our stay or while we were steaming everything.  I do wonder if they went to other suitcases on the airplane though.   I imagine that's how easily they can spread.

We called the hotel and they claimed this was their first complaint but I found a website where you report such things and there were already several other problems at that hotel and most of the other hotels in the area.  It was not a run down hotel or anything.  It was a Ramada, so not a deluxe hotel, but not a flea bad either.


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## Brenda M. (Nov 26, 2008)

I am itching all over just reading this thread!


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## Lysis_and_Isis (Aug 13, 2010)

Anyone who's really worried about bedbugs should probably (1) pick up a Pactite heating unit and (2) travel with (i) a ziplock bag big enough to fit their luggage and (ii) a sealed Space Bag for closets with a ring for coat hangers.

I live in New York City.  About two years ago, the place where I work discovered they had bedbugs. Needless to shriek, I did a lot of research after that.  

I've never had them, nor have I gotten them from the library or traveling, but that's because I seal off my things during travel (my pajamas go into separate sealed bags because of the bedding).  When I get home from traveling and shopping, I heat every recent travel item or purchase that won't be damaged.  

Whenever I make a purchase at a clothing store, whatever I've bought goes directly into the Pactite.  The same goes for library books.  If I buy a pair of shoes that I don't feel will withstand the heat, then I keep said pair in sealed plastic until either I choose to wear them or eighteen months passes (the possible lifespan of bedbugs, in case you didn't know).  I realize this sounds obsessive, but about a third of the people I know in New York City have had bedbugs.

The Packtite might seem expensive, but it's nothing compared to what people pay to get rid of bedbugs once they have them. Kindle owners aren't immune.


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

KindleMom said:


> It was not a run down hotel or anything.


That's just the thing - there is this stigma about bed bugs being "dirty", but they couldn't care less. They don't know that you're a millionaire or in debt, they just want your blood. They will hitch a ride on your clothes or luggage and jump off wherever they can find their next blood meal.

While doing research, I discovered that some tourists had brought bed bugs to South Africa during the recent Soccer World Cup. They were found in some of the best 5 star hotels in Cape Town. It has nothing to do with the quality of the lodgings or the cleanliness of the environment, it's just luck of the draw. They are so small and they hide so well, that unless you know what to look for, you won't be able to spot them.

They're incredibly gross, but I can't help but admire their tenacity!  Luckily they don't spread disease, although severe reactions to the bites can leave scars.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

I have serious issues with bugs, and this thread is really creeping me out.

And yet I can't stop checking it...


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

Here is a video about the bugs that's not too creepy. They show what severe reactions to the bites look like and also show some bugs feeding on a guy's arm. He studies them, so he lets them do that on purpose. They also tell you what to look for and go on the hunt for some bed bugs in several NY hotels.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

My dormmates used to spend entire weekends at motels partying and so forth. They stay in cheap motels and bedbugs were quite an issue. My Bathroom buddies got it (bathroom was between our rooms with two girls in each dormroom). We all had to wash everything cuz we would borrow so much clothes and shoes from one another. We could not afford a steamer but luckily someone lent one to us.


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## Philip Chen (Aug 8, 2010)




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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Okay, after reading this thread, I think I'm just going to have to accept that bedbugs are EVERYWHERE (oh my god, they drop down from the CEILING on you?!) and just hope they don't eat me alive!!


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

Lol, I'm just waiting for the inevitable "Bed Bugs - Night of Terror 3D" movie. "They're in the walls!"


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

So how does a steamer help?


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> So how does a steamer help?


Read something about the packtite unit -- the heat kills the bedbugs, so I guess steamers do to -- but what about all that moisture in the steam? I was wondering if a steamer could be used to help prevent bedbugs, but I guess not.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

They dislike heat and humidity?  Finally I discover the upside to DC summers....


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

It sounds like they are not as rugged as cockroaches, which can survive in any weather.  I don't think those heat devices would kill them either.


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

The most effective method of eradicating a bed bug infestation is by heating up the area to 120°F or more. Pest control experts use either fan heaters to heat up rooms, or steamers on a "dry vapor" setting. So I assume it doesn't matter whether you use wet or dry heat, as long as it's hotter than 120°F. The argument against "wet" steam is that it can cause mould.

"Infested and infestation-prone bedding and garments will need to be bagged and laundered (120°F minimum) since these items cannot be treated with insecticides. Another effective and efficient option is to place clothing, toys, shoes, backpacks, etc., in a clothes dryer set at medium to high heat for 10 to 20 minutes. This will kill all bed bug life stages and can be done alone or in conjunction with laundering."

"Items which cannot be put in a washer or dryer can sometimes be de-infested by wrapping in plastic and placing them outdoors in a hot, sunny location, closed vehicle, etc. for at least a day. If this method is attempted, packing fewer items per bag makes it harder for the bugs to find cooler places to hide. Monitoring with a thermometer is prudent, with a target internal temperature of at least 120°F. Bed bugs also will succumb to cold temperatures below 32°F, but the freezing temperatures must be maintained for several days. Consequently, throughout much of the country, heating tends to be a faster, more reliable option than chilling."

"General housecleaning measures, such as vacuuming floors and surfaces, seldom reaches the places where bed bugs hide."

"At times it may be necessary to throw out infested items, especially beds and upholstered furniture."

Source.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

> Here is a video about the bugs that's not too creepy.


Not possible.


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## Prazzie (Oct 25, 2009)

Once they're on your radar, you'll hear about bed bugs everywhere!

Time published this article about a recent Bedbug Summit yesterday.


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