Let’s get one thing straight: bed bugs are just not the scourge that most people think they are for budget travelers and backpackers. Bed bugs do not transmit disease and shelters do not harbor them any more than hotels (and outbreaks in both places are very rare). You are much more likely to have bed bugs in a hotel in New York City than on a backpacking trip to Southeast Asia.
Here are some myths to rest you while we help you learn to identify bed bugs, showing you what signs to look out for in your accommodation, cover how you can effectively treat bed bug bites, help you avoid bed bugs while traveling, and share how. kill them if they decide to travel with you (they are frustratingly difficult to eliminate).
Myth # 1: your accommodation will have bed bugs
Let’s start first by saying that hostels don’t have more bed bug incidents than other lodging options. Greg Baumann, vice president of technical services for the National Pest Management Association says: “There is no data to support that shelters have a higher incidence of bed bugs (than hotels).” However, some people will always fear that shelters are hotbeds for bed bugs. If you are one of those people, travel with a silk sleeping bag for peace of mind.
In the early 2000s, bed bugs became a hot topic when they started showing up in some luxury hotels. They had virtually disappeared from the US housing scene until a 1972 ban on the insecticide DDT; The spray that was once used on roaches and other pests also turned out to be an effective way to kill bed bugs. After DDT was banned, the number of bed bugs increased dramatically. In Europe, the mistakes never really went away.
Pest Control Canada writes about bed bug infestations in hotels: “The stigma associated with bed bugs is influencing some hotels and other accommodations to ignore the infestations or treat them without professional help. The lack of professional treatment carries great risks, especially the possibility of litigation. ‘ Reading between the lines, we can deduce that in Hades there is no way some hotels would agree that those red bumps on his body are evidence of bed bugs and anyway a desk clerk from the US doesn’t even know what bed bug bites really are like.
The lesson here is to do your research beforehand.
Hostels, on the other hand, have long recognized the presence of insects in the housing world, especially outside of the United States, and many of them take action accordingly. Some actively tell you what to look for, and some hostels don’t allow sleeping bags in hostel dorms, in part because yours can carry bed bugs (they like to travel as much as you do). Bed bugs hitchhike in backpacks too, which should tell you how easily they can spread. If you manage to catch bed bugs and don’t realize it for a week, you could have transported them to three different shelters and in twenty backpackers’ bags, which have then traveled to three other shelters.
Many people assume that bugs come with filthy hostel territory (another myth: that all hostels are inherently filthy). However, bed bugs don’t mind a clean environment.
Where there may be some truth to the hostel myth of always having bed bugs is that the high density of people possible in a hostel room can create a greater chance of insects appearing than in a hotel room used by a couple of travelers. in a moment. If twelve backpackers are sleeping in a room, it creates twelve opportunities for insects to jump off a backpacker’s things and onto their own or the hostel dormitory furniture.
Again, however, there is no evidence to support the idea that shelters are more prone to infestation than other lodgings; in fact, given the greater likelihood of bed bug infestation and transfer in a shelter due to the large number of travelers, it is notable that this likelihood does not translate into a higher incidence of infestation in shelters than in hotels.
Myth # 2: Bed bugs carry disease
Do bed bugs transmit disease? Well, bed bugs carry 24 known pathogens, but do bed bugs carry disease? No, bed bug bites will not make you sick (unless, of course, the bites become infected). And although bed bugs feed on blood, they do not transmit AIDS or other blood-borne diseases. In other words, if you’re bitten by bed bugs, the only thing you need to worry about is not scratching the bites until they bleed and finding a way to control the itch.
Mosquitoes, on the other hand, can transmit many nasty diseases, such as malaria, dengue, and West Nile disease, which they transmit to you through a science fiction needle nose. If you are going to worry about one type of bug while traveling, make it mosquitoes.
That is not to say that bed bugs and bed bug bites are not a problem. They definitely are.
Myth # 3: Bed bugs mean a place is unclean.
Bed bugs are gross, for sure. Thinking of the creatures crawling across your bed and drinking your blood is a true shiver inducer. Yet that happens all the time: the creatures looking for your blood, that is (think mosquitoes). It could be the fact that bed bugs escape a bit, which makes them look especially hideous, and bed bugs are nocturnal – creatures that sneak around at night appear particularly sneaky, despite having microscopic brains and no features of personality to speak.
However, the presence of bed bugs in a hostel or hotel does not mean that the place is unhealthy. Roaches, ants, flies, yes, they all love old food. Bedbugs like fresh food. A dirty hostel does not attract bed bugs simply by virtue of its filth, this is not how these travelers choose their new destinations.
Bed bugs hitchhike in hostels, hotels, and eventually your own home, through your things: your clothes, your sleeping bag, or your backpack. They take a walk in the same way.
As Baumann says of unsanitary conditions, “Bed bugs don’t really care about that, and they can be in the fanciest hotels to the other end of the spectrum.” It goes on to say that while the whole bed bug infestation, cleanliness problem hotel equation is popular, there is no data to back it up.
The only connection that could be made between insects and unhealthy habits would be that a recommendation to kill bed bugs is to wash possessions in very hot water. Perhaps that is how the myth began, but no one, anywhere, washes their curtains with boiling water every day to keep a clean house. (They?)
Now that we’ve covered the myths, let’s get stuck on what to look for.
What are bed bug bites like?
A bed bug bite looks like a tiny welt, and it burns and / or itches like crazy.
You cannot feel a bed bug bite while it occurs (it takes about five minutes to feed), and bed bugs are nocturnal. You usually wake up in the morning with a strange itch and look down to find that you are covered in red bites.
A distinctive feature of bed bug bites is that they often appear in a row of three. People will joke that when they bite you, they are going to have breakfast, lunch and dinner while they are there! Some bites may spread and others may be in groups, so don’t assume it’s something else if your bites aren’t all in lines of three.
How to treat a bed bug bite
You should wash a bed bug bite with soap and water, apply some ice, and use an antihistamine cream or a non-itchy cream. Take a look at Brave Soldier Antiseptic Cream – it’s the ultimate wound treatment that doesn’t itch, infection, or scar.
The most important thing here is not to scratch. These bites are itchy, and the more you scratch, the more likely it is to turn into an open wound and become infected.
If a bed bug bite becomes infected while traveling (it becomes very tender, feels hot, and begins to ooze a yellow, white, or greenish substance), you should consider seeing a doctor. If you cannot see a doctor and are traveling on antibiotics, consider taking a course if you are 100% convinced that it is an infection.
What are bed bugs like?
Bed bugs are small flat creatures; grown adults are about the size of an apple seed. Adults are brown in color until they consume some blood, after which they turn reddish-brown. Ah, that pink glow after dinner.
The pinhead-sized, or non-adult, nymphs are smaller and whitish or golden until feeding, almost the color of a mattress, making them very difficult to see. (More evidence of smart and cunning behavior).
Where bed bugs like to live
Bed bugs like beds, of course, although “bed bugs” is actually a misnomer, as they certainly live anywhere. However, they most likely like your bed – you, who is your meal ticket, are in bed all night, which is when you go out to eat.
According to the National Pest Management Organization, insects can also live in carpets, under wallpaper, behind baseboards, and in tiny crevices and crevices in a room. Baumann comments that insects can be found in all furniture, noting that someone who wears them in clothes can spend as much time on the sofas and chairs in the living room as they do on the bed.
Insects can travel alone, but seeing one is probably the tip of the iceberg. Nocturnal animals are transient and elusive. They can hide in mattress seams or screw heads, making them particularly difficult to trace.
They are so scary because they are so hard to find.
How to detect bed bugs in hostels, hotels and at home
The smell of a bed bug infestation, while distinct, is too subtle for amateur detectives. Bed bugs are said to smell like rotten and sweet raspberries, and an infested room is also said to smell like almonds. You most likely need a large infestation before you can smell the bugs in the air in a room.
Bed bugs leave small red or black streaks on the sheets. If you see them when checking into a hostel or hotel room, consider grabbing your things before you hop on the hitchhikers and head straight up to the desk to ask for a new room. If you have to, just go to a different hostel or hotel, cheaper than getting rid of pesky travelers if they bring you, and way better than being bitten all night. The staff should offer you a refund, of course.
These mistakes are great world travelers. They like to live in their sleeping bag, backpack, and clothing until they can get home and move into the recliner, where they can start raising a great family in a nice neighborhood. A female can lay up to 500 eggs during her lifespan. Take a look at the seams on your backpack or along the zipper for a likely destination. And if you suspect you might have an infestation, don’t take your backpack home. You will likely have to spend thousands of dollars to get rid of them if that happens.
Let’s look at some of the bed bug habits before learning how to kill bed bugs.
How do they travel
Bed bugs catch on luggage, sleeping bags, or sleeping bags. They jump from one hotel to another in a hostel with human beings: someone brought them to their accommodation, albeit accidentally. And everyone wants to trade mistakes and travel to new homes internationally.
You’ll probably notice bites sooner, and if you see the bites unless you see the telltale stripes on your sheets; insects are nocturnal and will hide unless they feed.
And they are difficult customers. They can live for more than a year without eating; take a vacation in the hopes that the bugs will move out and not work. They can also take temperatures; bugs are fine if they boil down to Fahrenheit 113, and freezing won’t kill them either.
How to avoid and kill bed bugs while traveling
If you have bites, or know that you have spent time in a room that houses insects, vacuum your suitcases, backpack, camera bag; do not leave the seam without sucking. Wash everything you own in the hottest water possible to boil the little teethers.
How to kill bed bugs at home
The same rules on how to kill bed bugs while traveling apply at home: Vacuum your living space relentlessly, including furniture, by changing the bag outside (small bed bugs can move through a stitch hole). Wash or dry dry anything that can be moved (clothing, bedspreads, rugs) in the hottest water. However, if a happy couple escapes, it is all for nothing.
Baumann notes that people pay a lot to try various home remedies that don’t work as well, and recommends that you bite the bullet and pay an exterminator’s bill to begin with. It’s easier, faster, and probably cheaper in the long run.
How extermination works
The exterminator will have instructions on the jobs to complete prior to your arrival. It will be things like not opening travel bags on home furnishings, like beds, and storing them away from furniture (like in an outside shed), so the bugs that have hitchhiked may not get a chance to move out.
You may also need to:
- Stack furniture in the center of the room.
- Remove the light switch plates (the bugs are hiding there).
You may also want to:
- Throw out the mattresses.
- Caulk wall and wood cracks (they hide there too) – Get caulking and a caulking gun from a hardware store and practice using a finger to smooth the flat against surfaces (easy).
- Completely strip all bedding (reaches bare mattress). Craft says to fold bedding to contain insects; Please wash or dry clean it at high temperature. Interesting fact: Craft says that in hot desert areas, people with infestations often hang bedding and clothing in the scorching sun; remember that temperatures above 113 F kill bed bugs.
The bugs now live in all 50 states; you can certainly get them at home without having traveled as well. Craft says that Orkin has exterminated the bloody beasts in every state except North and South Dakota.
Once the mass slaughter is done and you are bug free, don’t let the bugs bite again by keeping an eye out for small pests the next time you travel, and use the tips above to keep them out of the house when you get home. .
This article has been edited and updated by Lauren Juliff.
