Bed bugs at Bonnet Creek :(

[wilkeliza]

I'm wondering if the white residue is related to a "sign" that they've treated for bed bugs before. I know there's a white powder that people sprinkle in areas in the bedroom when an infestation has occurred.

It can also be a sign of dead bodies. When they switch stages they shed and then those clear shells turn into white dust.

 

[darrius1st]

I would like to make a suggestion. We should compile a checklist of what to look for so no other disboarders will have to suffer with the pain and cost of bedbugs.

 

[ohionola]

I would like to make a suggestion. We should compile a checklist of what to look for so no other disboarders will have to suffer with the pain and cost of bedbugs.

Honestly, I don't think anyone on here knows for sure. When reading this, it went from "you can do this to check for them," to "you can't even tell if they are in your bed if you check." I have decided to do a quick check and stop worrying about them. Otherwise, I will never enjoy another vacation again.

 

[Janet Hill]

For your reading pleasure:

http://www.weather.com/news/science/nature/bedbugs-spreading-beyond-beds-20130304

 

[jcd2010]

Bed bug registry has another report or this resort from March. It sounds like management handled it better but

 

[Zoebear]

Ack!

 

[BobbyBudnick]

Bed bug registry has another report or this resort from March. It sounds like management handled it better but

It says Wyndham Grand

 

[big303842]

Bed bug registry has another report or this resort from March. It sounds like management handled it better but

you would think that in this day and age of cell phone cameras, smart phones and tripadvisor.com etc..., management of these establishments would get their act together better to avoid a bad review with pictures and documentation...

 

[eMd]

I would like to make a suggestion. We should compile a checklist of what to look for so no other disboarders will have to suffer with the pain and cost of bedbugs.

I haven't posted since I believe 2009 when I went to Discovery Cove and Universal/IOA...and I plan on going back down and doing Disney this October. But I had a terrible experience with Bed Bugs at a family rental property in New Jersey in 2011. Since then I have become somewhat of a little bit of a paranoid bed bug expert...and I would be glad to compile a list of things to check for and include ways to prevent bringing them home if you do encounter them.

Edit - I also want to share my pain for anyone else that has experienced bed bugs or a bed bug scare. It's terrible. For months after my own experience I wasn't sleeping to the point where I developed bruising under my eyes. I would "sleep" with a flash light and periodically wake up and check the mattress. I eventually bought extremely expensive bed bug/allergy covers for my mattress, box spring and pillows and cried the entire time I was picking them up at Bed Bath and Beyond. I already suffer from panic attacks and this really set my anxiety at an all time high. I'm okay with it now as I know what to check for and know how to not bring them home. SO my heart goes out for anyone that has gone through this it is incredibly stressful.

 

[darrius1st]

That would be great! Could you post it to this thread so everyone could get it.

 

[eMd]

This is going to be sort of long:

• Before your trip look online to see if bed bugs have been reported. Some good websites www.bedbugregistry.com and www.bedbugreports.com
• Do not place luggage on a bed, ground, or any other furniture before you check for bed bugs. If you have your own transportation you could leave your luggage in the car while you check the room. If not, one of the safest places you can place your luggage is actually the bathtub/shower. Bed bugs tend to not make it that far as they won’t be close to their food source.
•A small flashlight is handy for checking under beds, long seams and being headboards.
•You should strip the bed sheets and any mattress pad to check the mattress. Remember to check box springs or platform beds crevices as well. Pay special attention the seams.
•You will also want to check everything else that can hold bed bugs. Bed stands, couches, drawers and furniture.
•Adult bed bugs are oval, brown, flat and wingless. They are about the size of an apple seed. Young bed bugs are smaller, and sometimes a lighter shade of brown. Babies tend to be almost a clear color.
•Look for rusty or reddish stains on bed linens, pillows, mattress/box spring, frame, headboard, bed stands, walls, etc.
•Bed bug excrement leave dark spots that may look like a pencil or pen mark.
•Eggs and eggshells are white and are only about a millimeter in size.
•Pay special attention to box springs – these are a bed bug haven! Platform beds, or slatted bed should also be checked.
•You sometimes are able to see shed bed bug exoskeletons as well.
•Some tips and tricks suggest to turn the lights off, and use your flashlight, or to turn a hair dryer on the mattress corners for a few minutes to simulate body warmth. The idea is that the warmth and the dark will bring the bed bugs out(as they usually feed at night and when a warm body is in the bed) and you may be able to trick them to come out to find them. I have never used this method because it has been pretty clear but checking the seams, etcs whether or not there may be a bed bug infestation.
•If you find signs of bed bugs, and you are not able to change hotels request a new room on a different floor far away from the infected room. Often times the rooms next door, directly above and below can also be infected.
•Not everyone is allergic to bed bugs, so not everyone will have a reaction if bitten by bed bugs. This is why it is important to check for bed bugs before you make yourself at home on vacation.
•You can use zip lock bags, something called or something called Bug Zip to help encase your luggage/clothing/belongings to help prevent bed bugs. There are plenty of other brands, but Bug zip is the only one I am familiar with. Bug Zips are meant to be left behind for disposal, and not meant to be reused.
http://www.bugzip.com/
•Due to regulations in the United Stated the chemicals that effectively treat bed bugs tend to no longer be available. The only way to kill bed bugs seems to be high heats. You should wash everything that can be laundered that way on high heat upon returning home, and dry on high heat. Throw anything else that can be put through a high heat dry cycle through one.
•Vacuum suitcases/luggage crevices to get rid of any eggs. Hard shell suitcases are better for preventing bed bugs than regular fabric ones.
•www.bedbugger.com is one of my favorite websites for bed bugs tips, tricks, and how to deal.

I am sure that I am forgetting some things, which is why I included the bed bugger website link. I know that with my own experience I became incredibly paranoid along with my 2 girlfriends, my cousin and her friend. I ended up cleaning everything I had with me on high heat, and placing it all in zip locks and trash bags. I cleaned my car, and I threw away my actual suitcase. I had bought new clothes and took an outdoor shower at the rental home because I refused to re -the house. I pretty much lost my mind during that ordeal and developed extreme anxiety afterwards. I now check for bed bugs at very hotel or vacation rental stay and I have bed bug/allergy encasements on my mattress and pillows for preventative measures. FYI – the encasement is preventative in the sense that it makes it easier to inspect. Also, Bed Bath and Beyond carries an "all natural" bed bug spray. I bring the travel size one with me, and spray my mattress, and other furniture, just to be safe. It probably doesn't do anything and it smells strongly of cinnamon almost sickeningly so.

 

[jcd2010]

Thanks for the information and for posting those links. I wasn't aware of all of those sites.

 

[darrius1st]

Thank For the Checklist, this is just what I needed.

 

[dsamama]

so strange i just went to bedbug registry and looked for wbc again not nothing is showing up. i know it showed up before????

 

[Kimkimba]

so strange i just went to bedbug registry and looked for wbc again not nothing is showing up. i know it showed up before????

http://www.bedbugregistry.com/hotel/FL/Orlando/Wyndham-Bonnet-Creek-Resort

 

[OklahomaTourist]

Just for me, I think going to the extreme of stripping the bed completely upon arrival is unnecessary.

From what I've read, a conspicuous place to check on ANY bed furniture is at the corners of the mattress and box springs. I will undertake to pull up the duvet/bedspread, top sheet, fitted sheet, and pad at each corner and inspect the corner seams top and bottom.

For me, I've never been a big fan of hotel dressers. I put my suitcase on a (preferably wooden) chair, and put dirties directly into a separate laundry bag.

I think these days most chains - particularly the larger ones where reputations can take a hammering over stuff like this really fast - have stepped up their examination of rooms in this regard. When I visited a particular hotel for a weekend trip this last fall, the bedcorners were immaculate and the date the mattress was flipped was noted on an affixed tag.

I don't think anyone can 100% inspect a room to be guaranteed free of those evil things, but I think you can mitigate the risk quite a bit without entirely stripping the bed.

 

[eMd]

Just for me, I think going to the extreme of stripping the bed completely upon arrival is unnecessary.
.

It absolutely is not necessariy to completely strip the bed.
When I say strip the sheets and mattress pad, I mean lift it back around the corners so you can check the actual matress/box spring directly and not just what is on top of it.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

Just for me, I think going to the extreme of stripping the bed completely upon arrival is unnecessary.

From what I've read, a conspicuous place to check on ANY bed furniture is at the corners of the mattress and box springs. I will undertake to pull up the duvet/bedspread, top sheet, fitted sheet, and pad at each corner and inspect the corner seams top and bottom.

For me, I've never been a big fan of hotel dressers. I put my suitcase on a (preferably wooden) chair, and put dirties directly into a separate laundry bag.

I think these days most chains - particularly the larger ones where reputations can take a hammering over stuff like this really fast - have stepped up their examination of rooms in this regard. When I visited a particular hotel for a weekend trip this last fall, the bedcorners were immaculate and the date the mattress was flipped was noted on an affixed tag.

I don't think anyone can 100% inspect a room to be guaranteed free of those evil things, but I think you can mitigate the risk quite a bit without entirely stripping the bed.

Be careful of that wooden chair....they like that too. The absolutely best place to keep your luggage, although it is very inconvenient, is in the bath room. Specifically, the bath tub. I know, it's a pain, but those bugs like anything that isn't tile or metal.

 

[snowangel72]

Thank you to the original poster for posting this. It is a good reminder to fully check the beds and examine the room before entering. This is really scary!

 

[katiescat]

bed bug bites are nasty, thanks for this info!