All this talk about bedbugs!!!!

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

If anyone has been reading the resort board you probably have seen all the posts about bedbugs!! I have learned alot about these creatures that I didn't know existed.
Anyway, we are possibly planning to stay onsite for the first time ever. We stayed at Windsor Hills last time, and it was great.
My question is...have there ever been any posts about offsite/condo/townhouse bedbugs? From reading I understand that they can be brought in by the last guest and it is not the hotel's fault...BUT..I do not understand how mattresses are found to have these little bugs and/or their droppings on them and housekeeping doesn't know! It would seem to me if this was a problem that housekeeping should have to check mattresses/etc. for this type of thing daily!!
I just wonder if maybe the places like we are looking to rent from Florida Sun and others are cleaned and checked more thoroughly?? Maybe not, I don't know. I am just freakin out about this whole thing and hope wherever we stay we don't run across any of these critters!!!

 

[Twilightlover]

Here's the thing there are bed bugs in your bed right now. There poop makes up half the weight in your pillow. Yes in your home right now, your bed. It's just one of those things that comes with being a human. The best you can do is just by a bed cover, steam your bed once a month and live.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

Yeah, I'm not talking about dust mites. Go read the thread on the resorts board and you will see what I am talking about. Google it and you will find out more. These are critters that leave itchy bites all over you and are very tough to get rid of. They seem to be much too common right now. Go check it out.

 

[Twilightlover]

HAAHh I'm all set. I am one that believes that germs and bugs are good. All these hand sanitizers and vaccinations are leading to a world full of allergy ridden kids. Soap and water that's all you need. I think most reputable hotels are clean will not have bedbugs.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Some precautions to take (although not foolproof) are:
BEFORE bringing your luggage into the room, pull back the linens on each bed, and check for any signs of bugs, be sure to look directly at the mattress. If there are any blood stains DO NOT stay there, and leave.

Look in the bathroom for any insects, and be sure to check the pillows too.

If you are satisfied that your check has revealed no pests, then bring your luggage in the room, relax and have a great time.

Bedbugs are not fun to deal with. You will have to have your clothing washed in boiling water (and some may not withstand that). If you bring them home with you, plan on buying new mattresses, pillows, and possibly furniture as well as paying a hefty extermination bill.

It's well worth a few minutes checking the room to help avoid any contact with these pests.

 

[imthatgirl]

yeah sure germs are good, but there is nothing good about bed bugs. and the problem with them is its almost impossible to get rid of them.
we stayed at port orleans french quarters last week and we had them. by the time i left my ankles had bites all over them. it wasnt till i got home that i realized they werent mosquito bites at all, which is what i had thought while i was there. it never dawned on me it would be bed bugs.

oh and i dont know about the rest of the world, but i can assure you i do not have bed bugs in my home!!! so no, not everyone has them!!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

No, not everyone has bedbugs by any means. Not more so than everyone has body lice!

Sorry to hear you had trouble with them. I hope you didn't bring any home with you.

 

[imthatgirl]

No, not everyone has bedbugs by any means. Not more so than everyone has body lice!

Sorry to hear you had trouble with them. I hope you didn't bring any home with you.

we didnt. thank god!! i realized while on the plane coming home that the welt didnt appear to be a mosquito bite. i called my dry cleaner from the plane(a no-no, im aware) he had us come straight there with our luggage. we tossed the luggage and honestly much of the clothing(i just didnt want to keep anything that didnt cost me a lot of money, in retrospect i guess it didnt make sense to only keep some of the clothing). what we kept was washed in their washing machines and then checked.

but to be completely honest, we never saw an insect and of course never had anything confirmed. but i just dont know what else could ahve bitten me so many times. the other idea we had were fleas, but not so sure about that.

 

[mareed]

yeah sure germs are good, but there is nothing good about bed bugs. and the problem with them is its almost impossible to get rid of them.
we stayed at port orleans french quarters last week and we had them. by the time i left my ankles had bites all over them. it wasnt till i got home that i realized they werent mosquito bites at all, which is what i had thought while i was there. it never dawned on me it would be bed bugs.

oh and i dont know about the rest of the world, but i can assure you i do not have bed bugs in my home!!! so no, not everyone has them!!

I know I've read somewhere here on the DIS about a sort of rash that some people get from walking around on all the pavement at WDW. I think it would look like a bunch of bug bites and was focused on the ankles, which sounds like what you're describing. Thus, it's possible that you didn't encounter bed bugs at all!

I did a search and found this recent thread about it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1877784. And also this one: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1369601&referrerid=93883.

I'd personally much rather end up with this rash than bed bug bites, so perhaps this will make you feel better!

 

[imthatgirl]

I know I've read somewhere here on the DIS about a sort of rash that some people get from walking around on all the pavement at WDW. I think it would look like a bunch of bug bites and was focused on the ankles, which sounds like what you're describing. Thus, it's possible that you didn't encounter bed bugs at all!

I did a search and found this recent thread about it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1877784. And also this one: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1369601&referrerid=93883.

I'd personally much rather end up with this rash than bed bug bites, so perhaps this will make you feel better!

its quite possible. i wasnt taking any chances, thats for sure. ive tried to put the incident out of my mind, and i certainly wont be letting it ruin future trips.
thanks for the links!!

 

[garmich]

HAAHh I'm all set. I am one that believes that germs and bugs are good. All these hand sanitizers and vaccinations are leading to a world full of allergy ridden kids. Soap and water that's all you need. I think most reputable hotels are clean will not have bedbugs.

5-star hotels that are "reputable" and "clean" can have bed bugs, too. It has nothing to do with the overall cleanliness (or uncleanliness) of the hotel. The bed bugs are brought into the hotel by hotel guests. The bed bugs may have been in their luggage and probably were "picked-up" at their previous stay at another hotel or motel.

The housekeepers need to find the bedbugs and the hotel has to take action immediately. But, this doesn't always happen. And one unfotunate guest will find them and sometimes they will start a smear campaign against the hotel on all of the travel forums.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

HAAHh I'm all set. I am one that believes that germs and bugs are good. All these hand sanitizers and vaccinations are leading to a world full of allergy ridden kids. Soap and water that's all you need. I think most reputable hotels are clean will not have bedbugs.

I hate to tell you but you think wrong. The hotel can be clean and a guest can bring them in. I was bit up in a hotel on Disney's property

 

[Frothy]

Stayed at Ritz Carlton - Orlando a few years ago and have to say, I came out of there itching. More recently Gaylord in Nashville did it to me. Can't you get ultra violet detectors if you're really concerned?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Some interesting information (found in a search for bedbug bite patterns):
. . . Low infestations may be difficult to detect (answers the OP's "BUT..I do not understand how mattresses are found to have these little bugs and/or their droppings on them and housekeeping doesn't know! It would seem to me if this was a problem that housekeeping should have to check mattresses/etc. for this type of thing daily!!")
. . . Bedbugs may be erroneously associated with filth in the mistaken notion that this attracts them. Bedbugs are attracted by exhaled carbon dioxide and body heat, not by dirt, and they feed on blood, not waste
. . . Bites may not become immediately visible, and can take up to 9 days to appear. (additional response to the "(answers the OP's "BUT..I do not understand how mattresses " comment)
. . . In a large number of cases, estimated to 50% of all people, there is no visible sign of bites whatsoever, greatly increasing the difficulty of identifying and eradicating infestations.
. . . Bedbugs were originally brought to the United States by early colonists from Europe
. . . Bedbugs were believed to be altogether eradicated 50 years ago in the United States and elsewhere with the widespread use of DDT, followed by Bedbug populations in the United States have increased by 500 percent in the past few years (so, what is 500% of "altogether (ie completely) eradicated (ie nonexistent)?

we stayed at port orleans french quarters last week and we had them. by the time i left my ankles had bites all over them. it wasnt till i got home that i realized they werent mosquito bites at all, which is what i had thought while i was there. it never dawned on me it would be bed bugs.

Why would it? It's much more likely that "it" (the bites) are from a source other than bedbugs.

we didnt. thank god!! i realized while on the plane coming home that the welt didnt appear to be a mosquito bite.

Okay, now I'm confused - did the poster's have bites all over her ankles, or did she have a single welt/bite? And since, in the most active current thread on the resorts board, it took some experienced horticulturists examining samples found in a resort room and consulting, to determine that the problem truly was bedbugs.
I'm not sure I understand how a person who never saw what (if anything) did the biting can determine the definitive source/cause.

Heck, I don't want bedbugs in my hotel room or home, either - but I wouldn't risk endangering a flight and its passengers/crew on the minimal chance that an itchy ankle was due to bedbugs (given the many, MANY other possible sources of itching/reaction/welts/etc.... so far I haven't seen anything that indicates drycleaning eliminates bedbugs (and I've been reading a LOT about the problem recently, thanks to the DIS!)

I DO believe the poster above had some type of welt, rash, or bite - I just don't understand how they know it was bedbugs

 

[imthatgirl]

but to be completely honest, we never saw an insect and of course never had anything confirmed. but i just dont know what else could ahve bitten me so many times. the other idea we had were fleas, but not so sure about that.

I DO believe the poster above had some type of welt, rash, or bite - I just don't understand how they know it was bedbugs

appearently reading isnt your thing

i said i was biten many times and that i didnt *know* what had biten me

 

[bavaria]

yeah sure germs are good, but there is nothing good about bed bugs. and the problem with them is its almost impossible to get rid of them.
we stayed at port orleans french quarters last week and we had them.

I will admit that English is not my first language, but I do enjoy to read. Here you did say that you had bedbugs. For anyone to go to the extent that you apparently did (calling a dry cleaner from the airplane, throwing out luggage and clothing, and then washing the remaining items in an industrial washer) seems a little extreme if you did not indeed think that you had bedbugs.

If anything, I think that this thread demonstrates that there is a lot of fear and misconceptions about bedbugs, while the actual incidence at WDW is quite low (one of the previous posters has in past posted a statistical estimate, I believe, which may be useful in this thread)

Some excellent links have been posted; for anyone who is concerned I do recommend reading them, and checking your hotel room. But also remember that many other things (the abovementioned rash as well as other bug bites) can cause one to think that they have bedbugs when in fact they do not.

The best thing to do is to advise your hotel immediately if you have concerns; I do hope that the poster who thinks that they had bedbugs advised the resort so that they could investigate and take action if required.

 

[imthatgirl]

I will admit that English is not my first language, but I do enjoy to read. Here you did say that you had bedbugs. For anyone to go to the extent that you apparently did (calling a dry cleaner from the airplane, throwing out luggage and clothing, and then washing the remaining items in an industrial washer) seems a little extreme if you did not indeed think that you had bedbugs.

If anything, I think that this thread demonstrates that there is a lot of fear and misconceptions about bedbugs, while the actual incidence at WDW is quite low (one of the previous posters has in past posted a statistical estimate, I believe, which may be useful in this thread)

Some excellent links have been posted; for anyone who is concerned I do recommend reading them, and checking your hotel room. But also remember that many other things (the abovementioned rash as well as other bug bites) can cause one to think that they have bedbugs when in fact they do not.

The best thing to do is to advise your hotel immediately if you have concerns; I do hope that the poster who thinks that they had bedbugs advised the resort so that they could investigate and take action if required.

did i ever say i didnt think we had them? obviously i did and still think we did have them in our room.
i really dont know what your issue is?

 

[bavaria]

but to be completely honest, we never saw an insect and of course never had anything confirmed. but i just dont know what else could ahve bitten me so many times. the other idea we had were fleas, but not so sure about that.

Believe it or not, some of us do try and be helpful and post factual information and reassurances. However when I saw a previous poster being attacked for the facts that she posted, I did feel the need to respond with a reassurance of the low incidence.

Your posts on this thread frankly confuse me; it may be that English is not my first language, but I am confused as to whether or not you actually had bugs, and frankly I hope that you did not.

My intent however was (and still is) to reassure readers that the actual incidence is rare, and to remind them to check their rooms and to read some of the links posted here.

 

[imthatgirl]

Believe it or not, some of us do try and be helpful and post factual information and reassurances. However when I saw a previous poster being attacked for the facts that she posted, I did feel the need to respond with a reassurance of the low incidence.

Your posts on this thread frankly confuse me; it may be that English is not my first language, but I am confused as to whether or not you actually had bugs, and frankly I hope that you did not.

My intent however was (and still is) to reassure readers that the actual incidence is rare, and to remind them to check their rooms and to read some of the links posted here.

if that were you intent you had no reason to qoute me?
no need to be confused, i clearly stated that i never found out for sure.
well attacked? hmmm...possibly we are reading a different thread
she misqouted me, i still have no idea why?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Post # 6:

yeah sure germs are good, but there is nothing good about bed bugs. and the problem with them is its almost impossible to get rid of them.
we stayed at port orleans french quarters last week and we had them

Post # 15

appearently reading isnt your thing

i said i was biten many times and that i didnt *know* what had biten me

No, it’s okay – reading, and reading comprehension, are my “things.
Post # 17

did i ever say i didnt think we had them? obviously i did and still think we did have them in our room.
i really dont know what your issue is?

So, what with English being my first language and me not being able to decipher whether the poster had bedbugs, based on contradictory posts, it’s no wonder it’s confusing to someone to whom English is a third, fourth, or more, language!