Another bed bug warning! (OKW)

[minnie16]

This is thread from March, and the posters 1st post is bringing back an issue that no one else responded to as having a similar problem.

Are we strirring the pot or trying to start something?

I don't think that I like what you are implying. I am not trying to "stir the pot or start anything". I have read that a bed bug infestation can take up to two months to eradicate. Also, bed bugs can live for weeks without a host. Assuming this is true I would not want to stay in the same unit as the mules0308.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I don't think that I like what you are implying. I am not trying to "stir the pot or start anything". I have read that a bed bug infestation can take up to two months to eradicate. Also, bed bugs can live for weeks without a host. Assuming this is true I would not want to stay in the same unit as the mules0308.

but realistically, of all of the OKW DVC'ers, did you read any responses of bed bugs at OKW, no, because trust me if I in my 15 + stays at OKW had I encountered bed bugs, you all would have heard about it. Likewise I'm sure for all of the other owners of OKW w/ multiple stays. So why bring it up again, have you encountered bed bugs at OKW. Some of these threads get 2000+ responses but yet not a one reported having the same problem. So, IMHO, I think the fury that a heading of BED BUGS AT OKW causes should be put to rest until some one else can actually corraborate the story with a similar incident.

 

[minnie16]

but realistically, of all of the OKW DVC'ers, did you read any responses of bed bugs at OKW, no, because trust me if I in my 15 + stays at OKW had I encountered bed bugs, you all would have heard about it. Likewise I'm sure for all of the other owners of OKW w/ multiple stays. So why bring it up again, have you encountered bed bugs at OKW. Some of these threads get 2000+ responses but yet not a one reported having the same problem. So, IMHO, I think the fury that a heading of BED BUGS AT OKW causes should be put to rest until some one else can actually corraborate the story with a similar incident.

Yes, someone can corraborate the story and that would be me. I posted the reply to mules 0308 because I was hoping to find out which unit she was in. I am going down in a few weeks but I was also at OKW in March. I stayed in building 41 and guess what? The unit had bed bugs. My husband and son were bitten from head to toe. All of our clothing and luggage were confiscated, including the clothes we were wearing (I won't go into all of the embarassing details). My son had over 50 bites and my husband had over 20. They were severly itchy for weeks and required treatment from the doctor when we got home. Some of the bites were the size of a quarter and they both still have scars from the bites.

Obviously the front desk at OKW knew that building 41 had bed bugs yet still put people there. Bed bugs can find their way through cracks in walls and electrical outlets. A proper inspection of the units should have been done. Once we started looking around the mattress/headboard area we found the traces of the bed bugs. We have been members since 95 and have been down dozens of times. We have noticed quality/cleanliness problems over past few years but never expected something like this. We love OKW but this experience was a nightmare.

I had no ill intentions with my post, I was just curious to see if she was in the same unit as us. Obviously I could have shouted this from the rooftop and called the media but we haven't.

 

[magicaldisney]

I'm not sure why when someone has a negative thing to say about WDW, people immediately assume they are stirring the pot. Listen guys, bad things happen some times (anywhere, anytime) and I for one am sorry it happened to the two posters. Just because they don't have high post #s, doesn't mean the problem didn't occur.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at OKW. I am going down in a few weeks. Can you tell me what room in building 41 you stayed in?

Well, now I'm sorry to hear that you had a similar situation but your original reply doesn't really indicate that. Did you report it? and what was done about it?

 

[mules0308]

Yes, someone can corraborate the story and that would be me. I posted the reply to mules 0308 because I was hoping to find out which unit she was in. I am going down in a few weeks but I was also at OKW in March. I stayed in building 41 and guess what? The unit had bed bugs. My husband and son were bitten from head to toe. All of our clothing and luggage were confiscated, including the clothes we were wearing (I won't go into all of the embarassing details). My son had over 50 bites and my husband had over 20. They were severly itchy for weeks and required treatment from the doctor when we got home. Some of the bites were the size of a quarter and they both still have scars from the bites.

Obviously the front desk at OKW knew that building 41 had bed bugs yet still put people there. Bed bugs can find their way through cracks in walls and electrical outlets. A proper inspection of the units should have been done. Once we started looking around the mattress/headboard area we found the traces of the bed bugs. We have been members since 95 and have been down dozens of times. We have noticed quality/cleanliness problems over past few years but never expected something like this. We love OKW but this experience was a nightmare.

I had no ill intentions with my post, I was just curious to see if she was in the same unit as us. Obviously I could have shouted this from the rooftop and called the media but we haven't.

Hi all,

I just came across these replies to my original post...sorry to hear about your problem, Minnie16. I just graduated from grad school and I was away for a week, so sorry for my delay in answering your question. Luckily, I did not have as many bites as your family members, but it still put me in panic mode. (I seem to have lucked out and have not seen any signs of bed bugs here at home other than the one critter I originally found - I do have a photo of it in a ziploc bag ). And, like you, I have absolutely NO ill intentions with my posts, even though they are my first ones here on DIS. My family has belonged to DVC since the very beginning (early '90s) and we love OKW...going back next March.

In response to minnie16's question, I THINK I was in room 4112, but I cannot say that with 100% certainty. It was a first floor two-bedroom unit sort of in the middle of the building. I really hope that something was done about the bugs, and I agree that they should put those rooms on hold until a full inspection and treatment can occur.

Sorry to bring up this topic again!

K

 

[minnie16]

Hi all,

I just came across these replies to my original post...sorry to hear about your problem, Minnie16. I just graduated from grad school and I was away for a week, so sorry for my delay in answering your question. Luckily, I did not have as many bites as your family members, but it still put me in panic mode. (I seem to have lucked out and have not seen any signs of bed bugs here at home other than the one critter I originally found - I do have a photo of it in a ziploc bag ). And, like you, I have absolutely NO ill intentions with my posts, even though they are my first ones here on DIS. My family has belonged to DVC since the very beginning (early '90s) and we love OKW...going back next March.

In response to minnie16's question, I THINK I was in room 4112, but I cannot say that with 100% certainty. It was a first floor two-bedroom unit sort of in the middle of the building. I really hope that something was done about the bugs, and I agree that they should put those rooms on hold until a full inspection and treatment can occur.

Sorry to bring up this topic again!

K

K,
Thanks for the info. I think that we were in the same unit as you were. We checked in on Saturday March 8th. We were on the first floor in the middle and a little to the right (second unit from the end). We love OKW but are very disappointed to find out that they were made aware of the problem and didn't check the room. Hopefully future trips will be bug free!

 

[mules0308]

K,
Thanks for the info. I think that we were in the same unit as you were. We checked in on Saturday March 8th. We were on the first floor in the middle and a little to the right (second unit from the end). We love OKW but are very disappointed to find out that they were made aware of the problem and didn't check the room. Hopefully future trips will be bug free!

Interesting! We checked out of the room that same morning (the 8th). What a coincidence that we were likely in the same room! My parents moved to a different room in building 41 after we left, and they notified the front desk of the problem that Monday morning (the 10th) after I discovered the bug on my suitcase at home. Since you were in that room, can I assume that means the staff/mousekeeping/whatever didn't do anything to check on the situation immediately?

I was the only one in my family to notice the bites...very itchy! I slept on the (uncomfortable) sofa bed. Did you notice any of the black spots on the sofa arm/cushions? I wish I had taken a photo of it, but like I said earlier, I didn't realize at the time what it was. We all checked our stuff when we got home, and nobody has found any signs of them at home (we all dispersed to three different homes after the trip).

Hopefully the bugs were confined to just that one room, but I do know that they can spread easily.

 

[gmboy95]

because of what i do for a living i have had to deal with bed bug issues in the past......i can promise you that if your room is infersted with bed bugs you will know it quickly, within a day, as the bites will rear their ugly head. The best defense against bed bugs is to keep your clothes in the suitcase and off the floor, and if you have bed bug bites, you should immediately move your room after alerting the resort, and IMO throw away everything including your luggage, and buy enough to get you home, and chalk it up to a loss that is far less then the thousands it would cost to get them out of your house.

 

[minnie16]

You are right, no one came to check our unit. We did notice the black spots on our son's headboard and the couch but that was after the pest control people confirmed it was bed bugs. Once they confirmed it there was a person from housekeeping with us at all times. We have a few pictures of the marks on the headboard. Disney took all of our luggage and destroyed it so that we wouldn't bring any bed bugs home with us.

Thanks for the info.

 

[bgraham34]

Did Disney give you money for new a new suitcase.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Wow! I'm sure that is a huge problem in the travel industry, since they are so easy to transport from one location to another. It sounds like destroying the luggage and all is an indication of how serious DVC/OKW thought this was also. We were there at the same time in a neighboring building (38). Could you post a picture of the marks on the headboard? I have no idea what to look for.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Did they take the clothes too? I'm wondering if clothes could just be washed in hot water.

We have been members of DVC and OKW for more than 11 years, and had so many stays I can't even remember how many now. We have NEVER had an issue with ANY kind of bug in the rooms. We have had tree frogs come in, but never have seen so much as one bug in the room. We've never had a rash or bites either.

 

[mules0308]

We have been members of DVC and OKW for more than 11 years, and had so many stays I can't even remember how many now. We have NEVER had an issue with ANY kind of bug in the rooms. We have had tree frogs come in, but never have seen so much as one bug in the room. We've never had a rash or bites either.

Same experience here. Prior to this trip in March, we had never had any problems of any kind at OKW. And, even though this happened to us there, I would guess that it's sort of a hit or miss thing and not a widespread issue at the resort. I read on another section of this website that someone reported bed bugs at Port Orleans resort about a month ago or so. I just think that with so many people coming from all over the country and world to these resorts, it's probably inevitable that the bugs will appear at some point.

Minnie, how soon into your trip did you notice the bites and bugs? Did Disney then react immediately and send the pest control guys? Did you change rooms? How did you go for the rest of the trip without your belongings? I sure hope they gave you money or something for your clothes and luggage. Like someone else said, I've heard that washing and drying items in hot water is likely to kill the bugs.

P.S. Did anyone hear the recent report about bed bugs being on the subway trains in NYC?! Not sure if it was found to be true or not.....ick!

 

[a Really Bad Egg]

http://www.wftv.com/news/15032105/detail.html

 

[Kim&Chris]

We leave for OKW in a few weeks, so I will be sure to check the bed and sofa carefully.

I know FOR SURE that DVC reps read these boards, so hopefully they are taking all of this in and taking the necessary steps to resolve this issue.

Going forward, we should all be diligent in posting room reports - the good, the bad, and the buggy.

 

[kddlm]

I was just scrolling through this thread and noticed the building number. We stayed in room 4111 (one bedroom) last August (love the location BTW) and I noticed "ink spots" on the arm of the loveseat (even commented how a child must have had a pen). My son and his friend slept on the pullout sofa mattress, but I don't recall them getting any type of bites. Could have been they were just ink spots or the start of bed bugs (since I saw room 4112 mentioned). We were just in room 3411 in April and all was clean!

 

[minnie16]

My son had bites within two days of checking in. At first we chalked it up to being in Florida, there are a lot of bugs. Each day he had more so on Thursday morning we called to have someone come out and meet with us. They set up a meeting for Friday morning and once they heard our concerns they sent pest control over to our unit. After confirming that it was bed bugs they told us that they had to move us out and take all of our clothes and luggage.

Disney did buy us luggage from Target. Unfortunately it is not the quality/sizes that we had but at least we were able to pack things to go home. Once they confirmed that there were bed bugs we were not left alone in the room. Someone stood with us while we emptied all of our luggage and sorted it into laundry baskets (which was kind of embarrassing). They sent us to Downtown Disney to buy new clothes because even wanted the clothes/underwear that we were wearing (again, very embarrassing). They then took all of our clothes and washed them in hot water and dried them on high heat. This resulted in a lot of our clothes being shrunk and faded. Bathing suits and delicate items are not meant to be washed that way. Our clothes were returned to us around 10pm with half of the things still damp. We then had to finish drying them and pack because we had to get the Disney Express to the airport first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, it was a stressful end to our vacation. We love OKW but this experience really shook us up. We are freaked out at the thought that every night when we shut off the lights bed bugs were crawling around on us. Also, knowing now that the front desk knew on Monday that there was an issue with our room yet didn't do anything is inexcusable. We will go back to OKW but we will have housekeeping and pest control inspect every inch of the unit before we check in!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm confused. If they dried them on high heat and ruined them, why were they still damp???

 

[rinkwide]

I'm confused. If they dried them on high heat and ruined them, why were they still damp???

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