Bed Bugs- has anyone had experience- need advice

[got15]

We recently have come back from a split stay (POR and BWI) at WDW. We came back home Dec. 5. After our first night at POR, my husband and child were bitten. He said it was bed bugs- I thought mosquitoes. We just received a call from Disney- confirming that our POR room tested positive for bed bugs. My mind is flooded with questions- especially since we have left, we have visited my parents, and the suitcases have been stored in our master bedroom. Had anyone had this happen to them at Disney before? If so, what was your experience- what was taken care of, comped, how did you take care of your home, etc. For the record, Disney is sending us paperwork and said they would compensate one night at POR. We were at WDW for over a week..
thanks in advance! Any ideas and advice much appreciated!

 

[OneOftheB's]

If you have introduced bedbugs into your home, call an exterminator immediately. Worry about being compensated but get the problem fixed ASAP. My dad somehow got bedbugs in his assisted living apartment and it has taken us 9 months to get them (hopefully) eradicated. We ended up having to buy a new couch and mattress/boxspring to ensure they were gone.

 

[wilkeliza]

Unfortunately they may not do much past the 1 night comp. However the best thing you can do no is get an exterminator into your house and let them know you were somewhere that was known to have bedbugs. They can check around and do some treatment. Some places even have bed bug sniffing dogs. If you don't want to be overly cautious you can get a bed bug cover for box spring and mattress, dry everything on high heat for as long as possible (I didn't 2 hours I believe) and put your luggage out in the garage for now. There is no way to know if you actually brought them home at this point or not but you can at least be proactive or just go ahead and pay for a full treatment now.

 

[Babsy]

Personally, I would call exterminators and possibly have the house treated for bed bugs. The professionals can at least check to see if you have a problem. Bed bugs can be difficult to get rid of once you have an infestation by most accounts. My DS and DDIL had tenants in their basement apartment that brought bed bugs into their home. The exterminators came twice to deal with the situation and then they were successfully eradicated. They did need to replace some mattresses, though. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't as terrible an experience as some people have had. I believe that it was fairly easy because they caught the problem right away and then treated all areas of the house, even those that were not known to be affected.

 

[wilkeliza]

Personally, I would call exterminators and possibly have the house treated for bed bugs. The professionals can at least check to see if you have a problem. Bed bugs can be difficult to get rid of once you have an infestation by most accounts. My DS and DDIL had tenants in their basement apartment that brought bed bugs into their home. The exterminators came twice to deal with the situation and then they were successfully eradicated. They did need to replace some mattresses, though. It wasn't fun, but it wasn't as terrible an experience as some people have had. I believe that it was fairly easy because they caught the problem right away and then treated all areas of the house, even those that were not known to be affected.

You last part is a big reason it was probably successful. Too many times people only treat the affected room but when I had them in my first apartment the exterminator said you can take the cheap way and never get rid of them and pay upfront but be rid of them in 2 treatments. Unfortunately if you do get them it is best to take an all approach meaning replace known affected mattresses and zipper case the rest plus treatment of all rooms and cracks in baseboards or floorboards etc.

 

[got15]

Thank you all- it wasn't so much about the reimbursement per say- the process, what am I able to claim (exterminator at home), am I alone on this bed bug island, etc. We have called the exterminator (arriving tomorrow)- and take claims from there. But, what frustrates me the most is that we complained after the first night and its been two and half weeks since our report and we find out about it now. Who knows how many other countless families have stayed in that room since.

 

[wilkeliza]

Thank you all- it wasn't so much about the reimbursement per say- the process, what am I able to claim (exterminator at home), am I alone on this bed bug island, etc. We have called the exterminator (arriving tomorrow)- and take claims from there. But, what frustrates me the most is that we complained after the first night and its been two and half weeks since our report and we find out about it now. Who knows how many other countless families have stayed in that room since.

That is sad. Usually when Disney gets a complaint they send everyone's stuff away as quickly as possible, pull the room for treatment, and move the family elsewhere.

 

[disnut8]

Thank you all- it wasn't so much about the reimbursement per say- the process, what am I able to claim (exterminator at home), am I alone on this bed bug island, etc. We have called the exterminator (arriving tomorrow)- and take claims from there. But, what frustrates me the most is that we complained after the first night and its been two and half weeks since our report and we find out about it now. Who knows how many other countless families have stayed in that room since.

When you complained, did you specifically say bed bugs? Just asking because in your first post, you said you thought it was mosquitos. If you said bed bugs and Disney did not move you, then I think you have a very good reason to ask for reimbursement for your exterminator costs at your home.

 

[mickeygirl78]

In September 2015 we stayed at POR. We had two weeks booked there (in two rooms, there were 7 of us). My nephew had some bites but we thought they were mosquitos. One week into our trip we noticed they had gotten worse and no one else had bites. My brother in law (who use to work in pest control) searched the room and found that the bed my nephew was sleeping in was infested. They went to speak to a manager. They sent people to the room to test and confirm. My brother in law had to show them though where to look, they didn't seem to really know what they were looking for. My BIL said that the headboards in the Bayou section are really a bed bug paradise because of the dark color and the grooves in them to resemble logs. That's where he found both adult bed bugs and eggs in my nephews bed. We typically check the beds when we check in but we got in super late and got caught up in the disney bubble. Lesson learned, we will always check first now.

They treated all of our stuff (both rooms since we had adjoining rooms and the doors had been open the whole time), they did not refund us any money however they upgraded us to the Yacht Club for our second week. They provided us with a $100 stipend per person to buy clothes for that next day since they had taken all of our clothes to be treated. I have read of others having issues and getting the $100 clothing stipend and a new room at the same resort. I think we got the upgrade because it was my nephews actual birthday the day we discovered it and it really put a damper on the day. Even though they treated our stuff, we were still very careful when we brought everything home but had no problems.

I agree with the others, get an exterminator in there asap and have them treat the whole house. Good luck!

 

[nemorocks]

Oh man....we are suppose to stay at POR in the bayou section in four weeks and now I'm itching just thinking about it! Is there any precaution we can do when we get there? I'm assuming with the amount of traffic all the disney resorts get, that this problem can be at any resort. Thoughts?

 

[wilkeliza]

Oh man....we are suppose to stay at POR in the bayou section in four weeks and now I'm itching just thinking about it! Is there any precaution we can do when we get there? I'm assuming with the amount of traffic all the disney resorts get, that this problem can be at any resort. Thoughts?

It isn't just a Disney problem. Bed bugs can go anywhere no matter how clean and can even be brought home due baggage in the airline, movie theaters, subways, buses etc. It is one of the must unlucky luck of the draw situations really. The biggest percautions are to leave your suitcases outside or even put them in the bathtub while you check the headboard, matresses, and drawers for any sign of bedbugs.

One thing I will never understand is why Disney doesn't put mattress covers and boxspring covers on all their beds. At least that does help with keeping them down. I do know that even checking the headboard and side tables and drawers can still lead to missing something as they are survivors and will hide in wall cracks or floorboard cracks if they need to. I had to get to the point of only doing what I can and not worrying the rest of the time. So check anywhere you'll store your clothes as well as the bed and headboard and then just breath and don't think about it.

 

[nemorocks]

It isn't just a Disney problem. Bed bugs can go anywhere no matter how clean and can even be brought home due baggage in the airline, movie theaters, subways, buses etc. It is one of the must unlucky luck of the draw situations really. The biggest percautions are to leave your suitcases outside or even put them in the bathtub while you check the headboard, matresses, and drawers for any sign of bedbugs.

One thing I will never understand is why Disney doesn't put mattress covers and boxspring covers on all their beds. At least that does help with keeping them down. I do know that even checking the headboard and side tables and drawers can still lead to missing something as they are survivors and will hide in wall cracks or floorboard cracks if they need to. I had to get to the point of only doing what I can and not worrying the rest of the time. So check anywhere you'll store your clothes as well as the bed and headboard and then just breath and don't think about it.

Yes, I don't want to obsess over it...but I do want to be better about checking around when we arrive. Do you happen to know if Disney treats the surrounding rooms when they find a room that has bed bugs? It's one of those things that you can pick up anywhere you go...that is for sure.

 

[wilkeliza]

Yes, I don't want to obsess over it...but I do want to be better about checking around when we arrive. Do you happen to know if Disney treats the surrounding rooms when they find a room that has bed bugs? It's one of those things that you can pick up anywhere you go...that is for sure.

Not really sure. Thankfully I've never had to deal with it at Disney. I do know that it is suggested that you treat the rooms above, below, and next to an infected room but I don't know if there is anything that says they have to (here in NYC they have to by law).

 

[desertbloom]

OMG! Bedbugs are one of my OCD nightmares! I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Would you be willing to post or PM me your room number at POR? I will be there in a few weeks and want to at least be aware if I am put in the same room/building.

 

[Micca]

Would you be willing to post or PM me your room number at POR? I will be there in a few weeks and want to at least be aware if I am put in the same room/building.

That's the room you want...it has been treated

 

[Babsy]

Oh man....we are suppose to stay at POR in the bayou section in four weeks and now I'm itching just thinking about it! Is there any precaution we can do when we get there? I'm assuming with the amount of traffic all the disney resorts get, that this problem can be at any resort. Thoughts?

Don't worry. Bed bugs are relatively easy to check for - it only takes a few minutes. Start by leaving luggage outside or by putting it in the bathtub (bed bugs are really unlikely to be in the tub).
Next:
Just check the seams in the mattresses and around the headboard, nightstand and dresser for bugs. We bring a bright flashlight to help check really well in dark corners. Bed bugs are visible to the naked eye and about the size of an apple seed. You can see pics of them online so that you know what you are looking for. We travel a lot and have only had an issue with bed bugs in our room once, in Venice, Italy. We have never found any at WDW yet, thankfully.

If anyone gets really itchy bites (they seem to occur in groups of three), consider that you may have a bed bug problem. I would be very cautious bringing my suitcases back into the house if anyone had suspicious bites when travelling.

 

[WEDWDW]

Do you happen to know if Disney treats the surrounding rooms when they find a room that has bed bugs?

I've always understood that to be Disney's policy.

 

[Micca]

I've always understood that to be Disney's policy.

I'll bet they do, they don't want bugs in any of the rooms. If a guest gets an infested room they have to provide some remuneration for the guest, pay for the treatment of the room, and the room isn't available in inventory for a period of time (even if it's just a day or two.) They're better off just trying to keep all rooms free of the bugs.

 

[Capang]

When I taught in the inner city we always had problems at the schools with bedbugs. Unfortunately so many families had them that we couldn't treat them because they were brought in daily. Our families were not able to afford the treatments themselves for their homes. We actually had several inservices on this topic. Here is what we learned. As stated above use a bright flashlight to check mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, baseboards. LED flashlights work really well. Never put clothes away in dressers at hotels. Keep suitcases in bathrooms or tubs when not in use. Keep dirty clothes into sealed plastic bags. When you return home keep suitcases outside. Put all clothing in the dryer on high heat for at least an hour. Then wash the clothes. Heat will not ruin fabrics if the fabric is dry. Inspect suitcases before bringing them inside.
Keep in mind some people never show bites. Bed bug bites commonly don't show up right away. It can take up to 9 hours for them to appear. They look like any kind of bite and usually can't be discerned from mites or mosquitos.
If you've been exposed get an exterminator in asap. It will cost big bucks, and it will be worth it. You do not want an infestation of these things. I would kill them as they would drop off students.
Also, none of those bedbug sprays sold at stores really work. Don't even bother. Exterminators are the only route. Dogs that are trained can sniff out bedbugs.
I will say that all of our encounters at Disney regarding bugs (although never bedbugs) were handled within the hour we reported them (you know, giant Florida scary bugs).
I'm sorry this happened to you. I hope nothing travelled home with you.

 

[disnut8]

But then again, I have been in Disney World resorts a lot (over 60 trips) and have never had a bed bug problem at all. So, while bed bugs exist, I think the original question is why didn't Disney do something immediately for the OP?