Disney Bed Bug Problem

[dizzneebabe]

This is my friend's business...she has a TON of info on her site:

www.bedbuginspectors.com

I'm not trying to advertise for her or anything...just amazed how prevalent they are. If it's not allowed, I apologize!


They are nasty!

 

[MASKED MANIAC]

I feel terrible if must have ruined your vacation and truthfully im shocked your stay was not comped....im sure this stay will be fine....

 

[Jaybird6]

This is my friend's business...she has a TON of info on her site:

www.bedbuginspectors.com

I'm not trying to advertise for her or anything...just amazed how prevalent they are. If it's not allowed, I apologize!


They are nasty!

Eeeek! Thank you for the very informative, and creepy, video. I've never seen bedbugs or their evidence before, so I wasn't 100% sure what to look for in our hotel room. Now I do!

My DH and I are very itchy now, though...

 

[Sappermont]

I just watched something on Nightline about getting rid of bedbugs.
They showed someone heating there infected room to 120 degrees.
They say it roast the bugs to death.
Maybe disney could try this!!

Great news for all of us going in August. Just shut off the A/C while we're in the parks and they'll all be taken care of in the heat.

 

[patches07]

I'm subscribing to this thread so I can remember to do this check on my room.

 

[vivaciousdame]

We are going to Disney in November and we're trying to decide on which place, Pop Century or All Star Movies. While trying to decide I stumbled on some conversations online (not no Disboards) that made me decide Pop Century based on their response to bed bugs. I just pray we don't encounter them on our trip!

 

[disneychic]

I don't really get all too concerned with this. As others have said, bed bugs can be picked up at the library, movie theater, even on brand new clothes that you bring home from the mall. I do check the bed when we first get into the room but that's as far as I go.

 

[DustyPixie]

I have been checking the beds in hotels we stay in for a few years now. I know it's not fool-proof, but it makes me feel a little better. We were in the DC area this summer and stayed in a couple of nice hotels where the mattress and box springs were covered in zippered mattress bags underneath the sheets and duvets. I've stayed in a lot of hotels and haven't seem that before in recent memory, so I'm assuming that they are being used for easier spotting and control of bedbugs. Any evidence can be seen on the mattress bags and would alert the housekeeping staff to a problem before the critters get into the mattresses. That would make sense in any busy metro area where there are many international guests. I'm wondering if Disney has considered doing this as well...

 

[KristiKat]

This thread is making me feel very itchy but good thread and very informative.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Bumping as a good reminder. Every time I'm looking at a trip coming up, I think about bedbugs and how I still need to be proactive to make sure my rooms are bedbug free!

Also, a reminder: bedbug sprays don't work (if they did, there'd be no bedbug problem in the first place), but proactive checking of your room does!

 

[PersonalizedMouse]

I have also made it a point to check before every hotel stay. We pull up the sheets, check the corners under the mattress, I check under the edge of the mattress thats rolled, we look for black spots, check behind pictures near the bet etc

There are also web sites you can google and check your hotel out...Clearly your room may not be listed but it will give you a good idea of how they handled it. There is one site in particular that has a lot of info. just google it because I don't think I can name it on the boards

You would be surprised how in some cases management was notified, people were moved and they saw people checking into that room the very next day Even in deluxes.

Don't freak out just be vigilant....I don't let it ruin my vacation and I'm as uptight as you get

 

[CanadianPaco]

I'm subscribing to this thread so I can remember to do this check on my room.

I'm doing the same thing!

 

[LilyWDW]

I have also made it a point to check before every hotel stay. We pull up the sheets, check the corners under the mattress, I check under the edge of the mattress thats rolled, we look for black spots, check behind pictures near the bet etc

There are also web sites you can google and check your hotel out...Clearly your room may not be listed but it will give you a good idea of how they handled it. There is one site in particular that has a lot of info. just google it because I don't think I can name it on the boards

You would be surprised how in some cases management was notified, people were moved and they saw people checking into that room the very next day Even in deluxes.

Don't freak out just be vigilant....I don't let it ruin my vacation and I'm as uptight as you get

To be blunt... I have yet to find a website that requires their reports to be verified in any way. As such, I suggest any information you find online about hotels having bed bugs to be taken with a grain of salt. The people making these reports may have other motives and are not professionals.

 

[tstidm1]

I've had Bed Bugs at a hotel off site last year that I brought home and it cost me a $1,000 to get rid of them. It is scary not being able to sleep in your own bed without worry, which I did for several months. Take the time to check your room and ask to be moved from the room before you set foot in it. If you find them, ask to be moved in a separate building or at least a couple of floors away. Your saving money for yourself and piece of mind.

 

[figmentfan6]

You would be surprised how in some cases management was notified, people were moved and they saw people checking into that room the very next day Even in deluxes.

Ever since the bed bug scare started a few years back, people have jumped the gun assuming every black speck and every bug bite that appears overnight is related to bed bugs. Disney has a pest management team they can call in and mousekeeping knows how to spot the little buggers. They know exactly what they're looking for, most guests do not.

Chances are those guests saw something they thought was fishy and asked to change rooms. Management sent the pest team and/or mousekeeping in to assess the situation. They determined that there were no actual bed bugs in the room and prepped it for new guests. They're not going to call the complaining guests and tell them they were wrong. Better to give them the new room, clean the old one up, and check in some new folks after they assess the room to be bug free.

The average hotel guest is not trained to recognize a bed bug infestation. Many bed bug complaints are probably false to begin with because everyone has been panicking about it in recent years.

I worked at a Disney resort. If a bed bug infestation was identified, the room was super heated and then cleaned thoroughly, followed by a secondary inspection. This is true for all levels of Disney resorts. I'm not suggesting Disney is infallible, but the resort management never takes bed bugs lightly.

 

[nene0182]

Because of the organization I work for, this is something that is always on my mind. I work for a large pest elimination company (the financial side, not the actual service). Bed bugs has become a huge issue. However, research is always finding new way to treat for them, ways to more successful, and processes that cut down on down time for hotel owners. It's really quite amazing the changes in treatment that have occurred in the past 2-3 years. However, I will say it always surprises me the places that show up with bed bugs. Everything from hospitals, dorms, movie theaters, and once I saw a museum gift shop. So really they could be anywhere and there isnt much you can do to avoid them.

 

[BackstoryWorthy]

To be blunt... I have yet to find a website that requires their reports to be verified in any way. As such, I suggest any information you find online about hotels having bed bugs to be taken with a grain of salt. The people making these reports may have other motives and are not professionals.

I was one of those people who listed a report - NOT IN A DISNEY HOTEL OR IN THE ORLANDO AREA - but in a well-rated timeshare on the southern east coast because I awoke to find them in my bed! I thought the news reports just exaggerated but I woke up at 2am and saw them (thankfully DS and DH had fallen asleep watching a movie on the pullout). I scooped 2 into a cup, brought them to the front desk in a baggie and they still tried to deny it -"Are these fleas? I have never seen these before..."

Long story short, when the head of housekeeping visited our new villa days later and I asked him about their policy for dealing with BBs, he just shrugged. When I checked well after the fact there were 6 reports of actual bb bites/bb sightings from that property in that year all reporting management denials, so now I DO check the website. Had I known of it, it might have changed our plans.

If brought into your house BBs are VERY costly to get rid of - and it can take multiple treatments - it is not just a high maintenance complainer-type issue.

Thankfully, from this thread it sounds like WDW has a much better policy when a complaint (or even evidence) is presented. Needless to say we will never go to that villa rental again -haha more savings for Disney! Just saying - not everyone has a motive- sometimes there are actually BBs!

 

[Rat-a-too-ee]

I have also made it a point to check before every hotel stay. We pull up the sheets, check the corners under the mattress, I check under the edge of the mattress thats rolled, we look for black spots, check behind pictures near the bet etc


Don't freak out just be vigilant....I don't let it ruin my vacation and I'm as uptight as you get

Perfectly stated! We do a 15-minute check with mini flashlights as soon as we get the room (we wheel our stuff into the center of the bathroom and leave it until "All Clear"). We look carefully in every crevice since they favor creases and crevices.

You can never be too careful since bedbugs are a nightmare once you get them... better safe than sorry!

And, we haven't found any bedbugs yet (thank goodness), but I can write a book on what one hotel thinks is "clean" vs. another. Some really get in there and do a good job, but most are only doing surface cleaning.

 

[mskermit]

we are going in august split stay 2 days at CBR by ourselves and 9 days at POR... all of this bed bug stuff is freaking me out!! i will definitely be checking before we take anything in the room. Does anyone know if it helps to buy the bed bug spray and spray your room anyway before you get in there. Someone told DH to spray the outside of our luggage before we bring it in. I also read someone put a shower curtain between the mattress and the sheets because the critters dont like plastic?? we are driving so i dont have to worry about any hitching a ride from a plane!! uugghhh... one more thing i need to worry about

 

[vicki_c]

we are going in august split stay 2 days at CBR by ourselves and 9 days at POR... all of this bed bug stuff is freaking me out!! i will definitely be checking before we take anything in the room. Does anyone know if it helps to buy the bed bug spray and spray your room anyway before you get in there. Someone told DH to spray the outside of our luggage before we bring it in. I also read someone put a shower curtain between the mattress and the sheets because the critters dont like plastic?? we are driving so i dont have to worry about any hitching a ride from a plane!! uugghhh... one more thing i need to worry about

There is no bed bug spray you can buy that will work. You will be wasting your money. If it was so simple, hotels and resorts would be buying it by the truckload and using it themselves.