Who watched the bed bugs on Dateline?

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

That was SOOOOO gross! DH and I were squirming through the whole segment. Yuck!

So how many of us will be popping the headboards off our beds at Disney? My only qualm about that is that we won't be able to put it back properly, then they will ask me why on earth I took it off in the first place. Is "We were inspecting for bed bugs." an appropriate answer?

What if I am banned for life for dismantling the headboard?

 

[Maleficent13]

The pic of that woman that was just eaten up was

I will say, though, that I have been to Disney dozens of times with no issue and I will probably not even remember that Dateline by the time I go back.

 

[chris1gill]

I watched it, and believe me, I will remember it It was DISGUSTING.... I think I will be one who pops the headboard off, BLECH....

Course having said that I've stayed at hundreds of hotels with no bed bug sightings, that's not to say it won't happen in the future.... I think pulling back the blankets & sheets is a good first step though, I'll do that from now on, oh & look at the walls.... BLECH!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I didn't see it but I do look for them, since they are a serious problem now.

What did they say about the headboards? Can't you just look around the sides of the matresses for evidence?
What about your luggage?

 

[dcgrumpy]

I didn't see it but I do look for them, since they are a serious problem now.

What did they say about the headboards? Can't you just look around the sides of the matresses for evidence?
What about your luggage?

They said their favorite place to live is behind the headboard because they are less likely to be disturbed there.

 

[Mishetta]

Are they big enough to see? (Sorry, I didn't see this episode....wish I had!)

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I didn't see it either because I was at WDW at the time.

Here is the story.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11916682/

There is also a video here along with the story.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

They said their favorite place to live is behind the headboard because they are less likely to be disturbed there.

OK...wait....



....heebie, jeebies are setting in.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I didn't see it because I got wrapped up in another show, but thanks for reminding me. I'm heading to Albq. NM in May for a vacation and I'm staying at a nice Marriott, so let's hope that they don't have a problem. But believe me when I say that I'll be looking for bugs when I get to the room.

 

[Pixiedust34]

Now I have the heebie-jeebies, for sure!

I wonder if spraying Lysol around the headboard would do any good? It seems easier than removing the headboard.

 

[dcgrumpy]

Are they big enough to see? (Sorry, I didn't see this episode....wish I had!)

Yes, they are about 1/4" long.

Now I have the heebie-jeebies, for sure!

I wonder if spraying Lysol around the headboard would do any good? It seems easier than removing the headboard.

I don't think Lysol would kill them

 

[chris1gill]

The thing about the headboards, is that apparently at hotels, they just pop right up & off... and these things were EASY to see, they reminded me of cockroaches they talked about how to find them & how it is now very hard to get rid of them. Apparently they were all but eradicated from the U.S. for fifty years, but they are back & there are some kinds that are RESISTANT to the pesticides being used to get rid of them.

These aren't dumpy hotels either.... One was the Westin in Hollywood, the Crowne Plaza in Time Square & the worst offender of the three was the Regent Inn & Suites down the street from the Empire State Building...

Apparently they've been found in 47 states & they are hard & costly to get rid of... these things getting in and on your luggage is a major problem & is how they are brought from place to place apparently

BLECH...

 

[Dan Murphy]

I think you would have to drown them in the Lysol. These are a newer variety, according to the show, even resistant to standard pesticides used in the past (I presume DDT, the way it was inferred). It was an eye-opener of a show.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

OK, let me totally gross you out with a recap!

The full-grown bugs appear to be large enough to see with the naked eye, but the eggs/larva are clear to white and are "virtually impossible to see against a white sheet". The tell-tale signs seem to be dark spots which are the fecal matter of bed bugs. Since they eat blood, they excrete blood as well. So dark spots on the mattress, walls, or other furnishings can be a sign of bedbugs. The investigator was looking at a dark spot up in the corner and she said when you see a dark spot you should ask yourself how it probably got there.

The thing about the headboard was that the bugs can nest back there and not be disturbed when the sheets are changed. They come out around 3-5 AM and are attracted to heat. They can go up to a YEAR without eating, so they won't die if the room is empty for awhile. Apparently the headboard sort of hangs on the wall like a picture frame, so you can just lift up and out and it will come off the wall so you can check for bugs, fecal matter, or cast off "shells" of the exoskeleton. Do you itch yet?

The report didn't say how to kill them, but they did say you can bring them home in your luggage. One report last year said to empty your luggage directly into the washer when you get home, but if the bugs are in your actual luggage I don't know how you kill them.

 

[LaLa]

Yes, I watched. Unfortunately.

Could not get over the pics of that lady's legs! Yikes!

How nasty was that?!

 

[icebrat001]

I work at a hotel as a second job and my boss called me after watching this or an episode similar and she got all the rooms checked out and we were fine.

Thank goodness! I'm happy our guest won't be affected, I never go in the rooms but I can send them there knowing we don't have that kind of problem.

 

[kbkids]

I work at a hotel as a second job and my boss called me after watching this or an episode similar and she got all the rooms checked out and we were fine.

Thank goodness! I'm happy our guest won't be affected, I never go in the rooms but I can send them there knowing we don't have that kind of problem.

Would be nice to know that all hotels routinely (frequently) do this, but I'm betting a lot don't. Really scary as we travel a lot.

 

[buzzlady]

Are they big enough to see? (Sorry, I didn't see this episode....wish I had!)

Yes.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

They said the bites on that lady's legs itched for a MONTH! And now she has scars!

It is almost like those bacterial infections women get from going to the nail salons where the foot whirlpools aren't sanitized.

Almost makes me want to stay home, sleep in my own bed, and paint my own toenails. ALMOST.

 

[Tina]

I did not see the story on tv, but the whole thing is right there on the nbc link (thanks for the link!!). Yikes!!!

Did anyone else get itchy while watching that???