Hi,

I have a number of questions for you. Brief background is this, on my way back from Australia to Canada in Feb 2008, I stopped in Bangkok for two nights. Around 5 pm both days, I noticed a massive amount of bites on my arms and upper legs. I assumed they were mosquito bites, but when I got back to Canada in February, the bites continued (but I was getting fewer: between 2-4 day). I went to a doctor who told me she was sure that I had bed bugs. I went back to the friends house, tore everything apart and found what I thought were two bed bugs. I contacted a PCO, who looked at the samples, and agreed. He did two treatments, and I still was getting bites. The friend who I was staying with has not received any bites and the person who has moved into my room has not had any problems (about 2 months ago).

Before moving to my sister’s place, I took all precautions - washing and drying all clothing, coats, shoes, handbags and placing them in large ziplock bags. My luggage was vacuumed and anything I wasn’t sure how to clean (electronic picture frames, books) has been sealed and stored. I am still getting bites, and am at a complete loss as to how I could be bringing them with me. I also have had to stay out of town a few times, each time I follow the above procedure, and still get bites no matter where I go. No one else has had them, even people who have slept right next to my luggage for more than a week. For almost all my bites, they do not show up until late afternoon, evening. As far as I can recall I have never woken up with new bites, they don’t appear until later. Since finding the initial bugs, I have not been able to find any bugs, eggs or casts.

It is quite common for bites received during the night to appear in late afternoon (or at any other time during the day). Many people notice them first after showering (there’s a theory that the heat “brings them out”). Not finding bed bugs, eggs, or cast skins is not unusual, but I would expect signs of some kind, especially after four months. Have there been any fecal stains?

So my questions are:

Is there anything you can think of that I might be doing to transmit the bugs with me?

Sure: what about that luggage? You vacuumed it, but they could still be in there. Is it still around?

Do you have a workplace you could have infested? A car? Any other locations they may have spread?

I am not sure where you are in Canada, but it’s worth noting that this is a widespread problem, all over your country. It is not unthinkable that someone there might have bed bugs and you’re being exposed to them without even having brought them in.

I have a laptop which has never been in any of my bedrooms - when I move I vacuum the case but how do I clean the actually laptop?

This is not an easy question to answer. Others may have recommendations, but it is hard to do anything without potentially damaging the electronic item.

You need a Pest Control Operator who knows bed bugs to will treat your home (or wherever you’re laying your hat) thoroughly, not just twice, but until bed bugs and bed bug bites are long gone. The FAQS on Pest Control will be of some help. One describes how intrepid Bedbuggers have found samples of bed bugs. Another suggests questions to ask a potential PCO.

Get the PCO to advise you on the laptop. Bed bugs will not live in there indefinitely. If they are in the laptop, they will come out to bite you. Having the PCO make sure there’s a pesticide between you and the laptop might be a good bet. (That way, they come out to feed, cross poison, and die.) I advise against self-treatment both for issues of safety and effectiveness.

But remember that electronics are not always infested. And my money’s on your luggage.

Is it possible for previous bites to keep coming back? My bites always seem to be located in the same spots, and are almost always under my clothing.

Are they in the same spots, or are they the same bites?

Some people believe bites can sometimes kind of hang around and keep flaring up. I have never heard anyone claiming this was happening in the same spots for four months.

I think it is more likely that you are being bitten and that they favor certain areas of your body. (Under clothing? Sure. The idea they don’t go there is a myth.)

Are you aware of anything else that could be causing these? My friends think that I am paranoid but my bites are quite specific and do not look at all like a stress rash.

Sorry for the long email, I appreciate any help you can give me.

Sorry for your trouble, Krystelle.

Actually, lots of things can cause similar problems. Scabies should be ruled out (though it is unlikely in your case–I would expect it to get worse and worse over four months, and spread around the body). Folliculitis has been the cause of at least one Bedbugger’s scare. See a doctor to rule it out.

Try not to itch. If a bite reaction is “coming back” then leaving it alone to heal might help. Again, I don’t think this is the case.

Doctors can’t diagnose bed bug bites definitively. However, I understand that they can verify in some cases whether an insect caused an apparent bite. You might follow up on that.

Good luck– please do not give up. If your PCO was treating a known infestation, s/he should not have stopped after two visits if the bed bugs and bed bug bites had not abated fully. We hear the average treatment takes 3 or more visits spaced two weeks apart.

Finally, readers, I am answering Krystelle’s letter here and not via email precisely so that you can weigh in with your wisdom. That’s your cue! What do you have to say to Krystelle?

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Now the Thai railway company is blaming backpackers for bringing bed bugs to the trains, as the Bangkok Post reports in an article entitled, “Foreign Backpackers deny they’re bed bug spreaders.”

Foreign backpackers say they are disgusted by bed bugs, but even more disgusted by the suggestion they are the ones carrying the insects onto trains. Many foreign backpackers waiting for trains at Hua Lampong station yesterday conceded they knew little about bed bug infestations on trains.

They said the thought of bed bugs crawling on the velvety seats of long-haul trains and biting passengers while they dozed off was truly off-putting.

But to be accused of carrying the blood-sucking bugs on to trains was even more disgusting, said many foreign backpackers interviewed yesterday by the Bangkok Post at the train terminal.

Bed bugs can travel in any direction. Anyone could have brought the initial bed bug(s) onto the train: employees, local travelers, foreign backpackers, even train inspectors.

But the comments being made by officials in Thailand imply they haven’t got a clue how bed bugs behave:

Transport Minister Santi Prompat said yesterday the bugs may have jumped onto travellers’ backpacks during forest treks and then found new homes in the cosy seats of the trains. He said the velvet-covered seats and cool temperatures contributed to make the trains a fertile breeding ground for the insects.

Bed bugs would enjoy a nice velvet-covered seat, but they can also live in the train structure itself. And while bat or bird bugs are similar to bed bugs and might be found in the forest, they don’t leap onto people as they walk by.

Backpackers could certainly have brought bed bugs from a hotel or other lodging, as this traveler concedes:

American Sean Vaughan-Housman, 23, said he had not heard the news about the train beg bugs, but added he had come across the insects at a guesthouse.

But it may be unfair to point the finger at backpackers for the infestation of bugs on the trains, he said.

It most certainly is: you can’t prove foreign backpackers brought bed bugs onto the trains, or were the only people to do so.

More important, however, is the fact that travelers who rode on the infested trains are likely to have caused other infestations when they left it.   Maybe a few people brought bed bugs on to the trains, and yet how many more surely took them away from it?  The train infestation likely caused other infestations of passenger homes, guest houses, restaurants, even other trains, buses or planes.

If anyone sat on the train and picked up a hitchhiking bed bug in their clothing or bags, they could have infested subsequent locations. So the train company should be focused on that scenario. They’re to blame for infesting others as well.

This is why the bed bug blame game does not work: when people jump to blame others, they often forget there’s usually many more who can rush to blame them.

Sawittee Malaipan, an entomologist at Kasetsart University, said some foreigners, including refugees and tourists, did not like to take baths and so they attracted the insects.

It’s not surprising to see this sort of rhetoric levied against western young people. Here in the US, many want to blame immigrants for spreading bed bugs. But this entomologist’s line of thinking is incorrect: bed bugs are not attracted to people who do not take baths.

My assessment of this piece is that bed bugs are as much of a surprise to locals in Thailand as those in Paris or New York City. Once one realizes, “they’re back,” there’s a rush to place blame.

Well, sorry: they’re just back. Everywhere. Trying to blame others when bed bugs appear is pointless and distracting. It’s also usually based on faulty logic and scant or no evidence.

Instead, look to yourself. Do your best to keep your home, business, bed-and-breakfast lodging or public transport system bed bug-free, and you will keep from spreading bed bugs to others. And when you do get bed bugs, catch them quickly, apologize to anyone affected, and for goodness’ sake, get rid of them ASAP.

Thanks to hopelessnomo for pointing this article out.

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Train carriages on northeastern lines are being refurbished at a cost of 17.5 million baht after they were found infested with bed bugs.

State Railway acting governor Nakorn Chantasorn said he ordered the cloth-covered seat cushions in 39 Daewoo diesel train carriages replaced with cushions made of artificial leather.

The refurbishing was prompted by loud complaints of infestations of bed bugs on trains between Bangkok and the northeastern provinces.

“Loud complaints”: this does not sound good!

Work will be completed by the Songkran Festival in April.

I hope the “cleaning” is thorough and suspect a good dose of pesticides may also be needed.  Officials should be aware that artificial leather seats will still be prone to infestation, as will the carriages themselves.

I am glad the Thai State Railway is dealing with this and hope that other railways will start to be more alert. French overnight trains were known to be infested last year. We’ve heard informal reports of people encountering them in other trains.

This can happen anywhere.

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Myrtle Beach, SC Spring Break 2007 27

Originally uploaded by Curtis and Eric

Articles are now starting to appear warning students traveling over spring break that bed bugs are something to try and avoid. This article from the student paper the Daily Kansan, and this one in the About.com Student Travel Blog.

And remember Winston’s advice to us last November — even visiting friends or parents, you need to be cautious. You might be taking bed bugs from school or motel to someone’s home. Since Michael Potter tells us as many as 50% of folks do not react, it’s worth being cautious and inspecting your dorm room (or other places you stay) carefully.

Note to Kansas students: even if your school claims no one at the school has had bed bugs, they may have. The problem just has not been detected yet. No, I am not being alarmist. It’s just that that’s too rich a claim to be making when bed bugs are spreading all over the country and around the world. Someone there has probably been bitten. The same goes for About.com travel blogger Kathleen: I hate to say it, but if you travel that much, you may well have been exposed; you may be one of those who is not allergic.

Bedbugger’s FAQ on how to avoid bed bugs while traveling.
How to avoid spreading bed bugs if you have been exposed.

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The MSNBC advice on avoiding bed bugs while traveling has been around since June 2006. We added our FAQ on how to avoid bed bugs while traveling in October of that year (just two weeks after Bedbugger.com was born). Lots have sprung up in the interim, including the wonderful CBC video which shows one how to inspect a hotel room for bed bugs (clicking here loads a movie).

And then last week an article appeared in Smarter Travel, and today, one in Gadling.

The NY Times Health Blog post on bed bug dogs also sent people to the Gadling page today.

If more people learn how to search a hotel room (or even learn they should), then perhaps more people will discover bed bugs before they are bitten, and more will avoid bringing them home.

LAX Sunset Airplane Landing

Originally uploaded by felibarrientos

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First, an entire apartment building is being treated for bed bugs in the Fairhaven area of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan after “a couple isolated incidents” of bed bugs. This appears to be a fairly proactive move, if it is true that the incidents were isolated and few in number.

The StarPhoenix says the building is being “fumigated,” but don’t let the word fool you, since residents are only required to evacuate for 6 hours, we can assume traditional spraying is being done. This article from the StarPhoenix focuses on one couple–Richard Pain and his wife have respiratory problems and must evacuate for a week with nowhere to go.

This highlights a common problem–the hidden costs tenants face while dealing with bed bugs.

And the article also gives a sense (albeit based on anecdotal evidence) of the recent rise of bed bugs in Saskatoon:

Lesley Willfong of Poulin Pest Control in Saskatoon said the number of reported cases of bed bugs is way up from last year.

“It seems like every other call we get is for bed bugs,” said Willfong. “Before last year, it was only a couple times a week.”

The first sign of a bed bug infestation is the appearance of small brown or red spots on bed linens or a noticeable swelling or itching where someone has been bitten.

Willfong said her colleagues in Winnipeg were talking about bed-bug problems a few months before the problem escalated in Saskatoon.

Read the full story: Bed bugs biting at Fairhaven apartment complex from The StarPhoenix.

Another article from the Deseret Morning News in Utah is a basic introduction to bed bugs–but with some iffy advice.

For example, this article suggests you might get rid of bed bugs by vacuuming. While vacuuming certainly has a place in a bed bug control and avoidance program, I don’t think enthusiastic vacuuming is an alternative to professional help, especially if bed bugs are spotted. But these quotations from Diane Keay, environmental health area supervisor in the Salt Lake Valley Health Department, suggest otherwise:

She recommends vacuuming a lot. Although they’re not associated with poor housekeeping, as some people have suggested, “none of us vacuum around the bed every day.” You must, if you want to eradicate them without chemicals. And they’re not just in the bed. They can be in carpets and wall baseboards and other places nearby. Be aware, as well, that they may settle in or around a favorite chair or hitch a ride in the fold of the backpack that’s so often on you.

There are ways to eradicate bed bugs “without chemicals,” but they involve steam, or gas, or heat. Possibly cold, or ozone. But not simply vacuuming.

Later, again,

You don’t usually need to toss things, Keay says. Just trap the bugs and vacuum, vacuum, vacuum or have a professional deal with serious infestations.

I agree “tossing things” is usually not necessary and often just spreads bed bugs to your neighbors. However, the advice to “vacuum, vacuum, vacuum,” grates, as does the newspaper’s graphic of the happy blonde brandishing her canister vac.

Near the end of the article, we’re told that

People don’t feel the introductory bites. The reaction, sometimes quite severe, develops over time. In the meantime, the little creatures reproduce.

This statement that “People don’t feel the introductory bite,” is inaccurate. Bed bugs are designed to bite us without our knowing until after the fact. If we ever have a clue, that is.

Some people never react to the bites. (Up to 50%, Michael Potter says, do not react to bed bug bites.) Others get reactions from the start, but almost nobody feels them as they occur.

Other advice in the article is good–keeping luggage away from hotel beds, using pesticides only as labeled–but overall, the Deseret Morning News needs to do more research on bed bugs.

You can read the Deseret Morning News article Bugged? Bed bugs making a comeback, even in Utah here.

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“Our inspectors are saying in recent months, even the last year, we’ve been seeing more complaints of bed bugs in our area,” said Dain Weister of the Orange County Health Department.

Even the most popular hotels are not immune.

WFTV channel 9 reports that one family was paid off to keep their bed bug story to themselves, after encountering the monsters in their Disney Resort.

One family said they were bitten by the bugs at the Disney All-Star Movie Resort. They backed out of an interview after they said Disney offered them $5,000 and a free trip to keep quiet.

The station also contacted Disney:

When asked about offering money to the family who found bed bugs in their room, Disney said they occasionally compensates guests who have a less than magical experience and the park does everything it can to makes guests comfortable [sic].

How is Disney dealing with bed bugs?

Disney said it has trained entomologists or “bug experts” on staff. Other hotels hire bug sniffing dogs. One of the animals is based in Tampa, but makes frequent trips to inspect hotels in the Orlando area.

I would indeed call bed bugs a “less than magical” experience. The spread of bed bugs can not be entirely contained and they will appear in hotels of every kind and quality. The best thing is to be proactive about doing a search for bed bugs in the room before settling in, and to take some basic precautions. (See our travel FAQs for more on how to avoid bed bugs while traveling.)

All hotels, meanwhile, need to educate employees about searching for and identifying bed bugs in the course of their normal work, and hotels need to employ professionals to help them develop a bed bug prevention and treatment protocol, and to identify and treat infestations as quickly as possible.

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APilot writes:

This is from a letter I’m writing for my union publication. Any feedback?

What do wheals and papules have to do with my career in Aviation? “Nothing,” I thought until I came for from a trip with an overnight in my “home away from home” layover hotel in Orlando with three strange red spots on my body. The next day I went to the doctor. My computer savvy husband headed off to the Internet.

My doctor (in Colorado) identified them a “some kind of insect” bites. Puzzled as to why I was bitten more than once, he subscribed an antibiotic and wished me luck. My husband had a more successful afternoon. He discovered that there is a pandemic of bed bugs in hotels in NY and most Border States. My marks resembled the bites and later two of those became aggravated into very worse form- an infected papule.
A wheal is simply a term for a raised up mark on the sick, a papule is described as “a small inflamed elevation of skin that is nonsuppurative as in chicken pox.” Nonsuppurative means not filled with fluid (i.e. pus). This development occurs to those who are allergic-, allergies that can develop if a person is bitten on a regular basis.

One of the first sets of bites, which were treated with only antibiotics, grew to the size of a half dollar and was about a half an inch thick. The center turned dark black and grew to the size of a match head; finally it oozed a little clear pus before starting to heal. It was three full weeks before the swelling was gone and a large scar remains.

One month later I was back in the Orlando hotel (management had “assured” me the problem was handled and my room was clean). Unfortunately I had not really searched a hotel room thoroughly before. Unsure whither the 12 or so specks of black and brown stuff I picked out of the mattress pad and box spring were normal, I slept there again. This time I wore full pajamas, tucked in at my socks and waist. I was rewarded for my experimentation with a bite just under my armpit that showed up the very next day. (The bugs probably crawled in through the neck hole.)

For those who are squeamish- skip on ahead, because the following paragraph may contain more than you really want to read. Over the next two weeks, ten much smaller bites could be identified. The prominent bite swelled up painfully. In spite of treatment with ice and over the counter pain medicine, it grew to the point were I couldn’t sleep and needed to call off a trip to see the doctor. This time I took with me an Internet recommended treatment- the steroid cream Mizaondoec, which purportedly helps by constricting capillaries and reducing the spreading of the toxins. The cream on the papule caused it to flow about teaspoons of yellow puss, beginning its recovery. However its effect on the lesser bites was to seal off the bites from the surface of the skin. A week later, two of these had swollen to a very painful half dollar size. Ultimately they had to be treated with both antibiotics and lancing. Surgical scissors were needed to break up the congealed areas for drainage. Then they were packed with sterile tape to keep them from closing off before the infection could be healed.

But my nightmare didn’t end there. A ten-day stretch of time off confirmed my worse fears. I was now getting bitten on a regular basis in my own bed. These bites were small and not very numerous but consistent, leading me to suspect may a lone hitch hiking egg had hatched. The eggs of a bed bug are the size of a dust mote, white and sticky, and the female lays about three a night. Although it would be possible to inadvertently trap a beg in some early show predawn packing, it is more likely end up carrying an egg

To get rid of our new houseguest we laundered all the bedding in hot water. We sealed the box spring and mattress in covers. And purchased a new comforter and pillows. We put bed bug powder poison on the frame and around the foot of the bed. This took two tries but finally the nibbling stopped.

During this time my husband never noticed any bites. Although the Internet said that bed bugs are equal opportunity bitters, our personal experience didn’t reflex this. Even if you believe you are not allergic or at risk there are few simple things you can do to protect your family. I now shut my suitcase at night never put any of my things between the hotel walls and the beds. Also I wash my layover clothing separately, and store my flight bag in the laundry when not in use.

On the road I check the bed by lifting up the bottom sheet and any box spring cover. I collect any black specks found on white paper. Thanks to another bed bug experience in the Tampa, if there are more than four specks, a new room is requested. The majority of the beds will not have a single speck. Lately, if there are more than two specks I use Off insecticide on my clothes and exposed skin, which seems to be working.

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I cannot guarantee it will not shrink, lose shape, change colors or otherwise morph, but it will probably stay in one piece and be usable. And make you feel like less of a freak than would walking through the Day’s Inn lobby with an XL ziploc .

For the gentlemen: okay, we’re still looking for your ideal solution.

Any suggestions, Bedbuggers?

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