http://bedbugger.com/forum/ Bed bug support forums en Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:54:06 +0000 http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52187 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:21:29 +0000 BBcoukHome 52187@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi Doug et al, </p> <p>Samsonite suitcases the hard plastic outer ones are indeed a great design to deter bed bugs from gaining enough grip to effectively hitch hike. I have been a fan of them for many years and only travel with them nowadays.</p> <p>The bags to avoid are the cloth sided ones with piping and edging. I have seen on numerous occassions that colonies will happily exist on bags in these locations, they are also often difficult to detect when they get on there.</p> <p>A few years ago I was called in to diagnose a repeat problem that had vexed the UK's best known pest control company through at least 4 treatments visits including a few using an extremely significant quantity of insecticide. The solution however was a lot more simple than that, upon inspection i noticed the colonies had retreated to the bags because they were never sprayed or inspected. Each time the technician treated they simply moved the bags away from the bed and started working.</p> <p>I took a great picture as proof which can be seen in the gallery on:</p> <p><a href="http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/gallery.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bed-bugs.co.uk/gallery.html</a></p> <p>The 6th row down on the left captioned "Close up showing a small group of bed bugs transferred into the room on this bag. In this case the room had been treated 4 times by a very well known company but was completely clear after our visit".</p> <p>If you have a PackTite by all means use it when you return but the best possible solution is to avoid contact in the first instance when you are away from home and physical isolation and luggage choice will do a long way to do that.</p> <p>I would always recommend a protective layer of plastic wrap on cases when travelling because as we all know the risk of bed bugs is proportional to the number of exposure events you come into contact with. In situations where you bags may come into close proximity with others you also need to account for their potential exposures.</p> <p>The only way to reduce these risks to through communication to make sure that other travellers take all appropriate steps to reduce the risk of transmission. If people would only do that and check hotel rooms before they unpack for the night then within a short space of time we would see a massive dip in the number of new infestations.</p> <p>it is the most effective form of treatment, avoidance in the first place.</p> <p>David </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52181 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:36:41 +0000 DougSummersMS 52181@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I didn't mean to slight Packtite or BugZip in any way.</p> <p>I love both of these products.... </p> <p>The original question essentially stated that he couldn't obtain a Packtite, mattress covers or specialized equipment in his home country &#38; that he was looking for generic products that he might be able to utilize for isolation of his luggage. </p> <p>I suggested Samonite luggage in hopes that it might be available in his region.... A number of other companies make a similar model &#38; I think they will become more popular as time goes on.... </p> <p>David Cain's suggestion seems to me to be the most practical with regard to the original question. </p> <p>Exterior layers of plastic wrap can easily be integrated with other effective products like BugZip. BB Alert, Packtite. covers, ect.... I believe that redundant systems are a good design ... given the bed bugs well known ability to hitchhike to new locations with travelers. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52174 Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:23:55 +0000 bugeyedpea 52174@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p><em>Of course, my answer is to simply use my product, packtite, when you get home.</em></p> <p>DJames, I would love to but I cannot buy your product in Canada and U.S. suppliers won't ship it there.</p> <p>Are you planning to get approvals/distribute it in the Great White North anytime soon, eh? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52122 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:03:05 +0000 djames1921 52122@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Of course, my answer is to simply use my product, packtite, when you get home. Here is a short video I shot recently showing a carry on suitcase full of clothes undergoing a temperature test inside of a packtite. It reaches 120 F in the center of the clothing after about 2.5 hours.</p> <p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UQyjZlKD0" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-UQyjZlKD0</a></p> <p>I just noticed that I managed to video my dogs feet as well! Nothing like running a quick test in your basement. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52120 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:57:44 +0000 DougSummersMS 52120@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I agree fully with David about the use of plastic wrap.... A clear plastic barrier that is radio-transparent &#38; discourages tampering is security friendly in my view.... An inspector with a razor knife will make quick work of the plastic wrap...if they wish to take a peek inside... </p> <p>I also like the hard sided Samsonite luggage that has an aluminum frame that compresses a rubber weatherstrip (not the model with the zipper closure) forming a good seal. Stretching Cling Wrap around the outer perimeter edges would secure the hinge &#38; telescoping handle pocket area. It does not have a fabric liner inside, the zippered pockets are removable (heat treat in dryer) &#38; the interior is very easy to inspect.</p> <p>I predict fabric material covered suitcases will become less popular among those of us that are streetwise about bed bugs as time goes on... Just too easy for a bug to hitchhike a ride on the material &#38; too difficult to inspect .</p> <p>Some people use a simple cloth duffel bag that can be thrown directly into the dryer.... I use my K9 to screen my bag on the front door step before I enter the house.... </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-52099 Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:35:13 +0000 bugeyedpea 52099@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>I'm not currently battling bed bugs but planning my bed bug avoidance strategy for future travel after a recent scare at a hotel. The logistics are mind-boggling!</p> <p>I'm thinking of purchasing the bugzip luggage encasements for use in the hotel (bag to be stored on the luggage rack ... in the bathroom if possible). But they are expensive for the recommended one travel stay so I'm wondering if I can take them back home (in a ziploc of course) and PackTite them for re-use. Maybe only invest in new ones after a certain number of uses?</p> <p>What do people do for luggage in transit? Let's say I leave my house with 'clean' luggage. If I get in a taxi or check my bag with the airline then I'm at risk. The airport in my home town doesn't offer the shrink wrap treatment so I was thinking of asking the airline for those plastic bags they use for car seats and sports equipment. How do airlines react to bagged luggage (I assume it makes it more difficult to move/load)? Also, does this set off any alarm bells with customs officials? A lot of my travel is international. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-47931 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:11:17 +0000 bugration 47931@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks again. Good point about the bathroom, I will indeed keep my stuff bagged and in the bathroom since I suppose that of all the places in the hotel room it's the least likely to have a significant bed bug population. I know bed bugs can and do infest bathrooms but obviously there would be higher concentrations around the bed area. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-47844 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:13:58 +0000 Winston O. Buggy 47844@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Try getting large clear plastic bags and tie them with your suitcase in side.<br /> In addition you might want to keep your stuff in the bathroom when not in use' I do this when I travel, always keep one or two bags in the outside pocket. As far as not unpacking etc. check the FAQS. </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-47840 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:30:41 +0000 bugration 47840@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Thanks very much for the reply.</p> <p>I will look into the products mentioned. I'm not sure if they have any relation to that plastic wrap service offered at airports? I once came to within inches of using such a service until I suddenly thought to myself, hang on, the machine they use to wrap one's bags must have seen so many different pieces of luggage, hence it too could easily be crawling with bed bugs, thus defeating the whole purpose!</p> <p>Right now I tend to rely on simple plastic bags, I usually try to double bag. Again this would in no way be sufficient to keep bed bugs inside - in any case that's not the priority since I don't have an active infestation (yet!) - but I would imagine that even this simple measure vastly reduces the chance of bed bugs randomly entering the plastic when there are plenty of other nicer, non-plasticked places in the room to settle in. Any ideas for substitute plastic bags to use? The plastic wraps suggested may work well during a flight but once in a hotel room it would be handy to be able to open and close without having to rip the whole wrapping apart? </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-47801 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:10:11 +0000 BBcoukHome 47801@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi, </p> <p>The best way to do this is cling film / saran wrap or pallet wrap. Basically film that forms to the surface and binds to itself.</p> <p>Creating a physical barrier for your bags when travelling is so much better than using chemical products. I always advise people to remove it before you enter the home but you can also leave it when you arrive at your destination.</p> <p>Hope that helps.</p> <p>David Cain<br /> Bed Bugs Limited </p> http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/good-generic-substitute-products-to-protect-luggage-during-travel#post-47798 Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:37:24 +0000 bugration 47798@http://bedbugger.com/forum/ <p>Hi there,</p> <p>Does anyone have any suggestions for generic (plastic?) products in which to encase my luggage during travel and hence avoid taking any bed bugs home? Where I live the bed bug problem has not yet reached epic proportions like in the United States or London, so as a result all the recommended products mentioned on this site (special bed bug encasements, Packtite etc) are nowhere to be found.</p> <p>One notable thing is that the aim is to keep bed bugs OUT, which I presume is an easier task than keeping them IN. If you encase bed bugs inside plastic, they will obviously take all steps to get out through any possible opening in order to feed again. However, if all your luggage is encased in plastic then surely there's no reason for bed bugs to try to get in (there's no bait waiting inside and although bed bugs like fabric luggage surfaces in general I highly doubt they are able to detect that this is what's protected within the plastic)?</p> <p>Also, what sort of companies would be useful to contact regarding such substitute encasements? Thanks in advance for your help! </p>