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Advice for protecting ourselves at Movie Theater?

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itchygirl45

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 10:29:24
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My children are begging to go to the movies, but I am terrified of bringing bedbugs back home with us. Any advice? Should I spray the kids, husband, me & the movie theater seats and floor with Rest Easy? Is that safe? Would it do any good? I am also planning on throwing all of our clothing and shoes in the packtite as soon as we get home, but would love to do whatever I can to minimize bringing the bugs past our front door. Thanks!!!!
slj29

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 17:50:30
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I'd think that the best you can really do is check your family after the movies just as you would for ticks after leaving the woods. Wear light clothing, and look up and down for hitchhikers. If you are especially worried, you can also have everyone strip upon entering the door and throw everything in the washing machine, just in case. But I'd probably only go that far if I saw a bug.

I wouldn't spray the seats with anything before sitting. For one, you will alarm people sitting near you, especially if they have any allergies. For two, you will embarrass your kids. For three, I don't think that stuff works as well as they claim.
bed-bugscouk

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 18:03:51
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Hi,

if you want 100% safe I would suggest the following movie followed by swiming.

Now here is the logic:

Go to cinema, relax and enjoy. The reality is that bedbugs don't want to come home with you, they want to feed and get back into hiding. Most colonies quickly adapt to the location they are in and by natural select will get into the habit of getting out from hiding places, feeding and getting back quickly so the risk of being bitten is greater than the risk of having a hitchhiker.

If you go swimming in the same complex after the cinema then you have an excuse to change and isolate the clothes after potential exposure and it has the added effect of burning some of the kids excitement energy into exercise.

Yes you could just go to the toilets and change but for healthy grounds I prefer the swim option.

When home the isolated clothes can be processed or Packtite'd and there is just about as low a risk as you can make anything.

If you use mass transit then I would add the step into the box procedure when you get home so you can loose the outer layer of clothes and nothing will get out of the box.

I would certainly not be spraying anything in a location I did not own, I think this spritz it with the travel spray is a very bad idea and in the long run Mr Darwin will be proven right and those holding 20 pieces of silver will have a lot to answer for.

Hope that instill some clear logic.

David Cain
Bed Bugs Limited
jrbtnyc

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 18:22:15
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slj29 - 24 minutes ago »
I'd think that the best you can really do is check your family after the movies just as you would for ticks after leaving the woods. Wear light clothing, and look up and down for hitchhikers. If you are especially worried, you can also have everyone strip upon entering the door and throw everything in the washing machine, just in case.
...

Problem is if you're two out of three people, in the USA at least, who drive home from the movie theater, not living amongst mass transit, so bed bugs happily find new digs in your automobile.

Doesn't it make more sense to have a staunch line of defense in the movie theater itself, something which you bring yourself and which you control and which is absolutely undeniably "green"? In fact other moviegoers seeing it might say "hey we're going to do that too next time"?

In that connection, Nobugs am I permitted here to point people to the other thread:

http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/protection-in-a-movie-theater .

Meanwhile,

slj29 - 24 minutes ago »
...
I wouldn't spray the seats with anything before sitting. For one, you will alarm people sitting near you, especially if they have any allergies. For two, you will embarrass your kids. For three, I don't think that stuff works as well as they claim.

And for four, other theatergoers may complain and then management may ask you to leave, not appreciating your administering some unknown-to-them substance on their premises without their permission. Would they call the police? Not likely, but I think it can't be ruled out entirely either.
jrbtnyc

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 18:32:27
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bed-bugscouk - 21 minutes ago »
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Go to cinema, relax and enjoy. The reality is that bedbugs don't want to come home with you, they want to feed and get back into hiding. Most colonies quickly adapt to the location they are in and by natural select will get into the habit of getting out from hiding places, feeding and getting back quickly so the risk of being bitten is greater than the risk of having a hitchhiker.
If you go swimming in the same complex after the cinema then you have an excuse to change and isolate the clothes after potential exposure and it has the added effect of burning some of the kids excitement energy into exercise.
...

David aren't you overlooking something absolutely central to the whole crisis? You're telling people to watch the movie and enjoy it and not worry bugs are biting them because the bugs likely won't come home with them anyway. But...but...people freak out over getting bitten by bed bugs! For its own sake whether or not the bugs subsequently come home with them as well! So many people *won't be able to enjoy the movie* if they feel unprotected from bug bites happening during that two or three hours. Plus, sure the bugs won't likely come home with the moviegoers for the reasons you state, but *the moviegoers don't know that* and will be very hard to convince of that I'm betting!

Based on what you're saying I think that movie theater will be...empty.

On the other point, I don't know about Britdom but here in the USA how many complexes are there which have movies *and* swimming? And how many where that's applicable in, say, January, or at, say, 10pm on a Saturday? Or if the swimming facility is near the movie facility but not right there so people have to drive there thus giving any bugs a chance to jump off in their cars? And what if people would rather go swimming *before* the movie rather than after?
djames1921

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 19:09:06
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On the lighter side, what movie is it the kids want to see? This should be taken into account. Is the movie worthy of risking a bed bug encounter? I would love to see a movie critic start rating movies as worth the bed bug risk or not. What movies are out right now that are worth risking bed bugs to go and see :)?
jrbtnyc

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Jun 21 2011 19:37:49
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djames1921 - 25 minutes ago »
On the lighter side, what movie is it the kids want to see? This should be taken into account. Is the movie worthy of risking a bed bug encounter? I would love to see a movie critic start rating movies as worth the bed bug risk or not. What movies are out right now that are worth risking bed bugs to go and see :)?

Yeah, and let's see what kind of welcome is waiting the next time he or she turns up at the local complex's advance screening on critics' freebie view night .
Covky

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 22 2011 10:10:55
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I just want them to bring back Drive-In movies!
slj29

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 22 2011 14:48:26
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Good grief, go to the movies and forget about it or just watch a movie at home. It's not worth this. Why turn an experience that's supposed to be enjoyable -- traveling to a new country, seeing a good film, having a drink at a cafe or bar -- into such a stressful and embarrassing ordeal? Yes, think about it somewhat; be vigilant; take basic precautions. But don't let paranoia dictate your every action. And, also, please do not pull out a flashlight and inspect for bed bugs in the middle of a film that other people around you paid $10 to watch undisrupted.
Winston O. Buggy

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Jun 22 2011 18:16:50
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I totally second the bring back the drive in movies!
On the other hand don't take items into the movie other than yourself, minimize your foot print by not bringing backpacks, purses, jackets, hats and other items. If possible where lighter clothes and check yourself after.