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I think some bugs may have hitched a ride =(
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RamadaSucks
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 7:56:36
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I was at a conference in Laramie Wyoming from Saturday through this Monday (2 nights) I started itching a bit on Sunday and thought nothing of it, but then on Monday I realized that I was covered in bites including several examples of the neat linear 3 in a row. While I never saw any bug in the room, I really was not looking for them. Now I am worried that some of them hitched a rid with my luggage, and cloths. I was not as careful as I should have been and left some cloths on chair and things in the room.
I got home on Monday night, and now it looks like my wife is getting bitten by something! Seems like way too much of a coincidence that she would start getting bitten right when I get home. I think I have gotten a few more, but it is hard to tell since I got bitten so many times earlier.
Realistically, how many could have hitched a ride with out me seeing anything? I tore the room apart vacuumed, and washed everything inspected everywhere, and not sign at all! This is driving me nuts! Any suggestions or insight would be really appreciated.
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click forums at the top of page. DO NOT panic IF it is BB dont bomb your house dosent work for BB!! Lots of work to do if it is BB!! Hotels are the number one place you can get them!! encasing the bed,do you home work on this and the encasement!! you should do this even if you don't have them!!I am in the middle of this battle right now!! and by all means check out the forum somthing finally worked!! lots of reading!! Call in a PCO to comfirm what you Probably already know!!Do not get discouraged by all of the info you are about to take in !! AND dont PANIC! there is a light at the end of the tunnle!!brace your self to!!
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RamadaSucks
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 8:26:21
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oi....
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cilecto
senior member
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 520
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 9:43:15
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Breathe in. Breathe out.
BB, slow, flightless and vulnerable to predators have survived by their ability to hide as well as feed unnoticed. They can be a pain to eradicate, but as you seem to have caught on early, you have a leg up.Also note that reactions are not always instant, so it's not open and shut that you picked them up in a specific hotel. You may have gotten them from a car, plane, restaurant, church, etc. I'd say go easy on any one hotel, certainly a whole chain…unless they were particularly insensitive toward you.
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RamadaSucks
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 9:49:28
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Can it take 11-12 days for reactions to show up? If that is the case, my wife and I were in a Hotel in San Fransisco the weekend before the weekend that I was in Laramie. If that is possible, we could both have been bitten there. I was very itchy after that stay as well, but I attributed it to dry skin as I was not covered in bites like I am now.
cilecto - 2 minutes ago »
Breathe in. Breathe out.
BB, slow, flightless and vulnerable to predators have survived by their ability to hide as well as feed unnoticed. They can be a pain to eradicate, but as you seem to have caught on early, you have a leg up.
Also note that reactions are not always instant, so it's not open and shut that you picked them up in a specific hotel. You may have gotten them from a car, plane, restaurant, church, etc. I'd say go easy on any one hotel, certainly a whole chain…unless they were particularly insensitive toward you. -
from what I understand YES it can !! Go away and then come right back (flare up) happened to me before I knew I had BB!! I got them from a flight out of SF!! Really infested place along with many others!!
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RamadaSucks
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 10:18:47
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Well just got off the phone with the orkin man, and he said $400 per room..... ergh They will do an inspection for free though.
I wouldn't blink at that if I knew for sure they are here, but that is a bunch of money to pay on a hunch.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 11:48:51
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It's definitely possible that you and your wife were bitten elsewhere and the bites are just now showing up.
If you haven't yet read through the FAQs at the main website, start there. There's a lot of good information about what protocols to follow if you've been exposed to bed bugs. Don't be too hard on yourself that you didn't follow them right away. A lot of people still don't know about bed bugs until they get them (happened to me!), and the fact that you can be bitten and not have the bites show up for more than a week later complicates things.
At this point, any clothes that you had with you on either trip should be presumed to be infested. They may not be, but this would be a good time to subject any of them that could handle it to high heat as per the protocols described in the FAQ.
Items that can't be washed in hot water an dried on high can be dry cleaned. Be sure to tell the dry cleaner that it's possible the items were exposed to bed bugs.
If you've already put those items in places where they've come in contact with other fabric items, well, you'll have to decide how paranoid you are about treating all of those.
If you travel frequently, you might consider getting a Packtite. It's a bit of an upfront expense (about $300), but it can be used to treat suitcases every time you return from a trip AND it can treat any dry cleanable items that are already clean. If you add up how much it would cost you to dryclean everything in the house that's dry cleanable, which will be required for any chemical treatment of bed bugs, the Packtite will often pay for itself, and can be used to treat items like shoes and books that are often hard to treat. It's also nice because the suitcases themselves need to be treated, and suitcases often can't just be tossed in the dryer. (Obviously, duffel bags can, but roll aboards can't.)
The FAQs on the main page also have a lot of good info about inspecting for signs of bed bugs.
Keep in mind that there are several other pests that produce bed bug like reactions, so you want to confirm bed bugs before you treat--esp. given the expense that you have discovered treating bed bugs can be. Thoroughly inspecting your bed--esp. if you brought your suitcases home and unpacked them there--for signs of bed bug activity is an important next step. Do keep in mind that eggs and young nymphs can be very hard to see; in that case, you're looking for fecal matter from the bugs--usually on fabric it looks like someone left an uncapped black gel pen or black permanent marker on the fabric which wicked that ink away into black spots. Again, the FAQs have a lot more detailed info on that.
I wouldn't encase or isolate the bed or (beyond laundry and dry cleaning) go on a massive cleaning splurge just yet. Counterintuitive as it seems, you don't want to disturb the bugs too much if you're getting a pro in to inspect (Which you should). If you disturb the bugs, they will often go deeper into hiding, making the problem that much harder to confirm and deal with.
Keep in mind that many PCOs won't treat without proof of bugs. This is because in today's world of integrated pest management the chemicals used for one pest are specific to that pest, and PCOs need to find out what they are dealing with in order to treat effectively.
If you find any bugs while doing laundry or inspecting the bed (or couch or otherupholstered furniture if that's where you put your bags), KEEP THE BUG. I know it sounds gross, but that's your proof needed for treatment. Bed bugs are hardy; they can survive being sucked up into a vacuum only to crawl out again later. So if you are lucky enough to catch a live or dead one, get some clear tape, stick the bug to the tape, and tape the whole thing to a piece of paper or an index card that you can store in a small ziplock.
The signs are definitely suspicious; I would absolutely be concerned if I were you. But you don't yet have a 100% confirmation of bed bugs. It's still possible that you dodged a bullet and that this will be just a scare that will leave you better informed so that in the future you can take precautions while traveling to minimize your chances of bringing a hitch hiker home. I'll cross my fingers that that's the case.
Hang in there.
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RamadaSucks
newbite
Joined: Oct '09
Posts: 5
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 14:05:54
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Well, the Orkin Man came over and found nothing. They will still do it, but I am a scientist, and need better proof than just bumbs that look like bites!
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upagain
junior member
Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 164
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 14:14:16
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I would not do it without proof. If there is a problem (and i hope not) they could be scattering them.
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buggyinsocal
oldtimer
Joined: Jun '08
Posts: 1,130
Posted 1 month ago
Fri Oct 9 2009 14:21:04
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Also consider passive monitors like Climb Up interceptors. I forgot to mention those in my previous comment.
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