Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Reader questions (do not fit into other categories)
Need advice on travel plans
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 2:31:44
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So, over my nice long spring break in March, I'm going to visit my boyfriend in London. He's been there all year, and the last time I saw him was in December/January, so obviously, I'm excited. However, I'm not excited with the idea of taking bugs to him/bringing bugs back home with me. I've read the Travel FAQ, but I've come up with a plan, and wanted to hear what yall thought...
1) Buy a new suitcase. I need a new one anyway, and I found one (posted under "suitcases in packtite") that has few adornments and seems pretty straight forward. As soon as the new suitcase arrives, store it in a contractor bag, sealed.
2) Run everything that I'm taking (clothing-wise) through the dryer for an hour/hour and a half before sealing it in a new ziploc bag.
3) Packtite all books/shoes that I'm taking (very few pairs... shoes are my one thing, but I'm going to limit myself). Store them in ziplocs after Packtiting them (there's that verb again!). Examine all cosmetics and pack in ziploc.
4) Pack bag. Run packed bag through Packtite AGAIN, then store in a new contractor bag, tightly sealed until ready to walk out the door with suitcase, clean clothes and shoes (from bags).
I'm going to do a similar thing with my backpack (in terms of books and such). I'm not taking my computer, but I haven't been able to figure out if they're in my ipod yet... it (and my camera!) have been bagged for awhile. Thoughts on leaving it out after the next Phantom application, which will be a week and a half before I go, and allowing things to migrate?
Then, when I get to London, I'm inspecting his room (he's done it since he returned, but I trust my inspection more than his), and keeping my bag in a contractor bag the whole time I'm there. Clothes will be washed and dried, and packed in a new bag before coming home. Upon arrival at home, I'll strip (ooh lala) and bag clothes, put the still-packed suitcase and backpack into bags waiting by the door and leave them isolated until I can packtite them until I'm sure that everything is dead (hopefully nothing will be there in there to be dead, but still).
Phew, long post. But I want feedback! How does this sound? I'm simultaneously so excited to see my boyfriend, but so freaked out about spreading these/coming home with more!
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 10:03:59
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Sounds pretty good, plus you used packtited again, oh, to make the next dictionary...........
Have a great trip!
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MyWorstFear
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 13:16:51
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OutOutDarnBugs, makes you want to be a nudist, doesn't it? (Joking!)
Just remember, if worse comes to worst, and your boyfriend has them, he can call the other David, the London one, who'll *Cain* those bed bugs.
Introducing another new word *Cain* after David Cain, the London bed bug fighter.Now I'm off to Packtite my husband's suitcase since he just returned from a business trip and I don't trust him to check hotel rooms. If a man can spill chocolate syrup on a white floor and not see it, [i]would you trust him to check a hotel room for bed bugs?[i] Exactly, which is why I'm Packtiting everything he had with him. I would have Packtited him too, but unfortunately he wouldn't cooperate!
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 14:21:29
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MyWorstFear - 1 hour ago »
OutOutDarnBugs, makes you want to be a nudist, doesn't it? (Joking!)
Just remember, if worse comes to worst, and your boyfriend has them, he can call the other David, the London one, who'll *Cain* those bed bugs.
Introducing another new word *Cain* after David Cain, the London bed bug fighter.It really does! It's amazing how little thought I used to put into packing. Now this has to be a week long event! And believe me, I'm glad he's in London where I know there are experts, should he need them (I'm not sure I even want to say that- don't want to jinx myself!)!
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Itchy-Scratchy
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 20:25:18
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Looks like a good plan, similar to how I handle business travel.
The only addition I would make is to be sure to pack extra ziploc baggies, in case you shop while on holiday.
I'm jealous ... I would LOVE to visit London sometime!
Enjoy your trip,
Kate -
OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 21:01:52
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Awesome advice, thanks Itchy! I'll definitely pack a baggie of baggies. And, believe me, I'm so excited to get to London- even though between the trip and all the costs of these buggers, I'm broke! It's good to get away for a little while, see the bf, and remember there is a wide world out there... although, I'm scared of coming back to my apartment afterward, but I guess that's another post for later...
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MyWorstFear
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Posted 4 years ago
Wed Feb 25 2009 23:49:42
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Totally changed the way I pack as well. Now if I take something away with me, I'm almost glad if it gets dirty because you can bet when I get home, it's getting Packtited and laundered/dry cleaned whether I wore it or not. The days of slowly unpacking are behind me and never will I ever do that again!
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Feb 28 2009 15:49:19
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I'm actually starting to look forward to the trip! I got scared this morning, however, because the BF suggested we spend a night in York. While I'm scared of being exposed to BB in general, I felt more comfortable staying at his apartment (not that we couldn't pick them up there, or ANYWHERE, even), than traveling. However, I deemed myself in charge of finding where were staying when we spend over night, and I'm starting to get psyched up about it (reading traveladvisor diligently- with a grain of salt, also). My handy dandy flashlight is coming with us, of course!
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Feb 28 2009 16:24:36
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Advice! Buying a new suitcase... I'd really like a white one, but since that's not a popular color with luggage (ok, I guess I understand...), I have to pick one that would still be inspect-able. So here it goes: do I get red, blue, or black? I'm leaning far far away from black (obvi!) and more to the red, since the blue is dark. But since I can't make a decision by myself...
(PS: if you were interested in a bare-bones suitcase, this one that I'm getting is on sale for another day...)
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buggardnyc
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Posted 4 years ago
Sat Feb 28 2009 22:37:35
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It is possible to escape and have a wonderful trip. Here is how I visited my parents without bringing any bugs.
On the morning of the flight I left the house in old clothes. I went to the store and bought a new outfit (underwear and socks too). Went and bought a cheap suitcase, went to gym threw away old outfit (shoes and all) showered changed into new outfit. Then went to dry cleaner and picked up clothes. I didn't bring much - wore the same tired outfits over and over but I had peace of mind and was able to visit my parents without any problems. It worked for me, have a great trip.
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 22:51:13
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I'm also intending to put my backpack (which is coming with my on the plane) in a ziploc for the flight duration. All that's coming out of it is my ipod and a book. The rest will be safely stowed in the overhead compartment... bag and all. Do you think this is a bad idea? I'm not spraying things on seats, or anything... just protecting my stuff from others. I'm OK with weird looks, I just don't want the airline staff to get angry...
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buggyinsocal
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 23:22:13
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My guess is that so long as you get to the plane on time, and you don't hog all the bin space, the flight attendants aren't going to care if your bag is in a ziplock.
If you're really paranoid, just make sure you get your bag all the way into the overhead bin so it doesn't get pinched by the latch.
Also, if you haven't, make sure you check the weight regs for int'l flights to the UK. Last time I went, they were super strict about that, and the rules are very different than domestic US flights. (Plus they measure in kilograms not pounds, and my metric conversion abilities suck as much as those of most people from the US. )
Some planes have much bigger overhead bins than others (the 757s for example have positively cavernous ones, while regional jets by Embraer have tiny ones). The wide body planes that most carriers fly on int'l routes always have far smaller overhead bins than I expect. (The airline my frequent flyer miles are on uses 767s for the LAX to JFK route, which I sometimes end up on prior to a regional jet commuter flight to my family's hometown for holidays, and the 767, which is a much bigger plane than the 757, has much smaller overhead bins over the window seats than their counterpart on the smaller 757 planes. The center bins are even smaller than that. Alas, while seatguru.com is a great resource for the details on a particular seat, I don't know of a similar resource for overhead bin size. (I haven't been on a triple 7 yet, so if that's what you're on, I'm not much help.)
Apologies for revealing how very geeky I am about flying, but there's a point to it. Namely, I'm telling you this because I don't want you to freak out when you get to the airport if your bag is overweight. (I might have had a slight altercation with the counter staff of Virgin Atlantic when they told me my carry on bag was overweight, and I was like "Well, since my laptop is in there and I can't check that, I'm not sure what you want me to do, exactly.") Call the airline or check their website for info about max carry on weights for flights to the UK specifically, and you'll be spared any surprises at the airport.
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Sun Mar 1 2009 23:30:26
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Thanks, Buggy! I totally had a meltdown when I was coming back from spending a year in Asia and they told me that my bags were too heavy. I pulled a "I'm so sorry, this is my stuff from the past 12 months!" while crying, and it worked. But I'd rather avoid that in this situation, so I'll definitely check the regulations.
I'm thinking my checked bag will be OK- I'm not bringing that much stuff with me, due to the "less is better" concept I'm going with right now. And my backpack will go overhead, in it's ziploc, so hopefully everything will be within the limit!
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Mon Mar 2 2009 20:09:01
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A few more questions for those of you who have traveled while dealing with your infestation:
The clothes that I'm wearing on the plane are going to be bagged and washed as soon as I get to the BF's apartment. Not sure how likely it is that I'd pick something up from the plane, but I don't want to take any chances. When you all travel, do you do this? What do you do with your shoes when you get to your destination? Should I worry about them? I might wear something that I could throw in the dryer... say, my vans.
Secondly: When I'm packing to come home, I'm going to wash my stuff and pack it in new ziplocs before putting it in my suitcase (the only thing that won't be washed will be my PJs from the night before, which will be bagged in a "dirty" bag). When I get home, the entire suitcase will be packtited, without unpacking. My question becomes: Should I wash the clean clothes AGAIN (or dry them?), or do you think they'd be OK washed, dried, and then packtited (obviously, the dirty clothes will be washed...)?
Thanks, guys!
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mangycur
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 13:43:33
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When I travel I don't automatically wash the clothes I traveled in. I did this once and my friends thought I was being a psycho. It made them super uncomfortable. So what I do, because I may still have bugs in my house but I'm not sure, is I sterilize anything I am taking out of my apartment. That way I know I am on top of what is under my control. Others may not feel comfortable with that, but I find that at a certain point you have to say you did everythign you could and you want to not freak your friends out.
As for your packtite question, ironically it can't be packed too tight or else it won't work. So you can't just put the whole thing in there. You have to take some stuff out.
I just got back from a trip myself and here's what I'm going to do. Just for the sake of ease, if I say "sterilized," that means I washed and dried as long as possible or necessary.
--last night I got home and stripped and sealed everything I wore or carried in plastic.
--Now I'm going to drink 2 cups of coffee
--Once caffeinated, put down a light colored sheet on the floor.
--next to the sheet, arrange several clean plastic bags, a spraybottle of rubbing alcohol, my super-powered vacuum with the hose on it, and some tape.
--take out my suitcase and vacuum the outside of it
--open the suitcase
--Dirty clothes go in a plastic bag
--clothes that were cleaned and dried and sanitized, then sealed in ziplocs before putting them in my suitcase to go home, those are done. I will put those bags to the side and spray them with rubbing alcohol. But I'm not putting them back in the pactite because they're already done.
--other stuff, like my yoga props, go in a separate plastic bag.
--toiletries obviously go in a separate bag because they can't go in a packtite anyway
--cell phone charger, flashlight--separate bag
--put the suitcase in a separate plastic bag
--Once everything is compartmentalized, inspect the sheet for running bugs. Spray them with alcohol if necessary.
--put the sheet in with the dirty clothes and seal it againSo then I will have a room with several sealed plastic bags.
Next:
--take the dirty laundry to the laundramat and sterilize it.
--put it away
--take the suitcase out of the plastic bag
--put the suitcase in the packtite and pack it with as many yoga props as possible, while still allowing air flow
--turn on the packtite
--anything that didn't fit in there stays in platic until I can do another load
--anything that can't go in there, like phone charger and toiletries, gets inspected and alcohol sprayed, as appropriateCrap, I better get started
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 15:18:20
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Thanks, mangycur! That's exactly what I wanted to know! When I come back, everything will be bagged. So I'm thinking that I'll just put the whole thing in a zip-tied contractor bag when I get home (late at night), then the next day, in the tub, dismantle it.
The dirty clothes will already be bagged, so those can be taken straight to the laundromat/bags thrown away. The clean clothes will have been "sterlized," so I'll examine the outsides of the bag, but not do anything else to them, since they've been cleaned/dried. Toiletries and other "non-packtiteables" will have been bagged, so those will be inspected too. I think, for my peace of mind, the bags with the shoes and the bag with my coat will be packtited. After the suitcase has been emptied, I'll put the empty suitcase in the machine and bake it. I think I'll packtite the shoes and jacket separate from the suitcase (just keep in their ziplocs- maybe even in a contractor bag- until I can heat them).
Wow. So much prep!
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 21:21:50
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I like all of these methods, but just so you know, we have run many large sized suitcases in the unit that were fully packed and gotten to 120 in about 3 hours in the center of that suitcase. I would recommend unzipping or leaving open the lid of the suitcase. Try it like that and see if you don't get to killing temp without having to unpack all your clothes, etc.
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OutOutDarnBugs
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Posted 4 years ago
Thu Mar 5 2009 23:00:04
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djames1921 - 1 hour ago »
I like all of these methods, but just so you know, we have run many large sized suitcases in the unit that were fully packed and gotten to 120 in about 3 hours in the center of that suitcase. I would recommend unzipping or leaving open the lid of the suitcase. Try it like that and see if you don't get to killing temp without having to unpack all your clothes, etc.If the stuff was ziploc-bagged inside, would you also recommend opening up the ziplocs and maybe putting the probe deep inside one of them?
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