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Traveling to NYC-- are my precautions sufficient?
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 13:50:52
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I am staying in NYC for 5 days. We have been told that the place we're renting was treated for bedbugs as recently as 2 weeks before our stay. We were told the apartment was "fumigated" and the mattresses and furniture were "treated" and the linens replaced.
I don't know anything more about the PCO that was used as this is third-hand information.
We planned the whole time (even before we knew this) to act as if the apartment has bedbugs. Our plan is:
Contain suitcases in bugzips
Contain contents of suitcases in giant ziplocs
Keep a "clean outfit" aside in ziploc
Upon returning home:
Change into clean outfit at airport
Return suitcase to bugzip for car trip
Put all clothing into dryer immediately on high heat for 1 hour, leaving suitcase and unwashables outside
Outside, spray suitcase and unwashables with Steri-Fab.Is this a good plan? Would anyone add anything?
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Richard56
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 13:54:40
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You can not technically "fumigate" an apartment in New York City, or anywhere for that matter unless it's a standalone building. Your precautions seem fine, but personally -- not knowing what was actually done and what the reality is right now -- I would not stay in an apartment that to my knowledge was treated as recently as two weeks ago unless it was inspected by a real professional you had confidence in. I mean, these bugs can become a real, or sometimes an imagined nightmare -- just spend a little time reading here. Can't you find another place to stay?
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 13:57:20
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Not this quickly, not with the number of people that we have, particularly since I can't think of a place I'd actually trust other than the home of a friend.
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your host
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 13:57:52
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I would avoid the place too. I stress that I am not a lawyer, but a bed bug infestation 2 weeks ago may give you significant leverage for canceling the rental agreement with a full refund.
If you must go there, there are FAQs on avoiding bed bugs when you travel and what to do if exposed:
http://bedbugger.com/faqs/travel -
emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 13:58:07
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Also, "fumigate" may have been someone else's words, not the PCO's.
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Richard56
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 14:03:29
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Again, not my idea of a vacation, but if this is your plan -- then I would call in a pro to inspect beforehand. One highly recommended PCO is active here under the name "KillerQueen". If he's not available, you might try a dog team that does visual verification for any positive hits. On the other hand, if you're going to come regardless of whether or not the place is still infested ...ewwww... then maybe save your money and buy a PackTite unit to throw the stuff in that won't fit into the dryer.
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 14:46:19
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So steri-fab is no good? I don't want to spend $300 on a pack tite that I will use only once, if there are alternatives.
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 14:59:24
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OK just found out I can bring bagged luggage and unwashables to my local PCO for treatment for $40.
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MyWorstFear
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 17:05:50
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Emily,
You seem determined to come despite everyone's recommendations not to stay there. Are you aware that if the place was treated 2 weeks ago, and no one has been staying there, the bugs that survived the treatment are going to be really hungry? Also, all the eggs will have now hatched and they will be hungry too. Seriously, you have no idea what you are getting into. Even if you manage to not take any home with you, what about dealing with itchy ugly bites? It's hot in NYC now. Do you really want to go around with big welts on your skin visible to all around you? We're talking BED BUGS, not "JUST BUGS". -
emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 17:15:42
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MyWorstFear - 6 minutes ago »
Emily,
You seem determined to come despite everyone's recommendations not to stay there. Are you aware that if the place was treated 2 weeks ago, and no one has been staying there, the bugs that survived the treatment are going to be really hungry? Also, all the eggs will have now hatched and they will be hungry too. Seriously, you have no idea what you are getting into. Even if you manage to not take any home with you, what about dealing with itchy ugly bites? It's hot in NYC now. Do you really want to go around with big welts on your skin visible to all around you? We're talking BED BUGS, not "JUST BUGS".Well, I'm from a place where mosquitoes are considered the unofficial state bird, so I do currently walk around with bug bites on me, as does everyone else. Considering that mosquitoes actually spread disease, well, to me, bedbug bites are "just bites" and "just bugs" by comparison.
Anyway, thank you all for your input, (as condescending as some of it was). After getting more details regarding how the place was treated, we are trying to find a new place to stay.
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spideyjg
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 17:25:07
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Didn't read anything condescending in this.
MyWorstFear has some sound biological facts in there. Every fed, surviving female BB would have laid 70 eggs in the interim and likely 35-50 per surviving female of them would have hatched.
All those hungry bugs can be waiting for your family.
Read all the precautions if you must stay there. Maybe the bites don't bother you but bringing them home and infesting your house will.
Good luck with that.
Jim
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 19:13:50
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spideyjg - 1 hour ago »
Read all the precautions if you must stay there. Maybe the bites don't bother you but bringing them home and infesting your house will.
Good luck with that.
JimThat's pretty condescending right there, given that I'm here asking if my prevention plan, which I got from already reading this site extensively, is good enough. Not sure if you read my original post, but I'm trying my best to be prepared.
While the other poster's biological facts may be sound, saying things like "You don't know what you're getting into, you don't want bites all over you" to someone who lives in tick and mosquito central and also one of the top 5 bedbug cities, THAT's condescending.
And piling on, after I said we're looking for somewhere else to stay, also not helpful.
But again, thanks for the input nonetheless.
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Richard56
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 19:36:19
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You have to understand that this is a site primarily comprised of people who either have, had, or think they have a bed bug infestation. Some of the stories here are heart breaking with lives literally being turned upside down, sometimes for many months, even longer. So when someone enters this den with the intent of actually voluntarily putting themselves in a position that the rest of try to avoid, well, you can see why the answers are the way they are. Glad you decided to find another place and if it took some tough love to help you make that decision, then it's all good IMO.
Richard
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MyWorstFear
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 22:33:18
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If you really read the FAQ's as well as some of the posting on this site, then you'd know that you can't put mosquitos and ticks in the same category as bed bugs. Since you said you didn't want to spend $300. on a Pactite, I can't imagine that you'd want to spend upwards of several thousand dollars to have a house treated by a PCO in case you brought the bed bugs home, not to mention the hours and days of strenuous work getting the house prepped before the PCO can even treat it.
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spideyjg
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Posted 2 years ago
Fri Sep 3 2010 22:35:40
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Well said Richard.
Unless someone has been through the BB war they really can't know.
The weakness in the plan is the Steri fab. Look into DDVP strips and sealed bags to treat the suitcase and unwashables afterwards.
Takes a month.
Jim
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your host
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Sep 4 2010 2:18:16
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emilyd75 - 8 hours ago »
Well, I'm from a place where mosquitoes are considered the unofficial state bird, so I do currently walk around with bug bites on me, as does everyone else. Considering that mosquitoes actually spread disease, well, to me, bedbug bites are "just bites" and "just bugs" by comparison.
Anyway, thank you all for your input, (as condescending as some of it was). After getting more details regarding how the place was treated, we are trying to find a new place to stay.I can't speak for MyWorstFear, but I would guess what was meant by "not just bugs" was that bed bugs are a serious problem if you bring them home. They are considered harder to get rid of than ants, cockroaches, or even termites -- and I would guess more costly than termites too.
One of the biggest differences between bed bugs and mosquitos (besides West Nile and other mosquito-borne illnesses) is that bed bugs are good hitchhikers. They crawl into the cuff of your trousers or into a tote bag and voila! you now have bed bugs at home (work, etc.).
One bed bug might not be a biggy, if it's male and not pregnant, but that's a big if.
Lots of people do develop infestations at home after visiting a hotel, friend's home, or rental unit. And if you do this, then it can end up costing you thousands of dollars to get rid of, even if you're not the one responsible for paying for pest control treatment.
In regards to your question about Steri-fab, it is basically going to kill bed bugs you see and spray directly (and you're unlikely to see them, since they hide in tiny cracks), and then it also has some residual. A residual is not a guarantee that bed bugs will not survive and come home to set up harborages. Most treatments need to be repeated in order to get all the bugs.
I'm not trying to "pile on", either -- just wanted to answer some points which you had brought up.
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Sep 4 2010 9:37:17
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spideyjg - 10 hours ago »
Well said Richard.
Unless someone has been through the BB war they really can't know.
The weakness in the plan is the Steri fab. Look into DDVP strips and sealed bags to treat the suitcase and unwashables afterwards.
Takes a month.
JimThis is exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you.
I also called a local pest control place that is "the place" to call for bedbugs and they said I can bring my bagged luggage and unwashables to them and they will heat treat everything for about 1/10th the cost of a packtite.
Packtites are also currently on backorder.
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emilyd75
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Sep 4 2010 9:44:27
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Richard56 - 19 hours ago »
You can not technically "fumigate" an apartment in New York City, or anywhere for that matter unless it's a standalone building. Your precautions seem fine, but personally -- not knowing what was actually done and what the reality is right now -- I would not stay in an apartment that to my knowledge was treated as recently as two weeks ago unless it was inspected by a real professional you had confidence in. I mean, these bugs can become a real, or sometimes an imagined nightmare -- just spend a little time reading here. Can't you find another place to stay?See, unfortunately everything I was hearing about our place to stay was third-hand so none of us had all the facts. When I first posted, we were waiting to hear from the proprietor after sending him a long list of followup questions such as what PCO was used, can we see the report, what chemicals were used, has there been a recent inspection, is there a monitor there, etc.
After I started this thread the guy got back to us and said they'd had the PCO out three times, and this last time they had used the same chemical as the PCO but they did it all THEMSELVES.
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. So we scrambled around and were able to find another place that has no bedbug reports and does daily inspections of their rooms.
BUT! When we get home, we still have to act as if we have been exposed. Given how infrequently I travel and the fact that Packtites are on backorder (and the ship date keeps getting pushed back) I am going to take my suitcase in its bugzip to the recommended local PCO and have the whole shebang heat treated for $40.
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spideyjg
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Posted 2 years ago
Sat Sep 4 2010 14:59:59
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After I started this thread the guy got back to us and said they'd had the PCO out three times, and this last time they had used the same chemical as the PCO but they did it all THEMSELVES.
TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. So we scrambled around and were able to find another place that has no bedbug reports and does daily inspections of their rooms.
Eeeep Good thing you found another place. That is an unacceptable answer. 3 professional treatments, still bugs, then DIY with the same stuff that the PCO used and failed with, no way.
Take those precautions and enjoy your trip.
Jim
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