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Anti Bed Bug/Insect Repellent

megs 52

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
plan to walk the camino in june 2015
Hi, I've been told to spray everything - rucksack, sleeping bag, clothes etc before I go but I don't like the idea of the chemicals - can anyone tell me firstly if it's necessary - I'm walking in July and secondly are there any natural products?
M
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I agree about not liking the idea of spraying everything, and I never have done. I just read in a different thread that there is no solid evidence that permethrin will deter bedbugs so do a little research on that - or I'm sure someone knowledgeable will be along in a minute to tell you the facts. The only thing I will say is that if anyone decides to use chemicals, please spray your own stuff and don't take spray into the albergues! Imagine the amount of the stuff if everybody sprayed it on their bed every night!
Anniesantiago (I think) also has a very good blog post on how to look for bedbugs rather than just spraying and praying.
 
I do like the expression "Spraying and Praying"! I have heard that Silk sleeping bag liners are also good, assuming that you don't roll around too much during you sleep. I am going to be trying this method in a few weeks.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I've bought a treated sheet to put on the bed with sleeping bag(untreated) on top. Will report back when I finish this Camino (vdlp) but of course I may not come across any bed bugs :)
 
Hi, I've been told to spray everything - rucksack, sleeping bag, clothes etc before I go but I don't like the idea of the chemicals - can anyone tell me firstly if it's necessary - I'm walking in July and secondly are there any natural products?
M
yes it is unless you want the bugs?
 
Hello there!

I walked Camino last July and no bed bugs. I think the chemical things are bad idea.. I was prepared for this problem and I had an essential lavender oil - I've read it helps and it's natural + beautiful smell!
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
I do like the expression "Spraying and Praying"! I have heard that Silk sleeping bag liners are also good, assuming that you don't roll around too much during you sleep. I am going to be trying this method in a few weeks.

All a silk sleeping bag liner will do is keep you warmer.
Bedbugs have no problem crawling on silk.
And there ARE natural oils that people say will deter bedbugs.
But the fact is, those people who used oils and did not get bitten were just lucky.

There may be "no scientific evidence" that permethrin works.
However, I don't know of any person who has sprayed the outside of their pack and sleeping bag who has gotten bitten.
Is there any such person on this forum?

The best way I know to avoid bedbugs is to avoid sleeping in a place where you see bedbug sign.
Here is a blog I did on the topic, in case you are interested:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/06/dont-let-bedbugs-bite.html
 
I have heard that...
Having been bitten on both of my caminos, this is one of my favourite topics. Many people do not react to bedbug bites so they never know if they have encountered them. There is, quite simply, no easy way to manage this risk on the camino. You will hear all kinds of things. Feel free to try them all. They probably won't do either harm or good, and you'll never know what worked and why.

You need to figure out a method that gives you some peace of mind before and during the camino, and then be sure to treat everything before/upon arrival at home. It's actually not so hard and there is good scientific evidence that this part works - I understand that heating at 55C for 30 minutes (hot dryer) or freezing at -17C (good freezer) for a week will kill all life stages of bedbugs. For things that can't be treated like that, examine thoroughly and wipe them down.

Permethrin and some other substances do kill bedbugs on direct contact. However, my guess is that if permethrin is odourless and harmless to humans when it is dry, it probably won't do much to deter a hungry bedbug from wandering a short distance across the treated bedsheet to dine on my body. The one credible report I've found on this concluded there was no deterrent effect but such exposure could kill bedbugs after a few weeks of exposure. Maybe longterm exposure to treated sheets will cause bedbug cancer in the long run, but I'm mainly interested in that night!

The hypothesis that they don't like the properties of silk might be somewhat plausible, but since they usual bite the body parts that are exposed - hands, shoulders, feet, face - they might never even touch the silk of a sleep sack.

"Spraying and praying" sounds like a reasonable approach, as long as you are spraying at home in advance, and bring only the prayers to the albergues where other people may have worse allergies to the chemicals.

I am likely going to leave my treated sheet (230 g) at home next time. Instead I'll place my backpack inside a large sealable pack liner to keep bedbugs out at night. In the morning I'll isolate all my sleeping things in another bag. My goal is to pack very lightly, organize carefully, and make it easier to decontaminate if I find that I've been bitten.

Somehow, most people seem to avoid the dreaded bedbugs anyway.
 
@nathanael : What do you base that assumption on? I am not trying to be rude or dismissive here, I just really wonder where the information on permethrin deterring or even killing bedbugs comes from. I would really like to see some weighty source that support the claim. I have never treated anything with chemicals and will not do so even if it is proven to work, because I don't like the idea of my environment being full of it, but if there is no weight behind the claim maybe people should stop spraying stuff?

Oh, and @megs 52 : the post @Anniesantiago links to is the one I was talking about. Thanks, Annie!
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
@nathanael : What do you base that assumption on?
It was a bit ambiguous, but I'm guessing that Nathanael's response "yes it is unless you want the bugs" was a direct response to the question "can anyone tell me firstly if it's necessary." Nidarosa is pointing out that it makes no sense to say it is "necessary" if it is not effective, and that is the information that doesn't seem to exist. If Nathanael just meant that bedbugs are common on the camino and some attention is necessary, then I'd agree.
 
From the NIH:

Abstract
In recent years, the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), became a major public health concern in urban communities. Bed bugs are notoriously difficult to control, and their bites are not tolerated by most people. The public has an urgent need for materials and methods to reduce bed bug introduction and bites during work, travel, or sleep. A repellent product will help achieve these goals by discouraging and preventing bed bugs from moving to a protected area. We evaluated the repellency of three commercially available insect repellent or control materials and five nonregistered materials with the goal of identifying safe and effective bed bug repellents. The two commercial repellent products that contained 7% picaridin or 0.5% permethrin had little repellency against bed bugs. N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), the most commonly used insect repellent, provided a high level of repellency against bed bugs. When a host cue (carbon dioxide) was present, the minimum DEET concentration to repel > or = 94% of the bed bugs for a9-h period was 10%. The longevity of repellency of DEET was concentration dependent. At 25% concentration, DEET-treated fabric surface remained highly repellent to bed bugs for a 14-d period. However, DEET has a strong smell and dissolves certain plastic materials. Therefore, we evaluated several odorless, noncorrosive, and potentially effective repellents. Isolongifolenone and isolongifolanone, two natural products and recently reported insect repellents, exhibited strong repellent property against bed bugs but at significantly lower levels than DEET. Three novel potential repellent compounds discovered by Bedoukian Research Inc. (Danbury, CT) exhibited similar level of repellency and longevity as DEET for repelling bed bugs. These nonirritant and odorless compounds are promising candidates as alternatives to DEET for reducing the spread of bed bugs and bed bug bites.
 
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I'll throw my pilgrim hat in here. I think you need to assume you're going to get bedbugs. Bedbugs themselves and their bites, for most people, are not a huge deal. Bringing them home and infesting your house? THAT'S a big deal. I also did not want to douse myself in repellents every night for a month on the Frances last year. Annnd I got bedbugs. Don't tell anybody! Saw bites, saw bugs on me. Yep. So did my companions. I shook everything out outside at the end of my Camino as diligently as possible and flew home.

I was met at my home airport with a change of clothes. I changed into them and I put my entire pack, hat, shoes and camino clothes, passport, bath stuff, credencial, EVERYTHING in a heavy duty plastic bag and sealed it in the airport bathroom.

Went home, stripped naked and vacuumed myself head-to-toe in the garage. Took off the clothes I just put on at the airport and bagged them as well. Then double-bagged everything.

Hug spouse. Take bath.

Next day (not naked) I took the bags to my friendly neighborhood meat locker and froze them at -15F for four days. Never saw another bug.

Is it possible I shook them all out and all this bagging and freezing was unnecessary? Maybe. Is it possible I infested other traveler's bags on the way home? Maybe. But the alternatives, short of staying home are really difficult in reality to do. In Santiago with a plane to board. Exhausted. Maybe being re-infested by others. My feeling is you just gotta do your best to avoid them, shake them out or launder/dry them if you can and then take major steps to not infest your own house. If you bring them home you have become a vector into your own community.

Sadly, the camino is crawling with bedbugs, and you can never be sure where you got them. It's the single biggest downside to the Camino, in my opinion. Maybe permethrin is the solution, maybe DEET is the solution, but I can tell you bedbugs are hearty little creatures and determined to get to you. Those who never got them are: A. Lucky or B. Didn't notice. If B, they will unknowingly bring them home.

One final thought is on bed choice. Given an empty room of 30 bunk beds, almost everyone will choose a lower bunk, next to a wall. My guess is these are the Bedbug Heaven beds. Top bunk, middle of the room? Last choice for humans, probably last choice for Los Chinches. Because they love us so.

I hope this doesn't scare anyone off. I've had nearly a year to process this and wanted to share my possibly correct, possibly incorrect theories. Knowing I had a plan to eradicate them made the psychology of having them easier to deal with while walking. As you can read in this forum, bedbug psychosis can spoil and even end a camino journey.

I am going to do it Le Puy-SJPdP this year, so I didn't let them win!
 
Hi, I've been told to spray everything - rucksack, sleeping bag, clothes etc before I go but I don't like the idea of the chemicals - can anyone tell me firstly if it's necessary - I'm walking in July and secondly are there any natural products?
M
Just returned five fantastic weeks St Jean to Santiago never saw rain or a single bed bug, have a wonderful time
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
2 caminos from Sjpp to Sto. One bite in Pamplona Could be a bedbug Could be a wasp!

1 winter Camino no bites

One holiday in Austria. Many bites. Hotel room.

Figure it out
 
I am going to do it Le Puy-SJPdP this year, so I didn't let them win!
Wait until you experience bed bug control on the Chemin du Puy! Many places will put your backpack in a plastic bag, and only let you and your sleeping bag into the dortoire. One place did not allow sleeping bags, and supplied a laundered cotton sack to pilgrims. They take their bed bug control very seriously.
 
I don't think for one minute you should assume you will get bedbugs!
I've walked the CF at least 7 times and I've had 2 bites - and I'm not positive those were bedbugs.
They were on my first Camino.
Since then, I've used the cautions I give in my blog and so far, so good.
Be informed and be vigilant.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I also do what JAL does (airport change of clothes, etc.) but I have my clothes laundered at the local cleaners and boots, bag and other non washables stay in plastic bag in freezer for 3 weeks.

Do remember that chinches are brought in albergues by pilgrims who put their bags down on the ground in fields, forests, etc., so avoid doing that and pitti g your bag on the beds.
 
I think you need to assume you're going to get bedbugs... Knowing I had a plan to eradicate them made the psychology of having them easier to deal with while walking.
I agree. My record is perfect - confirmed bedbugs on 2 out of 2 caminos. Maybe the October timing is a factor. Assuming that I'll encounter them takes the uncertainty away. They are a nuisance but I have a plan. I can deal with them. Assuming their presence is also a good precaution when you arrive home.
 
There may be "no scientific evidence" that permethrin works.
However, I don't know of any person who has sprayed the outside of their pack and sleeping bag who has gotten bitten.
Is there any such person on this forum?
Annie, in defence of @nidarosa's comment, I think I ventured an opinion in another thread about the effectiveness of permethrin as a repellant, not as an insecticide. This same point, that it is not effective as a repellant, has been made here again by @falcon269. I recall reading that there are concerns that some strains of bedbugs have developed a high level of tolerance for permethrin as an insecticide, but it still appears to be the best treatment available at present.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I was staying in a small room for six people. Three ladies began spraying their bunks with something. I could see that about 5% of the spray was going on the sheet and 95% into the air which others would be breathing..
They did not ask us if we minded. I did mind, but I had not the energy to say anything. I do not want to be a room with smokers or have chemicals polluting the air I am going to be breathing all night.
 
I was staying in a small room for six people. Three ladies began spraying their bunks with something.
The warning on all permethrin products is to use it outdoors or in a well ventilated area, do not breathe it, and do not get it on you skin when wet. I would say these three ladies were not using it properly.
 
I was staying in a small room for six people. Three ladies began spraying their bunks with something. I could see that about 5% of the spray was going on the sheet and 95% into the air which others would be breathing..
They did not ask us if we minded. I did mind, but I had not the energy to say anything. I do not want to be a room with smokers or have chemicals polluting the air I am going to be breathing all night.

Which is why I think people should spray their packs and the outside of their sleeping bags before they leave home.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Hello there!

I walked Camino last July and no bed bugs. I think the chemical things are bad idea.. I was prepared for this problem and I had an essential lavender oil - I've read it helps and it's natural + beautiful smell!
chemicals bad yes but so are bed bugs and scabies.
 
chemicals bad yes but so are bed bugs and scabies.
Of course it's the best way, but I meant it's bad for you and people around (meaning of health reasons - for e.g. inside of albergues)..
 
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
I would imagine, during pilgrim season, most albergues are sprayed each day when people leave and it's probably part of the cleaning.
So if you're trying to avoid chemicals completely, I think you're probably out of luck.

When I spray a bed (on those rare occasions I stay in albergues these days), I use a pump spray and I spray a few inches above my OWN bed.
I do my best to be sure nobody else is in the room, or at least near my bed.
But the sprays I use are heavy and fall directly on my bed, not into the air around me.

Since Falcon convinced me to use permethrin on the outside of my pack and my sleeping bag, I don't spray at all.

I am on disability for Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and I can not tolerate most chemicals.
But the permethrin, once dry, has no odor and I have no reaction to it because my body never touches it.
It is on the OUTSIDE of my sleeping bag, not on any part that touches me.

I also do as my blog says, and I carefully watch for signs of bedbugs.
If I find signs, I don't stay in that albergue, and I've never had anyone refuse a request for money back.

There is simply no way you are going to be able to control what people wear or spray in albergues. There is also no way you are going to make them polite if they have not been trained to be polite.

If you are bothered THAT much by fragrances or chemicals (as I am) or by rude pilgrims, you would be smart to find yourself a walking partner (or 2-3) who is/are willing to share a private room with you.
Often, you can rent a double or a quad for as little or even less than you will pay for a dorm bed.
That way, you can have better control of your environment.

Except for that, you can complain until God comes, and it isn't going to change the fact that when you are sharing space with a group of people somebody is probably going to do something you don't like. I gripe all the time about headlamps in my eyes and rustling plastic bags, but it hasn't stopped their use on the Way :eek:

Being able to accept that and live in a different way for 6 weeks or NOT being able to accept it can make or break your Camino.
::shrug:::p
 
Last edited:
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

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I would imagine, during pilgrim season, most albergues are sprayed each day when people leave and it's probably part of the cleaning.
So if you're trying to avoid chemicals completely, I think you're probably out of luck.

When I spray a bed (on those rare occasions I stay in albergues these days), I use a pump spray and I spray a few inches above my OWN bed.
I do my best to be sure nobody else is in the room, or at least near my bed.
But the sprays I use are heavy and fall directly on my bed, not into the air around me.

Since Falcon convinced me to use permethrin on the outside of my pack and my sleeping bag, I don't spray at all.

I am on disability for Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and I can not tolerate most chemicals.
But the permethrin, once dry, has no odor and I have no reaction to it because my body never touches it.
It is on the OUTSIDE of my sleeping bag, not on any part that touches me.

I also do as my blog says, and I carefully watch for signs of bedbugs.
If I find signs, I don't stay in that albergue, and I've never had anyone refuse a request for money back.

There is simply no way you are going to be able to control what people wear or spray in albergues. There is also no way you are going to make them polite if they have not been trained to be polite.

If you are bothered THAT much by fragrances or chemicals (as I am) or by rude pilgrims, you would be smart to find yourself a walking partner (or 2-3) who is/are willing to share a private room with you.
Often, you can rent a double or a quad for as little or even less than you will pay for a dorm bed.
That way, you can have better control of your environment.

Except for that, you can complain until God comes, and it isn't going to change the fact that when you are sharing space with a group of people somebody is probably going to do something you don't like. I gripe all the time about headlamps in my eyes and rustling plastic bags, but it hasn't stopped their use on the Way :eek:

Being able to accept that and live in a different way for 6 weeks or NOT being able to accept it can make or break your Camino.
::shrug:::p
Ialso spray my back pack and sleeping bag thinking of soaking a single sheet in permetherin to us on top of bed also.
 
I would imagine, during pilgrim season, most albergues are sprayed each day when people leave and it's probably part of the cleaning.
So if you're trying to avoid chemicals completely, I think you're probably out of luck........
You may well be right here, Annie. One morning on the Francés we had just stepped out of our albergue private room and encountered the hospitalero in the hall. Immediately, he grabbed a canister-looking-something off the wall and opened the door to the room we had just vacated. Within a fraction of a second he was back out, closing the door to the room and replacing the canister on the wall. I don't know what he did with that canister when he opened the door, but my guess is that he didn't take the canister off the wall for nothing.
 
When I spray a bed (on those rare occasions I stay in albergues these days), I use a pump spray and I spray a few inches above my OWN bed. But the sprays I use are heavy and fall directly on my bed, not into the air around me.
I am on disability for Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and I can not tolerate most chemicals. But the permethrin, once dry, has no odor and I have no reaction to it because my body never touches it.
It is on the OUTSIDE of my sleeping bag, not on any part that touches me.

Annie, how do you not touch it when you have it on your sleeping bag and you pack it daily?

I bought an aerosol and ised it outside for my pack and tule I drenched it in. Can not help but think I breathed it in when spraying as there was so e wind. And every night I was glad it was ipon the tule and not my sleeping bag.
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
Thank you all for doing so much research, I just returned from the backcountry & all the various blood sucking, numbing bites one could expect. DEET has always worked well. BUT After 4 days with no shower, the stench from the deet I would never recommend using it daily the recommends to spray out side once I would think would last a couple weeks.
Boy do I miss the Camino!

Annie on a side note the merino wool shirt worked great except the bugs bit right thru it. But I couldn't smell the stench until I took it off & crawled into my tent. Much better than the synthetic stuff.
Keith
 
If I didn't have this pesky MCS, I would not be afraid to use DEET on the Camino for 6 weeks of my life.
I think our bodies are more than equipped to deal with this small bit of pesticide.
However, that's for each person to decide for themselves.

As to how I did not touch my sleeping bag - I used mind control to pull it out, elevate it, unfold it, and place it on my bed.:p
 
Ialso spray my back pack and sleeping bag thinking of soaking a single sheet in permetherin to us on top of bed also.
in fact just finish soaking a fitted sheet and is dry on line till dry am all set backpack, sleeping mat a fitted sheet all sprayed with P. off on July 20 Norte here I come.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

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