caminodeanna
New Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF - León 2017
Planning for León - Santiago May 2018
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Where did you get this?Hi Anna.
Check out the excellent blogpost by Annie which can accessed here which shows the signs to look out for.
I, like you, react badly to insect bites and stings, so I am bringing a fitted bed bug undersheet with me. This has been treated with Permetherin, and is designed to be put directly on the mattress, and then your sleeping bag/liner on top of the sheet.
As I am not keen on being in direct contact with insecticides, I will also be using tea tree/lavender oil on areas that I will come into contact with.
The sheet is small and light when packed, see picture below, it is only the length of my hand.
View attachment 40428
Hope this helps
James (not the saint!!)
An excellent idea, the thought that every night as "Now I Lay my Head Down to Sleep" you lay down on insecticide for a month and more is chilling. Bed bugs, like mosquitoes will bite anyone but also like mosquitoes some people naturally attract them.Where did you get this?
Why not just eliminate the middleman? You don't really need a sleeping bag and liner in June.
Other than that, just surf this forum. You will find kilometers of threads and replies concerning bedbugs and Entomophobia. When I joined a few months ago I could not believe how much it is discussed.
thanks, I got one yesterday from Amazon, it should be delivered by 3 pm today.Hi erith
Just picked it up in my local camping/hiking/outdoors store. I am sure if you google it, something similar will be for sale on amazon or ebay.
RJM, I am not sure its entomophobia, as a beekeeper, I am not afraid of insects, however, I do react badly to bites and stings. It may seem like overkill to you, but I have no desire to have hot, tense, swollen limbs with big red weals, and reduced range of movement for a number of weeks, after being bitten/stung.
Scruffy I agree, but unfortunately, they find me irresistible !!
J
Where did you get this?
Hi Anna.
Check out the excellent blogpost by Annie which can accessed here which shows the signs to look out for.
I, like you, react badly to insect bites and stings, so I am bringing a fitted bed bug undersheet with me. This has been treated with Permetherin, and is designed to be put directly on the mattress, and then your sleeping bag/liner on top of the sheet.
As I am not keen on being in direct contact with insecticides, I will also be using tea tree/lavender oil on areas that I will come into contact with.
The sheet is small and light when packed, see picture below, it is only the length of my hand.
View attachment 40428
Hope this helps
James (not the saint!!)
You need SOMETHING to sleep on. Please don't sleep directly on the mattress that others will be sleeping on. And it's probably not realistic to make light of it if you've never been bitten. I've seen people with bites the size of a half dollar, oozing and inflamed. Not "nothing."
Bed bugs avoid the kitchen??sleep on the kitchen floor
Lay down and have a rest for 15 minutes.
Bedbugs creep out when they feel your heat. So lay down, wait a while and then check the bed.
If I see so much as a hint of bedbugs I'll pack up and sleep on the kitchen floor!
(It's quieter there anyway....)
Other than that I don't use any creams, sprays or special fabrics.
I think a pilgrim is better off if they inspect the albergue as a whole, paying close and strict attention to the sleeping area. Bedbugs leave signs of their presence. Also the types of mattresses on the bunks make a difference. I did my best, and was able to 90% of the time to stay in albergues with mattresses that are inside of rubber or vinyl. One thing I did was, if at all possible, avoided albergues with traditional/regular type mattresses. That is ones with cloth coverings, as you would find in a home. Look at the bunks themselves. Do they look clean, the posts and such. Inspect baseboards, floors. If any of those things look dodgy, leave and find another albergue.Lay down and have a rest for 15 minutes.
Bedbugs creep out when they feel your heat. So lay down, wait a while and then check the bed.
If I see so much as a hint of bedbugs I'll pack up and sleep on the kitchen floor!
(It's quieter there anyway....)
Other than that I don't use any creams, sprays or special fabrics.
Of course you can inspect an albergue after you check into it and simply leave if it is not up to common sense hygiene standards. One would simply have to eat the cost of staying there and find another place. To me a 5-12 euro loss is worth not being bitten by bedbugs. I only had to do it twice I think and when I did a couple of other pilgrims egressed with me.The neatness of an albergue is really no indication for bed bugs. The nicest looking albergue can host a pilgrim who brings bedbugs with him. Next night you'll get them. Don't expect for even the nicest looking alburgue that they check everywhere/everything each day.
I don't think it's very practical having to check out the alburgue before you check in; Often you don't see anything of the alburgue other than a hospitalero sitting at a desk by the door. Sure, you could ask to have a peep under the mattresses before you check in but chances are high that you're tired and just glad to have a bed. Picking/choosing the type of mattress is not really an option in my opinion, you get what you get.
Don't be fooled on how the alburgue looks; Check!
That is amazing.All I can say is that I have walked the Camino seven times. I do not know the exact number, but that is over 200 nights in albergues and never saw, or was bitten by a bedbug and never met any pilgrims that were.
"amazing"?That is amazing.
Of course you can inspect an albergue after you check into it and simply leave if it is not up to common sense hygiene standards. One would simply have to eat the cost of staying there and find another place. To me a 5-12 euro loss is worth not being bitten by bedbugs. I only had to do it twice I think and when I did a couple of other pilgrims egressed with me.
All I can say is that I have walked the Camino seven times. I do not know the exact number, but that is over 200 nights in albergues and never saw, or was bitten by a bedbug and never met any pilgrims that were. I believe I will stand by my methods of albergue choosing.
I was referring more to the hygienic standards of the albergue, not an actual bedbug sighting. The scenario I am referring to would be checking in and paying for the albergue and after going inside and getting an overall view of it, then deciding I do not want to stay there. More an opinion thing, than anything. Basically I changed my mind.If you find bedbugs in an albergue, you do not have to eat the cost. You ask for your money back and they give it back, especially if you can show them the bedbugs. This is happened to me several times and I have no problems leading and asking for my money back
I was referring more to the hygienic standards of the albergue, not an actual bedbug sighting. The scenario I am referring to would be checking in and paying for the albergue and after going inside and getting an overall view of it, then deciding I do not want to stay there. More an opinion thing, than anything. Basically I changed my mind.
I have never seen a bedbug on the Camino, so I have never found myself in the situation of asking my money back due to that.
Why not just eliminate the middleman? You don't really need a sleeping bag and liner in June.
Other than that, just surf this forum. You will find kilometers of threads and replies concerning bedbugs and Entomophobia. When I joined a few months ago I could not believe how much it is discussed.
I think a pilgrim is better off if they inspect the albergue as a whole, paying close and strict attention to the sleeping area. Bedbugs leave signs of their presence. Also the types of mattresses on the bunks make a difference. I did my best, and was able to 90% of the time to stay in albergues with mattresses that are inside of rubber or vinyl. One thing I did was, if at all possible, avoided albergues with traditional/regular type mattresses. That is ones with cloth coverings, as you would find in a home. Look at the bunks themselves. Do they look clean, the posts and such. Inspect baseboards, floors. If any of those things look dodgy, leave and find another albergue.
Also look at the fellow pilgrims around you. I will say it bluntly, some fellow pilgrims are rude slobs. They literally dump all their equipment and pack contents all over the floor around the bunks. They put their packs and bicycle panniers on the bunks themselves and the chairs. Some can be very egocentric. Who knows where those packs have been and if they have hitchhikers inside. I simply avoid being around pilgrims like that, and I do not want any negative confrontations.
The best way I can say it is that if the facility is not somewhere you would not sleep in while not on the Camino, then why would you sleep in it while on.
Hi Tincatinker, I totally agree with you. Talking to a medical pro is the best route to go.@caminodeanna The members of this forum are lovely, and with their profound knowledge and experience wiling, even desperate, to help you. But, if your physical reaction to bed-bug or other insect bites is severe you should be talking to your GP / Medical Practitioner / Pharmacist so that you can carry with you the appropriate medication to counteract your reaction.
Following the excellent advice given here will reduce your chances of being bitten, but it won't eliminate the risk. Travel prepared, take sensible precautions and let your camino unfold.
Buen camino sin chinches
It is your choice as to where you want to put your thoughts. You seem to put some effort into the forum on the subject of bedbugs.I give potential wild boar attacks about as much thought as lightning strikes and bedbug bites on the Camino.
Honestly they can keep the money and I never asked for it back.I think if you go into a place and find it too dirty, or not up to your standards, they'd give you your money back. But again, I'd ask what exactly a pilgrim expects for $8 per night. Of all the years I've been walking, there are only three albergues where I'd refuse to stay again.
Hi Tincatinker, I totally agree with you. Talking to a medical pro is the best route to go.
Honestly they can keep the money and I never asked for it back.
I suppose for $8 I definitely do not want stained cloth covered mattresses, which I have seen before and I do not expect dirty floors and kitchens or beds.
I found one here: https://www.bedbugstore.com/bed-bug-uv-detection-light/Ive read somewhere about a uv torch to check out the bed for bugs before you hop in, has anyone tried this?
Just a tad bit snarky and offensive, aren't you Annie? A cyber micro-aggression perhaps? LOL.Then perhaps you should book a private room, or pick up a broom and a mop and clean the floors, or wash some dishes and countertops?
Nah...the cockroaches keep them out. Just like the bedbugs keep the roaches out of the dorm. We won’t even talk about what lurks in the shower/toilet area!Bed bugs avoid the kitchen??
I had an extreme reaction to bed bug bites last year. I was bitten it seemed from head to toe the second night on the camino and had to eventually see a doctor and had to cut our trip short as a result. If I knew then what I know now I would have taken more precautions. I’m still being treated 8 months later. I want to return this summer to walk the sections we skipped. I have searched for that bed bug sheet but it seems to be out of stock through Amazon and through the maker itself. Anyone know a source in the US?
...It can be an extremely costly and terrible experience for people who bring it to their houses back home :S
I had an extreme reaction to bed bug bites last year. I was bitten it seemed from head to toe the second night on the camino and had to eventually see a doctor and had to cut our trip short as a result. If I knew then what I know now I would have taken more precautions. I’m still being treated 8 months later. I want to return this summer to walk the sections we skipped. I have searched for that bed bug sheet but it seems to be out of stock through Amazon and through the maker itself. Anyone know a source in the US?
As I am new to the forum, I have not had much time to read other post on the "bedbug" topic but it is a concern of mine. I purchased the bedbug undersheet mentioned above and was wondering if anyone who has used it can comment on its effectiveness.
Also, I will be hiking in Sep/Oct and plan to take a sleeping bag as I run cold. Do I need a sheet/sleeping sack in addition to my bag to fight off the little buggers?
Thanks!
Thank you!Here is a guide from SYates to avoid this:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/de-bed-bugging-your-camino-gear.40270/
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