Bed Bugs - Problem this time of year?

[kardisa]

I've been reading a lot of the equipment threads as I prepare for my departure tomorrow, and I'm a bit worried about all of the references I see to bed bugs. Almost everyone mentions that you should coat your backpack and sleeping bag with permethrin, but that is something I am unable to get here in Pakistan. Is there an alternative to this? Also, is this something that is a problem at the tail end of the cold season, or is it a scourge that mainly affects summer walkers?

Just trying to suss out how likely it is that I'll be bringing a few "friends" back with me....

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Bed bugs can be around all year, but go dormant in cold albergues. The problem becomes worse as summer approaches.

 

[code_monkey_001]

I just got back from doing Leon-Santiago the 4th through the 17th. I looked hard, but saw no evidence of bedbugs in any of the albergues I stayed in. The cold weather probably helped.

 

[Chacharm]

Well someone just reported them in an albuergue in SJPP. And it is cold there. You can get it in Pakistan - it is called Lyclear there.
http://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/PK/permethrin.html
Personally, I buy the spray for my pack and my sleeping bag and I buy the wash and do all my clothes. The stuff is good for about 6-8 washes.

 

[NoQ]

While they can be nasty for the small percentage of people that are badly allergic to them, they are very much overhyped, a minor irritation and not too much to worry about if precautions are taken, i.e. look for the signs when you check in (check mattress and especially seams, look for tiny detritus) and use a bed bug cover (http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/shop-surfdome-90-96-669700.html). But it is unlikely you will see many, if any at all, at this time of year.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

While they can be nasty for the small percentage of people that are badly allergic to them, they are very much overhyped, a minor irritation and not too much to worry about if precautions are taken, i.e. look for the signs when you check in (check mattress and especially seams, look for tiny detritus) and use a bed bug cover (http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/shop-surfdome-90-96-669700.html). But it is unlikely you will see many, if any at all, at this time of year.

There is no overhype when you bring them back hom and they infest your home. And if you are a tenant and will move this year, you will be infecting the moving truck with your bugs and the new building you are moving into. A real problem.

 

[KinkyOne]

I've been reading a lot of the equipment threads as I prepare for my departure tomorrow, and I'm a bit worried about all of the references I see to bed bugs. Almost everyone mentions that you should coat your backpack and sleeping bag with permethrin, but that is something I am unable to get here in Pakistan. Is there an alternative to this? Also, is this something that is a problem at the tail end of the cold season, or is it a scourge that mainly affects summer walkers?

Just trying to suss out how likely it is that I'll be bringing a few "friends" back with me....

Don't

There is no overhype when you bring them back hom and they infest your home. And if you are a tenant and will move this year, you will be infecting the moving truck with your bugs and the new building you are moving into. A real problem.

Yeah, yeah, I've heard that NY hotels last year had really hard times dealing with those nasty little creepers

 

[Chacharm]

I have some friends, a family of 5, who went to Italy last year. They stayed in pricey hotels in Rome and the Amalfi coast. The last night they all discovered bed bug bites. So she called her pest control company here in Austin which just happens to be the same as mine...and asked them what to do.
They told her to have her bags wrapped in plastic so that she didn't spread them to every bag in the plane. Then he told her that when they arrived to leave their bags and everything in them in the garage, strip naked leaving the clothing they wore in the garage as well and to run in and take long hot showers. He said not to touch anything in their suitcases for two weeks while they cooked in the hot garage.
He said then to cross their fingers. Because getting rid of them would cost a few thousand dollars if they were in the house, with no guarantee of sucess. And treatment can damage furniture and other possessions (sustained high heat).
We now pay 30$ a month for bed bug insurance with this company. And my suitcase liner and seams are also treated with Permethrin.
It isn't hype. It is a very real, very pervasive problem worldwide.
Use the Permethrin. Bed bugs come out when it is dark. In daylight they hide. So check under the mattress , behind the headboard and in the seams of the matress using a flashlight. If you see them tell the hospitalero. The mattress should be removed. They are dark, the size and shape of a small apple seed. If you get them on the Camino wash everything in hot water and dry it in a machine for double the normal amount of time.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

a minor irritation and not too much to worry about

Unless you bring them home!

You can do that without ever having been bitten.

Some people have histamine reaction, so the bites swell and fill with fluid:

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Don't

Yeah, yeah, I've heard that NY hotels last year had really hard times dealing with those nasty little creepers

Not just NY hotels. Montreal is having a real problem with these since many people move from appartment to appartment fairly frequently. They rent trucks to move their stuff, truck ends up with the bedbugs and the next person renting this truck then gets them. Listened to very interesting interviews with exterminators commenting on how hard it can be for people dealing with these and not being able to get rid of them: the constant battle, the constant stress.

When I leave for the Camino I leave a large garbage bag and a change of clothes with whom ever will be picking me up at the airport. When I land, I get the bag and clothese, change into the non-Camino clothese and put my bag in the plastic bag, shoes included. I then go directly to the drycleaners and have them do my laundry. What cannot be washed or drycleaned stays in the bag and goes into the freezer at home for at least 3 weeks. Apparently that is how long these little buggers and last in sub-zero temps. Sounds a bit neurotic, but I remember the stress I felt when I thought I had brought back some begbugs after one of my Caminos (bumps started showing up on the bus to Madrid ;0) )

 

[Melensdad]

Does anyone know, do the NON permethrin based (natural and/or organic) bed bug sprays actually work?

There are lots of different brands, all seem pretty similar, none have permethrin in them, they claim to be safe and effective but I'm curious if they actually are effective.

EXAMPLES:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001L152JG/?tag=casaivar02-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004X5KAE4/?tag=casaivar02-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WYAN5M/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[Deleted member 3000]

NON permethrin based (natural and/or organic) bed bug sprays actually work?

No. Some of them smell pretty good, though.

 

[Melensdad]

No. Some of them smell pretty good, though.

Any idea who makes a "travel size" permethrin based sprays?

Are they legal to take into Spain?

Are they safe to spray on beds and then sleep in the beds?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Any idea who makes a "travel size" permethrin based sprays?
Are they legal to take into Spain?
Are they safe to spray on beds and then sleep in the beds?

About as small as I have seen: http://www.rei.com/product/815046/ultrathon-ultrathon-clothing-and-gear-insect-repellent
TSA has restrictions on the amount in carry on, and 8 oz. would exceed that limit. Tourist offices in France sell permethrin spray.
Permethrin is safe once it is dried. If I were a hospitalero, though, I would not want every pilgrim spraying my place. The toxic buildup could be incredible and dangerous, not to mention the airborne amount that other pilgrims would have to endure.

 

[Chacharm]

Any idea who makes a "travel size" permethrin based sprays?

Are they legal to take into Spain?

Are they safe to spray on beds and then sleep in the beds?

You just need any sort of Tick spray, DEET 100 stuff. You can find travel sized tick spray at REI. And yes, you would be safe. If you suspect bedbugs, spray it around the seams/headboard...any place they can hide in daylight before you go out for dinner. I would give it at least a couple of hours to dry.
But most importantly, spray all of your stuff with Permethrin a few days before you leave. Your pack, your sleeping bag, your clothing. Leave it all outside to dry thoroughly. It will last through about 6 washings with a machine, more if you're hand washing. Do that and they at least will not travel with you!

 

[Tincatinker]

Any idea who makes a "travel size" permethrin based sprays?

Are they legal to take into Spain?

Are they safe to spray on beds and then sleep in the beds?

@Melensdad the short answers are "No", "Yes"(there are no restrictions on importing properly labelled Permethrin, in an appropriate container, accompanied by labelling that conforms with EC regulations on the importation of regulated substances) (but hey you can't take more than a Fairy Fart on an aircraft and why would you want to) (and see my previous comments about you don't want to mess about with wet Permethrin, the stuff needs to be DRY) and "No".

And for other followers of this thread - avoidance is the key. Treat your stuff (in accordance blah, blah, blah) and check your environment. There are endless threads on this forum on the Bed-bug topic and yet it would seem that most Pilgrims have no understanding of the indicators, life-cycle, feeding habits and avoidance of a parasite we (humans) have lived with (or maybe that should be expressed contrariwise) for at least a Million years. And I suspect they were snacking on our antecessors when we were still building nests in trees.

Permethrin is an Arachnicide, DEET isn't.

smiley face. Grumpy? Me?

 

[Chacharm]

The guy I just called at my pest control told me that anything that killed ticks would kill bedbugs. He said that is what Permethrin is actually used for in the army. So I called TSA and asked if I could take a 3 oz bottle of tick spray in my checked luggage. He said "Yes".

 

[DutchHiker]

Scientific report on bed bug treatment. DEET is the effective solution. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/24498754/