Bed bugs

[biloute]

I was just reading a thread on down vs. synthetic sleeping bags and one argument for the synthetic bag was that it's easier to wash in case you end up with bed bugs. How bad are the bugs likely to be on the camino in June/July? I'm considering camping, as that seems to be the least expensive route to sleep in France (Le Puy route). Would the bed bugs be enough of a problem that camping might be a good option in Spain as well?

 

[jirit]

I doubt you will experience any issues with bed bugs if you plan on camping in France and even if you do stay in the occasional refugee or pilgrim gite, the bed bug problem seems to be less an issue in France than in Spain.

However with respect to camping you might want to ask others about what options you have with respect to camping in general in France along the Le Puy route. I don't remember seeing too many legal camp sites along the way, so your other option would be to free camp which is probably illegal in France. This does not mean are not camping bit it just means you might have to pick and choose where you camp and when.

The same applies to camping in Spain though it seems more people do it and the local authorities seem to turn a blind eye towards it.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

the bed bug problem seems to be less an issue in France than in Spain

I don't think the French hosts agree with that. I encountered ten places this spring in France where the host would not allow any packs into the dormitory. One place did not even allow sleeping bags, and provided a cotton sleep sack to each pilgrim.

I don't think you will find camping cheaper in France. Tent space in a campground was around 15E this year, and a bed in a cabin was about the same. Wild camping is generally not allowed.

 

[jirit]

I guess what I was trying to suggest is that in France the host accommodation tends to check and double check for situations that lead to bed bugs. They are more pro active in trying to stop the spread of bed bugs (not that they do not exist in France too).

Overall I found the accommodation facilities were generally cleaner (many of privately owned and many you you suggested offered clean sheets)
I did not hear of any cases of bed bugs being a problem but we were walking in the beginning of the season.

Unlike in Spain where some (but again not all) of the albergues seem more relaxed or indifferent about controlling the spread of bed bugs
There are 10 times more people on the Frances route as compared to the Le Puy, so you could argue that the odds are just greater that one might encounter bed bugs in Spain as compared to France.

But camping in France is as expensive if not more expensive that simply sleeping in a dorm bed in a give, so I doubt there is much in the way of savings by camping.

Both Spain and France do not allow free camping and June in France can be wet - in tends to rain more in June.

Camping also means you will be carrying more gear, considerable more gear.

Overall I do not think camping on the Le Puy route or even the Frances route is the most ideal option to consider. So do it and many enjoy it but you need to way this against the other elements.

 

[Anniesantiago]

First, I find it just as easy to wash my down bag as my polyester bag.
Second, the bedbugs in June/July are at their height.
Third, I checked for camping spaces along the Frances last year and found great spots on almost every stage.
As jirit says, however, FRANCE is a different thing… I did NOT find a lot of spots along the route from Lourdes to the border.
From Jaca to Pamplona, plenty of spots again.

 

[poogeyejr]

Camping in France is easy, as you're allowed to put up your tent on any public land. In Spain you don't have that ability there is no camping on any public land. To camp you would have to find someone willing to put your tent up on their private property. I did the Norte Camino in September 2013 and met a couple of people who had sent back to camping stuff home as soon as they crossed the border into Spain. But they loved camping in France. As for the bedbugs, I think you can find them anywhere! It just depends on who slept in that bed before you. My new policy is to check every mattress you plan to sleep on before you put any of your stuff on it, and spray with essential oils. Enjoy your Camino!!! It is worth the inconveniences. Kathy

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Bed bugs do not magically erupt from a fellow traveler who may have one. It takes a mature male and a mature female to make more bed bugs, and it may take a month for the bugs to mature and become fertile. Eggs take a week to two weeks to hatch, then the bug must mature enough to feed and moult. The pilgrim who left the bed bugs probably was a week or more ahead of you, and there may not be a substantial number of bugs for weeks. An infestation takes a while to build. It is nearly impossible to second guess the location of an infestation. The safest course of action is to take preventive measures such as hanging your pack, leaving nothing on the floor, treat equipment with permethrin, and sleep with your limbs inside your sleep sack.