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Bed bugs

M&M from OZ

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Francés in May 2023 - SJPP to CdS
Hi fellow Pilgrims.

This our first Camino starting 27 April. We are probably asking a question that had already been answered.

We understand Bed Bugs can be a problem and we should treat our equipment with Permethrin before commencing our walk.

Our questions are:
1. Is this really necessary?
2. Is Permethrin available in SJPP?

We will be using a silk liner for use in the albergues and also a down blanket for the cold nights.

We are travelling from Australia and touring Europe before we start our walk. It would therefore be preferable that we buy and apply Permethrin just before we start.

Appreciate your experienced advice.

Michael and Margaret
 
Camino Inglés Walking Holiday - UK
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
You can probably get a good cross-section of facts and opinions by browsing threads that have been tagged with "bed bugs." Click on the tag that has been added under the title of this thread.
 
Altus BALI Sleeping bag liner
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.

€46,-
I have never treated my bedding or equipment with Permethrin and never been bitten by bedbugs on Camino. So I would answer (1) as a definite "no" and (2) as "I've never checked". Others in the forum swear by its use. You are likely to get a mix of answers which will probably bring you no closer to a decision.
 
You will find the entire gamut of bedbug experiences any place where pilgrims gather, from, “I did not treat my equipment and never saw a single bedbug,” to, “ I was bitten so badly I had an allergic reaction and had to go to the hospital/end my Camino and go home.” These and everything in between happen.
My personal experience is, ever since a major bedbug encounter that involved my hiking partner and I fleeing an albergue at 3AM, I have always treated the outside of my sleeping bag, my backpack, and footwear with Permethrin prior to going on a camino. I take other precautions as well and have not had another encounter.
My advice is to treat equipment with Permethrin
 
For non-permethrin uses, I carry a few of these light traps, with a separate strong pheromone fluid to lure the bedbugs (they normally hide until 3 am and the deepest of your sleep) and put them under my bed on arrival. Before going to bed and each morning I check them and fold the trap back in. You need the ones with the extra small reservoir of pheromone lures.

Bed Bug Traps with pheromone lures

The new easy to use BB Detector Plus Bed Bug Trap is the most sensitive Bed Bug detection trap on the range, used by professional pest control operators. The trap emits chemical messages that act as a beacon for Bed Bugs who will congregate at the source of the message allowing you to detect...
mothcontrol.co.uk
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
If you are planning to use permethrin to avoid bed bug bites, think again.

Permethrin does not deter bed bugs nor kill them on contact. They can crawl into your bag and get a quick meal. It does kill them with prolonged contact over a couple of hours. So if a bed bug did manage to get into your treated sleeping bag, it would probably not make it out alive. This is important because you don't want to transfer bed bugs from albergue to albergue or home!
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Best thing to do is get a single sheet and spray it with Permethrin, then when you get to your albergue and pick your bunk, put the sheet on the mattress, then put the disposable sheet they give you on top of it, then your sleeping bag. I would also spray the sleeping bag outer as well and inside your rucksack. In the couple to few hours that sheet is on the mattress before you go to bed it should nuke anything insect wise that is in it or around it. Take it off the next morning and stuff it back in your rucksack.

As to where to get Permethrin, I'd pick it up in Australia. it's commonly used on mosquito nets. A small bottle goes a long way.

Had a quick look and you can get it from Amazon (Sawyer Products SP645 Premium Permethrin Insect Repellent for Clothing). If not most camping / outdoors type shops should have it.

In the UK, I use Lifesystems EX4 on mosquito nets, sleeping bags, tents and other camping gear. You can get it from most of the camping shops over here.
 
I'm sorry, but bed bugs can crawl out from their hiding places in the walls or bed frame right inside your sleeping bag and bite you before anything permethrin treated has any effect on them.

The sheet on the bed will only kill any bed bugs that have prolonged contact with it, and bed bugs don't usually come out of the cracks in the walls and other hiding places until it's dark.
 
I've read a good amount of studies about bed bugs and agree with trecile's post quoted above.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Do you know that the USA has a far bigger problem than Spain, In 20 years on the camino I have been bitten twice. Remember it is you that carries those bugs that is why as Hospis we insist that there are no packs are allowed on beds. One cannot blame the Albergue as the must have come from another source. There must be almost a thousand posts on our forum. Some people even claim that they got bugs from a long distance bus in the upholstery? To us long term forum members this can become tiresome ,without being condescending , just take precautions as you wish but nothing is foolproof or guaranteed.
 
If you decide to permethrin your clothes and bags do so before you leave. I use deet on my canvas bag whenever I travel. It doesn’t kill them but it does repel them. Bed bugs travel well in airline luggage and on trains, buses, backpacks. They will gladly reside in a four star hotel as well as an Albergue!
 
Thank you everyone for the advice. It is good to hear from experienced travellers and it is not surprising to receive a range of opinions.
Coming from Australia we are used to things that bite and sting or indeed take your leg off. But bed bugs are something we have never considered before. I think we will take the cautious approach and spray our backpacks and bedding.
I would still like to know if we can buy permethrin in SJPP. It would be easier then us carrying it from OZ and around Europe before we start our Camino.
Michael
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
trecile said:
You shouldn't need to carry it anywhere. Treat your things before you leave home.
Click to expand...
Ok, that’s good to know. We leave OZ on 14 March but don’t start our Camino until 27 April. So it may be the case of a need to re-apply it before we start.
 

I too live in Oz. I treat all my gear before leaving home.
It would be messy trying to do it whilst travelling...
 
Camino Ready, Backpacks, Boots etc
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
M&M from OZ said:
Ok, that’s good to know. We leave OZ on 14 March but don’t start our Camino until 27 April. So it may be the case of a need to re-apply it before we start.
Click to expand...
I think that so long as you aren't washing the treated items often that it should last.
The website for Sawyer Permethrin Spray says:
Permethrin spray bonds to fabric fibers for up to 6 weeks (42 days) of exposure to sun and air or 6 washings.

If you have your things packed away and not exposed to the sun, and don't wash them before starting your Camino it seems like you shouldn't have to reapply.
 
I hang my sleeping bag on a line outside and my pack beside it.
I spray the outside of both until they are wet.
They dry quickly.
I've walked the Camino over 20 times and have only been bitten once - on my first Camino when I did NOT spray my things.
That's all I know.
 
@M&M from OZ my stuff I also treat before I leave home (Sydney). I try (!) to pick a nice dry day, soak my silk sack and bedclothes, and spray my backpack inside and out, then let it all dry thoroughly. Once done I can't tell its been treated. No odour, no noticeable residue on anything.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Hi Kanga, that’s good advice. Can you please tell us which product you used and where to source over here. Thanks.
 
M&M from OZ said:
Hi Kanga, that’s good advice. Can you please tell us which product you used and where to source over here. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Easiest to use is Equip which you can buy online in Australia. and lots of camping stores have it, eg Paddy Pallin. I did have it in a spray form but can't find where - but you could make it up and spray it on anyway.

A different brand, Bayer Coopex, not specifically for camping gear, is sold at Bunnings. I have not tried it so don't know how easy it is to use and if it has any downsides. There are also sprays made for the garden and using in aviaries, which I have used, but they are on a different base and can make things stink of petroleum oil.
 
M&M from OZ said:
We are travelling from Australia and touring Europe before we start our walk. It would therefore be preferable that we buy and apply Permethrin just before we start.
Click to expand...
You can definitely buy Permethrin in Australia, I usually get mine from Paddy Palin but if you don't live in Sydney ask for stuff to treat clothes etc against mozzies. You have to soak your stuff then let it dry out so don't leave it to the last minute. It's not a cast iron solution but definitely reduces the chances of your transferring the little b,,,,,ds to the next albergue or home. Having said that, I've walked about twelve camino routes and worked as a hospi but only ever seen dead bedbugs, and that not very often.
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Hi, fellow Aussie here. I’m not sure if I encountered bedbugs on the Camino but… I did spray everything at the end and washed all cloth in 60 degrees at the laundromat at Santiago de Compostela. We were heading to a friend’s place in London and I didn’t want to take unwanted visitors. Buen Camino!
 
Hi, that's good to know. Still in two minds as to whether we spray our gear with Permethrin before leaving or not. Not long now before we start our Europe trip and getting down to the wire to do the spraying.
 
As others have noted above you are as likely to encounter Bedbugs in transit or in any accommodations anywhere in Europe as you are in any single location on the Camino de Santiago.
Treating your gear in advance gives two advantages: you have a level of protection before you even start associating with grubby Peregrinos and you won’t have to find supply and an application opportunity when you are already traveling
 
Altus ANDES 400 H30 sleeping bag
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
Tincatinker said:
https://www.gronze.com/camino-frances will give you all the information you require.

Carrion de los Condes to Calzadilla de la Cueza at 17.2 km is probably the longest gap between retail opportunities
Click to expand...

Tincatinker said:
before you even start associating with grubby Peregrinos
Click to expand...
My Bud , come on? You are out of line here , It was not my fault that I was bitten , it almost sounds as if I never showered and I was dirty and There was a young lady that I walked with and she was also bitten?
 
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