Bedbug defense

[WGroleau]

Have a sleep sack and treat it with DEET twice a month.

Don't like the smell of DEET? Don't blame you. Treat it with permethrin daily.

Still getting bit? That's because permethrin doesn't work. (Or at least that's what some researchers claim.)

See this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24498754

 

[jmcarp]

Our local APOC chapter has hosted a couple of talks about bedbugs by a local university entomology professor who specializes in blood-sucking insects (including bedbugs). He says the only effective preventative is DDT. Bedbugs were nearing extinction before DDT was banned, and have made a highly successful, world-wide recovery since it is no longer available.

That said, on both my Caminos (CF and CP) I treated my backpack and the perimeter of my sleeping bag with permethrin, and never had a bedbug problem on either. Of course I may have just been lucky. Best advice: physically examine your bed and mattress for bedbug evidence--blood spots or tiny black flecks which are bedbug feces--before using. If you see either, advise the hospitalero and either choose another bed or another albuergue.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I've used permethrin and had my clients use permethrin for over 10 years.
Never been bit.

 

[WGroleau]

I've used permethrin and had my clients use permethrin for over 10 years. Never been bit.

I didn't study the article carefully, so I don't know if the researchers committed some error that resulted in permethrin appearing to be ineffective. I've used nothing and haven't been bit. But that’s one data point, not proof that using nothing is the best defense.

I guess folks that are worried should read the research report and make their own decision.

I've read claims by a few people (not only the manufacturer) that a particular product is very effective in getting rid of the beasts from a place. I haven't tried it myself, but I read the ingredients list—it appears to be not much different from shampoo!

 

[Kim Wright]

I treated the outside of my sleeping bag and my back pack with permethrin. I woke on the third day of my camino in 2015 after a night in St. Jean and a night in Orisson with several bed bug bites. I am a reactor to bed bug bites and my husband is not. This makes it difficult to tell if some people are lucky or not....maybe they just don't react to the bites. I dread the little demons mostly because I am soooo afraid of helping spread them and even more so, of bringing them home. Fortunately I did not have any further problems. We met many others along "the way" that suffered extensively from bed bug bites. Not sure what the answer is but It is becoming a big problem not only along the Camino.

 

[trecile]

I sprayed my liner and my backpack, but still got a few bites.

 

[Kanga]

I treat my pack and sleeping bag with permethrin before leaving home, and each night use a Deet cream as a bedbug repellent on any exposed skin. Sounds like overkill but I seem to react very badly to the bites.

 

[Cjoncas]

Have a sleep sack and treat it with DEET twice a month.

Don't like the smell of DEET? Don't blame you. Treat it with permethrin daily.

Still getting bit? That's because permethrin doesn't work. (Or at least that's what some researchers claim.)

See this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24498754

Hello from Quebec City (Canada) Where can I buy those products?
Thanks in advance for your response!
Caroline J.

 

[trecile]

Hello from Quebec City (Canada) Where can I buy those products?
Thanks in advance for your response!
Caroline J.

I've never heard of anyone treating their sleeping bag with DEET. And you would only treat it with permethrin once, not multiple times. It needs to be sprayed on the fabric in a well ventilated area, and you shouldn't touch it while it's still wet.

 

[WGroleau]

I've never heard of anyone treating their sleeping bag with DEET. And you would only treat it with permethrin once, not multiple times. It needs to be sprayed on the fabric in a well ventilated area, and you shouldn't touch it while it's still wet.

Sleep sack. Basically a sheet, but in the form of a bag the size of a typical mattress. Has loops on the corners to tie it to the frame of a bunk. For places that don't have sheets, or expect you to pay for one, or give you one of those asinine paper sheets that turn to confetti before morning, or that appear to not be clean.

Packs into about half the size of a two-liter soda bottle. Can be found in silk, cotton, or synthetic. Can also be used inside a sleeping bag to reduce how ofter you have to clean the sleeping bag.
Sample: https://www.rei.com/product/690012/cocoon-coolmax-travel-sheet

It's not much protection against bedbugs, but at least they can't get in on the sides or bottom. And I did use DEET, but not because of that article, which I didn't know about at the time. I used DEET because permethrin was not available. And it didn't smell as bad as I expected. Wasn't for bedbugs on the Camino, though. Was for fleas in USA. And it worked—they stopped biting me.

 

[craigmiller]

Have a sleep sack and treat it with DEET twice a month.

Don't like the smell of DEET? Don't blame you. Treat it with permethrin daily.

Still getting bit? That's because permethrin doesn't work. (Or at least that's what some researchers claim.)

See this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24498754

For those of us who don't like the idea of pesticide exposure, here is a safe, simple method:
We seal our back packs up in a large Zip-Lock bag. We use a smaller Zip-Lock bag for our sleeping gear, so if it gets infested, we can isolate it in our pack. If we get any bites, we use a clothes drier for anything that wasn't sealed up during the night. Just for good measure, when we get home, we put our bags in our freezer at -20C/0F for 4 days. (BTW, don't let the bugs scare you - they're not that ferocious.)

 

[Deleted member 43780]

I've never heard of anyone treating their sleeping bag with DEET. And you would only treat it with permethrin once, not multiple times. It needs to be sprayed on the fabric in a well ventilated area, and you shouldn't touch it while it's still wet.

Agree!

Never heard of DEET used like that. And never heard of multiple times spraying permethrin.

Hey whats better, few bugs or dying of cancer from all this stuff?

 

[RJM]

Agree!

Never heard of DEET used like that. And never heard of multiple times spraying permethrin.

Hey whats better, few bugs or dying of cancer from all this stuff?

Yes, agreed. It surprises me that anyone would be willing to expose themselves to cancerous toxins instead of just accepting the ever so remote possibility of being bitten by a bedbug.

 

[WGroleau]

For those of us who don't like the idea of pesticide exposure, here is a safe, simple method:
We seal our back packs up in a large Zip-Lock bag. We use a smaller Zip-Lock bag for our sleeping gear, so if it gets infested, we can isolate it in our pack. If we get any bites, we use a clothes drier for anything that wasn't sealed up during the night. Just for good measure, when we get home, we put our bags in our freezer at -20C/0F for 4 days. (BTW, don't let the bugs scare you - they're not that ferocious.)

Befbugs will survive the freezer. They won't survive ternty minutes at 60ºC (and neither will their eggs). I haven't treated any of my things, but I'm glad I haven't picked up any of the critters, because some albergues don't offer a clothes dryer and maybe not even a washer. And the possibility of carrying these beasts into another place scares me more than getting bit myself. My son brought some into our house before I retired. Now it's his house, but before I passed it on, I spent a lot of money cooking the whole house to get rid of them.

 

[C clearly]

Befbugs will survive the freezer.

I have read several reports that bedbugs do not survive 4 days in a freezer at -17C.

 

[WGroleau]

I have read several reports that bedbugs do not survive 4 days in a freezer at -17C.

Hmmm. I've read otherwise. Who knows?

 

[craigmiller]

Bedbugs will survive the freezer.

Research at the Univ. of Minnesota states that 4 days at sub 0F (-18C) will kill bedbugs and their eggs.
https://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/sites/b...sing_freezing_conditions_to_kill_bed_bugs.pdf .
You can use a deep freeze, iff, it will maintain temp below 0F (-18C). (I checked ours with a thermometer and it just made the cut). Note that putting your gear outside on a cold night won't do. There are very few populated areas which have 4 consecutive days of continuous sub-0F temperatures.
Heat works faster, but if you have room in your freezer you can pop your whole pack in and leave it - give it a couple extra days to ensure that the core of the pack gets cold enough for the minimum period.
Finally, don't rely on second- or third-hand advice or opinions - you can usually find reliable information on the internet quickly and easily.

 

[KinkyOne]

Can't find anything you wrote that hasn't been mentioned and discussed thoroughly here on the forum (re another one of your posts to not rely on info on this forum about bedbugs) already.
Nice you were able to deal with them critters though.

 

[WGroleau]

Finally, don't rely on second- or third-hand advice or opinions - you can usually find reliable information on the internet quickly and easily.

Unless you're an expert yourself, it's often difficult to select the correct ones among seemingly reliable yet contradictory items on-line.