Blog on Bedbugs

[Anniesantiago]

For those who might be interested, I wrote a short blog on bedbugs with photos, how to identify them, how to know if they're in the albergue, and what to do:

http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/06/dont-let-bedbugs-bite.html

 

[SabsP]

Thanks Annie, very very interesting. Regarding this subject : I only saw one poster with warnings and explanations about bedbugs on my Camino. This was in Albergue Gaucelmo in Rabanal. IMHO these posters should be in every albergue.

When I met up with a Camino-friend a couple of weeks ago she spoke about an incident in an albergue. A lady was obviously bitten by a bedbug ( she caried it with her ) but didn't tell it to the hospitaleros ( she called het husband instead and asked what she had to buy at the pharmacy!!! ). My friend tried to convince her to talk and rapport this sitaution to the hospitalero but the " bedbug " lady just shrugged it off and left it like that. Next day friend waited anxiously in next albergue but that particular lady did not appear. Of course problem was not solved that way... . So my ethical question is : what would I do if someone would tell me they carried bedbugs or the likes? Try to convince them to tell to the hospitaleros or if they don't do this themselves " tell on " and report them?

 

[Whizzer]

Have anyone try fabric softener sheets? Put some in the bottom of the pack?

 

[mikevasey]

My first encounter with bedbugs was at Pamplona, one half of Jesus and Maria was infested with them, not sure why my half seemed to be ok, maybe was because it had only been fumigated a couple of weeks earlier and they were in the early stages of recolonization. The people who had bites, continued all the way to Santiago with this problem, 'encountering' bedbugs at various hostals, suffering allergic reactions,severe in one case and even slight depression. After i came back from the camino, i put a lot of my stuff in the freezer, and left my backpack outside, it was around -14 at night in Exeter at this time.

The information given by the national and local authorities as to this problem is virtually zero, in this instance i think it is necessary. I was lucky i had read threads on here about what to look for, and if the worst had happened, i would have taken time out to deal with them. But a lot of people have no prior experience of them or have not even considered that they may come into contact with them. When they do get bites more often than not the response is inadequate, not because they are not bothered, but they are lacking information and dont realise how pesky these little blighters are.

Before i ever saw one in action and it results, i used to shrug, thinking what is all the fuss about . Now i have certain amount of respect for them, as you should with anything that can cause a great deal of harm if ignored.

So my ethical question is : what would I do if someone would tell me they carried bedbugs or the likes? Try to convince them to tell to the hospitaleros or if they don't do this themselves " tell on " and report them?

My question is would the Hospitalero do anything? I have seen a couple of instances when people informed them they had bedbug bites and had allergic reactions, and they still gained admittance to the hostel without any kind of check. There seems to be a lack of information not just at the pilgrim level but at the hospitalero as well, and my apologies go to any Hospitaleros on here who do adequate checks, but in my experience on the CF last November, it seemed the only way the problem was going to go 'away' was when proper winter came and they became inactive again until next year.

Mike

 

[Anniesantiago]

The thing is, there isn't a LOT the albergues can do, but there are SOME things.

The first thing is to educate people. Unless they've been on this forum, most folks don't have a clue what the heck a bedbug is, or that it exists, until they're bitten! Like I said, I think each person walking the Camino should have to take a class. Or perhaps some group might print up some pamphlets to hand out on bedbugs, what to look for, how to avoid them, and how NOT to pass them along!

One way people have kept the vermin down is to put little "lids" of poison under each leg of the bed - so they can't crawl up the bed without going into the poison. This has worked very well, where they've used it, and is cheap. You can use any type of lid that will hold a powder or liquid.

I have seen over and over on this forum instructions for NOT putting your backpack on the bed. But to me, that is one certain way to get the bugs, which crawl on the floor, then up the beds. I hang my pack from my bed, always taking a top bunk. If anyone complains, I put the mochilla into a black plastic garbage bag and cinch it with a bungie cord and THEN hang it from the bedpost. But I am NOT putting my mochila on the floor... no way!

I wish whoever is in charge of the Camino (if there is such an entity) would make the albergues act more responsibly when they do find the bugs. In the albergue in Astorga (not the municipal) the guy KNEW there were bedbugs and still checked people in! He sheepishly gave me back my money when I found the bugs and wanted to make exit. To me, this was a bad attitude because like I said in my blog, you could pretty much trace very instance of bedbugs along the Camino back to that particular albergue. Maybe the whole Camino community should get together and descend on the bad guys?

Anyway, for folks who aren't allergic to the poisons, it's not a huge issue.
And honestly, since being educated I haven't been bitten, and hope not to be.
But I sure feel sorry for the masses whose giant red welts show they've been in buggy territory! :lol:

 

[renegadepilgrim]

One way people have kept the vermin down is to put little "lids" of poison under each leg of the bed - so they can't crawl up the bed without going into the poison. This has worked very well, where they've used it, and is cheap. You can use any type of lid that will hold a powder or liquid.

I stayed at SamSun Backpackers Hostel in Vancouver, BC recently and they had all metal bunk beds, along with the "lids" of poison under each leg of the bed. I checked for bedbugs of course, but these measures alone told me that this place took it seriously and was taking the necessary steps to avoid infestation.

Also, I saw bed bug posters and information EVERYWHERE last year on the Camino Frances, including at the pilgrim office in SJPdP.

 

[annakappa]

I only saw one poster with warnings and explanations about bedbugs on my Camino. This was in Albergue Gaucelmo in Rabanal. IMHO these posters should be in every albergue.

I was hospitalera at the Refugio Guacelmo last September. We received very specific instructions on how to deal with bed bug victims. The whole protocol is too long to repeat here, but basically, before even checking in a Pilgrim, we showed them the super enlarged photo of a bed bug, which also showed photos of reactions on the skin of an unfortunate victim! We asked if they had ever had any bites, etc. Should a person have been bitten, we kept him/her in a separate part of the Albergue, we washed all their belongings, including their sleeping bag, gave them fresh spare clothes to wear for the rest of the day. The backpack and any other bulky item was put in a large plastic bag, sprayed with a special anti-bug solution and left in the sun. There was also a pictorial notice which we pointed out to everyone NO BACKPACKS ON THE BEDS! During our 18 days stay at Guacelmo, we dealt with 12 cases of bed bugs!!! There were a few albergues, which we quickly found out to be infested: Jesus and Maria in Pamplona, San Javier in Astorga, to name 2. Only on one occasion was the Pilgrim somewhat reluctant to adhere to the "rules"! One lady slipped through and it was only when she was washing her clothes that I noticed all the bites on her arms and shoulders. She was then "put through the treatment" and also taken out of the main dormitory and given a separate room. Anne

 

[SabsP]

I only saw one poster with warnings and explanations about bedbugs on my Camino. This was in Albergue Gaucelmo in Rabanal. IMHO these posters should be in every albergue.

I was hospitalera at the Refugio Guacelmo last September. We received very specific instructions on how to deal with bed bug victims. The whole protocol is too long to repeat here, but basically, before even checking in a Pilgrim, we showed them the super enlarged photo of a bed bug, which also showed photos of reactions on the skin of an unfortunate victim! We asked if they had ever had any bites, etc. Should a person have been bitten, we kept him/her in a separate part of the Albergue, we washed all their belongings, including their sleeping bag, gave them fresh spare clothes to wear for the rest of the day. The backpack and any other bulky item was put in a large plastic bag, sprayed with a special anti-bug solution and left in the sun. There was also a pictorial notice which we pointed out to everyone NO BACKPACKS ON THE BEDS! During our 18 days stay at Guacelmo, we dealt with 12 cases of bed bugs!!! There were a few albergues, which we quickly found out to be infested: Jesus and Maria in Pamplona, San Javier in Astorga, to name 2. Only on one occasion was the Pilgrim somewhat reluctant to adhere to the "rules"! One lady slipped through and it was only when she was washing her clothes that I noticed all the bites on her arms and shoulders. She was then "put through the treatment" and also taken out of the main dormitory and given a separate room. Anne

Hi Anna,
This year , beginning of May , the hospitalera ( Pat ) did not show the photo beforehand but it was on the bathroomwall. Maybe the protocol changes in summerperiod.

 

[annakappa]

Hi Sabs, We kept the photo with explanations on the check-in desk and pointed it out to each Pilgrim as they checked in and often, while I was checking in a Pilgrim, Adriaan would go around showing the photo to anyone waiting their turn. Of course, this was September and the bugs seemed to be out in earnest. Guacelmo also issued a disposible bottom sheet to each Pilgrim and the matresses there have a complete zipped matress cover, leaving no space in those side seams for the little b's to take shelter.Anne

 

[kuannner]

So I've just returned from my Camino, and despite my permethrin treated gear and bed/albergue inspection precautions, a friend and I may or may not have played host and transport to some critters. Our bite patterns were a bit odd and though we took our shirts off in many a farmacia and alberbue entrance, no one could really tell us what was up. I'm generally pretty allergic to insect bites and can recognize spider, mosquito, flea, ant and fly bites really easily, but I didn't blister or welt with these like I normally do. After one night of a tonnn of bites on my back and a few on my arms and legs, I really didn't get bitten much for the remaining two weeks of the Camino, but would wake up with a small new bite almost every day to remind me that the problem wasn't over (but just one, and not in any sort of row or pattern or group). As soon as we got to an albergue with a washing machine we machine washed all of our clothes on what we think was the hottest setting (strange washing machines) and machine dried them, as well as laid them out in the hot Mesetan sun from noon to sundown with the rest of our gear, but we still got those daily reminder bites. As such, had the people picking me up from the airport bring some heavy duty trash bags and a change of clothes so I could change into fresh clothes and carefully double bagged everything up so I could deal with it later.

Well, it's later. The bag has been sitting in my trunk for a good week and it's time to deal with it as I am back off to school in a few short weeks (well it was in my freezer for a bit but my freezer is older than I am, so I don't think that did anything). I also am a bit anxious to get to my journal and souvenirs and such. So what do I do? I've read on the forum to toss the whole lot in the freezer (as I did), but other research says that you need a really intense freezer for a couple weeks, and my freezer is most definitely not that intense. I read on Annie's bedbug blog to dry clean your pack and clothes, but what about things I can't dry clean? The Seattle sun isn't exactly... well it's raining right now, so I can't just leave it outside.

I'm probably just overreacting, but the thought of bed bugs in my beloved mochila kinda freaks me out, and all the research I've done has just served to freak me out farther. Let me know what I should do!

And sorry, I meant to type a two line question but it morphed into a short story/epic tale. Tends to happen when you start talking about the Camino.

 

[AJ]

So my ethical question is : what would I do if someone would tell me they carried bedbugs or the likes? Try to convince them to tell to the hospitaleros or if they don't do this themselves " tell on " and report them?

The only responsible thing to do is to tell the hospitalero(a)s so that they have the opportunity to take appropriate action. I was bitten in Ave fenix, thought it was mosquitoes and was bitten even more badly in La Faba. I told the hospitalera who immediately sprayed the dorm and helped me debug my gear. Haven't been bitten since.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Karyn, here is what I'd do.

Are you saying your mochila is in your trunk NOT in plastic? :::laughing::: YIKES!
If that's the case, and you haven't gotten bitten, you're probably fine...

Outside, I'd take out your journals,which are surely safe.. just go through them carefully outside before taking them into the house, looking for bugs and/or sign of bugs. If you do find bug sign, I'd put them in a plastic bag in the freezer (if it's making ice, it's cold enough!) for a few weeks.

Put everything made of cloth in a HOT washing machine and HOT dryer - I'd go to the laundromat before even opening that bag! lol

I'd take things with zippers and pockets like your backpack or jacket to the dry cleaners (in the bag).

It's raining like hell here in Portland, so I imagine Seattle hasn't gotten sun yet this summer either.

Honestly, don't worry too much. Just take a few precautions. You're probably fine if you haven't gotten any more bites.

 

[madmich]

Anniesantiago,
Thank you for posting your blog. I am doing my first Camino in June and I am very concerned about bed bugs. I know people that have had to deal with debugging their home (not due to travel on the Camino) and it is very costly and inconvenient.

Well, I will try not to become too anxious about it and just try to take the proper precautions.
Thanks again.

 

[Anniesantiago]

You are very welcome!

 

[JohnMcM]

Aaaaaaargh!

Just as I had trained my mind not to fret over these critters

 

[Anniesantiago]

Lol. Don't be paranoid. If you are informed you can avoid the little boogers (in most cases). :::wink::::

 

[annarosa]

Hey! Thank's Annie for your blog! My friend and I are doing the camino in September and have been pretty paranoid about getting them. I've read that treating your pack and sleeping bag and even your clothing with permethrin will help to avoid bed bugs, as well as applying lavender oil to you skin. Do these actually work? Extra precautions never hurt in my opinion.

 

[wayfarer]

Great blog Annie. I have never been bitten but its good to know what to look for.