- Time of past OR future Camino
- Frances 15,16,18
VdlP 23, Invierno 23, Fisterra 23
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I don't know that your generality means anything. The reaction to bedbug bites is a specific allergy and most people are not aware at the time of being bitten.I am one of those people who gets bitten 50 times by insects if I walk to our garage after dusk!
Your poll doesn't allow for people to say if the are approximately 50-50 in the 2 types of accommodation. I have an odd reaction of being forced into one of the more extreme categories, knowing what conclusions you are going to draw!To try and get it as accurate as possible.
Use a medium size dry-bag to hold all my sleep wear and sleeping bag the next day (waiting to see if any bites emerge).
......SNIP....One night I stayed in a private room at Santa Clara in Carrion de los Condes. The room was immaculately clean, the whole place smelled of beeswax polish. Nevertheless I did pull back the sheet and check the mattress edges and corners. It was early October, and rather chilly so I pulled a blanket out of the cupboard and spread it over the bed.....SNIP
..snip...
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I don't get the poll. I slept in albergues 90% of the time on the Frances. Got bitten by bedbugs in a hotel. But if I choose the correct answer, it seems like I have been bitten in an albergue.
Is this poll going to help you make some decision?
If you want to dip your toe into the albergue world, take the precautions suggested, including Deet and dry bags, and then make a point of heat-treating everything the next day to be safe.
Considering all of this, I choose to walk my Caminos in the later half of April, through the end of May time-frame. The bed bug consideration is part of this. The other part is that I prefer the flowers and animals evident in the Spring. Also, I take several medications that make me more sensitive to heat and sunshine. Hence, when life give you lemons...you make lemonade.
I hope this helps.
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First: ... solar power. On a typically warm (33-35 degree) day, with bright sun, I advise pilgrims to obtain a large black or dark green...
Second, go to and use a coin laundromat that includes both soap and disinfectant automatically injected to the wash load. Wash the clothes and bedding using a hot water cycle, regardless of what the fabric care instructions say.
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If I examine the blanket for e. g. 3 minutes before using it, should not I be able to see a bed bug on the blanket?I would also be very suspect of the blankets in albergues. Most are heavy wool and have been in use for many years.
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First, I recommend using use solar power. On a typically warm (33-35 degree) day, with bright sun, I advise pilgrims to obtain a large black or dark green bin bag and to empty all soft items, including as much of the clothes on their back as possible into the bag. Seal the bag, then sit the bag in direct sun for as long as they can, but at least three or four hours to use the heat to kill the cinches.
typically warm (33-35 degree) day, with bright sun
This is a good method if you happen to be bitten the night before a hot sunny day when you have 3-4 hours free at mid-day. Otherwise, go straight to the nearest clothes dryer with your carefully isolated bag of sleeping gear.Nice! Simple, cheap, effective, and everyone can do it.
The subject of bed bugs, where they can be found, how to avoid them and how to treat their bites is a common topic here.
I have not been bitten on my last 2 Caminos and would like to avoid them on my third! I am one of those people who gets bitten 50 times by insects if I walk to our garage after dusk!
Previously, I have stayed in Casa Rural and small Hotels, but for this next Camino, intend sampling some Albergues. It 'might' be logical to assume, that bed bugs are more prevalent in Albergues due to the high bed turnover, close proximity of people and so on.
But of course, as we know, they can be found anywhere! And it's not always obvious in which facility the Pilgrim was bitten, as for some, symptoms take a while to appear.
So I'm curious to see what results we might get from this poll. But some guidelines. To try and get it as accurate as ....
It is known that many people simply do not react all to bed bug bites - they are not allergic to the bedbug stuff. They may have been bitten.so cannot understand the selectivity
G’day mate, my walking partner was infected on one occasion, west of Leon. The crazy thing was that we had adjoining bunks she was bitten half a dozen marks, whilst I had none. We both used the blankets supplied, so cannot understand the selectivity. All I know is I don’t want to go through the washing of clothes & gear we did in Astorga again. Good idea for this post! Happy Christmas!
See my post script to original reply!!You may be one of those lucky people who don't (or barely) react the The bites. The first time I was bitten was in Greece 10 years ago, my then partner and I were sharing a bed and the only place where he got any bites at all was where I was lying on him! I was bitten on the face, hands, arms and love handles. It sucked.
See my post script to original reply!!
I think that without a control group, your poll is unlikely to reveal much. Say, for example, the poll shows that of people who got bit 57% mainly stayed in albergues vs. 33% mainly stayed in CR/hotels. Does that mean you are more likely to get bit in albergues? It certainly sounds that way. People in albergues are getting bitten twice as much as people in CR/hotels. But it is not so if 90% of pilgrims overall stayed mainly in albergues. In that case, you are less likely to get bit in albergues, since the proportion of bitten is less than the proportion of pilgrims. By the same token, the 10% of pilgrims in CR/hotels are getting 33% of the bites. Stay away from CR/hotels!
Note: the numbers above are made up. I don't know how many pilgrims stay in each kind of accommodation and I don't know how many get bitten. I am just using them to illustrate that you need both pieces of information to have anything of use.
Hanging on a line might help, but to be sure of killing bedbugs, larvae and eggs, you need to heat the bugs to 55°C for 20 minutes. That won't happen on a line although it might in a black plastic bag in the sun on a hot day.Hanging out my sleeping bag and rucksak on a line in the sun helped, they hate heat, and putting stuff in the deep freeze at home over night
I'm sure this is the case. I've known couples who always sleep in the same bed or a twin in the same room. They never stay in albergues. One has been attacked with multiple bites many times on her various caminos and the other "never". I once was woken up in the middle of the night by a tickling sensation around the neck, in Palas do Rei to see the bedding covered in bedbugs of all sizes. Obviously I had been bitten, but no reaction the next day whatsoever. I'm sure this is the situation for many.It is known that many people simply do not react all to bed bug bites - they are not allergic to the bedbug stuff. They may have been bitten.
Merry Bug-Free Christmas!
I am a bedbug magnet. They love my alcohol (beer, wine and a sidra natural now and again) soaked blood. Choff choff. I just get up and go and get on with it until I get to my end point, my goal. Then I throw all of my stuff (bar any small things) and buy 2 sets of new clothes from a cheap place. Then I can get home completely bug free. Yay -choffing it
I am a bedbug magnet. They love my alcohol (beer, wine and a sidra natural now and again) soaked blood. Choff choff. I just get up and go and get on with it until I get to my end point, my goal. Then I throw all of my stuff (bar any small things) and buy 2 sets of new clothes from a cheap place. Then I can get home completely bug free. Yay -choffing it
My thought exactly!Depositing a trail of bed bugs behind you?
Depositing a trail of bed bugs behind you?
I thought the same thing. I tend to think that the responsible thing to do, if you have evidence of a bedbug interaction, is to do what is necessary to assure, as much as is reasonable, that you are NOT going to accidentally infest the lodgings (albergues, etc) that you inhabit
Most albergues / hostals get these little things anyway and so I'm not going to sweat about them. They're just a fact of the Camino.
To be honest, when I get to an albergue I just want to take my shower, change and get out in search of a long relaxing menu del dia / peregrino followed by a few drinks before everyone toddles off to Mass before a couple more drinks to set up a nice deep sleep. Most albergues / hostals get these little things anyway and so I'm not going to sweat about them. They're just a fact of the Camino.
To be honest, when I get to an albergue I just want to take my shower, change and get out in search of a long relaxing menu del dia / peregrino followed by a few drinks before everyone toddles off to Mass before a couple more drinks to set up a nice deep sleep. Most albergues / hostals get these little things anyway and so I'm not going to sweat about them. They're just a fact of the Camino.
To be honest, when I get to an albergue I just want to take my shower, change and get out in search of a long relaxing menu del dia / peregrino followed by a few drinks before everyone toddles off to Mass before a couple more drinks to set up a nice deep sleep. Most albergues / hostals get these little things anyway and so I'm not going to sweat about them. They're just a fact of the Camino.
I don't know that your generality means anything. The reaction to bedbug bites is a specific allergy and most people are not aware at the time of being bitten.
Yes, the turnover of people in albergues might be higher than that in private accommodations, but those private places still turn over a lot of pilgrims! I actually feel more secure from bedbugs in a sterile albergue with plastic covered mattresses, than I do in a cosy place with bedding. I have been bitten in both.
If I were doing the Camino Frances again, I would do the following:
- Carry a very light fitted sheet that has been soaked in permethrin.
- Use a large dry-bag to hold my whole backpack at night.
- Use a medium size dry-bag to hold all my sleep wear and sleeping bag the next day (waiting to see if any bites emerge).
- Be orderly in my packing to minimize contamination.
- Use DEET on the exposed parts of my skin - face, hands, maybe arms.
- Otherwise stay cocooned in my sleeping bag all night - no feet sticking out, for example.
Your poll doesn't allow for people to say if the are approximately 50-50 in the 2 types of accommodation. I have an odd reaction of being forced into one of the more extreme categories, knowing what conclusions you are going to draw!
Be aware that both permethrin and Deet pose some health risk. Unless you are one of those who has a reaction to insect bites, given the small chance of bedbug contact, it would be healthier not to use toxins. Those who use them believe that Tea tree oil and lavender provide some protection.I don't know that your generality means anything. The reaction to bedbug bites is a specific allergy and most people are not aware at the time of being bitten.
Yes, the turnover of people in albergues might be higher than that in private accommodations, but those private places still turn over a lot of pilgrims! I actually feel more secure from bedbugs in a sterile albergue with plastic covered mattresses, than I do in a cosy place with bedding. I have been bitten in both.
If I were doing the Camino Frances again, I would do the following:
- Carry a very light fitted sheet that has been soaked in permethrin.
- Use a large dry-bag to hold my whole backpack at night.
- Use a medium size dry-bag to hold all my sleep wear and sleeping bag the next day (waiting to see if any bites emerge).
- Be orderly in my packing to minimize contamination.
- Use DEET on the exposed parts of my skin - face, hands, maybe arms.
- Otherwise stay cocooned in my sleeping bag all night - no feet sticking out, for example.
Your poll doesn't allow for people to say if the are approximately 50-50 in the 2 types of accommodation. I have an odd reaction of being forced into one of the more extreme categories, knowing what conclusions you are going to draw!
Belief =/= scientific evidence.Those who use them believe that Tea tree oil and lavender provide some protection.
Yes, as we are all in it together. Hence the magic of itCould I timidly suggest that this is a good example of why the “it’s your camino” mantra is perhaps in need of rethinking.
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