Worldwithamy
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- Time of past OR future Camino
- June/July 2023
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A sleeping bag liner will not stop bedbugs. They will crawl into the bag exactly in the same way as you do - through the big opening in the top. There is nothing about silk that works to repel bedbugs (although you will read many unfounded claims). Maybe if your sleeping liner is tight around your neck, and you use DEET insect repellent on your face/neck, they will be repelled, but that's not a comfy way to sleep!Apart from a sleeping liner (does it have to be silk?)
Bed bugs live many places other than beds, which in fact are probably inspected daily. However, don't put your pack on the bed, because your pack is likely to be dirty.I also know not to put my pack on the bed, and try to cover it on the floor (is using the rain cover of the pack enough?)
Sprays containing permethrin are available in Canada, but not at the concentrations that seem to be available in some countries. You need to read the labels of various bug sprays.a spray like permethrin could kill it with longer contact. However, I cannot find it easily in Canada.
To make it short: no. I did never purchase anything special. And I have never been bitten - just lucky I guess. But I met 2 or 3 pilgrims who had been bitten and one even had been a spreader of bed bugs on an earlier camino of his.Do you use any bed bug prevention methods that require the purchasing of something special? Did it work?
I don't treat my gear to avoid being bitten - I treat it to avoid carrying bed bugs to the next albergue, or home.No, it won't kill them before they bite me. I look for signs before I lay down or accept a bed.
Check with vet or feed supply stores they can sell permethrin ( I am also Canadian and have purchased that way). If you are close enough to cross the border to US you can buy spray at REII just want to be fully prepared. As I do more research, it seems that many things don’t actually repel bed bugs, but a spray like permethrin could kill it with longer contact. However, I cannot find it easily in Canada.
Apart from a sleeping liner (does it have to be silk?), is there anything else I can do to prevent bed bugs on the Camino? I also know not to put my pack on the bed, and try to cover it on the floor (is using the rain cover of the pack enough?)
Do you use any bed bug prevention methods that require the purchasing of something special? Did it work?
The worst bed bug incident I’ve encountered was when I slept in a silk liner. Silk does not prevent bedbugs. They were crawling all over my silk liner.I just want to be fully prepared. As I do more research, it seems that many things don’t actually repel bed bugs, but a spray like permethrin could kill it with longer contact. However, I cannot find it easily in Canada.
Apart from a sleeping liner (does it have to be silk?), is there anything else I can do to prevent bed bugs on the Camino? I also know not to put my pack on the bed, and try to cover it on the floor (is using the rain cover of the pack enough?)
Do you use any bed bug prevention methods that require the purchasing of something special? Did it work?
I treat the inside of my pack and all of my cloth stuff sacks with permethrin.The best prevention, besides barriers like putting the lack inside a plastic bag at night, is to treat the sleeping bag, shoes, and outside of the pack with Permethrin.
Use a plastic trash bag. Put ur pack and belongings in the bag and close it up. Nothing works better.I just want to be fully prepared. As I do more research, it seems that many things don’t actually repel bed bugs, but a spray like permethrin could kill it with longer contact. However, I cannot find it easily in Canada.
Apart from a sleeping liner (does it have to be silk?), is there anything else I can do to prevent bed bugs on the Camino? I also know not to put my pack on the bed, and try to cover it on the floor (is using the rain cover of the pack enough?)
Do you use any bed bug prevention methods that require the purchasing of something special? Did it work?
I recently saw two YouTube videos where permethrin bought for farm animal use (about 10% permethrin) was diluted 19 to 1 to make a large tub of 0.5% permethrin. This was at the right level to soak clothing for long term use and the same level used for spray cans bought in hardware and camping stores.Check with vet or feed supply stores they can sell permethrin ( I am also Canadian and have purchased that way). If you are close enough to cross the border to US you can buy spray at REI
Yes, it is wet permethrin that is toxic to cats. Once things dry they are not a risk. You've probably treated stuff that is easy to pack away from cats anyway.Permethrin is dangerous to cats, so spray your pack and liner at a friend’s house who does not have cats, and leave them there until they dry (usually overnight.) The odd thing is the pack and liner do not smell after the Permethrin has dried.
I have seen bedbugs in a dorm room, had a few bites, and met quite a few other pilgrims with bites during my late summer Caminos. But not during Spring Caminos. I think that the later in the season it is the more chance there is that bedbugs have spread on the CaminoI just returned from walking the camino frances from St Jean to Santiago. I never saw a bed bug or heard any pilgrims who had bedbugs.
Ive been bitten on 2 Caminos, I take antihistamines daily , and took a creme for the itch - the bites were annoying for a few days but didn't spoil my trip.I just want to be fully prepared. As I do more research, it seems that many things don’t actually repel bed bugs, but a spray like permethrin could kill it with longer contact. However, I cannot find it easily in Canada.
Apart from a sleeping liner (does it have to be silk?), is there anything else I can do to prevent bed bugs on the Camino? I also know not to put my pack on the bed, and try to cover it on the floor (is using the rain cover of the pack enough?)
Do you use any bed bug prevention methods that require the purchasing of something special? Did it work?
Public albergues are sprayed or fumigated during the off-season, usually in February. Whether or how long it takes for new infestations to appear is a matter of chance, mainly, though vigilant hospis will help.I have seen bedbugs in a dorm room, had a few bites, and met quite a few other pilgrims with bites during my late summer Caminos. But not during Spring Caminos. I think that the later in the season it is the more chance there is that bedbugs have spread on the Camino
Care to share the name of this spray?I purchased some spray made specifically for bed bugs, before leaving sprayed the surfaces of my sleeping bag and pack. Got two questionable bites on my lower arm, which may have wandered outside the bag, but no others.Probably four/five days between spraying and using my bag.
I suggest that anyone who still sees the use of permethrin as a contentious issue read a resource like the NPIC factsheet: Toynton, K.; Luukinen, B.; Buhl, K.; Stone, D. 2009. Permethirn General Fact Sheet; National Pesticide Information Center, Oregon State University Extension Services. http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html as the first part of gaining a better understanding of the topic. If you don't change your mind, you will at least know that some of the claims made here are not sustained by the evidence.It is not necessary to apply the insecticide Permethrin to have a good, enjoyable and meaningful camino. You can mitigate the risk of experiencing bed bugs by being alert, continually taking sensible precautions and acting quickly and responsibly should you be bitten.
While you as an individual may choose to weigh up the science and decide Permethrin is a little bit of technology that will improve your own personal experience, actually this is about more than just you.
Your decision should also consider how others - fellow pilgrims in close proximity and your hosts in Spain (where you are guests) - perceive what you are doing. And, the collective impact of potentially tens of thousands of visitors (or more) like you, every year, each leaving a chemical micro-trail along the Way and into its groundwater.
I strongly recommend that every thread on the forum discussing Permethrin comes with a header that makes it clear that using Permethrin is a contentious issue. That people should consider the implications of its use both on themselves and others and then make up their own minds as to whether they should use it for their camino.
Moderators and staff members (by their very titles at least) are perceived as voices of common sense and reason. I recommend that for a subject that’s still as contentious as Permethrin they should recuse themselves from describing their own practices, where these can be perceived as an endorsement of Permethrin.
Given that Permethrin is a commonly used substance, you need to be a little more specific about why it is contentious. Dougfitz has provided a link to an article from a reliable source that suggests that the dangers associated with Permethrin are few and relatively small. If you can provide links to publications that suggest otherwise, preferably peer-reviewed, it would help us decide one way or the other.contentious as Permethrin
Trecile…it is in Tucson right now, I am 550 miles north, but I remember buying it in a grocery store. Maybe Utah is a “hotbed”(pun intended) of bedbug activity. I will do more research…Care to share the name of this spray?
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