Dodged the bedbug bullet

[Anniesantiago]

I’ve been walking since May 15 - SJPP.
Haven’t seen one bedbug... until this morning.

Slept in Pension Lo in Pedrouzo.
Woke up and got a shower.
Tossed back the bedding so I could organize my pack and guess who was hiding in the duvet!!!

Grabbed him with a Kleenex so I could show him to the owner and he POPPED!

Thick dark blood. But thank God not mine!
I have no bites. He must have gotten the person before me.

Went through my pack. All my clothes are contained in zip up compression bags.

Told the management.

I’m taking no chances. Getting rid of everything I don’t need tomorrow in Santiago.
I will have my ride meet me at the airport with a black plastic bag and take nothing into he house.

How funny after 14 Caminos I find a bedbug in MY bed on my last day, last trip through.

I’ll take that as a sign. .

 

[Anamiri]

That happened to me as well, I was paranoid about taking one home as a hitchhiker. After our Camino we spent a few days at Finisterre in a lovely apartment, with lovely crisp cotton sheets, relaxing after our walk.
I was severely bitten. The next day I realised I had lines of bites everywhere (except my face thankfully), although all up the back of my neck. On my feet, legs, arms, body, backs of my hands - even my toes. We checked the sheets, and they were spotted all over with blood. The blood spots were spread over a metre! I was literally covered in red spots.
Because I relaxed and used their sheets without thinking. Never again.
Tried to explain to the management , unsuccessfully, sealed the room up and nuked everything in a hot drier.
I do the same as you and have every thing in zipped bags, plus I had sprayed my pack thoroughly - and it was metres away from the bed.
Rang my husband to meet me at the airport with a large black plastic bin liner.
Thankfully that worked. Its not the bites that bother me so much, its bringing the things along with me.
I seriously dont want those critters in my house.

 

[Marbe2]

You are fortunate not to have a more severe reaction Anamiri! I got bitten over45 times all over my body one night and blew up. I needed steroids and antihistamines and it took 3 weeks for the swelling to subside! Last year I got bitten once and managed to get by with loratadine and betamethasone. First time we got up in the middle of the night killed the bugs that were in the bed and on the walls, packed up our gear and left the Albergue at 4am in the fog! Never going back to that Albergue in Ages!

 

[Anamiri]

You are fortunate not to have a more severe reaction Anamiri! I got bitten over45 times all over my body one night and blew up. I needed steroids and antihistamines and it took 3 weeks for the swelling to subside! Last year I got bitten once and managed to get by with loratadine and betamethasone. First time we got up in the middle of the night killed the bugs that were in the bed and on the walls, packed up our gear and left the Albergue at 4am in the fog! Never going back to that Albergue in Ages!

I think we stayed at the same albergue at Ages. One of our friends was badly bitten there. Luckily I wasn't. By the time we got to Burgos she had big raised lumps that drove her crazy. It was also the place where the glass shower door fell off the rails and hit me on the head. Gave me a big bruised egg that took days to go down. We wont go back there again either.

I think the reason I didn't react so much is that I take antihistamines every day for other allergies, and they would already have been in my system. I normally do react to bites, especially fleas and mosquitoes so I got off lightly thank goodness.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I saw bedbugs at Ages and refused to stay there.

 

[C clearly]

I have no bites.

Have you ever had visible bedbug bites? I am just curious since I've read that people who are not "allergic" to them don't react or even know they've been bitten. I wonder if it is possible that you were bitten but had no reaction at all. Good that you found it, though, so you know you need to decontaminate!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Have you ever had visible bedbug bites? I am just curious since I've read that people who are not "allergic" to them don't react or even know they've been bitten. I wonder if it is possible that you were bitten but had no reaction at all. Good that you found it, though, so you know you need to decontaminate!

I had a bedbug bits on my very first Camino. I didntI didn’t know what the quarter-sized knot was for several days until someone told me. I have an overactive immune system with my MCS so bug bites cause a horrible reaction. He didn’t bite me. Plus the blood was not fresh, but almost black.

 

[Marbe2]

BTW..one very rainy day this past year, three of us got bitten by bed bugs on a Alsa bus! I only got one bite!...the other two persons were in different rows! One of them had abt 10 bites. So my advice is to make sure, even on the buses to spray before getting on one.

 

[donalomahony]

Even on a plane https://www.straitstimes.com/world/...tish-airways-plane-flight-delayed-for-4-hours

 

[Marbe2]

Thanks donalomahony! Every time we get on a flight, train or bus we deet the outside of our suitcase or backpack and that is after having pretreated our bags with permethrin before starting our overall journey. Our clothes on the bus were treated with permethrin, but the bug crawled inside somehow? Next time I take public transport I will deet the seat!