Recent Bedbug Experiences from O Cebreiro till Santiago?

[mmonomm]

hi,

are there news about bedbug attacks this time from O Cebreiro till Santiago? does skipping the main albergues prevent you from bedbugs?
sorry for this question, i know there is a long debate, but i am curious of the facts now.(i start in a week), so is there anybody recently attacked from bedbugs on the camino? and where?

 

[sillydoll]

Re: RECENT BEDBUG EXPERIENCES from O Cebreiro till Santiago?????

Bed bugs don't like the cold and usually hibernate in low temperatures so you probably won't see any on the camino until spring/summer.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Re: RECENT BEDBUG EXPERIENCES from O Cebreiro till Santiago?????

I knew there must be SOME reason I should think about doing a winter Camino! lol :lol:

 

[Kialoa3]

Re: RECENT BEDBUG EXPERIENCES from O Cebreiro till Santiago?????

I'll second Sil's comments. My wife and I just returned from walking the Frances, Finisterre and Muxia routes (Dec-Jan) and neither we nor any other people we encountered had experienced any problems with bedbugs. They were not to be found (at least at that time of the year).

John

 

[Rebekah Scott]

the only insect news I heard from my December Camino and ongoing life here at the halfway point on the Frances concerns spiders and ants.

Spiders at San Juan de Ortega and Arzua, and ants all over the kitchen in Najera.
...and some lice in Sahagun. Which I understand weren´t so much pilgrim-related, but from a group of school kids using the auditorium downstairs -- the pilgrim albergue was fumigated along with the auditorium.

One of the spider victims was Me, but I have to admit I am very sensitive to their bites, and they tend to single me out of the crowd. (poor old me!) Still, one of the great gifts of winter is a real drop in the number of all kinds of critters.

March on, brave pilgrims!
Reb.

 

[Arn]

Some things to consider:

1. Do not put your pack or boots on the bed...critters you pick up along the way are often hidden among your gear.

2. Check the mattress (top and bottom) along all the creases and inside and out on the mattress cover.

3. Blankets are seldom laundered after each use...if you do choose to use a blanket...take it outside and shake it out first.

4. Boots, packs and jackets are attractive to crawling creatures...empty both, including pockets.

Buen "getting bugged...instead of hugged" Camino

Arn

 

[sillydoll]

ARN!!! It took a post on dormant bugs to get you back on the forum!! Welkom skattie!

 

[Arn]

Sil,
Those pesky bed bugs...they can make walking the Camino a rash decision. As with anything that bugs us along the Way...(snoring, blisters, field flowers, etc) if we take some precautions all will be right.

Arn

 

[eano]

Has anybody heard anything bedbuggish lately? I have just treated a silk liner with permethrin and the stink is unbearable even when dry. I have washed it with soapy water now and will see how it is. The stink gives me a horrible headache and I know I cant sleep with that night after night. Maybe the bugs arent so bad this year?

Debbie

 

[kaylfrazer]

I have just washed my silk liner with lavender oil in the hopes of repelling bed bugs.. but was disappointed as the smell seemed to completely vanish as it dried and I wished I had tried permethrin instead. I am treating my pack with oil based permethrin so it will be interesting to see if either of these makes any difference. I haven't heard anything yet about bedbugs this season but I understand that they don't usually become a problem until summer. I suppose the current heat wave doesn't bode well.
Kay

 

[Anniesantiago]

I walked the Frances twice, and portions of the VDLP, the Aragones, and the Norte.
I was only bitten once, at the beginning of my first Camino, in Zubiri.
I didn't know what the huge painless welt was until much later.
Since then, I've followed the advice of a pharmacist in Spain and have never gotten a bite.

When you arrive in Spain go to the the first Farmacia you see and purchase mosquito spray.
This is the spray you are supposed to put on YOURSELF --- but don't do it.
Instead, follow these steps:

When you first get to the albergue, do a check by eye to see if you see traces of bedbugs.
Those include little tiny specks on the walls near the bed or ON the bedframe. They look like someone took a black inkpen and just tap tap tapped the wall. That is bedbug poop. If you see that, then I would not stay there.

Next, check the mattress all around the rolled seam. This is where the bugs like to hide. If you see bugs, leave.

Next, on the bunks, there are holes where the hardware connects to each other. Check those holes with a flashlight. If you see bugs, leave.

Lastly.. if you have checked all these things and are convinced there are no bugs here, then take out your mosquito spray and LIGHTLY spray the bed... 2 or 3 pumps about a foot above so you're just lightly misting it.

Then WAIT 5 minutes.

If there are bugs, they will come out to escape the spray... If you see them, LEAVE.

Some people on this forum have said not to spray - but I have chemical sensitivities and I can tell you that the tiny amount of this sprayed on a bed in the early afternoon dissipates completely before bedtime. The sheet you speak of gives me a migraine, but the spray does not.

Anyway.. this is my advice.
I have done it for 6 months with only one bedbug bite before I knew about the procedure.

There were a couple of times when I took a taxi to the next village. There's no law that says you cannot do that.

There are a lot of articles and photos online to see what bedbugs and their signs look like.
Study those too -
Buen Camino!

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Current Bedbug Status in Mid-Camino?

No problems yet this year. Just some spiders and some fleas.
Still no bedbug-related pilgrim fatalities.

Reb.

 

[OldDad]

None in May for me. Seems to be all clear.

 

[Pieces]

well, I arrived back home a few days ago and only now realise that I may actually have been bitten somewhere in the middle of spain...

not really sure what to do now, I will have to see. Read somewhere that it may take up to a week for the rash to appear, guess that is true as i am assuming that it is unlikely that i brought them home unbitten and let them loose in my flat :evil:

 

[joshma]

Oh great, I am just about to start my first camino in about 2 weeks time and I wasn't aware of this bedbug problem at all! Having read all the previous posts, I realise the bugs will be at their most prosperous and thriving in August when the temperature is high, won't they?

Could anyone please suggest some effective and useful ways to avoid being bitten by bed bugs in August please? There was someone earlier suggesting that we should first thoroughly check the bed frame, the bed sheet, and the wall before going to bed and if there is any trace of bedbugs, just leave. But I am wondering if in August, you can't find any bed without bedbugs, what can you do then? You can't just keep leaving it? There must be a way to avoid the problem, isn't there? Would mosquito spray simply do the trick?

Thanks in advance for your advices!

Josh

 

[methodist.pilgrim.98]

Don't panic.

Use the search engine to find the threads that talk about bed bugs.

falcoln 69 has good advice on how to protect yourself.

 

[Sagalouts]

well, I arrived back home a few days ago and only now realise that I may actually have been bitten somewhere in the middle of spain...

not really sure what to do now, I will have to see. Read somewhere that it may take up to a week for the rash to appear, guess that is true as i am assuming that it is unlikely that i brought them home unbitten and let them loose in my flat :evil:

if you had been bitten by bedbugs in the middle of Spain you would know about it by now, it is easy to get caught up in some paranoid fear about bedbugs and then the rumers start and newbies walk in fear-to my knowledge there has been no outbrake of bedbugs so-far this year.
Ian

 

[intergalaktik]

the only insect news I heard from my December Camino and ongoing life here at the halfway point on the Frances concerns spiders and ants.

Spiders at San Juan de Ortega and Arzua, and ants all over the kitchen in Najera.
...and some lice in Sahagun. Which I understand weren´t so much pilgrim-related, but from a group of school kids using the auditorium downstairs -- the pilgrim albergue was fumigated along with the auditorium.

One of the spider victims was Me, but I have to admit I am very sensitive to their bites, and they tend to single me out of the crowd. (poor old me!) Still, one of the great gifts of winter is a real drop in the number of all kinds of critters.

March on, brave pilgrims!
Reb.

Hi Rebekah,

These spiders you mention, what kind are they? My biggest fear in the world is spiders, and while I don't want their presence to put me off doing the camino, I would like to be prepared for what I may find...

Jim

 

[Deleted member 3000]

There are about 35,000 acknowledged spider species in the world, and an estimated 80,000 spiders per acre. Your best bet is to ignore them because you probably only notice a few each week. Public speaking is the #1 fear, so make it your primary phobia instead of spiders, and you will have more compatriots in anxiety. More persons die each year from bee stings than spider bites ...

Permethrin is an insecticide, so it is effective for killing bed bugs when you return home if it has not been useful in keeping them out of your equipment. It can be added to the washing machine, sprayed on equipment, and sprayed around your house. If you actually see a bed bug that you brought home, institute the measures commonly found on the internet to exterminate them.

 

[Pieces]

well, I arrived back home a few days ago and only now realise that I may actually have been bitten somewhere in the middle of spain...

not really sure what to do now, I will have to see. Read somewhere that it may take up to a week for the rash to appear, guess that is true as i am assuming that it is unlikely that i brought them home unbitten and let them loose in my flat :evil:

if you had been bitten by bedbugs in the middle of Spain you would know about it by now, it is easy to get caught up in some paranoid fear about bedbugs and then the rumers start and newbies walk in fear-to my knowledge there has been no outbrake of bedbugs so-far this year.
Ian

ahh yes and I do know. And maybe because i was not paranoid enough I didn't even think bedbugs untill there was no escaping the truth...

anyways, spoke to someone staying at the albergue I am suspecting and they said that while they were fine others were talking about having been bit.

Also, I spoke to two people being bitten while i was walking, but further up the camino, one severely the othe just one bite.

In the meantime I will have you all know that normal antihistamine, as my doctor so kindly suggested I take, takes all itching