<p>Thanks anneroku. NY is the location of my hotel. I don’t think I’ll want to do an overnight in ANY hotel there anymore…and if I have to, I’m bringing a magnifying glass and a flashlight!</p>
<p>Oh gross!!
I can’t even imagine…the thought of bedbugs is disgusting! I don’t think it really matters if it is an inexpensive or expensive hotel…I think many of them hook onto your luggage from airports as well!
I would definitely call an exterminator. If anything, they will give you a sense of ‘clean’ again!
I have a family member who is a flight attendant, she has told us some of the steps people need to take to get rid of these nasty creatures. Many people even throw out their mattresses!
GOOD LUCK with this!! I hope you don’t have them in your house!</p>
<p>I’m picking up those special mattress and boxspring encasements at our local mattress store today. I had trouble sleeping last night…thinking about those little buggers.<br>
I’m really torn about calling an exterminator. I guess I should but I hate the idea of spraying toxic stuff…and I feel like they will do something no matter what (they like to get new business).
I’ll start researching it though…I remember an article in the news about bed bug sniffing dogs. Oh how I would love to train our lab to do that. Just need to find one dead bug…and have found nothing to date (Good news I guess!).</p>
<p>I just got back from moving my daughter into her apt in NYC.</p>
<p>New York City is having a terrible infestattion of bed bugs right now. We put her brand new bed and box spring in a casing. (I called it a bed condom.) If you have them, they are supposed to die inside the casing.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t think you will need to call an exterminator unless you find new bites since you have been home. In fact, if you haven’t seen any new bites since returning home, the enclosures for the mattress and box springs might be overkill (literally!) - but, you will probably sleep much better at night with them on! Let’s just hope the little critters stayed in the hotel in NY! </p>
<p>The young couple I mentioned in the earlier post thought their major problem, aside from the hotel they stayed in, was that they took their own pillows with them since it helps them sleep better. I know alot of people who bring their own pillows when they travel and I have advised them to leave them at home!!</p>
<p>DD and I were grounded because of storms on the flight to college last year. She got bed bugs but they left me alone. she shook out everything and washed and washed everything out. Fortunately we did not carry anything out with us.</p>
<p>We DID leave a review on trip adviser.</p>
<p>Here in NYC exterminators have sniffer dogs specially trained to locate bedbugs. I thought it was a joke at first, but it’s not. I don’t know if your local exterminator will have access to a trained canine, but you can ask. I think they’re pretty expensive though.</p>
<p>No new bites or evidence of the bugs so no exterminator for now. I talked to my doc after a note from a poster, and he said they COULD be flea bites given that they’re primarily on my legs and feet. I have a dog but he does not have fleas. The bites came out right after the stay so maybe the hotel had fleas…or perhaps they were really bed bugs. Really confusing. No more itch though and in general less anxiety.
Thanks to all the posters for your tips. I will let you know if I ever see any evidence.
BTW, the hotel is COMPLETELY ignoring me. Trip Advisor, bedbugregistry…here I come.</p>
<p>I have no direct experience with bedbugs (yet), but I read that the bites are usually arranged in threes: the “breakfast, lunch, and dinner” pattern. Which is really yucky if you think about it.</p>
<p>I have yet to see one but know that they can show up anywhere. From what I’ve read, it looks like there is a CO2 extermination process which freezes them and does not require removing furniture/mattresses. There is also an enzyme spray which kills them and is non-toxic.</p>
<p>UPDATE: The hotel has finally responded. The bad news…they DID find bed bugs…not in MY room but in the room next door. Yikes. I’m amazed that they admitted it.
The good news…sort of anyway… is that they will refund my stay. More important, they’ve filed a claim with their insurance company who will arrange for an exterminator to come out. I’m hesitant about his because I’m worried about toxic spray, but it’s better to be safe I guess. I haven’t been getting any bites but they may have laid eggs so…<br>
They will also refund expenses for the luggage I threw out and the new pillows. Now that I know they were there, I will also get an encasement and charge it to them.<br>
The manager has confirmed that this is a BIG problem in NYC. BTW, I repeat, this is not a cheap hotel. The main contributor, she said, is international travelers. So NY, Disney World, anyplace that is a huge tourist draw for overseas travelers. But I have a feeling this will be extending to other areas soon…beware!</p>
<p>You can buy new light bed liners, like a mini sleeping bag to take on travels and sleep inside. If you HAVE to travel, it looks like a great idea.</p>
<p>Here are the hotels in NYC alone reported to have bedbugs. DId you stay at one of these?
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
811 7th Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Holiday Inn Express NEW YORK CITY FIFTH AVENUE
15 W 45th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Buckingham Hotel
101 W 57th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Union Square Inn
209 E 14th St New York, NY</p>
<p>SOHOTEL
341 Broome St New York, NY</p>
<p>Westin New York Times Square
270 W 43rd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Paramount
235 W 46th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Flatotel
135 W 52nd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Warwick Hotel
65 W 54th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Edison Hotel
228 W 47th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Chelsea Lodge
318 W 20th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Milford Plaza Hotel
270 W 45th St New York, NY</p>
<p>La Quinta Inn Manhattan
17 W 32nd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Park South
122 E 28th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Hotel Newton
2528 Broadway New York, NY</p>
<p>Days Inn New York
215 W 94th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Plaza Hotel
5th Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Thirty Thirty Hotel - New York
30 E 30th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Carter Hotel Parking Garage
250 W 43rd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Club Quarters Downtown NYC
52 William St New York, NY</p>
<p>Four Seasons New York
57 E 57th St New York, NY</p>
<p>The New York Helmsley Hotel
212 E 42nd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Larchmont Hotel
27 W 11th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Hilton New York
1335 Avenue Of The Americas New York, NY</p>
<p>Chelsea Hotel
222 W 23rd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Belnord Residence Hotel
209 W 87th St New York, NY</p>
<p>On the Ave
222 W 77th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Grand Hyatt New York
109 E 42nd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Embassy Suites Hotel New York
102 N End Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Sheraton Manhattan at Times Square
790 7th Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Park Savoy Hotel
158 W 58th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Soho Grand Hotel
310 W Broadway New York, NY</p>
<p>Hotel Riverside Studios
342 W 71st St New York, NY</p>
<p>Glenwood Hostel
339 Broadway New York, NY</p>
<p>West End Studios Hotel
850 W End Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>New York Marriott East Side
525 Lexington Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Comfort Inn New York
442 W 36th St New York, NY</p>
<p>107 Street Hotel Corporation
237 W 107th St New York, NY</p>
<p>The New York Palace Hotel
455 Madison Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>The London NYC
151 W 54th St New York, NY</p>
<p>The Gracie Inn
502 E 81st St New York, NY</p>
<p>Four Points Manhattan Chelsea
160 W 25th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Park 79 Hotel
117 W 79th St New York, NY</p>
<p>World Hotel Incorporated
101 Bowery Ste 2 New York, NY</p>
<p>Times Square
255 W 43rd St New York, NY</p>
<p>International Student Center
38 W 88th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Dexter House Hostel
345 W 86th St Ste 10024 New York, NY</p>
<p>La Semana Hotel
25 W 24th St New York, NY</p>
<p>New York Marriott Hotel
1535 Broadway New York, NY</p>
<p>Courtyard by Marriott Midtown East
866 3rd Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Hotel 31
120 E 31st St New York, NY</p>
<p>Millenium Hilton Hotel
55 Church St New York, NY</p>
<p>Hotel Carter
250 W 43rd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Riverside Inn
319 W 94th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Morningside Inn
235 W 107th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Ramada Plz New Yorker Hotel
481 8th Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Milford Plaza
270 W 45th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Sunshine Suites
419 Lafayette St New York, NY</p>
<p>Swiss 1291 Hostel
337 W 55th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Imperial Court Hotel
307 W 79th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Time Hotel
224 W 49th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Sohotel New York
341 Broome St New York, NY</p>
<p>George Washington Hotel
23 Lexington Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Pace University
1 Pace Plz, New York, Ny New York, NY</p>
<p>Stratford Arms Hotel
117 W 70th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Corporate Suites Manhattan Office Space
275 Madison Ave New York, NY</p>
<p>Mansfield Hotel LLC
12 W 44th St New York, NY</p>
<p>Omni Berkshire Place
21 E 52nd St New York, NY</p>
<p>Golden Gate Inn
3867 Shore Pky New York, NY</p>
<p>I got bitten by bedbugs when I stayed at a relative’s house this summer. Her house is much cleaner and tidy than mine but she’s been traveling alot including a trip overseas. She hadn’t had any signs of having been bitten herself and my husband who slept in the same bed with me didn’t show any bites. The swelling and itching are an allergic reaction to the bites and not everyone gets a reaction. The allergy is to an anesthetic that the bugs release so that you won’t feel them biting (how creepy is that!).</p>
<p>At first I thought I had poison ivy but I couldn’t think of where I would have been exposed. Pictures on the internet helped me identify what it was. The itching was almost intolerable for the first 3-4 days and lasted for about 2 weeks. I went through 2 tubes of cortison cream. They didn’t really look like individual bites because the rash and swelling made them join together but you could see the pinpoint bite marks in groups and as they say, often a row of three.</p>
<p>Husband and I had slept in the relative’s downstairs guest bedroom that’s hardly ever used. Relative’s bedroom is upstairs and she has another unused guest bedroom upstairs. She had an exterminator with a sniffer dog come and the dog reacted positively to all of the beds but not to her luggage, so she still hasn’t figured out where they came from. Although no people had slept in the guest beds recently the exterminator said her cat could have carried them to the guest beds. He sprayed, I don’t know with what, and she put covers on all her beds and pillows. We ended up having to stay there again a few weeks after the exterminator had been there and again I showed bites (but not my husband) although not as bad this time. She had the exterminator back again and had him spray her car as well. </p>
<p>We don’t seem to have carried them home with us. The first time, I washed everything I had in my suitcase and put the suitcase in a plastic bag. The second time (with a different suitcase) I washed everything in my suitcase and didn’t do anything with the suitcase. My husband took no precautions with his suitcase or clothing either time.</p>
<p>We’ve since stayed at my relative’s house again and I had no bites. I figure I’m a canary in the coal mine when it comes to bed bugs but I’m not willing to rent myself out as a test - it was just too painful.</p>
<p>No, not one of those hotels. I will go ahead and report it on the bed bug registry though.
Just goes to show, checking these sites is not enough. Paying for a good hotel is not enough. And if I checked the bed, I probably would not have found an infestation since the exterminator found evidence in the room next door to mine…but nothing in MY room.
The hotel mgr was actually quite sympathetic and I’m relieved that we will have a pro come out (at their expense) to check if we brought any hitchikers home.
My biggest problem right now is that I tend to be a bit obsessive and that combined with reading horror reports on forums and internet boards is making me a bit crazy. I was just getting over this until the call came in from the manager this morning. Now, I’m a wreck again. I was really hoping she would say that they found no evidence…no such luck. Rats…</p>
<p>toneranger, you probably don’t have anything to worry about. It sounds like you’ve educated yourself on the matter and the good news is that bed bugs can be seen with the naked eye. I’d just check around the cording of your mattress for the next few months. I’d put white sheets on my bed, so it would be easy to spot a bug or small spot of blood, another telltale sign. </p>
<p>My son’s dorm floor had 15 rooms with bed bugs last year, but somehow he avoided them.</p>
<p>Toneranger, I know the feeling. My scalp itched for weeks during a lice outbreak when my kids were in elementary school. Every little itchy think and I was convinced I had them. I did not. Neither did my kids. (One did bring them home from summer camp once, though).</p>
<p>I think bedbugs are harder to transport than people think-- I have been bitten by bed bugs several times over the years while traveling (once I ended up in the emergency room since my legs swelled up and it was christmas eve), but i’ve never brought them home with me, and I didn’t take any precautions because the first time or two I didn’t realize that it was bedbugs.</p>
<p>Everyone always gives me grief when I turn up the head of the mattress to snoop around whenever we stay in a hotel. I’ll show them this thread! And not just in hotels… :(</p>
<p>[Bedbugs</a> move into dorms - USATODAY.com](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-08-20-bedbugs-dorms_N.htm]Bedbugs”>http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-08-20-bedbugs-dorms_N.htm)</p>
<p>Well, I also found out that they are in hospitals, movie theaters, and airports (think of all your luggage mingling in an airplane). Between the swine flu and this, one might think it’s rational to just stay home. Cheaper too. For future travel, that Winnebago is looking pretty good to me…</p>