if bed bugs went the way of the dinosaurs it would be ok with me!
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2016/02/03/scientists-may-have-found-way-to-destroy-bedbug.html
Those studies are very far from leading to any major advance in controlling bedbugs.
one can only hope!
I’m always amazed at the sheer hardiness of certain types of bugs.
I’m sure this is good news for the hotel business!
southfloirdamom9…I agree. that is why with zika I read some headlines is it time to eliminate mosquitoes once and for all. I am thinking that it is not possible (same with roaches and rats) and if the world tried what toxic thing would they try and use that would cause massive problems to humans and the ecosystem!!!
I wonder the same thing @zobroward. I read somewhere that the reason bed bugs are so bad now is that we almost eliminated them decades ago with a chemical (can’t remember the name) but they evolved to be much more resistant to chemical treatments.
Bugs are mother nature’s clean up crew. They will inherit the earth. 
I once heard a robotics guy at a STEM conference for homeschoolers talk about how much he wished he could invent a gadget that could do even the simple processes of a bug.
I guess we’re getting there with drone technology.
I have such a fear of happening upon bed bugs ! I always leave my suitcases outside in the garage we don’t use for anything except storage if we are staying at hotels
My husband travels frequently (though he works from home) and I don’t let him put his suitcase anywhere near our bed. But I probably should make him store it outside the house.
We are super careful to keep our suitcases, backpacks, etc on hard surfaces in hotel rooms (up on dressers or desks or coffee tables, or worst case in the bathroom). So far no issue – knock on wood!
I have such a phobia about bed bugs. It has taken all of the fun out of traveling to me, because I’m afraid of them tagging along. I’ve heard such horrible stories about peoples efforts to get rid of them. Recently an entire apartment building in a nearby city burned because a lady was trying to kill the bedbugs in her apartment!
My husband has had them twice, once domestically from a chain hotel and another time from a resort, globally. Fortunately, neither time did he bring them home. Interesting fact we learned with the second case is that the bites sometimes don’t show up until almost two weeks later. I was freaked out about that when the bites were showing up on him after he had been home several days!
There’s an interesting book about urban pests (including bed bugs) that I read a few months ago. It’s called Pests in the City by Dawn Biehler and it’s a great overview of the history of the built environment in urban centers and how public policy has affected these spaces.
Anyway, I have very little confidence that we will ever really wipe out bedbugs. They’re just too pervasive and too adaptable. We’ve thought before that we beat them and they came back with a vengeance.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope we do, I’m just not optimistic.
Working in a shelter has made me paranoid of bed bugs. When traveling, I leave my suitcase in the garage until I need it and I take a shower and wash all my clothes immediately upon getting home.
I share your fear of bedbugs while travelling. (Almost) worse than the fear of bringing them home is my worry about bringing them to a friend’s house!!! We often spend 1 or 2 nights in a hotel on a roadtrip to visit friends. What a horrible “present” that would be to bring to your friends! Fortunately, many hotels have renovated and removed carpets. We feel much more comfortable in a hotel room with a laminate floor. Still leave all the bags on top of a desk, table, or stand.
Njres,
hey guys thanks for letting us stay at your house! for your generous hospitality we brought you a bottle of wine and bed bugs(that will be the gift that keeps on giving)
Hotels are not the only place to pick up bedbugs. Since bedbugs are attracted to dark places with carbon dioxide (I.e., human breathing), another place they love is a movie theater. Gives me the creeps even thinking about it.
A friend of mine believes she got them at a movie theater. 
I’m sure as soon as they are eliminated that they will be deemed a super bug that if crushed and put in a blender will be the “elixir of long life”.
I admit, I am getting a little fatalistic about it… bed bugs DO also frequent college dorms. 
(I can recall seeing a sign about them posted in a dorm on a tour a few years ago! Telling students steps to take to avoid them – but it was pretty clear they had an outbreak).