Bed Bugs...

[mariak]

Hi all - so we've decided to drive to Disney from Ohio, and I've read a great place to stop is Macon, GA.

I'm kinda starting to feel the panic creep though, because the hotel we were going to stay at (Microtel by Wyndham) just had a recent report of big disgusting bed bugs complete with photos. Exterminators say that these things are a huge epidemic that most people don't realize. I guess they can be found in nearly every hotel. So of course I went on bedbugreport and looked at the surrounding ones and found similar reports.

I always check my mattress and headboard - but are there any places you trust completely in Macon?

We're staying at AKL once we get to Disney, and I've read of them being there too, a long time ago... But this is seriously grossing me out and making me reconsider even stopping for the night so we can enjoy our first day without the sleep deprivation kicking in from an overnight drive.

Anyone else have a fear of these? What do you do when you travel?

 

[KrzyKtty]

If anyone ever tells you that any hotel, even Disney is guaranteed Bed Bug Free they are pulling a fast one on you. I'm sorry to say, especially down south, there is really no such thing. The best thing to do is check like you have been. Make sure you don't bring your luggage in until you do, or store it in the bathroom.

I don't have a fear of them per se, just a healthy respect. I have been nailed twice, both times in 4 star high class hotels. Any hotel that gets guests from international, business, or airports is at greater risk.

Quite honestly, Disney is just as big of a risk as any other, higher really due to the amount of guests they see. If you are worried about that hotel specifically in Macon, call then and let them know that you saw a report of Bed Bugs. Ask them how the situation was handled. Just about any hotel will react quickly to combat the problem when notified.

 

[mariak]

If anyone ever tells you that any hotel, even Disney is guaranteed Bed Bug Free they are pulling a fast one on you. I'm sorry to say, especially down south, there is really no such thing. The best thing to do is check like you have been. Make sure you don't bring your luggage in until you do, or store it in the bathroom.

I don't have a fear of them per se, just a healthy respect. I have been nailed twice, both times in 4 star high class hotels. Any hotel that gets guests from international, business, or airports is at greater risk.

Quite honestly, Disney is just as big of a risk as any other, higher really due to the amount of guests they see. If you are worried about that hotel specifically in Macon, call then and let them know that you saw a report of Bed Bugs. Ask them how the situation was handled. Just about any hotel will react quickly to combat the problem when notified.

Ah twice? I hope it didn't ruin your experience. I can't see how it wouldn't though..

I know it's naive to think that they won't be at Disney - I just expect them to be handled more efficiently there I guess.

Calling them is a great idea. I am still REALLY grossed out though now that I've been looking into this. It's kind of taking the excitement to travel away to be honest! Thanks for that suggestion.

 

[KrzyKtty]

No, it didn't take away from the joy of the one trip, the other was business related. It just made me a bit itchy. I would suggest if you are that worried, pack some anti-itch ointment just in case.

The biggest thing to be careful of is the second you think that you may have become a victim to them, make sure you have the hotel treat all of your laundry multiple times, and luggage immediately. Then re-treat it as soon as you get home (DO NOT BRING THEM INTO THE HOUSE UNTIL!) The absolute worst thing you can do is bring your things back into the house without through treating. Once in your home, they are damn near impossible to get out without professional help.

Both times I was able to prevent it by taking proper precautions after the fact. First time I got nailed I didn't know they were a thing. Second time I got lazy and didn't check.

 

[mariak]

I didn't realize you could make the hotel treat your laundry and luggage! Putting a pin in that one for later, just in case!

When we get home, I'm planning on emptying my luggage in the garage, and putting it in some garbage bags for a couple weeks before I take it back in the house and store it.. The clothes I'll put in a bag and immediately bring right to the washing machine.

I can deal with any other type of bug, but bed bugs are too reminiscent of fleas to me. We had a flea infestation when I rescued a kitten from a co-worker.. She had given her multiple baths and taken her to the vet and everything, and no sign of them on her end. However, we isolated her for a few weeks before taking her into the rest of our house and to meet our other cat, and we didn't realize that they were building up in the part of the house where we were keeping her. Discovered it because my husband went to spend some time with her and came back with a ton of red bumps on his legs.

After a lot of daily sweeping, purging, and pesticide... those are LONG gone now, but I have serious PTSD and bed bugs hit too close to home! So I'm terrified, heh. I'm not kidding either - I ate a poppyseed bagel on our couch several months after we were clear of them, and I discovered a seed a few days later. By then, I'd forgotten the poppyseed bagel and it really looked like a flea egg to me! Cue meltdown... swept and sprayed all our furniture and rugs again after that before remembering the poppyseed bagel

So yea, spaz here.

 

[KrzyKtty]

My family's been in animal rescue most of my life, so believe me I get it.

As far as the hotel's go, as long as you're willing to address the issue quietly with the manager then most hotels are willing to do what is necessary to keep the guests quiet and happy about the incident. I can't say there won't be a few bad apples out there, but hotels for the most part fear these incidents as much as the guests do. The last thing they need is it getting out to the public.

 

[docdebbi]

I also stayed in a room where I caught the little crawling across my bed in the middle of the night. As above, nice high class hotel, it can happen anywhere, to anyone.

The hotel responded promptly, washed and high heat dried all of my items except those that were too delicate to be put in the dryer. Those they put in plastic bags and taped closed. They removed me immediately to another room and had me shower and throw away anything i was wearing and then moved me to a third room when I was "clean". I saw the exterminator in that room before I finished my shower. Hotels take this seriously because if it spreads throughout their hotel, they are in serious trouble. And yes, they compensated me for lost items, and comped me the room (guess asking me to pay for living with a bedbug just seemed wrong!)

since then, I leave my luggage in the bathtub while I check all the mattresses, under the bedside tables, etc. I have never seen another bedbug.
I have noticed that most hotels now have bedbug covers on all their mattresses so they can't hide in the seams like they used to.

So chill, do your due diligence and check when you arrive, but don't worry or let is upset you. You can prevent it.

 

[mariak]

I also stayed in a room where I caught the little ****** crawling across my bed in the middle of the night. As above, nice high class hotel, it can happen anywhere, to anyone.

The hotel responded promptly, washed and high heat dried all of my items except those that were too delicate to be put in the dryer. Those they put in plastic bags and taped closed. They removed me immediately to another room and had me shower and throw away anything i was wearing and then moved me to a third room when I was "clean". I saw the exterminator in that room before I finished my shower. Hotels take this seriously because if it spreads throughout their hotel, they are in serious trouble. And yes, they compensated me for lost items, and comped me the room (guess asking me to pay for living with a bedbug just seemed wrong!)

since then, I leave my luggage in the bathtub while I check all the mattresses, under the bedside tables, etc. I have never seen another bedbug.
I have noticed that most hotels now have bedbug covers on all their mattresses so they can't hide in the seams like they used to.

So chill, do your due diligence and check when you arrive, but don't worry or let is upset you. You can prevent it.

Wow, that's a great response! The review I saw stated that management was not helpful, so I guess it just depends on who you're dealing with. But thanks - this is the kinda stuff I need to hear. I'm going to go prepared and try not to stress about it.

 

[thomas998]

We have a routine to minimize the danger of them. When we check into a hotel we check the mattresses... If it has a zipped mattress cover on I unzip it and look very closely at the seams for any signs of bugs, odds are you won't see the bugs as easily as you'll see the bugs feces because bed bugs don't like the light and will hide if possible. If it looks clear we bring in out bags, but we still assume that the place has beg bugs and never set the luggage on the floor or on the bed. We use the luggage rack and any table for setting bags on because the hard surface is much less likely to be attractive to a bed bug as a bed or upholstered furniture. Then when we leave we get home we never bring clothes into the house until they have been laundered.

In times when we have been forced to stay in really iffy places we've never brought in our luggage only taken out what we needed for the next day and then put all of the dirty clothes into a plastic bag that was tied shut and again cleaned before it was ever allowed back in our house.

Reality is bed bugs are in lots of hotels and just because a hotel isn't listed on bedbugreport.com doesn't mean that the person that stayed in the room right before didn't bring them from his/her home... Bed bugs are probably my biggest fear when I travel so I understand why your worried... but if you plan for them and assume they are their you can take precautions so even when you do get room with them you can deal with them.

 

[TARDIS]

Bed bugs are a unfortunate thing even at Disney. Had a friend there in October that got bit up by them. (Disney reacted quickly, cleaned their clothes, upgraded them etc) I would just do the typical room check BEFORE bringing in your luggage, most hotels try to get rid of the bugs quickly. We always stop off in Macon,It's a nice little spot with a few places to eat and only 5hrs from Disney. I would worry yourself about the what ifs and just be cautious

 

[Todd H]

So... I'm curious. What have you read in regards to Macon being a great place to stop? I live in north of Atlanta, and have been to Macon multiple times. It's not what I would consider a tourist destination, or someplace that I have to stop. But, maybe there is something there I've not heard about?

BTW, be sure to look along the I-475 bypass, too. It's a faster way to get through/past Macon, and there are some newer properties.

I live an hour south of Macon. I wouldn't call it a great place to spend the night at all.

 

[Weather_Lady]

No hotel is immune from bedbugs. As others suggested, the best way to ease your worries, wherever you stay, is just to watch one of the many videos on Youtube that show you how to quickly check a hotel room for bedbugs, and bring a small flashlight with you. (I now keep one right in the outside pocket of my carryon.) When you enter the room, set your luggage and anything else you're carrying inside the bathtub (so it's not touching carpets or furniture - don't put it on a luggage rack, as bedbugs actually love those straps and all the nooks and crannies they create) and do a 5-minute bedbug inspection of the beds, mattresses, headboards, table drawers, luggage racks, etc.

So far, my bedbug checks have all been clean as a whistle, but taking those few minutes to inspect the room before I unpack gives me great peace of mind.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

I have found bb's twice at wdw. Fortunately, I always check the room before we unload the car. If there is more than a couple of bugs, they've been there a while. They can live a full year as adults with no food or water. All they need is air. I just watched a show on this.
Bb's were totally gone from the US for many years, so no research had been done until the last couple of years. The show I watched had researchers from three top universities and a famous research institute. Many hotels deny they have bb's. They tell the guest that if only one person in the room was bitten that they were not bitten by bb's. This isn't true. Only 50% of people bitten have any reaction at all. They never know they were bitten. The researchers allowed the bb to bite them. Some reacted, the main scientist has no marks at all. So, people don't think they were bitten.
They tested many of the new bb sprays from natural to the stuff only professionals can get. None of them were 100%. The "natural" one worked the best. Every one of them had at least one of ten bugs to survive. These horrible little creatures take over entire houses, resort floors and apartment buildings. They showed that if there are many in one resort room, they're probably in any close rooms. The male's won't leave the females alone, so they move to different places. They like corners of rooms and under drawers. They like to hide behind light switch plates and headboards.
The only full proof way to kill every one in a room or house is by extreme cold followed by extreme heat. It cost the homeowners in the show a minimum of 10,000.00 to finally get rid of them.
The bb dogs are one of the best deterants to bb's in hotels/resorts. They are very good at finding them and they can check a room in less than 10 minutes.
As to the insecticide that worked the best, it happened to be the one I use when in wdw. After finding them twice, I am extremely diligent in my search before we bring in our luggage from the car. We keep all our clothes in space bags, including those we've worn. I would never put my clothes in the drawers or put my suitcases on the floor without plastic sheeting under them. I usually spray the carpet and let it dry where I plan to put the plastic. The spray I use is safe to spray directly on carpet and luggage.
When we get home, we leave the luggage in the garage in huge space bags until I steam it thoroughly. I carefully bring in the clothes one load at a time and use bleach on everything that can be bleached. The things I can't bleach and dry on high heat I steam before washing. It really doesn't take that long, and I would do it even if it did.

 

[mariak]

So... I'm curious. What have you read in regards to Macon being a great place to stop? I live in north of Atlanta, and have been to Macon multiple times. It's not what I would consider a tourist destination, or someplace that I have to stop. But, maybe there is something there I've not heard about?

BTW, be sure to look along the I-475 bypass, too. It's a faster way to get through/past Macon, and there are some newer properties.

Honestly it was just some older forum posts around the web! But now that I've been looking into it more, I think we will go a different route that won't even take us through Macon. Probably end up stopping around Savannah.

I have found bb's twice at wdw. Fortunately, I always check the room before we unload the car. If there is more than a couple of bugs, they've been there a while. They can live a full year as adults with no food or water. All they need is air. I just watched a show on this.
Bb's were totally gone from the US for many years, so no research had been done until the last couple of years. The show I watched had researchers from three top universities and a famous research institute. Many hotels deny they have bb's. They tell the guest that if only one person in the room was bitten that they were not bitten by bb's. This isn't true. Only 50% of people bitten have any reaction at all. They never know they were bitten. The researchers allowed the bb to bite them. Some reacted, the main scientist has no marks at all. So, people don't think they were bitten.
They tested many of the new bb sprays from natural to the stuff only professionals can get. None of them were 100%. The "natural" one worked the best. Every one of them had at least one of ten bugs to survive. These horrible little creatures take over entire houses, resort floors and apartment buildings. They showed that if there are many in one resort room, they're probably in any close rooms. The male's won't leave the females alone, so they move to different places. They like corners of rooms and under drawers. They like to hide behind light switch plates and headboards.
The only full proof way to kill every one in a room or house is by extreme cold followed by extreme heat. It cost the homeowners in the show a minimum of 10,000.00 to finally get rid of them.
The bb dogs are one of the best deterants to bb's in hotels/resorts. They are very good at finding them and they can check a room in less than 10 minutes.
As to the insecticide that worked the best, it happened to be the one I use when in wdw. After finding them twice, I am extremely diligent in my search before we bring in our luggage from the car. We keep all our clothes in space bags, including those we've worn. I would never put my clothes in the drawers or put my suitcases on the floor without plastic sheeting under them. I usually spray the carpet and let it dry where I plan to put the plastic. The spray I use is safe to spray directly on carpet and luggage.
When we get home, we leave the luggage in the garage in huge space bags until I steam it thoroughly. I carefully bring in the clothes one load at a time and use bleach on everything that can be bleached. The things I can't bleach and dry on high heat I steam before washing. It really doesn't take that long, and I would do it even if it did.

Yea, see... this is why I'm a spaz. I'm going to really try to not let it get to me. It honestly is almost enough to make me not want to travel though haha.

 

[mariak]

Bed bugs are a unfortunate thing even at Disney. Had a friend there in October that got bit up by them. (Disney reacted quickly, cleaned their clothes, upgraded them etc) I would just do the typical room check BEFORE bringing in your luggage, most hotels try to get rid of the bugs quickly. We always stop off in Macon,It's a nice little spot with a few places to eat and only 5hrs from Disney. I would worry yourself about the what ifs and just be cautious

Well, if it's gonna happen, I'd rather it be at Disney so I have a lot to distract me haha

 

[disney4life2008]

People who think Disney is free of bugs is crazy.