Bed bugs and Vinted etc

YY I agree you have to be wary of them in hotels and def wouldn't want an infestation, as once they're in it's very hard to get rid of them. I just didn't think they migrated on clothing. They need to be near to a host, don't they?

I wonder if it's not just global warming ie warmer temperatures? I always associated them with warmer places like Spain and some hotter parts of the US. An online friend living in Texas had a horrific infestation but hasn't seemed to have any issues with them since moving to Canada.

I wish people took bedbugs more seriously. Well before the current news about them, I came across them in a rented flat on first night there (left immediately). It was unbelievably gross and once I had read about them, I realised the true nightmare of them getting into your house! I then came across them in a Premier Inn hotel (would have had no idea if I hadn't looked due to previous horror) I don't buy from Vinted etc and tbh won't be staying in hotels. Read up on it! They aren't THAT rare. Uncommon but definitely a risk.

I don’t read rags and am not on SM.

I subscribe to the Times and the Financial Times, both have run bed bug stories recently. FT at least twice in October. Times probably five times in October.

My parents had an infestation of bed bugs about 18 months ago, it was stressful and very expensive for them, £2k on a pro to deal with them, £800 dry cleaning curtains and blinds, two new mattresses, all new bedding.

Washing alone doesn’t get rid of them.

DAMN YOU OP.

Yes. YES. NOW I am worried about it.

😂

Hadn't crossed my mind until now. Thanks for that!

I'm inclined to agree, certainly not seen anything on the odd occasions I've looked at news website but I do avoid the DM & other similar rags.
I must live in a bubble of ignorance as (aside from watching a pest controller's YT video once showing an absolutely minging infestation of bedbugs) I've never actually seen a bedbug IRL.
I do often use Vinted, mostly for books & household things but have always washed any clothing or soft furnishings before use.

The DM and other fake news sites would have us believe in an infestation invading us from Europe. It suits the anti Europe propaganda and keeps us from noticing the real news.

Ah well this is a tiny snippet of people who may or may not be based in the UK! 😊

Me?? I'm going by the responses on this thread.

Obviously nobody wants bed bugs.

As an aside what is the reporting like in the UK that people are so terrified of bed bugs calling them the next pandemic? Confused

I haven't heard this at all. I think you need to watch better / more sensible news or have a break from social media.

Yes, I thought about this about a month ago. I don’t use vinted/buy used but DC does.

TBH I’d rather help them to buy something new anyway because spending £30 on a party dress from Monsoon that doesn’t fit and that you can’t return is a waste of £30. Especially when you can buy the new equivalent for £50 on offer.

Bedbugs has given me the excuse/reason to make that happen.

Also , please bear in mind that the current bed bug panic has been stoked by Russian troll farms .

I bung all charity shop/Vinted/eBay finds in the freezer as soon as they are in the door. Freeze for 7-10 days depending on freezer space and then wash. Kills bedbugs and moth larvae

Bed bugs are unlikely to survive in a postal bag for several days and anyway wouldn't you wash it before giving to your DC?

Just a non issue.

As an aside what is the reporting like in the UK that people are so terrified of bed bugs calling them the next pandemic?

Oh thanks for that one OP! 😂

Didn't occur to me until now 😭

Freezer, washing, steamer, hoover, throw out bag, repeat. Contemplating investing in some more Indorex and the white earth stuff I can never spell but will have to use those when cats in cattery. We had bed bugs when I was at university 30 odd years ago, the university had to scrap loads of beds and mattresses. This year we've had carpet beetles which were a pig to eradicate. I'm sincerely hoping we don't have to do the same with ruddy bed bugs....

Yep, even new clothes tbh. I once caught scabies from a new pair of jeans. Now creepy-crawlies have got so resilient, I've been fighting a mild paranoia about unwanted visitors arriving with my purchases!

I'd forgotten about freezing them. Good call, thanks ❄

I've become paranoid about them lately. My son is in RAF & up until recently you could take your own bedding. Now he's heard that if you're new going into a base you are not allowed to anymore.
It's certainly made me think about the spread of them.

Yeah, I think bedbugs are the next pandemic and we're probably all going to end up with them pretty soon anyway. Hopefully they'll figure out an easier and cheaper way to get rid of them than the current methods. In the meantime I won't be buying secondhand furniture and will think twice about using Vinted/ebay/charity shops also (and will do the freezer thing if I do).

Given the number of parents who send their children to school with permanent headlice, I wouldn’t put too much faith in other people’s self policing when it comes to bed bugs.

I've never given it a thought tbh

Surely that the same risk as a friend coming for coffee and potentially leaving a bed bug behind.

Never thought about it until this very second

I would hope if someone knew they had bed bugs that they wouldn’t then sell their items to another person knowing the impact it could have?!