Bed Bugs. How scared of them are you?

I never really thought about them although I would sometimes give a hotel bed a quick check.

Last year though DD went on a sleepover at a house with a big bed bug infestation. I had no reason to suspect that there was a problem before the sleepover. I'd had a chat on the phone with the mum before she stayed and she seemed pleasant. The house is a large, detached home in an expensive area. I'd have never let DD go if they'd mentioned the bedbugs.

Thankfully DD told me about the strange bugs everywhere when I collected her. I made her strip off on our porch and I checked all her clothes and bag. There were live bedbugs on them. 🤢

Everything went in a hot wash and I sprayed our house because DD had visited there previously but not slept over. After spraying we found 1 dead bug in her room.

Thankfully we narrowly escaped bed bugs infecting our home. I am a lot more cautious now though. I check a lot more. It was very stressful.

That does NOT sound like “not that difficult to get rid of” - you had to throw away his bed? 3 months of constant steam cleaning? That sounds like a load of hard work and hassle!

I never even really think about them. My previous accommodation was infested with fleas, I suppose bed bugs can't be much worse.

We had them a few years ago when DS returned from holiday with them.
They were not that difficult to get rid of - just took a lot of persistence from us for a few months. We used a hoover, sellotape to catch bugs and remove eggs, and a steam cleaner, daily for four weeks, every other day for four weeks, twice a week for four weeks then once a month for four months…
We did have to dispose of his bed though!

I’ve never given them a second - or indeed first - thought. But suddenly they seem to be cropping up all the time on my newsfeed and on here. Weird.

I have to be honest, I never even give them a thought!

My family visited England 2 years ago and met up with my sister and her family who were also travelling then. We both booked reputable hotels and expensive Stayz accommodation and checked reviews before booking. My sister came across bed bugs twice in two separate accommodations, we found them once. In our instance it was a super fancy hotel that was due to have a well known lifestyle magazine come to stay and review the following week. Had to do some serious decontaminating of luggage when we got home, it was a nightmare. Have never come across bed bugs in our home country, but when we reported the bugs to the accommodation providers we were told they are rampant across England and parts of Europe.

Never ever worry about them. I mean yes I know in theory it’s possible to get them but I only ever either stay at home where I know I wash stuff properly and have clean beds or stay in very good hotels etc where I trust they don’t have them.

There are plenty in the UK. It's a good idea for hotels etc to have the little traps set up so that they can see as soon as any arrive, if they do.
Bed bugs don't equal dirt - they just travel around on luggage.

I have OCD and get quite worked up over the thought of them. I check all hotels and villas basically anywhere I stay. I even put my suitcase in the bath while I check a room if they don’t have a suitcase stand. I know I sound crazy but I can get very worked up over it. I do have a plan strategy incase it does happen. However I hope it never does.

OP, I get scared of this happening too. It’s because I’ve read on here about how horrendous they are!
One poster’s mental health took a battering because of how difficult to get rid of they were 😱

I think it all depends on your living situation. Bedbugs are (mainly) an issue in deprived areas, council flats, etc, because they can walk from flat to flat. They're also an issue in hotels/hostels because people carry them in from their homes.

If you're relatively clean, wash your sheets, etc, and are reasonably sensible on holidays, you should be fine.

I never even think of them

Where do you live that you have bed bugs?

I've never heard/seen them in the UK?