DH just found bedbugs in his hotel room

[Bedbugspleasehelp]

He is due back home tomorrow.
He just posted me some photos and there is no doubt.
I am googling, but if anyone has any advice please post it! I would be very grateful.
I don't want to have to burn all his clothes and the contents of our house...

TIA

Another vote for leaving as many belongings as possible behind and stripping off in the garden.

Honestly I'd do this.

If he has to bring some stuff home, dump the suitcases and bags outside the house (in bin bags) and bring the essential stuff in in a sealed bag and heat at high temp.

We've had bedbugs years ago (from Ds's college dorm). It was indeed horrific.

Washing at high temp won't get rid of them. Putting clothes in a drier at at least 40 degrees for 40 minutes is what is needed.

But best of all is not letting them get into the house at all.

Brought them home from Turkey unknowingly . It was the most stressful time of my life .. I’d rather set the luggage alight than risk them in my home .

My sons clothing etc was transferred from his ship to warehousing in Africa. Six months later it turned up. I unpacked on the patio. Sorted into piles washed every load at 60c. Tumbled and folded.

The rucksack went into the washing machine fine, ditto trainers. Washbag and contents into bin. Boxes burnt.

Had to do all this because of insects eggs including cockroaches, spiders. 😱

Bed bugs are pretty docile and they can't fly, so don't panic they're not as scary as they seem. They're not like moths,They'll be very obvious if they're on his clothes, they're quite big, and red, and easy to squash.

However, I do agree with stripping at the door and / chucking or double bagging all his luggage and leaving it outside for at least 3 months until they've died.

I'd be getting rid of everything too tbh

Also remember to check inside his phone (bit where charger goes in) and electronics as bedbugs can live in there, especially as our mobiles are normally on or next to the bed when sleeping. Same for books or journals etc stored near the bed as bugs like to squeeze between the pages.

I caught bedbugs in Germany years ago and managed to avoid bringing them home by binning all my clothes/suitcase, buying new stuff to wear into the house, then storing my phone in a ziplock freezer bag for a day in the sun to make sure none were hiding inside.

It's great that he knows and you can plan accordingly

In his phone???
Oh my God.

I would have just left my bags at the hotel. I would then strip off at the front door and put those clothes in the outdoor bin (wouldn't care who saw me). We have had bedbugs and it cost over £3k to eradicate them. It was a nightmare!

Give him an old towel and make him strip outside under the towel. Then throw it all out!

I have bin bags, an old towel and ziplock bags ready. Flight has been delayed so no idea what time he will get back.

We had this at Easter when we were away. We stripped off in the garden and left everything out in the garden (luckily we are not overlooked). Seal all the contents of the luggage until it can be washed. I washed everything I could, dried it outside (don't have a tumble dryer) and ironed everything on high steam in the garden straight off the line. If you have stuff that cannot be washed you can seal it in bags and put it in the freezer for 5 days which will kill them. I did this with our shoes and my handbags.

Bit drastic to throw him out too!

I posted this a few months ago when someone else had the same issue:

How is he getting home? If his suitcase is going into the car, you should put it inside a bin bag (or two) to prevent the car becoming infested.

Firstly, he should make sure he's not bringing any back on himself. If possible, he should check the clothes he wants to wear home. Last thing before leaving the hotel should be shower and get changed, without sitting down again or putting clothes on the bed etc. He should also shake himself off when leaving and check the bottoms of his shoes. When he gers home, he should strip off his clothes into a bin bag. This should ideally be done outdoors but I can understand your neighbours might not enjoy the show!
Shoes should be left outside until they can be checked. Bedbugs don't generally like to stay on people but it's worth having another shower when he gets into the house anyway.

Suitcases/bags should be left outside and then all clothes emptied into bin bags. When the suitcase is empty, check the whole thing, especially in cracks and crevices such as around the zips as this is where bedbugs will hide. Eggs look like a grain of rice but smaller. Or just chuck the suitcase away since it's old!

Next, the clothes - Do you have a tumble dryer? If so, put everything dry in there for 30 minutes - this is long and hot enough to kill all in the cycle (nymphs, adults and eggs). Don't overload the machine so everything gets sufficiently hot. When heating everything dry there is less damage and shrinkage to your clothes. I did this with all my clothes and had no damage at all.
If you don't have a dryer, put everything into the washing machine on a hot wash. Do this from the bin bags to prevent any bedbugs from escaping into your house. Bin bags should be thrown away into the outdoor black bin after use. Anything that can't be washed on a high heat or go in the dryer should go into a ziplock bag and then into the freezer for at least 4 days. Put the rucksack into a bin bag and into the freezer if it will fit.

To be extra sure, you could buy Cimexa from Amazon, which dries out and kills bedbugs on contact. It's a form of silica so non toxic but should be applied with a dust mask. You could apply this in the suitcase if you don't want to get rid, and also put a bit in crevices on your bed.

I encountered bedbugs in an Airbnb last year and went a bit crazy trying to make sure I didnt bring them home. I even enquired about a bedbug sniffer dog coming to my house! If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Thank you. He is on the plane, I hope he has followed all the advice so far. I will be at the door with binbags etc, Everything except wallet, phone and laptop can stay in the back garden till the morning. The electricals can go in ziplock bags till tomorrow as well.

Please give an update Op! Did the neighbours curtains twitch as your DP stripped down?

It was early hours of the morning when he got back due to plane problems. He came round to back door, stripped off on the doorstep, in the dark, shielded by an old towel in case anyone was looking out of their windows. Clothes into black bag, rucksack and suitcase into black bags, ditto shoes. He went straight into hot shower, first towel straight into washing machine on the way, clean towel and PJs ready in bathroom.
Suitcase, rucksack and shoes still in black bags in the garden.
Clothes laundered on hot wash and steam ironed.
I have cleared space in the freezer for the small items. These are ready in ziplock bags.
He has no bites. There have been no signs of anything so far. The case and rucksacks can stay sealed in the bags for weeks - they aren't necessary as no holidays planned.
Fingers crossed that no bugs hitched a ride home.