omg I’ve just woken up in a hotel as I felt something crawling on me, it was a bloody bed bug

[DisgustedinBournemouth]

I feel sick and now I can’t obv get back to sleep and it’s 3am

what the heck do I do with my bag and all my things when I get home tomorrow ? To de bug them

If a dog or a cat jumped on her in the middle of the night when she wasn’t expecting it I’m sure she would panic… like we all would!?

Was going to say this. Bed bugs are really difficult to see, not big insects like that that you catch crawling on you.

I've also had bedbugs - genuinely traumatising experience trying to get rid of them.

But I don't think this is one! They are the shape of an apple seed and they don't curl as this one appears to be doing?

@LauraNorda an infestation of bedbugs is an order of magnitude worse than, say, fleas or beetles or headlice. It's much more like, say, living with rats in your house.

All your belongings are potentially infested. Unless you can afford heat treatment they are incredibly difficult to get rid of and each treatment takes weeks to fully work.If you miss just one, you have to start again. You can't sleep - and you can't change rooms as they will follow the carbon dioxide. Your kids have to stay in their infested rooms knowing that the bugs will be feeding on them later. It was horrific.

It's 3 am, you find a bug in your bed and you're not an entomologist. It's not surprising your first thought is bedbug. I have no idea what bedbugs look like. (Well I do now, thanks to this thread.)

Good advice I was given was put your bags in the bath when in a hotel that way it stays bug free.

That's not a bed bug. That's a carpet beetle larvae. They're called woolly bears. If it's crawled on you, you may develop a rash that looks like a cluster of bites. It's the little hairs on their body that get left in your skin and cause a reaction. If it happens, cover it with a thin layer of magnesium sulphate, leave for an hour then scrape over it hard with the edge of a credit card. It removes them. It won't heal until they're out. Voice of bitter experience.

Plus, a dog or cat is one creature, highly visible and easily got rid of. The smaller the lifeform, the less any of these points apply.

I agree with whoever posted earlier and declared stripping naked before entering your home then burning all your possessions is the only way to go 😁💯🔥🦗🐜🦟🪳

Seriously though I have always believed that bed bugs are so miniscule they can barely be seen with the naked eye.

Shoot me I'm braced 🫣

😆

I'm no expert but my understanding is that bed bugs are very very small. That looks too big to be a bed bug. Someone correct me if I'm wrong!

I also don't think it's a bed bug and I dealt with an infestation a few years ago. But if you think it is then put your clothes in the freezer when you return. Most effective way to kill them other than insecticide. Steam kills as well but that will damage the clothes. You could steam the bag maybe

Do they have beds in Ubers? Uber XXX perhaps

Bed bugs are easily visible with the naked eye. They're true bugs (have sucking mouthparts) and undergo incomplete metamorphosis (which just means the babies look like small versions of the adults). They moult several times from hatching before reaching full size and become able to breed. Sometimes the shed skins will give away the infestation as the live insects hide away. Also you might see spots of blood (essentially their faeces) around the mattress seams, buttons, and other places where they hide.

I think the beastie is a woodlouse. The colour, the number of legs (they, unlike insects, have more than six) and the way it is segmented. I don't think it is a carpet beetle larva. They are quite bristly (the hairs are what may trigger allergic reactions) but usually only harmful to textiles.

Regardless OP what an awful experience for you.

You need to wash everything washable at at least 60 degrees. Have a hot shower there, then again when you get home.
Everything non washable in a thick plastic bag spay liberally with fly/insect spray seal and leave for several days before getting them out and using them again.Remenber to seal up the suitcase spray and don't get it out again until you need to use it.

I was thinking the same.

Some years ago, I booked a room in The Premier Inn. It's my favourite hotel name, and I've never had any trouble. The rooms are always immaculately clean, the brilliant staff, etc.

I woke up at about 2 am for a drink - I'd had a refillable bottle of orange juice on the table opposite the bed - and there on the wall was an 8-legged thing, just above the bottle! I'm arachnophobic and went into full screaming abdab mode! I tried not to physically scream as I didn't want to wake ''the neighbours'' but I was absolutely hysterical!

I didn't care that it was 2 am, I ran out of the room at speed, barefoot and in my t-shirt and shorts, straight down to reception, begging them to get rid of it!

Thankfully, the night manager was amazing, and he immediately came up and threw it out of the window as I stood in the hallway, cowering!

I think it’s a bit big for a carpet beetle?
Did you check the number of legs OP?

🔥the lot!

Ive been using Pif Paf for almost 50 years in a country where it’s the spray of choice for all creepy crawlird and have never once heard of anyone being killed by it.

Looks more like a woodlouse , not a bed bug ( they are flatter and more like a tick) Woodlouse, harmless and no probs for human beings .

No it’s not a woodlouse, they are grey and that insect is brown.

We can safely assume you’re well acquainted with bed bugs then. Why so defensive 😂

There are a number of different species though. I don’t think they’re all grey.

Me too. But know what they look like and understand their life cycle/ feeding habits. They like the dark and crevices , hence their flat bodies, hiding in seams in mattresses and cracks in illfitting skirting boards etc . Best idea if you have been sleeping in a room with them ...meticulously check along the seams of all your clothes and bags before assuming you are safe to take these items back to your home. Only had one experience of them after a year of travelling...as soon as I saw them in the room ( in Sydney, Australia) I checked everything as above and ended up sleeping on a hard wooden bench in the hotel kitchen that night !

I'm delighted that there are other life forms on earth and, as long as they are not in my house -let alone my bed- I'm happy for them to crawl, fly and slither wherever they please!