To throw out my suitcase due to potential bed bugs?

[singme]

Last day on holiday in the US at the moment and I think the last hotel we stayed at had bed bugs. My friend and I are covered in bites and when we read previous reviews bed bugs were mentioned! It’s definitely not mosquitoes as it’s mainly my back which isn’t exposed. Some on arms and legs too.

We have hot washed and dried all our clothes and put into plastic bags, we’ve closed our cases which mainly have shoes etc in. I’ve inspected all the cases and contents and haven’t found anything.

Showered about 20 times.

Plan is- fly home in the clean clothes from the sealed bag. Still going to have stuff in my carry on suitcase and will check the main suitcase with shoes etc in it. When I get home put all clothes on a hot wash, freezer shoes but should I throw out my suitcases?? Also had my hand bag in bed with me last night- do I just chuck it?? It’s not expensive but annoyed at having to replace suitcases. However the cost of bed bugs at home is way worse.

Don't buy a new suitcase in the US. Bedbugs often transfer when on the plane so your new suitcase could pick up a hitchhiker.

Yeah, stick your buggy cases in the hold with everyone else's! Share the joy!

New case or old, a sturdy layer of pallet wrap will prevent picking them up or passing them on.

Agree with what the others have written here.

Check out bedbugger . com for a mine of advice to avoid bedbugs while travelling.

Get a neighbour or relative to leave some sturdy binbags & gaffer tape/ties by the back door for you. When you arrive home, strip semi naked (also remove shoes) by the back door, and put the clothes you’re wearing and other clothes from your luggage CAREFULLY into the bin bag. Carefully decant this into the washing machine and wash on 60C +. Also tumble dry on hot to bone dry if poss.

Other items that can’t be washed, bag them up separately and quarentine them outside the house eg shed. Options include heat treatment (low oven for several hours or special bedbug killing heat cupboard appliance). Deep freeze for at least 2 weeks on coldest, withou opening the door at all. Buying some insectide impregnated strips and sealing them in the bag with the items. Time - leaving the items hermetically sealed & undisturbed in the bag for 18 mths + which is the maximum lifespan of a bb without access to food.

If you do bring them into the house after this, get hold of Cimexa (from US ebay/amazon), failing that diatomaceous earth. Think of yourself as bait (yuck! 🤢) and lightly dust between where you sleep and where the nests are so they have to cross the dust in order to feed. DO NOT use any repulsive or deterrant methods like bug bombs, as they scatter the problem deeper into the fabric of your house. You want them to come at you, so they cross the dehydrating dust, take it back to their nests and DIE! Also vaccuum thoroughly on max power, emptying and cleaning the cannister outside immediately. Dry vapour steaming, Polti make a bedbug killing appliance. Also get passive monitors on Amazon etc, which are small credit card sized things you stick on the bed frame and it shows up if you have an active bb infestation by the presense of black dots around the edge of the unit. Try to limit the infestation to one location in the house, don’t eg move to the sofa/spare bedroom... they’ll just follow you and spread their numbers.

We had bedbugs in a hotel a few years ago. When we got home we entered the house through the garage so the suitcase and contents didn’t come into the main house at all.

Anything that could be washed was put straight into a hot wash. And then washed again.

Anything that couldn’t go in the machine (sandals, straw hat etc) was liberally sprayed with Zero bedbug spray that we had preferred on Amazon to be waiting when we returned. The suitcase was also sprayed inside and out and then everything was shut in the suitcase and left in the corner of the garage until the following summer. Luckily it seemed to do the trick and they didn’t spread to our house.

I now carry a can of Zero whenever I go away and spray the beds, mattresses and bed frames and the inside of wardrobes etc before I unpack my suitcase. It’s stinky stuff and I have to vacate the room after doing it because it makes me choke but I never want to be bitten by those little fuckers again.

I don't think you can get nuvan strips in the UK. Something else to pick up if possible before leaving.

I wouldn't bother with the passive monitors. We had them on 2 beds with an active infestation and not a single bug moved into them. Also they're about £19 for what is essentially a bit of corrugated cardboard.

Bedbugger thread on making your own monitor: bedbugger.com/forum/topic/diy-monitor-for-those-on-a-tight-budget

This stuff whyohwhy?

The active ingredient is d-phenothrin which is a pyrethroid. Most bed bugs will be resistant.

The one I have been using has the active ingredient Deltamethrin. I hope it’s working as I’ve bought a lot of it!

That's also a pyrethroid. Deltamethrin was one of the earliest to lose effectiveness.

time.com/4733708/bed-bugs-insecticide-resistance/

does travel insurance cover this? and did you complain to the hotel while you were there and therefore could you approach them to cover costs of new cases etc? it's an expensive problem thanks to them

Buy new clothes to change into near your house and then change before entering. Do not take your cases or clothes into the new place.

Thanks for all tips. Currently sitting in the park waiting to leave for airport.

We noticed the bites after we had checked out (well we noticed a few beforehand but put it down to mosquitoes due to the location of the first bites). We’ve written an email to complain and taken pictures of the bites.

I’ve wiped down the hard shell cases and all zips and seams (which look to be wipe clean) and will wrap them at airport. I worry buying a new case I will just contaminate it but I will be throwing these ones out when I get home as I don’t have a garage or anything to keep them in. Everything inside the case is sorted into bin bags ready for the wash. I’ve also got a huge bin bag to put the case into before I throw it out.

Got a new bag for carry on luggage and have thrown away my travel pillow as it was in the suitcase and don’t want to be spreading these things around the plane.

Potentially will buy new clothes at the airport too but then I think I would still wash them on arriving home. I’m currently wearing a clean outfit that has been sealed since our hot wash and dry anyway.

I think that’s all bases covered as much as I can. Can anyone think of anything else? If my DP ends up getting bites this week at home I’ll be so so upset.