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Original poster

To be freaking out about bedbugs in premier Inn....

88 replies

FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:08

I'm staying in a premier Inn - tonight is the second night. Bedbugs would be one of my worst fears and whenever we go away I always check the beds and area around them just in case. Anyway, saw a little louse/beetle type thing on duvet earlier - DH chucked it out the door before I could get a proper look. It did look quite small, only a few mm and was running pretty fast. Anyway, freaking out about it being a bedbug now..... If this hotel had them there would have been reviews complaining, right?! Or do I need to burn all the suitcases and belongings, just in case.....

OP posts:
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8
Moonshake · 31/08/2019 22:43

Bedbugs are nothing to do with cleanliness or dirtiness, they're like nits - it just takes one bug for an infection, and once you have an infection they're very difficult to get rid of.

All hotels are at risk of bedbugs - it just takes one guest with a stowaway bedbug in their belongings and the hotel potentially has a bedbug problem. Ask any professional pest control company and they will tell you that many hotels will have needed their services for bedbugs at some time or other.

Bedbugs are roughly the shape/colour of an apple pip but smaller and very flat. They live in the tiny cracks in furniture and bed frame and in the seams of a mattress or other soft furnishings (curtains/cushions etc). It isn;t alwaays possible to see them just by looking as they stay well hidden. They can even hide under wallpaper and in plug sockets.

The best way to find them is with the torch app on your phone and a credit card, run the credit card in the gaps in the bed frame whilst shining your torch on the area and you might dislodge one.

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:43

No black spots anywhere as far as I could see - the actual bed is dark brown/black so hard to tell but the mattress and mattress cover seemed clear.

OP posts:
thenightsky · 31/08/2019 22:44

Sorry that's a shit photo. Its a dead one I got out of tumble drier filter.

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:45

No, not a harvest bug Sad

OP posts:
thenightsky · 31/08/2019 22:45

Fuck it.. where are you in Lincolnshire? It would be quicker for me to drive to your hotel and look at your bug thing! Grin

Moonshake · 31/08/2019 22:46

It wasn't in the seams, it was just under the duvet when we untucked it

They come out at night and they can detect the presence of a human by the carbon monoxide (when you breathe) and will come out for a feed Envy

User728462536 · 31/08/2019 22:46

The only comfort I can offer you is that this was not in Lincolnshire.

I am still waiting for Premier Inn to respond to my complaint.

To be freaking out about bedbugs in premier Inn....
To be freaking out about bedbugs in premier Inn....
To be freaking out about bedbugs in premier Inn....
Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:47

If it was a baby bedbug (definitely wasn't an adult) then too late anyway....

OP posts:
lisasimpsonssaxophone · 31/08/2019 22:47

Looked a little like a book louse but can't be sure

Booklice are way smaller than bedbugs!

But to be safer, I always make sure I never ever put my bag on the bed in hotels/airbnbs/etc, or at home. Keep your bag zipped up whenever you’re not using it. Wash everything ASAP when you get home.

Malvinaa81 · 31/08/2019 22:48

Just to be safe, I'd burn all the suitcases, all clothes you were wearing, and have your head shaved and rubbed with household ammonia.

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:48

This was in the afternoon, we hadn't been in the room all day prior to moving the duvet.

OP posts:
MargotsFlounceyBlouse · 31/08/2019 22:50

I'm reliably informed this weather hot and humid has meant small buggers like these and fleas, ticks, mossies and midges are at peak levels. Hope you have a quiet night but not sure this thread will be helping!

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:52

Since we had already stayed one night wouldn't someone have been bitten already? All I have is one mozzie bite.

OP posts:
User728462536 · 31/08/2019 22:52

Bedbugs can live in furniture too, behind skirting boards... Not just beds.

Chucking it into the hall was really stupid if it was a bedbug or you weren't sure.

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:53

User, where was that?

OP posts:
Moonshake · 31/08/2019 22:54

Not everyone reacts to the bites. In my family only my DD reacts. DH, DS and I had absolutely no sign whatsoever (although we were definitely bitten).

User728462536 · 31/08/2019 22:55

Not everyone reacts to the bites. Similar reaction to mosquito bites if you do. Think I might have read it can take a week to come up?

There's a page of info about them on NHS website.

pallisers · 31/08/2019 22:56

My ds didn't react to the bites ... so it took awhile to realise he had brought them home ...

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 22:57

DH just did it before I had chance to stop him.

OP posts:
User728462536 · 31/08/2019 23:02

Did it look like these pictures or the one on NHS website? Because if it did I'd be leaving.

Moonshake · 31/08/2019 23:02

OP if you're worried just follow pallisers advice about bagging and tumble drying your belongings. Washing at 60 degrees should also kill them, as does freezing (although this takes a lot longer - 8 weeks I think!)

DaisyDreaming · 31/08/2019 23:03

Use your phone light and look around the edges of the carpet and edges of mattresses

katewhinesalot · 31/08/2019 23:03

Many moons ago I took what I thought was bed bugs from my rented student house to environmental health. They were small and greyish and were found between the mattress and sheet when I changed the bed. After much oohing and ahhing and taking them to various people, it was declared that they were baby ladybirds. How they got there I have no idea.

Original poster
FeatherySquawkington · 31/08/2019 23:06

user It was smaller and different shape - long rather than round.

OP posts:
User728462536 · 31/08/2019 23:07

NHS guidance says freeze for four days.