Bedbugs

[northernballer]

I have been on holiday and we have all been bitten, possibly mosquitos, maybe bedbugs or fleas, hard to tell. The owner obviously said it wasn't bed bugs.

Either way, due to a large dose of paranoia I am treating them as bedbugs so all suitcases are in the garage, shoes bagged up and clothes making there way from there to the kitchen for a hot wash and then a tumble dry.

My question is what about the hand luggage? Books, card games, phones etc? They are in the garage, should I bin bag them and leave them there for a week to decontamination? I have put all our washbags in the bath as I read they couldn't climb out of there!

The bites are horrendous, feel like they are on fire!

A week won't do it. They can live for months in bags as there is always trapped air in them. Heat treatment will kill them. You could get yourself a steamer and steam all the bags and items thoroughly. It's not a guarantee, but it's better than nothing, and leaving them in bags for a week is pretty much the same as doing nothing, sorry to say. A professional exterminator could come out, do an inspection and put them in a special heat box which does a better job.
They can probably climb out of the washer too.

The bites do sound like bedbug bites, not mosquito or fleas bites. Sorry. I know it's grim.

Well, don’t panic just yet as it might be fleas. I completely fear The Bedbug and having to burn down my house as a consequence, but there are signs.

Are the bites in a straight line or mostly around your ankles?

You can microwave anything microwavable, steam cleaner also works.
You can wrap things up and put in the freezer for at least 3 days. Bigger things might need a bit longer though to make sure the very inside of the item gets cold enough for long enough.

What country did you go to on holiday?

Why do you suspect bedbugs more than mosquitos?

We were in the mountains just outside Barcelona.

The guy who came to fumigate as we left said they were mosquito bites and the owner has previously treated the place for bedbugs and has special sheets, I didn't actually see any.

They are mostly on my legs and the ankles were the worse, they sting more than itch and not like anything I have had before. I also doused myself in mosquito repellant which had no effect, think they have tiger mosquitos there, I couldnt hear any buzzing like normal. Praying its fleas (not something I thought I would ever say!)

Ankles means fleas

Bedbug bites are quite distinctive, if you post a picture of the bites I'm sure people will be able to tell and hopefully give you some good news

Apparently you can throw everything into a chest freezer for a week and that will do the trick. Also, you don’t have to hot wash your clothes, you can put them dry into a hot tumble dryer (but i forget how long for) and it will kill the bugs and they won’t shrink. Supposedly only wet clothes shrink in the dryer 🤷

Thanks so much everyone.

These are my daughter, not sure my legs are up to a photo =)

Looks more like mosquitoes than bedbugs.

No need to quarantine phones.

You could microwave cards / books or put them in a plastic bag in the freezer. In bad infestations BBs could seek crevices in books, a pack of cards.

But I think you would have seen them if it was that bad.

Suspicious that the apartment had recovery treated for BBs

My question is what about the hand luggage? Books, card games, phones etc?

I had bedbugs on a trip to Romania and had to full Decon when I got back. Clothes and shoes…bit by bit from outside to a hot wash and tumble dry on 60C for 20 min. Linen/wool clothes that can’t be washed on hot- wash with dettol laundry cleanser, jhang outside until damp and then IRON DRY paying special attention to seams.

Luggage you can go over with a Hoover attachment and wet wipes or better yet a hand steamer. Then Diatomaceous Earth lightly sprinkled all over like a small layer of dust is enough to kill them if they are hiding in a crevice…they will have to come out.

Books, card games…look through outside and then put in a plastic bag and freeze for 3 days. Phones you can take apart and check, they don’t like to hide in electronics usually.

Except some people don’t even react to them, so bed bugs bites are different on different people.

I found this video very helpful
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2JAOTJxYqh8

You would still get the distinctive clustering even if the reaction was more or less.

There isn’t always clustering. My bites did not because it was only a few bedbugs. And if you are a person who does not react at all, there are no visible or felt bites. Your skin is normal looking and feeling.