Just Read A Thread Mentioning Bed Bugs!

[bouhunter]

My wifes aunt travels a lot and is always a little paranoid about bringing home bugs from the tropics in their luggage. When they come home she leaves their bags in the car for a couple days. Her assumption is the below freezing temperatures will kill anything that hitched a ride home. We haven't worried about it or done that, but it seems to make sense.

[cruisin granny]

Thanks MTL kid for your report. I am taking a flashlight to check the beds & furniture of our hotels (pre & post cruise) and ship. I am normally not paranoid but have delt with the "bat bed bugs." My daughter & son in law rented a darling old farm house after their marriage. They knew there were bats in & out of the attic but her husband, who grew up in a farm community said not to worry. They eat the insects and not the biting kind. They litterally escaped during the night when they noticed bugs on them, biting. Most of their belongings were left with the house that took extensive exterminating, cats were at the vet for a week, and they had several visits to the dermatologist. They never went back except for a short time, with the exterminator to get what they had to. We bought them a new bed & all new linens. It was a horrible thing!!!

[lindalu62]

thanks for the advice pb hunt. Unfortunetly, we brought the luggage in before I began to seriously suspect bed bugs. Kids were clamoring for their gifts and dug them out. I dont' think it ever got hot enough in the car. But, have washed all clothes in hot soapy water, and let clothes that could not be washed in hot water soak in the soapy water for a long time. Hoping the dryer will also help kill any. Have vacuumed out all the luggage and put it all in the attic. Have vaccuumed all areas where the luggage made contact with the floor, etc. Just have to hope for the best at this point!! I guess different people have different reactions to these bites, and mine was so minor as far as the itching and welts, that I was not alarmed until I decided to look myself over in the mirror and realized how many bites I had. At that point, the luggage was in the house and open. I was hoping they were sand flea bites, but have since read they bite primarliy on the feet/ankles, so not really what I have going on. I will check the mattresses first thing from now on when traveling!!!!!! Great pic whoever posted it!

[iluvcruzin]

Leaving the luggage in the car in cold temps - that would only work if left for a long period of time in sub-zero temps. Lindalu62 - Vaccuming the areas is fine if you suspect any. However - you need to throw the bag in the trash right away or it's a waste of time. It needs to be put in a sealed bag. From what you described it sounds like fleas. Bedbugs are attracted to carbon dioxide so you are more bound to get them on your face and neck area than your back. Bat bed bugs are the same granny. Birds are another animal source that it's commonly found as a host. These things are bad. I mentioned in another post a while back that my daughter brought these home unknowingly from Myrtle Beach last year. I learned a lot about them from the exterminator company I had to hire for the mild case we had. I'm pretty parinoid so I took extra caution on this past cruise.

[terri23]

I was on Splendour over the holidays and got itchy bites/welts (about 20) at 5:30 am on the 6th night of the cruise. I didn't notice any bites prior to that (like from sandfleas from the beach during the day), and bedbugs typically feed just before dawn, so the timing is suspicious (they will feed every 6-10 days, so maybe that's why I wasn't bitten earlier in the cruise). My bites were like Lindalus, pretty small. Ick. I got more bites the next night and then I slept on the sofa the last two nights. DH didn't feel anything. They were on my side / torso. Cabin 7535.

[takeabreath3]

my great granny used to take a cloth soaked in kerosene and coal oil and run it around the seams of the cotton and feather mattresses in her house. of course this was what 60/70 years ago!! but my dad remembers her doing it.

 

since i have a cruise planned on the splendour in april i was a little concenered about the little burgers being in my bed!

 

not sure what you can really do about it...but after seeing all the pic's on the above post, i feel much better. i have never seen any tell tell signs of them. so i think i'll just go and have a good time and if i get those little bites i'll just rub a little ointment on em and keep going. i figure as much alcohol as i drink druing the cruise it should kill what ever infection i could possibly get!!! ha ha

 

everyone have a good and i hope to sea ya all on the sea soon, judy

[lindalu62]

Take a breath 3--

 

I am not at all concerned about the bites themselves, they are harmless. What concerns me is the possibility that they will likely hitch a ride home on my clothes/suitcase and infest my home, which could be extremely expensive and a total hassle to eliminate!!

 

The more research I am doing on this, the more convinced I am that all cruise ships are likely to have an infestation to a degree. I don't see how they could not! With infestations becoming so prevalent in hotels, even clean, upscale hotels, the extreme difficulty involved in eradicating them, and so many passengers staying in hotels prior to their arrivals on the ships, how could there not be bedbugs on the cruiseships???? By the time they are diagnosed, the problem is likely already out of hand.

[lindalu62]

Terri 23--

 

What precautions did you take upon arriving home, and have you seen any evidence of them in your home since??? Hope not!!

[takeabreath3]

oh lindalou,

i agree with bringing the little bugers home with me! certainly not what i want for a souviner from my cruise!!! was just talking to a friend of mine who is an exterminator and he said it would not hurt to buy some of that head lice stuff...RID...and spray my suitcases real good in and out as well as the different areas in the room if i found any of the little droppings. he did say that he was not saying that this was a fool proof get rid of them for ever kinda thing. but that the chemicals would help deter them from entering my space!!!! so ta speak!

 

you might think about it!

 

have a good one!

 

judy

[tradingspaces]

check this out!

 

http://www.local6.com/travelgetaways/4365719/detail.html

[terri23]

Terri 23--

 

What precautions did you take upon arriving home, and have you seen any evidence of them in your home since??? Hope not!!

 

Linda,

 

we washed everything (even the clothing that hadn't been worn and LOL there was plenty of that) and shook out the luggage...put it outside for a while....probably not real effective if we actually had any hitchhikers, but I haven't noticed any problems...yet....knock on wood...they can go a year without eating!

[cruisin granny]

I was freaked about the bugs at first but maybe the alcohol will help. I mentioned previously that we went through this with my daughter. She came for lunch and said her symptoms were nothing like described here. Of course, she had lower class bat bugs not the first class hotel/cruise ship bugs so maybe there is a difference. They are so rare, neither the family doctor nor dermatologist could diagnose them when she literally saw them on her skin coming fromthe pores.. The exterminator told her what they were and she went back to the dermatologist and got a cream that took care of it. According to the exterminator, and he gave her a paper, they live in your skin and exit through a cut or the pores after eating. I also called my friend becaus I remembered her having problems on a company trip somewhere. It was Nassau and caused a lot of people problems with some kind of bug bites. several had them and did not notice getting bitten but they too had several, very small bites. Guess I will leave my flashlight at home and hope that any spots on my mattress are from the Dave Matthews concert.:rolleyes:

[lindalu62]

check this out!

 

http://www.local6.com/travelgetaways...19/detail.html

[lindalu62]

I have done tons of reading on bedbugs, and nowhere did it say they enter your body, then cut their way out!! I think that must have been some other type of varment!! All the reading I have done says they suck out your blood, get engorged, then go back into whatever crevice they came from. I really don't think your daughter had bedbugs, that is something completely different, and hopefully extremely rare!!!!!!!!!!!

[cruisin granny]

Yes, we are saying somewhat the same thing. Maybe I did not explain it well. They suck the blood through a pore or cut and she noticed them when they were larger and leaving her body from the opening not out of it. Normally people don't notice them but becuase of the bats in the home she was overly conscious of it. The dermatologist did think it could also be skin mites but the exterminator found them in the home & said bed bugs. Who knows maybe both, it was awful., They did notify the Board of Health because the landlord did not want to pay the exterminator the $500 to get rid of the bats permanently and bomb the house. He patched the hole in the rough & tried to rent it again. The kids found another house immediately and no more problems. Hopefully, RCCL teaches therir stewards to watch for this because they do not need anymore adverse publicity.

[iluvcruzin]

They don't bore down into the skin. They just bite. It is possible your daughter saw them after she was bitten. They turn black and usually leave a blood spot where bitten. If the exterminator found them - then it's true she had bed bugs because they will not treat unless they have proof.

 

The suggestion of RID is fine. It would take a can to treat one mattress though. It would only kill the eggs and not the bedbugs unless you hit them on contact. I wouldn't consider it preventative measures. If you go to the trouble of doing that, you may as well ask for a new mattress from the cabin steward.

 

I think you can relax Lindalu. Honestly, from your discription it sounds like fleas and not bedbug bites. I've been bitten by both and can say from the description, unless you saw blood spots on the sheet it's a very slim chance you were bitten by them. We were bit by fleas last week in our cabin so I wouldn't be suprised that's what you encountered.

[terri23]

Maureen - fleas in your cabin??? :eek: were they your own from home (do you have dogs)??? I guess my real question is, how could fleas have gotten into my cabin (if that's what bit me?). all I know is, something sure did!

[cruisin granny]

I agree with iluvcruisin. I called her and she did have the blood spot. Yes, they were bad. They thought the bats were gone because the landlord lied & said they had been exterminated and the roof sealed. One night after a party, they noticed the bats flying into the upstairs bedroom. First they thought it was the alcohol. They had heard noises up stairs but the house was supposedly "haunted". It was very old and had a door to the upstairs which they kept closed. however, they kept a lot of clothes, etc upstairs even tho their room was downstairs and went up there to get them. They had seen a kind of dust on the bed and couldn't figure it out. When she saw the bugs and the bats flew downstairs, they grabbed their cats and fled. We were gone & did not see them until later.

Sand fleas love to travel with people especially first class. My parents brought them home once from vacation .

[iluvcruzin]

No Terri.. I don't have dogs and did not bring them with me. My daughter and I were bitten once in the cabin. My guess is we brought in sand flees. We went to the beach 3 times and could have brought them in with us - or they could have been there before we arrived. Who knows. It could have been mosquitos because I didn't see them but did get itchy bites.

[lindalu62]

I've been bitten by fleas before when we had a dog in the house, over 10 years ago. The bites/welts were very different from these, plus they typically reside in the carpet unless an animal has actually been sleeping in the bed. Flea bites are very tiny, slightly raised, and typically around the feet and ankles. These welts were larger, not as red, and not raised, and not on my lower extremities. Plus, they began accumulating on my body well before we got off in Cozumel. How would fleas infest a room that animals are never in, especially the bed??? Im not saying it's impossible, just not as high of a probability as bedbugs would be in this day and age.

[sandbag7]

Alcohol definitely helps. If you leave a saucer full beside your bed at night you will find it attracts the Dbb's (is it dear or darling?), and entices them from the bed. Since most of you cart loads of alcohol on board it will be natural to share a little, and you won't have to order special drinks for the Dbb's (they're partial to Corona).

[sandbag7]

It's widely unknown that anteaters, when hard up, will eat bedbugs (even Dbb's). If you bring one on board, it will probably have the added advantage of drawing attention away from the liquor you are smuggling aboard.

[lindalu62]

Maybe RCI needs to bring in the anteaters right after the rooms are cleaned between cruises!!! Perhaps they could lay out a bowl of corona to attract the DBB first, and make the job easier and more fun for the anteaters too!!!

[sandbag7]

Anteaters are generally morose creatures with limited social skills; difficult to train or keep employed for lengthy periods. They do enjoy listening to Jimmy Buffett (repreatedly), particularly Margaritaville. They like boiled eggs with their Dbb's when available.

[sally r]

I just spit a whole mouthful of pop all over the place. Some even went up my nose.

 

anteaters, too funny.