# [2015] Bed Bugs



## mvc (Mar 12, 2015)

I know it is not a happy subject, but having had a friend that brought bed bugs to her home after staying in a Marriott Hotel and subsequently had to spend over four thousand dollars to fumigate her home. I have become an informed consumer. I now review the web site, "bed bug registry" before I rent a hotel room. We often stay in Southern California, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and Mission Viejo. So many Marriott Hotel's have bed bugs that I am going to align myself with another hotel chain.  Do any of you have  suggestion?  My goal is to be able to accumulate points for hotel use. I can sort out the bed bug issue. Thank you


----------



## DeniseM (Mar 12, 2015)

It's not just Marriott - it's virtually every hotel in the world - including the very top properties.  

People bring bedbugs into their accommodation in their clothes, luggage, and other possessions.

It's not the hotel's fault, there is nothing the hotel can do to _prevent_ it, and all you can do is be aware….

Bedbugs are actually not very difficult to spot, if you examine the mattress:


----------



## BocaBoy (Mar 12, 2015)

mvc said:


> I know it is not a happy subject, but having had a friend that brought bed bugs to her home after staying in a Marriott Hotel and subsequently had to spend over four thousand dollars to fumigate her home. I have become an informed consumer. I now review the web site, "bed bug registry" before I rent a hotel room. We often stay in Southern California, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and Mission Viejo. So many Marriott Hotel's have bed bugs that I am going to align myself with another hotel chain.  Do any of you have  suggestion?  My goal is to be able to accumulate points for hotel use. I can sort out the bed bug issue. Thank you



So you are saying that Marriott hotels have a bed bug problem much worse than other chains?  As a lifetime platinum with many hundreds of nights and never one bed bug problem, I am a  little skeptical.  I am also more than skeptical that it costs $4,000 to get rid of them in a house.


----------



## DeniseM (Mar 12, 2015)

BocaBoy said:


> So you are saying that Marriott hotels have a bed bug problem much worse than other chains?  As a lifetime platinum with many hundreds of nights and never one bed bug problem, I am a  little skeptical.  I am also more than skeptical that it costs $4,000 to get rid of them in a house.



It could cost $4,000 - especially if the house was very infested, before they treated it.  They may have had to throw out upholstered furniture and mattresses, because they are very hard to treat.  Bed bugs are far harder to get rid of than other parasites, because they can live for months without food, and they can live anywhere - they don't have to be "on" a human, like head lice do.

*As a former teacher, I know a lot more about parasites, than I really want too!   

I've been fortunate to experience head lice, bed bugs, scabies and pubic lice, in my classroom!


----------



## ilene13 (Mar 12, 2015)

I always check the hotels I stay at on the bedbug registry and then I check the mattresses in the rooms.
During week 52, 2013 a guest at the Aruba Surf Club was screaming that her villa had bed bugs.  When maintenance got up to the villa, they could not find any on the mattresses etc.  They asked if they could check the guest's luggage--guess what she had brought them from home.  It was hilarious, because she was making a huge scene in the lobby!!


----------



## ChrisandBeth (Mar 12, 2015)

$4,000.00 is believable. It's not just fumigation ( often twice), it's replacing the mattresses box springs, couches etc that are affected. 
When we had a problem several years ago we opted to replace all the kid's beds but having just spent 1500 on a new box spring and mattress for our own bed, we opted to buy a bed bug proof zippered cover for the master bedroom.
Our costs were over 2,000.00.

Bed bugs have no societal class. They can strike at a top of the line Marriott or Motel 6.

So, wherever we go, hotel rooms, time shares or friends' homes, we check. We pull back the corded edge on all 4 corners of all mattresses.

We never leave our luggage on the floor with clothes in them.

At time shares with laundry we often wash everything on our last day.

We are still not bed bug proof but we are literally, once bitten twice shy.


----------



## Passepartout (Mar 12, 2015)

You may not be able to avoid bed bugs in hotels, but by keeping your luggage and clothing off hotel beds, you'll go a long way toward not taking them home with you. So far (knock wood) it's worked for us.

Jim


----------



## dioxide45 (Mar 12, 2015)

Another thing is, bedbugs can be in one room and not in another. So checking a registry is rather meaningless.


----------



## BocaBoy (Mar 13, 2015)

OK guys, one word on my comments about the $4,000.  The OP said it cost the friend $4,000 "to fumigate her home."  Nothing was said about replacing furniture, etc.  Of course, if you replace lots of stuff the cost could be as high as you want to go.  I was just responding to the facts and statements as presented and I stand by my statement.


----------



## n777lt (Mar 13, 2015)

We had a bedbug scare a couple of years ago - after one day I was itching so badly I was in agony - I could not sleep. Slathered on Benadryl gel, called the front desk, and within 30 minutes a team came up and removed and replaced the bed mattress, and fumigated the room (we had to leave of course).

I have never seen such prompt reaction!

And of course, it turned out that I had merely had an allergic reaction to a suntan lotion...but the management action was very reassuring.


----------



## saabman (Mar 13, 2015)

BocaBoy said:


> OK guys, one word on my comments about the $4,000.  The OP said it cost the friend $4,000 "to fumigate her home."  Nothing was said about replacing furniture, etc.  Of course, if you replace lots of stuff the cost could be as high as you want to go.  I was just responding to the facts and statements as presented and I stand by my statement.



$4K for 2 floor home fumigation is probably on the high side, but not by much. The BB sniffing dog will cost $400-$500 per visit. Truck fumigation is far cheaper starting about $500 but doesn't make sense to just do your beds, furniture, and clothing and not the entire house unless your moving out. They're nasty critters.


----------



## gvic (Mar 13, 2015)

BocaBoy said:


> So you are saying that Marriott hotels have a bed bug problem much worse than other chains?  As a lifetime platinum with many hundreds of nights and never one bed bug problem, I am a  little skeptical.  I am also more than skeptical that it costs $4,000 to get rid of them in a house.



*My brother owns a Duplex in San Jose, CA and He recently had his Tenant's Bed Bugs "fumigated"on both sides.  This Duplex is 2300Sq.Ft. and it cost $2,800.00 for 3 days of Fumigation + He was required to provide them a Hotel room during that time.  With Fumigation you don't want them to move back right away after the "tenting" is removed.... you must allow the VIKANE GAS to "aerate".  After 4 nights Hotel (2X) his total costs were around $3,600.

The Fumigation Company told Him that San Jose is "infested" with Bed Bugs and they had more work than they can handle.*


----------



## VegasBella (Mar 13, 2015)

While a hotel or timeshare cannot prevent people from bringing in bedbugs, there are things they can do to help prevent infestations. For example, they can encase the mattresses and box spring. They can wash all fabric (bedspreads, curtains, throw rugs) in hot water. They can clean the carpets often (or omit carpeting). They can arrange the furniture so it's more difficult for bedbugs to travel from the bed to other places, like the sofa.

As a guest, the advice to prevent bedbugs is:
- examine the mattress and under the bed when you first arrive
- use a luggage rack or put your luggage in the bathtub
- wash your clothing right away when you get home and wash it separately from other laundry

--
We got bedbugs in our house a number of years ago (we don't even live in that house any more). We think it came from a friend who stayed with us. It was very frustrating but we managed to take care of it ourselves without spending hundreds or thousands. If you do it yourself you really need to study up and be patient but it doesn't cost a fortune if you know what you're doing.


----------



## ace2000 (Mar 13, 2015)

VegasBella said:


> While a hotel or timeshare cannot prevent people from bringing in bedbugs, there are things they can do to help prevent infestations.



The hotel or timeshare can also inspect the beds every time the room is cleaned.  We found bed bug larvae and noticed the stains at a Wyndham we stayed at once.  Thankfully they refunded our points and we stayed elsewhere.  We always check the beds before we unpack.


----------



## Quimby4 (Mar 13, 2015)

Thank you Marriott Waiohai, July 2011 . 3 fumigation's, new beds, etc. $$$.
Every hotel should be considered to have bed bugs.

#1- never, never bring any luggage in your house. unload clean clothes from your luggage directly to the drier and run on HOT for a minimum of 20 minutes. Dirty clothes should stay in the garage until washed. again, do not bring in luggage or clothes to the house.
#2 - Bed Bugs can live for 18 months without food, human blood. 
#3 - Store luggage in garage in a plastic bag
#4 - do not put luggage on the floor or bed at hotel, use elevated table or luggage stand. No guarantee they still won't crawl in. don't put clothes on floor in hotel.


----------



## Spencer Moseley (Nov 29, 2016)

Thanks Quimby4 for the tips.


----------



## mav (Nov 29, 2016)

DeniseM said:


> It could cost $4,000 - especially if the house was very infested, before they treated it.  They may have had to throw out upholstered furniture and mattresses, because they are very hard to treat.  Bed bugs are far harder to get rid of than other parasites, because they can live for months without food, and they can live anywhere - they don't have to be "on" a human, like head lice do.
> 
> *As a former teacher, I know a lot more about parasites, than I really want too!
> 
> I've been fortunate to experience head lice, bed bugs, scabies and pubic lice, in my classroom!




  You deserve a  raise! My daughter is a high school band director and thank heavens has never had any of this happen .So glad I was not a teacher! I think teachers deserve medals of honor anyway. I always said  the only way I would teach school is if the kids were tied up and gagged.Then I had a daughter who became a high school band director. Go figure


----------



## bazzap (Nov 29, 2016)

Am I missing something here or are today's posts in response to a thread that has been dormant for over a year and a half!


----------



## SueDonJ (Nov 29, 2016)

bazzap said:


> Am I missing something here or are today's posts in response to a thread that has been dormant for over a year and a half!



Yep, you never know what will bring a thread out of mothballs!


----------



## Passepartout (Nov 29, 2016)

SueDonJ said:


> Yep, you never know what will bring a thread out of mothballs!



TUG threads are frequently the response from various search engines- Google, Bing, etc. Non TUGgers read the thread, and don't catch the age of the thread.

FWIW, if we all followed the info in #15 we wouldn't bring bedbugs home.


----------

