No, but I was annoyed when some visiting teens put their dirty luggage on my duvet cover, especially since I provided luggage racks. I mean, geez, at least put a towel down first. If I discovered bed bugs, I would have been livid.

Oh, 3katz, I am so sorry you are having this concern. Yikes. I am really hoping the operative word in your post is "may" have brought bed bugs. I really hope this is a false alarm.

No, but my son's apartment building had an outbreak because the person who discovered them was embarrassed to say anything about them --- so they spread. My son's apartment was close enough to ground zero that his apartment was inspected (none found) and treated twice. He was given instructions on what he needed to do -- mostly laundering and dry clean everything and keeping it all sealed during treatment. He asked me to wash his duvet and shams rather than having them dry cleaned because they didn't fit in their washers. After washing and drying, DH and I were folding the duvet cover and found at the seam what appeared to be a very dead partial bug that might have once been a bed bug. We never found any other indication that he had came very close to a much worse, but it made me very grateful that his management jumped on the problem.

If you suspect a problem, jump on it. Like fleas, they are not something you want to let stick around to start breeding.

We own several rental properties. One of the newer tenants found one! DH explained that SHE brought them as the upstairs tenants (this is a two-family home) and the upstairs have lived there for 20 years. As it turns out, she had a bed stored downstairs in the basement. Luckily, when found early it was a quick fix.

I used to work in a group home. This home included 4 apartments. One of the workers brought the bed bugs and this was not as easy a fix. It took multiple times and I think they even brought in the beagles, the trained bed bug dogs!

So as Lascatx said in her post, If you suspect a problem, jump on it.

I won't get into the details of why I had the concern but I did have a major freak out about this. It was at our lake place. I particularly freaked because I found some small bugs in the nearby bathroom that I wasn't sure about (pest company entomologist confirmed NOT bed bugs based on photos). Last weekend I washed, dried and inspected everything any where near the guest room where said guest stayed. Yesterday I had the K9 inspection and Marvin the bug sniffing beagle found nothing. Yes, that was the best $250 I ever spent.

Putting it behind me now and next weekend I'll put everything back in place. I did throw out the pillows and foam pad from the bed. They were old and needed to be replaced anyway.

I travel a lot and stay in hotels and Airbnbs often. I always worry about bedbugs. I would totally freak out if I found one.

Thank goodness. Never had the problem but vividly remember stories of a neighbor leaving their NYC loft in part due to a stubborn infestation (apparently common in converted spaces that had been abandoned for some time). Their truckful of belongings was fumigated and held for several days. They drove to a hotel, changed their clothes, threw out the old clothes and then went to their new house. Quite an ordeal!

I know someone in an apartment in NYC who had an infestation too. What a horror show that was.

I tear every hotel room apart upon my arrival. I look underneath mattresses, in crevices, etc.. Those little buggers are everywhere now. I think most hotels do a great job and jump on any reports, but again - those bugs are everywhere....

http://bedbugregistry.com/

I've never had to deal with them and have never worried about them with any guests that we've had in our home. But I probably will now!

We had them. I won't get into details, mostly because I have tried to block it from memory, but it was a complete nightmare. Even though evidence was found in only two rooms, our entire house had to be treated. It ended up being an ordeal that went on for several months.

Makes me itch just reading about this.

DD had a friend at Harvard whose dorm was infested. It was a nightmare and disruption for weeks. Parents were really, really ticked off.

https://www.ehs.harvard.edu/sites/ehs.harvard.edu/files/bed_bug_harvard_housing_flowchart.pdf

My parents had them at their beach house rental property. Unfortunately a weekly renter brought them in and it went on unnoticed (not sure how long) until another renter discovered. Fortunately the infestation was contained to only one of the four bedrooms, but I went down with my father to help him prepare the house before the exterminator came. We had to throw some things out, bag up other things and wash all the bedding from the other rooms. Since this is just a rental with not a lot of extraneous stuff around, it wasn’t too much of a hassle. I can’t imagine if we had them in our regular home - Sueb, I understand why you blocked it out!

Dh’s job requires frequent travel, both in the US and abroad. He knows how to check for them upon arrival at hotels and never puts his luggage on the bed, at home or when traveling. I was just staying at a hotel last week with two of my kids and forgot to tell them not to put things on the bed so freaked as soon as I walked in and saw one of them had put her bag on the bed. Fortunately I checked and no bed bugs.

I've never been concerned about a house guest bringing them into our home as our primary overnight guests don't travel much outside of visiting our home; however, like fun2B they continuously irk me with the luggage on the bed. It is largely my fault for not coming right out and asking them not do so, but I feel we (DH and I) are constantly asking them not to do other things or correcting things as it relates to our furniture and home. Unfortunately, these are adults (not teenagers.....I think that would actually be easier to deal with) on my husbands side of the family, so I genreally let him lead as it relates to requests or instructions such as these. However, there are times when I just have to do it. DH is also routinely flabbergasted at their behavior or lack of awareness. I'm no killjoy and want people to feel welcomed in my home but at the same time respect our belongings (many of which can't be replaced).

Back to the original question (sorry for the side rant), my profession is in public health as it relates to vector borne-disease(s). As such, there are many, many entomologists within our professional sphere. We are all very familiar with what to look for as signs of bed bug infestations in hotels, etc. We are not the professional group(s) a conference hotel should try to woo with great conference packages if they have or have had a bed bug problem. Rest assured this group will find it.

NOTE: As I mentioned above, I'm in PH as it relates to vector-borne disease. I just wanted to clarify (so that I don't freak anyone out) that bed bugs do not carry pathogens or disease(s) that are borne of their bite. They are not a vector of disease but can cuase health issues otherwise such as skin issues, psycological issues, etc. Not to mention they are just a huge pain in the arse. I was just making light of the fact that we are a group that can and will find if there is an issue, and it has happened before.

We travel fairly frequently, and I have most family members trained on what to do upon arrival to the room, apt., etc.

I never check my hotel. Can you post a list of what to check? I’m sure I will be checking now after all my BB research - so gross!!

I have luggage racks in all my guest rooms. I can't understand why someone would slap the suitcase on the bed when there's an obvious other landing place for luggage. DH has a tendency to do this and I also aways think - at least put something under it. We have a cat blanket right there for crying out loud.

DD brought them back from Europe several years ago! Now you can bet she knows the signs. She isn't paranoid but is vigilant.

Apparently there is a fungus from Penn State that is supposed to work very well. Perhaps if you know someone with certification for pest extermination poisons they could get that for you.

"Aprehend® is composed of Beauveria
bassiana fungal spores applied in a proprietary formulation (patent
pending). ... The fungal spores germinate within 20 hours of contact and
then penetrate the cuticle of the bed bug and colonize inside, resulting in death."

I am so happy the dog didn't sniff any BB!

Glad you got the canine all-clear.

I deleted this comment, as it was the same as below. For some reason, there was a delay with the posting.

Okay.....I am puzzled. I typed a post in response to 3Katz's question regarding what to do upon checking into a hotel room, posted it, saw that it posted to my screen, but now it is gone. Hmmmm....... Let me try again!

These are the steps I take when entering a hotel room, apt., or any other various form of rented accommodation.

If I am by myself, I leave the luggage (standing right-side up) at the door upon entering room. If others are with me, they either stand with the luggage in hall, on the sidewalk, stay in the car, or whatever other option is available/applicable to being outside of the rented space. If that is not possible, they come inside with me but continue to stand with the luggage right inside the door, again luggage is right side up.

I first go to the head of the bed closest to the door. I then pull back all bedding (sheets, mattress pad, etc.) from the top corner of the bed nearest the nightstand. First, I examine the exposed outer covering of the mattress but more importantly the seams of the exposed corner of the mattress. It is very important that the seams be checked thoroughly as this is one of their favorite places to rest/hide post blood meal. Not only are you or I looking for the bugs themselves but also sheddings and feces. Sometimes it is hard to pry the seams apart to get a good look into that gap but running a credit card, room key card, etc. across the seam will help. This will not only pry the gap of the seam open but also dredge up any sheddings or bugs that might be present. A flashlight can also be helpful in rooms with poor lighting. I use the one on my phone. If you see small, dark spots on the exposed mattress itself even before checking the seams that can be evidence of a current or previous bed bug infestation as it is most likely feces.

If the bed(s) have a headboard, esp. a fabric one, it is also important to give it/them a good look over. Most importantly, the type of headboards that are attached to the wall as another favorite resting/hiding place is along the bottom where the base of the headboard meets the wall. After inspecting these areas, I then do the same on the other bed (if applicable).

Next I move to the nightstand. I inspect the inside of the drawer of the nightstand. Again, looking for bugs but also sheddings and feces. These are most likely going to be found along the crevices where sides and bottom of the drawer meet.

If I feel confident that there are no traces in these areas I generally don't check the foot of the bed(s). Bed bugs are attracted to CO2, hence the reasoning of checking the head of the bed(s) first as the bugs are most likely to be found resting nearest the last source of CO2. If I still feel like I need more confirmation, I'll check the other corners as well as the dresser/desk area on the other side of the room. However, if they are not found in the first locations it is not likely they will be found in the secondary areas. However, anything is possible.

Another thing I've run into recently is that some hotels now have the mattress entirely encapsulated in a covering with a zipper. This makes me even more suspicious, so I will find the zipper, undo, and unmake the bed to whatever point is necessary to give it a good check.

If there are any sofas, chairs, or other soft surfaces in the space, they too need to be looked over esp., at the joint where the cushion meets the sides or back of the piece. If the cushions can be lifted or pulled forward even better. These areas can be harder to check due to fabric colors and variations so a flashlight can really be helpful here.

Lastly, when staying in a hotel or rental make sure to always keep all suitcases, bags, etc. on hard surfaces such as luggage racks, desks, dresser, tables, hard floors, etc. They should never be left on the beds, chairs, sofas, carpeted floors or other soft surfaces. Esp. carpeted floors as they are nearly impossible to check.

I know this may seem like overkill but pales in comparison to having your house remedied from a bed bug infestation. After doing it a couple of times, it will get faster and easier. I don't think I left anything out. The disappearing post was better! I hope this helps!!!!

Counts as one of my worst nightmares, gasp.

lousiana - with the thorough inspections you do, how often have you found bed bugs? I am now so grossed out by this I'm slightly mortified about my VRBO stay next week.... Not exactly sure what I'd do after I take the last ferry of the day to the island where I'm staying - sit outside all night waiting to depart and hope to get my $ back? I do think the odds of BB are probably low especially since DH and I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure and stayed hundreds of nights in hotels without contracting them in the last 35 years. However I understand they are becoming more prevalent.

3Katz - fortunately in all of the accommations that I have stayed in since I started checking for them, approx. 5-6 years ago, I've never found them (knock on wood). It has happened that differing colleagues of mine have found them in hotel rooms over the years at conferences where we are all staying at the same hotel. They were transferred to different rooms; however, it still doesn't make one feel all warm and fuzzy knowing they are in the hotel where we are/were all staying. This has happened on three occasions that I'm aware of.

I'm unsure of what I would actually do if I found them in your scenario as you stated above in regards to your upcoming trip. That situation would be a little more difficult to navigate. To date, we have always been fortunate at VRBO - AirBnB rentals with great hosts and properties. I'm sure your trip will be lovely and your accommodations very nice. It's not something that I let myself get stressed out about. It's just about being aware and proactive. Your upcoming trip sounds great. An island that requires a scheduled ferry departure to access it.......count me in!!!