<p>Daughter is returning from semester abroad in Tanzania this week. She has spent the last 2 weeks travelling, staying at guest houses at a rate of about $10 per night. Cant wait to see her, but lice thread has me thinking of uninvited insects in her stuff. Any ideas on how to deal with her luggage to minimize a bed bug plague in my house?</p>
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<p>Leave the suitcase outside. Separate her clothes and head directly to the laundry room. Wash in hot water, but if not possible, at least dry for 30 minutes on hottest setting. Examine the suitcase carefully, in bright sunlight, especially any cracks and crevices. There is a spray available at some pest control stores, called Sterifab. I believe it’s mostly alcohol. We’ve used it to spray down luggage and things that can’t be washed.</p>
<p>Whenever my kids are returning from a developing country I have them give all their items away (everything) and if they bring home anything I have them leave the items in the garage. </p>
<p>There have been times they arrived home while I was sleeping, and my directions were completely ignored. However, have never had any visitors! </p>
<p>I am reluctant to use any pesticide, etc.</p>
<p>wash all clothes in hot water immediately and dry on hot cycle. Put luggage in bag and leave for a year, or if living in hot part of the country, put in car and leave in sun for a day. High temperatures kill the bugs.</p>
<p>Don’t give items away. That could only spread anything they might have picked up. When we got rid of things, we talked to our trash hauler, explaining why he was not to take anything from our trash, as we had a confirmed case of bed bugs. I’m sure he trembles every time he picks up our trash.</p>
<p>If you ever get bed bugs, I guaranty your views on pesticides will forever change.</p>
<p>When you separate her clothing and items from the suitcases, do it outside your home and put her clothing into a trash bag that you can then force directly into the washing machine. Empty the trash bag in the machine and then discard it OUTSIDE the house. All you need is for one female nymph (the size of a comma) to drop in your home.</p>
<p>It is not enough to leave the luggage outside for a year. Bedbugs can survive without feeding for 18 months. Take the luggage and all other hard items (except make up and personal care items, creams, etc ) and put them into a large trash bag with a Hot Shot No Pest Strip. They are available at the hardware store. Seal the bag and leave it for about a week. The strip will kill any bugs and eggs that are in the luggage, shoes, etc. Believe it or not, bed bugs can even tuck themselves into tiny spaces in computers, etc. The strips are safe to use and do not smell, etc.</p>
<p>Bed bugs die at a temp of about 115 degrees. Any clothing that cannot be washed in hot water can be put in the dryer on high for 45 minutes. Even dry clean only can go in as long as it is dry, it should not damage the clothing. Again, put the clothing in a trash bag while outside the house and then carefully transfer it to the dryer.</p>
<p>We go through this routine EVERY time we travel since we got infested a year ago. 3,000 dollars in expenses and living in a virtually empty house for three months while undergoing pest treatments was enough to cause a case of bed bug PTSD. We don’t take any chances and I wouldn’t recommend that you do either. </p>
<p>If you need more info, these two sites are excellent resources: Bedbugregistry.com allows you to look up a hotel before staying there to see if there are any reports of bed bugs. Although we still go through our post travel protocol regardless.
Bedbugger.com is a good site for general info and resources.</p>
<p>Since our own experience last summer, I have had three friends go through close calls. It is not a pleasant experience and one i fear that is going to become more and more common.</p>
<p>“Don’t give items away.”</p>
<p>People in third world countries live with much worse than bedbugs. Same for the homeless and poverty stricken in the US. Son left some items by a roadside when passing through NOLA recently and they were grabbed up immediately. I took a wrong turn and got lost in a nearby city a few nights ago and couldn’t believe “the poverty” when I stopped to ask for directions - which was like most of normal America. A filthy 7/11, attendant who spoke no English, people in uniforms missing teeth.</p>
<p>You’re giving clothing away because they might have bed bugs. Do you think those people are so happy to get some clothing that they don’t mind bed bugs??! You really have no concept of what it’s like to battle these bugs for months on end. Even poor people don’t deserve them! They’re the ones least likely to have money to eradicate the bugs.</p>
<p>My sister got bed bugs at a fancy St. Thomas resort over Easter. Her girls counted over 100 bites. YIKES! She left everything outside (including the clothing they were all wearing) and then did as EPTR suggested with no later problems.</p>
<p>My Mom’s neighbor has rental units and the bed bugs found their way inside. He called an exterminator and yes they have a spraying process, but it is only guaranteed for 30 days. He ended up buying a $10,000 machine that apparently heats up each room to a super high temp in order to kill the bugs.</p>
<p>Actually, Toledo, my kids give things away as a kindness. If they may have bedbugs, they aren’t aware. I am more concerned about cockroaches!</p>
<p>People who travel to developing countries routinely give their items away to the residents. This also includes sleeping bags.</p>
<p>I noticed today at the mall a luggage store has suitcases make of hard plastic, and in addition to wondering how they keep from cracking on the planes, I also wondered about bedbugs.</p>
<p>I understand diatomaceous earth also helps with bedbugs and is not poisonous.</p>
<p>There is no reason to give your things away, unless you are feeling charitable and want to do it anyway. Everything can be safely treated. When my home was “diagnosed” with the pests last spring, we freaked out and threw a ton of stuff away. Not a bad move since the house needed a good purging anyway. </p>
<p>If you are concerned with passing on the bugs (and we should all be) just heat the stuff in the dryer for an hour before you send it off.</p>
<p>On the flip side of that, if you buy anything at a tag sale, second hand store, flea market, etc., treat it before it goes into your drawers. Launder clothing in hot water or heat in the dryer. Hard items can be bagged with a pest strip or wiped down with rubbing alcohol.</p>
<p>The eggs and nymphs are TINY so don’t be comforted by the fact that you can’t see anything wrong with an item.</p>
<p>This is a problem that is on the rise and it has nothing to do with the cleanliness of your home, the hotels you stay at etc. It has everything to do with the discontinued use of DDT.</p>