Don’t Let the Bedbugs Bite: Bug-Free Hotels Near Campuses?

Parent Cafe
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<p>Last month when I went on a business trip to Queens, NYC, I checked into my hotel, found my room, plopped my suitcase in the bathtub (yes, it was empty, though I did feel rather silly doing this) and then approached the mattress with a flashlight. I was following tips from a frequent-traveler friend who had warned me to check for various signs of bedbug life before approving the accommodations.</p>

<p>Although stores, theaters, and, of course, college dorms, are not immune to these increasingly ubiquitous critters, it’s probably hotel infestations that have gotten the most media play. There’s even a Web site where travelers can check to see which hotels have already been reported for bedbug problems. See Bedbug</a> Registry</p>

<p>Although I was pleased that my Queens digs didn’t make the registry roster, I did worry that perhaps this was merely because no one had thought to report it. But, in fact, I did end up enjoying a bite-free stay. Granted, a bugless visit to one room doesn’t guarantee that guests in a different part of the premises will have an equally good experience, but at least it’s a promising sign. </p>

<p>So I thought that it might be worthwhile to start a list of hotels near college campuses where CC members have stayed recently without battling bedbugs.</p>

<p>Here are my first two entries:</p>

<p>HOTEL: Laguardia Airport Hotel (East Elmhurst, NY)
COLLEGES NEARBY: Many … Queens College; NYU and other NYC schools are pretty easily accessible, too</p>

<p>HOTEL: Courtyard Marriott, Fairfield, CT
COLLEGES NEARBY: Fairfield U. (about 20 minutes) + U. of Bridgeport and assorted other CT schools</p>

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<p>But couldn’t this change really quickly? Be fine one week and infested the next? I’m just checking every hotel room thoroughly now.</p>

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<p>Of course, it could change quickly (and–as I noted above–it’s conceivable that a guest at any hotel could have a bug-free stay while another gets eaten alive on the same night).</p>

<p>But for those of us who have to hit the road anyway, it can’t hurt to know where fellow travelers have recently had a good experience.</p>

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<p>Sally, I think your best bet is to review every hotel on [Reviews</a> of Hotels, Flights and Vacation Rentals - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com%5DReviews”>http://www.tripadvisor.com). I use it to check reviews for mention of bed bugs or other problems. We picked up bed bugs at the Sheraton in Puerto Vallarta in April. I posted my review before I realized what we’d brought them home with us. Since my April review, three other reviewers have mentioned bed bugs at that hotel. That confirmed my suspicions. Unfortunately, it takes about two months to realize that you’ve brought them home with you. Only 50% of people react to bites, and often times those people attribute it to a mosquitoes, not realizing it is bed bugs, until another month has passed. At least that’s family story.</p>

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<p>HOTEL: The Chandler Inn Boston, MA
COLLEGES NEARBY: Easy walk to Northeastern University, near all the Boston colleges</p>

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<p>Look at the May 30th review of Laguardia Airport Hotel on tripadvisor. Someone posted pictures of himself covered in bed bug bites.</p>

<p>I feel sorry for people in NYC. It’s really gotten out-of-control there.</p>

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<p>Sorry Sally, this idea won’t work. I’m a professional and know how to do a very good inspection so I can tell you if that one room had problems that day but even the best inspection can’t tell you what will happen tomorrow or in the room next door. </p>

<p>Also - Even the best web reviews are for rooms with known problems and those rooms would likely be treated as soon as they were confirmed as having pests. So you can see the history of a problem…</p>

<p>What I would advise is to always check behind the headboard and along the mattress and box spring tufts and folds.</p>

<p>The resource I have the most trust in is Michael F. Potter at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. Just google it or this link might work… [Bed</a> Bugs | University of Kentucky Entomology](<a href=“Entomology”>Entomology)</p>

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<p>Thanks, ncmentor. So if one room has a problem, it’s conceivable that adjacent rooms are fine? Might they remain fine indefinitely or does a contiguous infestation spell doom for all rooms before long?</p>

<p>I stayed in a hotel in Florida last December with my husband, son, sister, and mother-in-law. We had a total of five people in three rooms. My sister got bites on her legs, which she blamed on bedbugs. (She was solo in her room.) The rest of us were fine, so we told her that she was probably wrong about the bugs. (She’s allergic to EVERYTHING, so we blamed allergies.) Now I feel like a bad sister for not being more supportive. (Of course, I may be a bad sister anyway :eek:)</p>

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<p>^ Sally_Rubenstone - LOL, it’s OK I have a sister and one way or another trust me “you will be wrong”…</p>

<p>AS for the BB’s - Think the stats say that if there is a good size BB infestation in one room that the chances that the rooms above / below / both sides have BB is about 30% but likely won’t spread much from there. It is possible that pests may be spread if a guest was moved from the infested room to a new room. BUT — when a professional is called to take care of the original problem they will most likely (hopefully) inspect those rooms, and one other positive thing - It seems to me that most innkeepers know what BB look like nowadays and so most infestations are caught earlier and appear less likely migrate from one room to another. But you still need to be careful because you don’t want to bring the wee beasties home…</p>

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<p>ncmentor: I travel a fair amount and have started checking for bed bugs. But please do tell: HOW do you check behind the headboard? The things are glued to the wall – I can’t get behind them.</p>

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<p>Most hotel headboards are just hung on the wall (don’t attempt to lift the huge ones) they just pull up and slide back down. once you lift one you get it.</p>

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<p>ncmentor: What is the bedbug “scene” outside of the US?</p>

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<p>It varies widely… Most first class hotels take measures to make sure pests are not a concern to guests. But it all comes down to the concern and resources of the lodging providers. </p>

<p>There are people that say staying in youth hostels and in the sleeping cars on trains makes them anxious. </p>

<p>You will find lots of specific information on the internet, but please remember that for the most part BB are less harmful than mosquitos and they have not been shown to carry any diseases. The real BB problem is that they freak people out (overstating the obvious here) and that you NEVER want to carry them from one place to another, or home… </p>

<p>Eradicating them is an expensive pain…</p>

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<p>This is one of my worst nightmares ! I spent a night in Boston back in September and I could NOT relax at all…I am not usually a worrywart , but I felt itchy and paranoid and consequently did not sleep well at all…
My sister had told me about a local news report that discussed the BB problems in Boston and told me not to put my suitcase on floor or bed…it never occured to me to place it in the tub</p>

<p>When I hear about bringing bedbugs back into homes , that is what scares me the most. When my kids were little, they got headlice…and so did we. My step-daughter got them and her mother never treated the home , so two weeks later, we went thru it all again. It was brutal and I would never want to experience that again , let alone BBs !!</p>

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<p>I stayed in a hotel near D’s campus this week and kept my suitcase in the bathroom as now recommended to make sure no critters would hitch a ride home with me. But it was a very small bathroom, and that meant I had to keep the suitcase in the tub, then balance it on the toilet when I showered, then dry the tub and put it back in afterward. All in all, I felt pretty ridiculous, and it dawned on my that for all I knew the cleaning staff might have moved the suitcase to the carpet while cleaning the tub. All in all, I’m happy to be back in my own bed!</p>

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<p>Bed bugs can be found at many first class hotels. They don’t take measures unless housekeeping happens to notice them. Chances are that guest will find them first. We picked up ours at a first class hotel and the hotel was spotless, I might mention.</p>

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<p>Would it make sense to travel with one of those clear plastic zippered storage bags, like the one I have in my closet right now that contains a couple of rarely used blankets? (I don’t think I actually bought it but it came on a mail-order comforter.) You could slip the whole shebang right over an entire suitcase in a hotel room. If the plastic case is zipped up tight, the bugs couldn’t get in (right, ncmentor?). So this could allay concerns about where the housekeeping staff might put the suitcase during cleanups. It may feel a bit ridiculous, but certainly no more ridiculous than stashing the suitcase in the tub or balancing it on the toilet when showering. (Plus, when I travel with my husband and son, and we’re all staying the same room, there’s not enough room in the tub for three suitcases anyway.)</p>

<p>I bet someone could even make some dough by “inventing” similar plastic protective casings that are specifically designed for suitcases … i.e., the zippered tops would align with the typical suitcase zippers. The plastic casing could fold up tightly to be stored in yet another plastic casing of its own for easy packing … kind of like those cheapo travel rain ponchos. Of course, this can’t protect against bites in the bed, but wouldn’t it at least help prevent bringing the critters home … or would that happen anyway, as soon as you stash your PJ’s back in the suitcase? (Time for yet another plastic zip bag for sleepware!). :eek:</p>

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<p>Bed bug nymphs can get through regular zippers, but there are tightly made zippers that are being used on some mattress encasements now that are supposed to be bed bug proof. Sally, your idea of a plastic cover for suitcases would work it it had these zippers. I know someone who acquired bed bugs on their carry-on suitcase that was stowed under the seat of an airplane. People are also starting to worry about their luggage in the cargo hold.</p>