what would you do...bed bug related

Dh, the kids and I are driving home from Florida. We were spent so we just decided to stop in a Holiday INN Express. we walked into the room and immediately put the kids pj's on. At this point we were there for about 8 minutes. Dh moved a pillow to begin to turn down the bed for the kids and he found a bed bug. We immediately went down and cancelled our reservation and are driving the rest of the way home. The only thing we brought it was a backpack which was on the TV dresser and the pack and play which was in its carrying bag on the ottoman. I put the kids clothes immediately in a plastic bag and the backpack in a plastic bag just in case. what else should I do? I Nobody laid or even sat down. Is thereverything anything else we should do to make sure we don't bring any friends home? Friggin eventful 15 minutes

Re: what would you do...bed bug related

They say take anything fabric should go in a black bag. Seal it and leave outside in the sun for 2 weeks. I would then taske everything to the laundry mat to wash and dryh on high heat. That should do it. Chances are you were there such a short time it will be fine.

Re: what would you do...bed bug related

I wouldn't take anything inside the house. I would probably try to take everything off outside and anything you can't wash throw out. That's what I would do, but I'm petrified of getting bed bugs. They can be in dressers. So even though the back pack was on top I would be weary of it too. Just my thoughts

Re: what would you do...bed bug related

It would take multiple bedbugs or a pregnant female to have invaded your backpack or the pack n play in those 15 minutes to cause you to take an infestation home. It's probably a tiny, tiny chance of that being an issue for you but I am a total freak about bed bugs and would be nervous like you. If you dry the kids clothes on high heat that will kill all life cycles. i would also put the backpack in the dryer. the pack n play carrying case can probably go in the dryer too. the pack n play itself...i recently read if you leave it in your trunk and park your car in the sun for a couple days of 80+ degree weather the heat inside the car is enough to kill the bugs.

what were the contents of the backpack? if possible, dry those too or do a visual inspection to look for bugs or eggs. sounds like an awful end to your vacation but i'm sure it will all be ok.

Re: what would you do...bed bug related

I have a question in regards to bed bugs...
Does water not drown them?

I always hear to make sure you dry everything on high heat, but wouldn't they drown in your washing machine?

Always was curious about this.

what would you do...bed bug related

So I have a friend who BIL is one of the best bed bug exterminators out there. He does a free inspection where he will come to you, do a quick check and if you are clear- no charge. If you need the info, I will pass it along.

I had an incident where we stayed a night in CT and there was a bug in the room. I did not unpack my clothes- I kept everything in the luggage but had my kids with me so there was a lot of toys, pack n play, and some clothes. I called Mike (exterminator) he came to my house. I had kept my stuff outside. EVERYTHING. He told me to just wash and dry everything in the machine. Vaccum the luggage and pack and play really well and inspect everything as you unpack. I did that and we were good. After talking to him about this, I learned how to travel a little better where the chances of getting bedbug will be slim to none.

I now keep all my stuff in the car. I only bring the pack and play, and a overnight bag which stays in the bathroom. Bedbugs are less likely to hitch onto something in the bathroom. They stay closer to host (a bed or something nearby like a nightstand) and are attracted to the air we breathe in and out.

Also, you can buy these discs that you can put at the bottom of the bed and check for bugs right when you get there.

Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how clean or dirty a room is- bed bugs can be found everywhere. The hotel we stayed at was clean and not even on the registry for bed bugs. When the bug was found, the manager told me honestly that they get a lot of service men and women and they are notorious for picking them up due to high travel. I feel like anyone can pick them up, especially in NY.

what would you do...bed bug related

We dealt with this last year in Florida. Except we were at the Sheraton vistana resorts and we were there for 5 days already when we found the bed bug on my daughters bed! We went down to management, they took our suitcases and had them heat treated by their pest control company and I called our exterminator back home. He told me to wash and dry EVERYTHING on high heat. Put them all in plastic ziploc bags and the heat will kill them. When we got home my brother picked us up from the airport. I had him bring big black lawn bags. We threw our suitcases in there and tied them up tight before putting them in the car. When we got home, we took the ziploc bags from our suitcases and dumped them into black garbage bags outside. We tied the suitcases back up and threw out the suitcases in the black garbage bags. We stripped our clothes on the back patio before entering our house and put those clothes in the black garbage bags and tied up the bags. I went inside with the kids and Got clothes for do. He changed outside and then immediately took all the clothes to the laundromat. We washed them and dried them on high heat at the laundromat. He put them on a dry cycle 3 times. We spoke to our exterminator and he said we did everything right. The kids backpacks that were with us were also thrown out. It was awful! A complete nightmare. Chances are you were there for such a short time, everything isnfine. It still, I would dry the backpack and anything in it on high heat, and the cover to the pack n play and leave the pack n play outside in the sun. The clothes that you put in a plastic bag need to be washed and dried on high heat as well and get rid of the plastic bag they were in outside.

Re: what would you do...bed bug related

Re: what would you do...bed bug related