I would like to interview a lot of hostels/hotels and people who work with bedbug control to put together a solid guide to controlling bedbugs. I've had talks with hostel managers who had great tips about bedbug control, but the info isn't in one place yet.
If you would be interested in helping to improve the bedbug situation, please fill out this quick form below and I'll get back to you to follow up with specific questions:
http://bit.ly/aIGCHf
Participating in the study can be anonymous -- the hostel industry just wants your bedbug control tips, not your hostel's name. :)
All hostels & hotels should work together to control the problem, because if your neighboring hostel has bedbugs and guest move into your hostel, you might end up with bedbugs...
13 years
I think bedbugs can actually live for up to a year without feeding. But if someone keeps their stuff in a sealed bag it should at least keep the bugs from getting out while the guest is there.
I run my backpacks through a washing machine on the hottest setting every time I get back from a trip, without problems. Except for last time when I forgot to take the cell phones out of the side pocket first... :(
13 years
Josh is right (above), bedbugs can leave for upto a year without feeding, but the sealed bag (especially if properly sealed, and as much air is removed from it as possible) would help to suffocate them (as well as isolate them within the bag, and out of your hostel). The trick is, there's no way to really "know" that the bag is completely sealed... as even ziplocks can have small leaks. It's better than nothing, I suppose.
13 years
Thanks for correcting my knowledge on bedbug survival without food. I did some checking online and I was wrong, you are right.
I was told the erroneous information by an entomologist way back in the beginning of the resurgence (1990?). I was working in a hostel in NYC and found these unfamiliar bugs. I found an entomologist in Idaho by way of a Prodigy online forum. He assured me they would not be bedbugs since bedbugs were considered eradicated from the US. He had me mail him a sample and then emailed me back astonished that they were indeed bedbugs. The DDT has finally worn off he said.
On another note, I think in many ways, hostel owners are better educated about bedbugs than hotel owners. I agree with Josh, we should make it a priority to end this problem and publish a comprehensive strategies on the hostel management wiki forum and use them regularly in our hostels. With any luck hostels will be seen as "experts" in bedbug control and a moot issue when deciding whether to stay in a hostel or hotel.
13 years
EDIT BY WEBMASTER: This post is link spam but I left it for the pictures of bedbugs. I don't know if the herbal remedy advice is credible.
To do control...Bed Bugs problem.. you should go for herbal treatment...there are a lots of options....
*Use lavender around your bed frame..
*Use hot water to wash your bed sheet and clothes..
*Spread some mint leaves on the effected area..as well as whole house..
*Use the combination of rapeseed oil and pyrethrins..It will directly attack on the bed bugs nervous system..
*Collect more information about bed bugs.. http://www.whatdobedbugslooklike.net/interesting-bed-bugs-pictures.html
12 years
Has someone tested the "bug dome" (electric trap)?
www.sternenvironmental.com/products/bed-bug-dome.php
12 years
Apparently in September 2011 a product called Bed Bug Killer came onto the market in Australia claiming to be "the only registered product in Australia that kills bed bugs with 100% effectiveness and gives years of protections."
From their website:
Bed Bug Killer does not use poisons to kill the bed bugs, it uses a natural powder that scratches the shell of the bed bugs causing them to die from dehydration.
Has anyone tried this product or heard anything about its true effectiveness in the field? I would love to think that someone found a miracle solution to the bedbug epidemic, but I find 100% effectiveness in anything hard to believe.
12 years
Here’s a personal account of bedbug attacks from an avid traveler.
Biting Back – Bed Bugs, Treatment, Hostels and Hotels
If this past year has shown me anything, it has shown me that bed bugs are everywhere. They’re not just in dingy sleaze pits, they’re in the best hotels and the cleanest hostels as well.
…
The take away? Bed bugs are everywhere. You can get bed bugs anywhere.
Suggestions from the article:
It would be a good idea for every hostel to have an antihistamine like Benadryl, Ibuprofen, and an anti-itch cream such as Calamine Lotion in their First Aid kit in order to be prepared for the day when a guest turns up with bites.
It was suggested in a previous post to put backpacks in the dryer on high heat for 20-30 minutes. A washing machine set on 60°C should be hot enough to kill the bugs, but the water is added and removed several times during the cycle so it is not consistent. Does anyone know how long bedbugs need to be exposed to high heat before it kills them?
10 years
Hello!
I am the Manager of a hostel and I would love to know how this project is going because I was planning on taking on a similar project, and I think that the community of hostels needs to be just that ..a community.
With open discuss of "gross" and "secret" things to better the shared space experience.
Living with travelers shouldn't have a consequence of pest's.
We personally are having a lot of preventative stuff in play but Phoenix in general is having a large issue as a city.
How is the project?
Fill free to contact me at the hostel phone number
602.258.4143
The owner will be at the hostel conference in May so I hope that there is discussion about this topic as well.
Cheers!
Cassie Hidalgo
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