2014 Bed Bugs in Europe

Sorry to tell you this, but there is no such thing as an effective anti-bedbug spray. If there was, hotels would use it. The best you can do is inspect, and leave if you see a problem. But there have not been any reports here lately about bedbug problems, and I have never encountered any problems in Spain, even staying in small hostals and hotels.

Colette,

You could try this....

http://www.magellans.com/bed-bug-spray

FWIW, I've never encountered Bed Bugs either in the Iberian Peninsula, in France or anywhere else.

Not that we know of. You can find recent bed bug discussions in this forum by using the Search box, above.

Napalm is no longer available to the general public, either - - but it works. The problem would be the 3-1-1 sack.

While I’ve personally never encountered bed bugs anywhere in the world, including in both Spain and France, I know two people who have (but not in Spain and France…it was in Korea and in USA). In both cases, they were university students in dorm facilities. The most direct answer to your question regarding whether or not bed bugs are still a problem is yes. The world doesn't use DDT for cockraoches anymore, so bed bugs aren't going anywhere anytime soon. That spray is a gimmick…don’t waste your money. Raid will work if you were to spray it right on a bed bug, but the only way to get rid of a bed bug problem is through a combination of insecticide and heat at 120 degrees F (both left to a pro). As a traveler, there are precautions you can take – read reviews on tripadvisor or other sites, inspect bedding upon arrival, do not place bag or anything else directly on bed, etc. You could even remove your clothes in garage when you get home, empty bag, and wash/dry everything immediately, while leaving the bag in the garage for storage. Most people do some of these things, and some do all of them and more. Still, all of your best efforts could be wasted if you pick them up on the plane (i.e. from one bag to another for checked luggage/luggage in overhead bin, from seat to your coat, or whatever. Translated: Don't waste too much time on this.

Here’s what I do now: Read reviews and do not book a hotel, B&B, or apartment where bed bugs were mentioned, conduct very cursory check of bedding, and that’s it. There’s only so much you can do without going nuts. The rest is up to god (or at least to the bugs, and we all know that there are a lot more of them than there are of us & they will always win out in the end). Happy travels. Relax and enjoy. If you ever get an infestation back at home, call a pro.

Well, orange crush is defintely not a gimmick. :)

I don't know...REM called it orange crush anyway...maybe they were talking about agent orange? Napalm...agent orange...whatever. It was all effective and not at all gimmicky.

Thank you to all who replied.

Unfortunately I am on a group tour & the hotels are already chosen for the group. The most recent BB discussion I found before I posted was dated mid-2013.

Again, thanks for the replies. I will hold on to my hard-earned $$ and forgo the purchase of a BB spray.

@George,

I read the general description of the product and some of the reviews, most of which seemed to be favourable. The Amazon reviews of the same product are "mixed". Since this is a somewhat "natural" product, that seemed to be a good feature.

I was only providing one suggestion, and the OP can research other solutions. Magellans usually has fairly reliable products, but this is not something I'd ever travel with.

Napalm would certainly work, but I don't think the hotel owner would be too pleased!

There's one other solution: an ice pick.
Mom swore by it and used the same one she used on our head lice.

First, I will say that I have never experienced a problem with bed bugs in Spain or France. But, I am hoping to be able to walk the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain next year, so I frequent a forum on a Camino website. And there are some travelers experiencing problems with bed bugs in Spain. To be fair, most of those walking the pilgrimage are staying in "dorm-like" facilities, where I imagine the risk is higher. There was a recent discussion regarding the use of permethrin as an effective deterrent. On that discussion is a link to an article about the bed bug problem in Spain currently.

http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/bed-bugs-this-year.26930/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/10865448/Bedbug-epidemic-spreads-across-Spain.html

I personally think the likely of your having a problem with bed bugs would be very low, though...

A friend of mine just brought bed bugs home from a very nice hotel in Las Vegas...cost her several thousand $$ to be rid of them from her home. The exterminator told her to always keep her suitcases in the bathtub or shower at any hotel she stays at since bedbugs live in beds and in carpets. Pretty easy strategy if it works!

As someone said, if you are worried, inspect your room. Just because there are bed bugs in one room in a hotel, does not mean that the entire hotel in infested. We booked our sales team into a hotel in NYC--The Roosevelt--and one person found them. He requested and got another room. We've not gone back there, but others have. And with the very, very mobile world we live in today, the odds of finding them are no longer as slim as they once were.

There are also things to do to protect your luggage. Don't put it on top of upholstered furniture. Look for a wooden chair or a luggage stand. Don't put it on the floor. Here's a link with some tips. I like the one to pitch a tent. :)

Pam

Colette the answer to your question is no. It would be great if it were that easy.
Bed bugs are hard to kill because they hide deep in cracks and crevices beyond the reach of a couple spritzes of anything. They only come out at night. Your best protection is to inspect the room for signs of them. There is a whole website not devoted to selling you anything at: http://www2.epa.gov/bedbugs/tips-travel.

I don't worry about them in Europe anymore then I do here in US.

@george,

I just realized what you were referring to. While the product may no longer be available from Magellans, it still appears to be on the market.....

http://avengerorganics.com/products/shopproductcategories/tabid/60/entityname/category/categoryid/3/sename/avenger-organics-natural-bed-bug-killer/default.aspx

I have no idea how effective it is, but just wanted to mention it. There are likely similar products on the market, but I didn't check.

I just returned from another trip to France. No bedbugs. I've never had problems with them. 2 or 3 trips to Europe for a week or two each time for the last umty ump years.

They must be somewhere, I suppose, for all the hullabaloo about them.

Here is a link to reported infestations. You can choose by city or country as indicated in this and the next post. (edit)
http://registry.bedbugs.net/

There had been another post with the link to Budapest specifically. It's been pulled. So here it is: http://registry.bedbugs.net/city/Budapest I want visitors to my favorite town to have a good time so I think this is good information. It can happen anywhere so I'm not surprised, I am happy there are so few and that they are not exactly the types of hotels frequented by tourists to any great extent. Does prove the value in doing good homework.

I have traveled thru most all of Europe in 12 of the last 13 years. I have never experienced a bed bug issue in Europe. I did experience a bed bug problem in Hawaii when the next door neighbor had visitors staying with her
that were infested with bed bugs who somehow got to my place next door. They ended up on my bed and I washed everything I could get off that bed in very hot water and sprayed the mattress and box spring with a spray that was suppose to kill anything on contact. Sprayed every morning for about a week, aired out the apartment all day long and slept on the couch during the spraying. Visitors next door left and so did my bed bugs.

The only 100% way to kill bedbugs is to put bedding, clothing, or any other items into a dryer and run it for 20 minutes. Sprays and anything marketed specifically to kill bedbugs will not work; all of that is a scam. They are extremely difficult to kill; heat is the only surefire way. They can live for a year on only 1 meal. Cold doesn't kill them.