I make my husband strip in the driveway and go straight to the shower and I put everything in plastic bags and then straight in the laundry. Then double wrap the suitcase and wait a couple months. Eventually, they do die. If you live in a cold place, leave the bag outside where it can freeze. That'll kill them too.

Anonymous wrote:Here is the transcript from the interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=129701363

I would put your clothes in a heavy duty plastic contractor bag and ditch your suitcase in a dumpster. There are too many crevices for them to hide. Seal the bag and put it in a new suitcase.

Thanks for posting this. I tend to be obsessive in searching for bedbugs in my hotel room and this was helpful in learning where to focus my attention.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:.

if I ever ran into this situation again I would ditch all of my clothes/bags before coming home with no hesitation

But why do this when putting clothes in the dryer will kill the bugs?

because after the misery only TWO bugs caused, I am that paranoid. I was that miserable

Anonymous wrote:.

if I ever ran into this situation again I would ditch all of my clothes/bags before coming home with no hesitation

But why do this when putting clothes in the dryer will kill the bugs?

Anonymous wrote:File a report: http://bedbugregistry.com

I can't, because I didn't see any sign of an infestation...

File a report: http://bedbugregistry.com

Here is the transcript from the interview:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=129701363

I would put your clothes in a heavy duty plastic contractor bag and ditch your suitcase in a dumpster. There are too many crevices for them to hide. Seal the bag and put it in a new suitcase.

Anonymous wrote:I did look around the mattress and didn't find any sign of an infestation. But I am very itchy...

I think I will leave my suitcase outside when I get home, wash all my clothes and put in the dryer on hot, etc.

Will dry cleaning kill the bugs?

Do NOT take your clothes to the dry cleaner. You will infest their business and spread this over.

Put your clothes in the hot dryer. Review this expert's advice:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129701363

I did look around the mattress and didn't find any sign of an infestation. But I am very itchy...

I think I will leave my suitcase outside when I get home, wash all my clothes and put in the dryer on hot, etc.

Will dry cleaning kill the bugs?

if you really think you have them, ditch everything - suitcase and clothes. bites are prone to come in threes if they really are bedbugs. google pics of bedbugs and, like PP said, pull back mattress and look etc.

seriously, if you think there is any chance you have them, only come home with the clothes on your back and launder those immediately. I brought 2 bedbugs back with me when I got stuck at la guardia for about 8 hours and it wreaked havoc on my life for the next 3 months because I kept worrying about an infestation. I found one male and one female so thank goodness I found them before they reproduced (in case you couldn't tell, I did HOURS of research). you don't want to bring these suckers home with you. it will take a LONG time to get rid of them.

if I ever ran into this situation again I would ditch all of my clothes/bags before coming home with no hesitation

If you are still at the hotel, pull the covers back down to the mattress and look for very small brown stains. Look in the seams especially. Bed bugs are tiny so don't expect to necessarily see the bugs themselves. You are looking for tiny blood stains and their droppings. When you get home do not bring your suitcase into the house. Leave it in a double trash bag outside in the garage or even just outside. As far as your clothes, that's up to you. If I really thought I had bed bugs, I might just forget about the clothes (small price as compared to disinfecting the whole house later). Or look for a reputable dry cleaner who can zap the whole suitcase and the clothes.

I am travelling for work and think i may have picked up bed bugs. At first i thought it was mosquito bites, but there are too many. Maybe it is just dermatitis or something... I cant see much evidence of bugs in the hotel but i dont really know what to look for...

How do i make sure that i dont infest my house when i go home in two days time?