Bed bugs: whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

So, before I begin posting about all the fabulous things Cokebaby and I saw on our wonderful trip to Amsterdam and Bruges, I thought I’d bring up the elephant in the room that is world travel. I’m talking bed bugs.

We travel quite a lot and have stayed in hotels for various budgets, but have never ever had a first-hand experience with the critters. So, let me paint the picture for you: it was day three into our nine days abroad and I woke up in the middle of the night scratching. Turning on the lights, I realized my foot was covered in insect bites. Cokebaby showed no signs whatsoever and after checking the bed for culprits, we decided it was either an allergic reaction to detergents used in washing the bed linens or mosquito bites from a walking around the canals. Truthfully, I think we were both in denial. So it was that the next morning, upon checking out, we were both covered in bites.

A hard learned fact: you can check the bed all you want but if the foot of it is touching a wall and that wall happens to be made of carpet? Chances are you’ll never see them. Such was our luck. We’ve been back for a week and a half now and the bite marks have healed but are still quite visible. Here’s the most surprising thing that I learned on my iPhone while trying to figure out what to do: bed bug bites can take days, even potentially weeks, to show up. So it was that as the days passed, we saw more and more bite marks emerging on our bodies. I counted fifty on one arm alone.

Toronto Public Health, during a summer of particular public infestation, has launched a handy site with plenty of information for anyone who needs it. My tip to travellers is to do a bed inspection before settling into a room but also:

• keep all your clothes sealed in your bag and away from furniture (bring plastic bags as added protection)
• at the first sign of an infestation or bites, consult the hotel concierge discreetly and request another room
• pack clothes that can cover bite marks
• bring or buy antihistamines to reduce the itchiness when bitten
• upon returning home wash all your clothes in the hottest water possible
• steam clean your luggage

Watch this National Geographic video for everything you need to know about bed bugs (but only if you never want to sleep again):

On that fun note, I bid you adieu until my next post later this week. I hope that this is the first AND last time I ever have to refer to bed bugs on my blog.