Sunday, November 4, 2018

Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite

This weekend I attended the twice-yearly business meeting of a group I belong to.  These meetings, and some other group activities, are always held at the same hotel in the middle of the state. One of the topics on the meeting agenda was some issues the group has had with the hotel, including dissatisfaction with its upkeep. However, this morning when someone reported getting bed bug bites the group went into crisis mode and there was a long discussion of our options.

Bedbugs.org
The room I stayed in had two beds. Both my roommate and I had slept in those beds for two nights with no issues, so we were pretty confident that the room didn't have an infestation. However, we still went ahead and stripped both beds (including the pillow cases) looking for evidence. We also looked behind the box springs and the night stand. There were no signs. However, in my haste to get in and get situated on Friday evening I had stored my suitcase on the floor, with all of my belongings inside of it. Not a good move.

During the whole drive home I felt itchy and uncomfortable. When I arrived (even though it would be extremely unlikely that a bed bug would be on the clothes I was wearing) I couldn't wait to get inside and change into clean clothes. I dumped them straight into the washer, along with my coat and all of my dirty items from the suitcase. When the load got done it went into the dryer.

I put everything else that had been in the suitcase in the deep freezer, where it will stay for the next four days. Until I figure out the best way to insure it's clean the suitcase will stay in the garage. Better to be safe than sorry.

Five years ago today: Pumpkin, Pumpkin...Who's Got The Pumpkin?

10 comments:

  1. Maybe a different hotel for the next meeting? Hopefully your suitcase was ok.

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    1. I don't know what the group will decide, other than that the meeting WILL NOT be at the same place.

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  2. I put everything else that had been in the suitcase in the deep freezer ...

    That will kill the poor bugs. They'll think they've been left out in the cold.

    God bless.

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  3. I remember we once were driving home from a weekend at a friends home with our kids, when THANKFULLY she called us to let us know that their daughter had been diagnosed that morning with head lice. Our 2 girls slept with her daughter that whole weekend. So as soon as we got home, everyone had to strip in the garage, and the suitcases and all the clothes went straight into the washer there in the garage, and the kids had to stand in their undies in the garage while I went to the drug store and bought the lice treatment and did them both. SO thankful she called us before we walked into the house!

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    1. I've heard a lot of stories about how hard it is to get rid of lice. Thank goodness I never had to deal with them. So glad your story had a happy ending.

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  4. Oh that's awful, the thought of bedbugs or bringing them back home with you. I feel itchy just reading about it.

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