When one of our kids travelled with a school sports team, three of the student athletes woke up in their shared hotel room with insect bites. The bugs must have travelled back to school with them in their luggage because soon their room in residence was infested. These unlucky students had to be treated with antihistamines (and one with antibiotics.) Eventually, they moved out while everything in the room was washed and the room--and adjoining rooms--were sprayed. We were so sorry for these students (and so relieved that our child's room wasn't involved.) Still, at the end of the term we decided to discard the foam mattress pad used there (just in case) and washed everything, right away.
Bedbugs are apparently difficult to get rid of without the use of harmful pesticides like DDT. You don't want to take the risk of getting them in your home. so, just in case you and your belongings are exposed to bedbugs, Puxley recommends taking the advice of public health experts:
- Regularly wash bedding and vacuum mattresses
- Use caution when buying used furniture
- After returning from a trip, keep luggage in an isolated area of the home
- Unpack clothes immediately from suitcases and wash them in the hottest water possible; dry on hot setting for 20 minutes.
You can read the article by Puxley here.
