* BEDBUG ALERT * June 2013 (and quickly dealt with)

[holmesmd]

Oodles of bed bugs were found in An albergue on June 4th.

The hosts were great in shutting down the Alb. ASAP but folks should be warned for the rest if the Fisterra route that they're out in abundance, especially since so many beds were infected.

 

[Priscillian]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

We've had these "bedbug alerts" on this Forum before, and I have to say that along with many other members I find them not only unnecessary but very damaging to the reputation of whatever albergue is in question. I have no contact withj this albergue but have seen it from the outside. It looks nice.
1/ Bedbugs are not the plague. Not nice but then if you can't accept that they exist then don't walk the Camino. I once stayed in a nice hotel along the Camino and got bites on my face. Did I squawk? That place has since become one of my favourite pensiones.
2/ The albergue has done everything they can to rectify the problem: ergo...no problem. So why the post?

Follow all the advice on this Forum and not only will you save yourself some nasty scratches but also the reputations of many hardworking folks who are trying their best to make your Camino enjoyable and affordable.
If you have been in contact with bedbugs, INFORM the hospitalero/a. That is your moral responsibility. It isn't something to be ashamed of, but it could potentially be a real nightmare for the albergue after you have left. And DON´T put your packs on the beds, at any time. I have chairs on the stairs where packs can go and it's no inconvenience to anyone. I am glad to say that the dreaded BB's have never been a problem, but if they ever were I/we would deal with it and I would hope that no member would be so irresponsible as to happily announce our misfortune to the Pilgrim speaking world.
Mods: if ever there were a post to be removed, this is it.

 

[FrancesK]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

I disagree about not posting alerts.

If pilgrims are aware of a bedbug hotspot then they can avoid that particular albergue in the short term until it has been cleaned and therefore reduce the chances of spreading the bugs down the line.

Of course it is important to inform the owners as well, or else how will they know there is a problem.

The positives of informing others outweigh the negatives in my opinion. The reputation of an albergue will be quickly restored once the bedbugs are removed, it is only if there are repeated reports that a negative reputation will garner strength (and perhaps then, they will act!).

We are all responsible for minimising the transportation of bed bugs and that includes informing others about their whereabouts.

 

[george.g]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

I think the views expressed by Priscillian are completely unacceptable, I think its bullying in tone.If any post should be taken down it's his/hers. I am a couple of days away from continuing onto Finisterre from the Notre and I would certainly want to know about any bedbug threats.
Plus I think we all know not to put our rucksacks on beds but what about the contents? I would imagine that most bedbugs travel via sleeping bags.
Regards
George.g

 

[robventures]

** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

I think the problem is that the information is valuable, but only for a very short amount of time (until it is hopefully rendered out-of-date.)

Unfortunately anyone searching for information on this albergue in a couple of years time is going to get an unfairly poor view of the place when this thread pops up in search results.

How about bedbug alert threads just getting deleted after a month?

 

[george.g]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Most albergues must be aware of the major forums, so could they not post a current update of the measures they have taken to remedy the situation.
Just to accept bedbugs as part and parcel of the Camino experience cannot be right.
I know it must be very difficult to control the spread of these nasties, but as an albergues "customer" should we not expect the owners to employ all measures like regular washing of mattress covers, disposable covers, daily inspections via tacky strips etc etc. After all would you go eat in a restaurant with a cockroach infestation?
Regards
George.g

 

[robventures]

** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

They're albergues - expecting (requiring?) them all to do social media reputation management in a foreign language is about as likely as them doing a "daily inspection via tacky strips".

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Probably the cleanest albergues re bedbugs are the ones that have had an alert they will have been de-infested. Meanwhile who ever brought them in has probably just carried them further on down the Camino.

 

[george.g]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Hi rob ventures,
They are businesses in an expanding competitive market so yes.
Don't forget that the pilgrim office last year issued over150,000 Compostela last year.
Regards
George.g

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Good luck changing the Spanish business model! Next you will want multitasking in that line for cafe.

 

[george.g]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Hi falcon 269.
I'm not exactly a spring chicken, and the one thing I've learned is that if you accept bad, guess what you are going to get.
I know that things here in Spain are a little different, but don't we owe it to those that follow to try at least to change the things that are bad. The Camino should be a joyous experience, the personal challenges are hard enough without adding those that can be avoided.
At the end of the day privado albergues are commercial enterprises and should provide s service that doesn't include parasite bites.
Today Iam at Santiago Apostle in Aura and I have seen the staff here washing mattress covers all afternoon, it looks like a standard procedure.
Regards
George.g

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Wow!!

 

[Tia Valeria]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

................
At the end of the day privado albergues are commercial enterprises and should provide s service that doesn't include parasite bites.
Today Iam at Santiago Apostle in Aura and I have seen the staff here washing mattress covers all afternoon, it looks like a standard procedure..........

Perhaps some-one had told them they had bed-bugs :wink:

 

[grayland]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Hi falcon 269.
I'm not exactly a spring chicken, and the one thing I've learned is that if you accept bad, guess what you are going to get.
I know that things here in Spain are a little different, but don't we owe it to those that follow to try at least to change the things that are bad. The Camino should be a joyous experience, the personal challenges are hard enough without adding those that can be avoided.
At the end of the day privado albergues are commercial enterprises and should provide s service that doesn't include parasite bites.
Today Iam at Santiago Apostle in Aura and I have seen the staff here washing mattress covers all afternoon, it looks like a standard procedure.
Regards
George.g

I think that your expections of being a "customer" of the albergues may be a bit off the mark. I think a more apt description of pilgrims would be "user".

Maybe you would be more suited to using other accommodations as the system has been in place and works well. It is bare bones and often in working with volunteers who are changed every couple of weeks.

Agree that the control of Bed Bugs is a never ending problem. But....your attempts to change the system as a "customer" will, I am afraid, fall on very deaf ears.

 

[Tincatinker]

Re: ** BEDBUG ALERT ** June 2013

Can't do the quotes thing ( ancient technology or pure incompetence) but,

private Albergues are commercial enterprises

... mod did for you

Yep, with a business model that would make any bank manager weep. Take in any and every pilgrim, however infested, muddied, demanding or determined to get their money's worth at a margin above cost that is laughable. Do your living best to cope with the aftermath of each days passing pilgrim - the mess, the "lost" kit, the clogged showers and half- blocked toilets, the general wear and tear that needs constant maintenance. And then you find that some passing pilgrim has introduced bed bugs to your previously pristine environment. You didn't bring them in for a laugh and your carefully, lovingly constructed Albergue didn't have them till that passing pilg brought them along. So, you take immediate and active steps to get rid of the problem...

And suddenly you discover that it wasn't a problem at all because nobody stops at your Albergue anymore.

I am absolutely with Priscillian on this one. Perhaps the OP could have been " Albergue deals swiftly with bed bug problem"' but it wasn't. It could have been "bed bug problem dealt with" but it wasn't. It was a headline post that will unfairly tag Albergue Lua for a long time to come.

 

[george.g]

Just a couple of points.
Re "customer focus" its a technique that businesses use to help them be successful, that's why you see posters for albergues.
I specifically referred to privado albergues, obviously those supported by donativo by their nature operate under different constraints.

That issues only fall on deaf ears is no good reason for not raising them.
Regards
George.g
SJPDP-SDC X 2
VDLP - SDC X1
CDLN - SDC X 1
SDC - F X4 (nearly)

 

[Priscillian]

Ah FALCON... I KNEW you were out there somewhere. Whenyagonna walk thru my door???
This "bully" stands by her original post. When I walked first in 1999 there were no bedbugs. Four Caminos later, there are. And we brought the little buggers...
If you think that Albergues are making any money in this god-awful financial climate we in Spain call (and have called for 5 years) El Crisis, think again. The threat to an albergue's reputation (and livelihood) is devastating when this kind of post appears. It was only necessary to say that there was a problem with BB's along the Fisterra - Muxia route. Let the albergue owners deal with it and Caveat Peregrino!
I notice that the original poster attached MD to his or her name. I also note that his/her contribution on this Forum totals 3.......
My suggestion: stay at the Paradors. You can probably afford it. I can suggest some really nice Casa Rurales between F and M which won´t knock you back much more than $100 a night.
You might even get lucky (bedbugs-wise and so to speak).
"Customer focus......" Don´t make me larf......
(PS Please don´t tell me that "Ugly American Syndrome" as known all over the world, alas, has finally made it to the Camino! And yes, I DO expect this comment to be deleted by the Mods!)

 

[Priscillian]

Tinkatinker, thank you SO much. I was so incensed that I didn't read your post in its entirety first off. Here at The Little Fox I just about break even: those who can do, those who can´t benefit from those who can. Had the original post been about me (which could easily happen) this wonderful retreat would be dead in the water. Overnight.
This is my home. Do you think I want bed bugs here? Do you think that possibility stops me from welcoming pilgrims who need a few days rest before they encounter the real Camino of going home?
Right...
Nuff said.
TS

 

[Deleted member 3000]

It is good to know that Paradors cannot have bed bugs, Priscillian.

As a government-run hotel chain I assumed they had a casual attitude toward the customer. Knowing that they have some pacts with the bugs is comforting...

 

[Shairn]

Permethrin has been linked to autism and other neurological diseases including Parkinson's. I do not recommend soaking your bed sheets in it! It is also highly toxic to other creatures (including fellow pilgrims) with whom we share this planet. Why would you spray your bedding with a known neurotoxin in order to avoid a few bug bites?

 

[Anniesantiago]

Have you ever had bedbug bites?
If so, you would know why someone might spray.
They can be the size if golf balls, hot, red, itchy, painful, and usually come in multiples.
The bigger problem is that the pilgrim then carries them along to other albergues and eventually home. They are a huge problem in California, for example.

And though I agree that responsible albergues can be damaged by bedbug alerts, not all albergue owners are responsible. One, when I told them there were bugs in the bed, merely shrugged. Well, great! Another quickly went to work stripping and spraying the bed which is what I would hope for.

I personally am happy to know where bedbugs are being found so I can check for myself although I usually check anyway.

 

[Priscillian]

Dear Annie, if everybody was as reasonable as you, there would be no problem. My issue is with the original poster who for what ever reason found it necessary to actually name the albergue in question after that albergue had done everything to fix the problem y ya está! Ergo: no problem.
All that needed to be posted was "Bedbugs alert on the Camino Fisterra." Big bloody deal.
Caveat Emptor...
One Camino institution of 30 years is still stinging from criticism last year on this very Forum about bed bugs. Many people won´t stay there because of the "reputation" and more fools them.
Pilgrims: you risk looking ugly and being itchy for two or three days because you got bitten while staying overnight (and using the facilities) at a place which cost you 5 euros a night.
Deal with it.
As usual, the Happy Heretic makes no apologies.
TS

 

[anniethenurse]

The albergue in the OP´s post was probably the most bed bug free one at that time.
The albergues before and after that one are the ones we have to worry about as well as all the pilgrims who do not know they carry bed bugs in many cases all the way home. Also spreading out the bugs during the flights home, in buses and trains.

Be aware!
Be informed on how to prevent bed bugs.

 

[Lou elliott]

Wow what a lot of comments
So
What is the sure fire way to prevent and deal with such problem both from pilgrim and Albergue point of view?
Chemicals ,sticky strips,throw away covers?

 

[NoQ]

Wow what a lot of comments
So
What is the sure fire way to prevent and deal with such problem both from pilgrim and Albergue point of view?
Chemicals ,sticky strips,throw away covers?

A sure fire way? Hmmm...
Bring your own hammock. Tie one end to one post and the other end to another. Make sure said posts are in two small buckets of water (so make sure to bring those with you along with hammock).

 

[naplesdon]

We are reviewing some very old posts here folks.