bedbugs history during my camino till LEON

[GunnarW]

FINALLY, a casa rural who offers internet for free. This is not a internet "pinball" machine. Finally I can tell my story.
I m doing well, I started my camino in St J P d Port 7th of September.
This is important information I will share

During the first days, I asked every albergue about chinches. In Roncevalles, they said it comes from France, In Zubiri Municipales, the guy didn t know what chinches were. He said: Ah pinchos, es in el bar....

FIRST WAVE
After Estella, I meet 3 persons who were bitten by bedbugs. They all slept in the CASA DE AUSTRIA on 12/9/2011
Person K1, I met in Logroño 13/09/2011. He was bitten in his neck. He said he slept in CASA DE AUSTRIA bed 8. Together with J1, we gave him as much possible support as possible. He washed all his clothes in Logroño. I heard from J1 this morning in Leon he s fine. He s two days in front.
Person I1, I met in Santo Domingo dl Calzada 15/09/2011 - The Spanish albergue at the right side. I saw he was bitten everywhere. I asked if he washed all his clothes. No. So I went to the reception desk and reported the issue: They didn t do nothing!
Person K2 I met in Burgos - 19/09/2011 - municipales in the centre. I was assigned bed 324 and K2 bed 323 above me. K2 was also bitten and I spoke with K2. She knew it came from Estella - Austria. She didn t wash her clothes. So I went to the reception desk and reported the issue. They were saying "are you sure it s from bedbugs - do you know what a bedbug is - blablabla" Other people were even laughing with me.
I said: or you give me another bed or I leave. They gave me 511 and didn t do anything else.

Meanwhile during my camino during the "1 kilometer walk chats" I spoke with many people, most didn t know what bedbugs are. I informed them as much I know. I always said that you won t take them at home as I read on the blog of a lady.

In the albergues I slept I NEVER saw information about bedbugs.

SECOND WAVE.
25/04/2011: I subscribed at LA TORRE - ARCAHUEJA. After the dinner the guy made, I went to my bed and saw something running on the blue wall. I caught it in a plastic "airplane" bag and went to the cafe where the man was working. He recognized it was a bedbug. So in the room with all the other peregrinos, he said it s only one, you don t have to worry, my place is desinfected, I have certificates, bla bla.....
I left the place immediately, the others stayed. I slept in the hotel camino real for 45E. I heard from S1 the day after they found 2 more bugs in the room the day after.
In Leon, I stayed in a hostal, far away from the peregrino stream. When I visited the albergue close to the cathedral to collect a stamp, I could not believe my eyes. I saw the nuns spraying in plastic bags. I counted more then 7 bags.
I saw I2 and K3, both nice peregrinos I already shared lot of nice moments with, also bitten by bedbugs.
BEDBUGS ARE A REAL PROBLEM!!!!!!!!! AND NO ONE IS TAKING CARE. THE ALBERGUES EVEN DON T SPEAK IN PRIVATE WITH THE IMPACTED PERSONS. THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE. WHAT WILL I SEE MORE DURING THE LAST 13 DAYS...
NO ONE IS TAKING CARE. NO ONE IS GIVING INFORMATION. PEREGRINOS DON T CARE
THIS IS WORSER THEN THE AIDS ISSUE iN THE THIRD WORLD :!:
Update 12/10/2011: I mean the information flow towards the peregrinos

For the moment, I don t want to sleep no longer in albergues and I hope no to be attacked by the bugs. Since three days I sleep almost alone in HOSTALS, HOTELS and CASA RURALES. It s not funny because I miss the other peregrinos but what can I do.

Off course, I have a nice time during the camino, but the bedbugs are too much.

***Don t look to the errors I made. This is a Spqnish keyboard and my English is not top for the moment.***

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Ummm... I´ve said it before and I will say it again: Bedbugs are icky, but they are not deadly. Bedbugs have been unwelcome companions to humans for all of history, and they are not going away anytime soon. I know many people who have been bitten and even infested with bedbugs on their caminos, and every single one of them survived, and came out the other side having learned some lesson or other from the experience.

So far this year, bedbugs have been a minor problem on the Camino Frances. You have seen ONE insect you think was a bedbug, and several people with some sort of insect bites -- and you have blackened the reputations of several albergues and hostels without any solid proof that they are the places the bugs live.

It looks like your irrational fear of these little insects is spoiling your camino. The insects freak you out, you act in ways you feel are appropriate, and when others do not jump up and respond the way you want them to, it makes you angry and frustrated.

The bedbugs that travel on the camino are outside your control. Stay in hostels and hotels if you choose to, but do not assume you will not see bedbugs there as well.

To be so horrified by a minor pest is borderline neurotic, IMHO. Get a &%% grip, or get a bus home. Spreading such fear and loathing is worse than spreading chinches.


PS. To liken bedbug bites to the AIDS epidemic is beyond tasteless.

 

[MichaelB10398]

You will not die if you do meet up with a bed bug. The majority of pilgrims are not bitten on the Camino; just a small minority. You need to put things in perspective; right now you are overly focused on a very insignificant point of the entire Camino. If you want to continue, it will definitely lessen the enjoymet of your Camino.

However, if you put down this burden you carry, remember the purpose of the Camino, you will find great joy and peace. Bad things will continue to happen to good people, but it really does not matter. The only thing we can control is how we respond to bad things. Embrace the Camino and leave your cares to God. He will take care of you and he knows your fears.

Walk in faith,

 

[bromeliad]

GunnarW,

thank you for your detailed post about the bedbug situation in the Camino right now.

I, like many people in this forum, rely on the information passed along by other peregrinos in planning my next Camino, so I find such information invaluable. One of the many advantages we have over medieval pilgrims is the internet with its easy, unrestricted, uncensored access to information. Information, along with freedom of speech and the right to express opinions freely, is ultimately always empowering, always positive. It enables people to get different perspectives on a subject and develop their own conclusions.

I intend to do the same in my next Camino, and in doing so I hope to be of as much use to other pilgrims as your post has been to me.

 

[GunnarW]

Arrived at Santiago without problems.
my conclusion:
if information would be available in EVERY albergue, the issue with bedbugs can be reduced. Many pelgrims who are bitten don t care, don t wash and dry there clothes and spread the bugs to other places.
For the moment, there is a wrong attitude in many albergues.
It s so easy to speak in private with a person who is bitten over the whole body and give qssistance. I did it a few times. No one doesn t care.
I met in Santiago N1 who was bitten just before Leon. And yes, N1 slept in ARCAHUEJA.
N1 was again bitten in Foncebadon.
In ACEBO, first albergue at the left side, C1 splashed a bedbug filled with plenty of blood.
You will not die of bedbugs, but I saw some people really depressed.
And now I will stop because it s not important, you will not die from it. It s a minor issue.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Gunnar,
I am one person who doesn't take bedbugs lightly.
For me, they are certainly much more serious than a mosquito bite! :!:
But then, I hate mosquitos also!

Bedbugs are a serious condition that COULD be controlled with education and persistence.
However, it only takes one break in the chain for them to get out of control again.
All that can be done is to educate the pilgrims to the best of our ability and for you to do so also when possible.

To say they won't kill you feels a bit like saying "don't whine" and that is certainly not intended, at least from me. I'm not sure whether or not they carry disease. There is conflicting science online. I can't help but be concerned that some blood-borne disease MIGHT be transmitted from one victim to another, nor can I be sure. And so, the best thing for me is to make sure I don't get bitten.

I've blogged the steps I take.
So far they've worked for me.
The only bite I've ever gotten was in Zubiri on my first Camino before I knew what the big, red, pus-filled lump on my neck was caused by. Since then, I've learned it was a bedbug bite, having seen many.
I never want another.

Anyway, I think you are right to be concerned.
And I think that the Confraternities and other people who run the albergues on the Camino need to unite and work out a plan to get rid of or at least control of this scourge. Perhaps it will take the beds of the "normal" people being infested in order for a serious war on the beasties!

Here is what Purdue University says:
Are Bed Bugs a Public Health Risk?

Bed bugs require blood in order to reproduce and complete their life cycle. The effect of bed bug bites varies among people, but they eventually produce red welts that itch. The bites themselves are not painful and typically are not felt. However, frequent feeding can disrupt people's sleep and make them irritable, and seeing bites may cause emotional distress in some people. Heavy rates of feeding can result in significant blood loss and eventually lead to anemia, especially in malnourished children.

At least 27 agents of human disease have been found in bed bugs, including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms. None of these agents reproduce or multiply within bed bugs, and very few survive for any length of time inside a bed bug. There is no evidence that bed bugs are involved in the transmission (via bite or infected feces) of any disease agent, including hepatitis B virus and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The FACT that 27 agents have been found in bed bugs causes concern. There is no evidence that bedbugs are involved in transmission, but neither is there evidence that they are not.
And that is a concern for me.

And by the way, the bedbugs are not only in Spain.
I have a friend who manages very nice hotels in Oregon and he says they're EVERYwhere.. just not advertised.

 

[GunnarW]

Annie,
It s from your blog that I learnt a lot. I m happy that I never found an albergue and peregrinos in the condtion of the published pictures. I heard that only one peregrino had an extreme reaction. All the others that I saw had big red dots.
Maybe you can update that the dots from the bedbug poe can be confused with fly poe. Fly poe dots are bigger I presume, I never saw bedbug poe. I noticed black dots in Puenta La Reina, but there were some flies in the room.

I had a last interesting bedbug table talk in Lires (between Muxia en Finisterre) between French, Holland and Belgium people. One was bitten twice.
The French people who started in Le Puy said that all albergues in France have huge information boards inside. Some of the French albergues are very serious, for example, forbidden to put the rucksack in the sleeping place. They never saw in the Spanish albergues information on bedbugs.
The person who was bitten twice said that the bedbugs are really a problem. She was ready to interrupt her camino. In the last place where she noticed the bites, she alarmed the hospitalero. First he ignored the situation, she had to insist!

 

[SabsP]

http://www.diariodeburgos.es/noticia.cf ... F6C89B4F3C

 

[renegadepilgrim]

I had a pilgrim show me the other day the remains of a bug he had killed in his guidebook. Unfortunately, he did such a good job of killing it, there was no longer a body to identify. He was sure it was a bedbug, so I pulled up some pictures of bedbugs on the internet and we were able to confirm that it was not the same kind of bug. I did tell him I would tell the cofradia who run the albergue and if he saw any again, to please try not to obliterate it so I could have something to show them. I really think it is too cold for them, but what do I know...unless you capture one of the buggers or have the bite marks of one and have them confirmed by a doctor (and not a flea or a mosquito or a spider or some folliculitis you think is a bite), then really you can't be sure. I feel like the albergues could do a better job of educating people, even having pictures of different bugs and what their bites look like so people don't freak out. Just my .02...

 

[catherinemccoy]

I just returned from the Camino 2 weeks ago. Before leaving Canada I bought a specially treated bedbug netting that goes on the mattress before the sleeping bag. I sprayed my sleeping bag and backpack with the bedbug spray I bought and I also bought a special bed bug pillow case. These things were being sold for a ridiculous price, but now I'm glad I bought them. Also I showered with lavender soap because I heard they don't like it. Between all these things I never got one bite and I was in Albergues where people woke up bitten. I agree that its a problem that should be taken seriously, but from my experience precautions can be taken so that the Camino remains a wonderful experience.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I agree that its a problem that should be taken seriously, but from my experience precautions can be taken so that the Camino remains a wonderful experience.

Exactly!

 

[swallow]

I agree and dont...bedbugs are a problem and there is NO communication between alburges regardiing the problem. BUT I got them ( in El Acebo top bunk on right from the door). I put the stuff I sleptin and and on in a plastic bac and sprayed a HORRIBLE poison spray in the bag and tied it shut for 24 hours. The hospitalera in Ponferrada was helpful, washed my stuff and checked my bed ( by now there were none left but I couldnt believe it..when you itch with bumps you feel like you are contaminated and funky) still paranoid at Val de Valcarce the Hospitalera at Do Brazil was a saint..washed everything, checked my knapsack and me and helped me put everything in the HOT sun to dry. She didint laugh.Fellow pilgrims didnt either. After that I was able to lelp others when I saw the evidence too.

 

[annakappa]

I have just returned from Spain - Roncesvalles-Santiago. Having been a hospitalero last year at the Refugio Guacelmo in Rabanal, where the bed bug problem is taken VERY seriously. Upon arrival, the Pilgrims are shown a plastified sheet with and enlarged photo of a bed beg, plus photo of typical bites. They are then asked if they have seen evidence of them along the Way and if they have personally been bitten. If they do have suspicious bites, they are treated by having all their clothes and sleeping bag washed and the backpack and other unwashable items are sprayed and left in a large plastic bag for as long as possibe). I dealt with 12 cases last year, so was really on the look out both when checking into an Albergue and also noticing suspicious bites on other Pilgrims.
I have to say that this year during our 32 day walk, I only came accross one very badly bitten case where the lady had to go and be treated as her face was completely full of bites. She had stayed at the San Javier in Astorga which is a classical one day's walk before Rabanal. Most of the cases that I dealt with last year had stayed the previous night at the San Javier! I noticed a couple of other Pilgrims with nasty bites, but that was all. We stayed in the Guacelmo this year and Betty the hospitalera said that she had only had to deal with a couple of cases. (same period as we were there last year).
That said, please do remember that not all bites come from bed bugs. There are other bugs out there who bite: moskitos, ants, spiders and fleas! "One swallow doesn't make a summer"!
I do agree that all albergues should provide the same information as Refugio Guacelmo and hope that the various associations get together and get the message and pictures out to be posted or presented to all pilgrims upon arrival at an albergue.
Oh yes - another lady who had been bitten went to a pharmacy asking for a diagnosis and treatment was told by the pharmacist that they were moskito bites and that there were no bed bugs in Galicia!!!!!! Anne

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Currently, we are getting peregrinos in Sto Domingo de la Calzada who have been bit in Logroño. My hospitalera friend in Najera is taking good care to help pilgrims decon their belongings and clothing, so I've just been trying to offer support and show pilgrims pictures of what the bites look like and to also show how similar the reaction can be to flea bites. I'm still suspicious about whethere they really are bedbug bites and not something else. We are fortunate to have internet access so I just google bed bug bites or flea bites and show pictures...I know they are out there...

 

[tipperary]

Hi
Back today having walked from Col de Somport to Logrono over 12 days staying in Albergues including Casa Austria in Los Arcos and the municipal in Logrono. I frequently searched for bed bugs, never saw any, was not bitten nor was anyone i met. Over the last 5 years I have overnighted in albergues for perhaps 100 nights, never seen any or been subjected to bites. Maybe I have been lucky.
Thanks to all albergue volunteers for their welcome and dedication.
Buen Camino
justin

 

[blueskies]

Can anyone describe current bedbug experiences/prevalence from Leon to SDC? I am not bug-phobic, but do not want bedbugs in my life. The reality is that once they are in your home, they can cost thousands of dollars to get rid of, are an ongoing nuisance, and you can spread them easily to your workplace, family and friends, and public transit ...
Thank you!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

While it is great to avoid bed bugs, they can hitch hike without you knowing it. When you return home, assume that you have bed bugs in your equipment, and act accordingly. There is comfort in knowing where people are reporting bed bugs, the information is not practical. It is rare for someone to know where they got the bugs; they usually report them the next day (or several days later), and they travel, so that the place with bed bugs today is not the place with bed bugs tomorrow. Just assume that every place will have them, and prepare for them.

 

[pilgrimyogi]

I ended my camino two days ago in Leon because of bedbug bites on face, chest, arms and legs which erupted over the course of several days (and several albergues). Now home, depressed and sad, I hope this post will help someone else. My Brierley guidebook is currently locked in a cooler along with my backpack and everything nonwashable, and my clothes and sleeping bag have been steam washed and dried for 2+ hours at highest setting. As my guidebook is in the cooler, I can't tell you exactly the places I stayed. I found it particularly hard to deal with the problem I was having with bedbug bites for a number of reasons: First, several people had been unceremoniously kicked out of albergues for having bites in the days prior to my being bitten, so bringing up the subject of having been bitten was frightening. Second, when I saw the first bites, I tried to go do laundry, only to end up in a town with no laundromat. So I spent the night in a hotel (30 euro) and asked if they had a way to do laundry--and ended up spending 25 euros for them to wash most, but not all of my clothes (I had to wear something while this was going on, you understand). I put my remaining unwashed clothes into a plastic bag and moved on. At this point I had only 4-5 small bites on my abdomen. On the next stage I walked through a huge rainstorm and ended up in a donativo with no hospitalero on site (El Burgo Raneros), a malfunctioning dryer (paid 2 euros, it ran 40 minutes and clothes were still quite damp), and bunks where no one was changing any sheets, seemingly ever. That evening was consumed with feeding the woodstove and rigging up wire from the rafters to dry all our clothes and boots. The next night, feeling I had outrun the bugs or perhaps had been bitten only by a frisky mosquito, I slept in another albergue, again with suspect sheets and pillows and no washer or dryer. The following morning, I woke with a number of large, painful bites and went to look for the hospitalero, but there was none on site in the morning. I summoned up the courage to say to a group of peregrinos at breakfast, "I was bitten last night," and someone said that he, too, had been bitten but that the bites were widely spaced, more like spider bites. "Mine, too," I said, somewhat relieved. That afternoon I arrived in the monastery albergue in Leon and did not have the courage to admit to bites but only asked if there was a place to wash clothes. The hospitalero said I would need to give them my clothes and that it would take a while to get the laundry done as they had a single washer and dryer for all the needs of the entire albergue, including running all the sheets and pillowcases! I left and checked into a hotel, then asked at a pharmacy how to identify bedbug bites. They said it was impossible, and they had nothing to offer other than a pirethrum-based spray that prevents bedbugs for 6 hours after spraying. I went online to look at bedbug bites and found that there is no one pattern definitive to bedbugs. Bites can be single and widely spaced or in lines of lots of bites, and they can be small or large. Then I asked at the hotel reception where there was a place to wash clothes. She was doubtful there would be one open that day (Saturday) but told me how to get to one a few blocks away. I arrived to find, not a laundromat, but a laundry, where again I would have to give them my clothes (minus some that I might be wearing, of course). My friends, this is when I gave up. Maybe you would have been stronger or smarter than I. But I was done. I packed it up, packed it in, and left Spain. I have no words of wisdom beyond saying that I wish I had sprayed my sleeping bag and backpack with the pirethrum stuff I bought at REI before I left but was loath to use. In preparing for the trip, I stuffed lavender sachets (3) throughout my pack and used lavendar shampoo and body wash. Guess this wasn't enough. What would have made it easier is the ability to do my own laundry, to get access to a really hot dryer, and to have a more thorough and systematic bedbug prevention system in place in all albergues. This last, I know, is probably not possible. I had an allergic reaction to the bites and many of my itchy, painful welts turned to cellulitis and some to blood blisters. So, please don't underestimate this issue! And thanks to those who are trying to deal with the problem!

 

[renegadepilgrim]

Oh no....I am so sorry to hear you had to pack it in early. It seems like everyone reacts to bedbug bites differently. I had one poor lady who had been bitten by a mosquito near her eye and had a nice cellulitis going on by the time she left the next day. It was her normal reaction for her and she knew how to take care of it. I was still worried for her but she didn't seem too concerned.

Bedbugs, supposedly, bite in a three bite pattern (breakfast, lunch and dinner...) but when you are getting bit by multiple bugs, then it doesn't make a difference what the bite pattern is...one thing I did learn is that bed bug and flea bites look very similar...I spent a lot of my free time looking at photos online and doing my own research while in Sto Domingo. The frustrating thing for us, as hospitaleras, was that pilgrims either a) didn't tell us they had been bit by bedbugs or b) they didn't know what they were and would tell us they had these "weird" bites and then I would look at them and start freaking out inside that they had just brought bed bugs into the albergue!!! For those pilgrims I made them immediately take their stuff over to the laundromat next door and wash everything. I also periodically checked random beds upstairs after the housekeepers had come through to look for signs of the little buggers...I never found any, but the fear was always there...

Again, I am so very sorry you had to end your pilgrimage early. I hope you can make it the pilgrim gathering in Seattle after the first of the new year...I am planning to be there!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

How did your companions fare with the bedbugs, Pilgrimyogi? Were they bitten, and did they have the same allergic reaction?

While it is difficult to end a pilgrimage early, often it is the right thing to do. I have seen pilgrims walk for weeks on feet that were like raw hamburger. I have seen others decide to stop at the second blister. Some endure rain for weeks; some head home after a couple days of rain and wet boots/clothes. A pilgrimage is completely optional in life, and there is no reason to endure misery because of one! I hope there were some positive lessons in the weeks you did endure, and that they will dominate your thoughts. Congratulations on even starting. I think you did a good thing.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Again, so far, this has worked for me:
http://caminosantiago2.blogspot.com/2011/06/dont-let-bedbugs-bite.html

If you DO get bedbug bites, PLEASE do not just continue on, spreading them along the route. You MUST find a place to wash and dry your clothes, or a dry cleaners, even if you must bus to the next large city or town.

 

[Dave2013]

Ok, quick question. Would staying in private Albuerques reduce the chances of bedbug encounters during busier months?

 

[Pieces]

I dont think so...

i was bitten last year (San Javier in Astorga)...

i did feel something crawling in my sleepingbag but didnt think anythink of it and happily went on my way the next day (To Santiago to fly home). The bites actually only showed about a week after I returned home (classic lines of 3 all over my upper back) Unfortunately this meant that i had allready unpacked everything and i had to just bide my time and wait for the next bite to identify that i had taken them home with me (fortunately it never came)

next time I will take better care specially washing and freezing everything when i return home...

 

[Anniesantiago]

San Javier is crawling with bedbugs and when I brought it to their attention in 2009, they just shrugged and continued to book people in. They and Hornillos are a HUGE part of the problem, in my opinion.

 

[Pieces]

yes, and actually it is made even worse for me by the fact thay this is where the danish pilgrims association is sending people who wish to serve as hospitaleros...

it is a shame really as it is a really nice albergue with lovely facilities and location...

maybe i should email them a link to this thread...

 

[annakappa]

Ok, quick question. Would staying in private Albuerques reduce the chances of bedbug encounters during busier months?

.
NO Dave! Some albergues have stricter rules regarding cleanliness than others. Scroll back to my message on this thread posted 24th Oct.
And it's not only the albergues that have them. Highly experienced Refugio Guacelmo hospitaleros Betty and Dugald got bitten badly in an better class hotel in Santiago, after they had finished their stint at Guacelmo last year. I personally think that any dorm with a wooden floor (San Javier in Astorga is a good example) most certainly has a big problem to eradicate these little beasts. Almost impossible, I would say!
A few tips when you get to your bed:
Don't ever put your backpack on the bed.
Inspect your mattress, especially in around the side seams, then slightly lift up the mattress and let it drop down hard onto the bed slats.
I prefer to leave my sleeping bag rolled up in its bag until I actually go to bed.
The next morning, shake out (in the open) your sleeping bag, before rolling it up.
Finally, do remember that not all bites come from bed bugs, there are lots of other crawlies ou there too! Anne

 

[Dave2013]

Thanks Anne, I did see and read your link as I too am cautious about chemical use.

 

[rubyslippers]

Hi
Back today having walked from Col de Somport to Logrono over 12 days staying in Albergues including Casa Austria in Los Arcos and the municipal in Logrono. I frequently searched for bed bugs, never saw any, was not bitten nor was anyone i met. Over the last 5 years I have overnighted in albergues for perhaps 100 nights, never seen any or been subjected to bites. Maybe I have been lucky.
Thanks to all albergue volunteers for their welcome and dedication.
Buen Camino
justin

I never saw one or suffered with one, but hiked in May. They say that the time of year is KEY so what is the WORST time of year, do you know? Maybe you and I just don't taste good!

 

[Chacharm]

Bedbugs were re-introduced to the western world via 5 star hotels - not Albuergues. They were never wiped out in Arabic countries and they were carried in by wealthy tourists and spread like wildfire. Some people are hugely allergic and can get very sick - so they are a real concern but one that is easily dealt with.

I just returned from the Camino and I never had a single bite and neither did my son. I did talk to two people who had bites.
Before we left I bought some permethrin and I treated our bags and liners very well. I also treated our packs. We also carried some small spray bottles of bed bug killer that we spritzed our pillows with. It smelled really good (like cedar and lavender) so it wasn't a bother.

There is no immediate fix for bed bugs - all an albuergue can do is to treat the mattresses regularly and wash the sheets and cases in hot water after every use. I am not sure what the OP wanted the hosts to do about it the very second he saw a bug that he thought "might" have been a bed bug. Throw everyone out and call the Dept of Public Safety?

 

[agnesczaj]

Before we left I bought some permethrin and I treated our bags and liners very well. I also treated our packs. We also carried some small spray bottles of bed bug killer that we spritzed our pillows with. It smelled really good (like cedar and lavender) so it wasn't a bother.

Chacharm, do you happen to remember the name/brand of the bed bug killer? Thanks.

 

[bklyntraveller]

Chacharm,
Why do you think your spraying of the bed might not be a problem to others. I'm alergic to lavendar.
bklyntraveller

 

[craigmiller]

All pilgrims should apprise themselves of the bedbug problem and learn how to deal with it. Sadly, we had become complacent after 2 bedbug-free caminos and we didn't know what to do when they attacked us (it started in Ledigos). After trying several ineffective measures and after talking with anyone who could offer advice we found there is a fairly simple solution - heat all your gear to 60 C temperatures. Find an albergue or hostel with a clothes dryer and turn up the heat. Washing is ineffective. Laying your gear out in the sun will not suffice. Don't wash (if your stuff is already dry, it will heat up faster and hotter), just put everything into the dryer, including your pack. (We didn't do our boots, though). Give it about 0.5 hr. Stuff you cannot put in the dryer is better discarded into municipal waste receptacles. To prevent infestations, carry a large resealable plastic bag. When you enter your accommodations seal up your pack and boots in the bag.
Carry a smaller resealable bag for your sleeping gear, so they can be isolated from the rest of your stuff. That way if you get bedbugs in sleeping gear, you don't have to treat everything. Finally, when you get home, put the clothes you are wearing directly into the clothes dryer. Put everything else into your deep freeze. Studies have shown that 4 days of -18 C (0 F) will kill the bugs and their eggs. Our freezer had space for only 1 kit, so the other stayed outdoors in a sealed bag till the first 1 was done. (Note - leaving your gear outside on a frosty night won't do - there are very few populated places in North America where the temperature stays below -18C for 4 consecutive days.)

 

[michryan]

Oh I had got bitten really bad at too place this camino. I was on the Portuguese route. Sadly others got bitten too.