Bedbugs abroad and while traveling: are they dangerous, where do you encounter them, where can you see them?
What are bedbugs?
- Bedbugs are insects that feed on the blood of humans and animals. Their favorite place in the house is in and around the bed, hence the name: bed bugs.
- Bedbugs, fleas, and scabies mites are extremely irritating and difficult to detect in advance.
- Bedbugs are tiny, and you can mainly recognize them if you wake up itching at night and there are no mosquitoes. That might give you a clue on what is causing the itch...
- Bedbug bites are easy to recognize: the bumps are usually clustered together and in a straight line. A small consolation: bedbugs normally do not transmit diseases.
What is the difference between fleas and bedbugs?
- Do you see a small creature in your bed that is a few millimeters in size? Then it could be either a flea or a bedbug. Look very closely: do you see long hind legs, and does it jump away when you touch it? Then it is a flea. Is the little creature more like a mini-woodlouse, with six more or less equal legs? Then it is probably a bedbug, and in any case not a flea.
- Fleas can jump, and bedbugs cannot.
- Fleas can spread diseases.
Where do bedbugs and fleas occur abroad and while traveling?
Where do bedbugs occur?
- Bedbugs are often found in dirty mattresses and bedding. Check for bloodstains on the mattress before you go to sleep or black, dark spots near the seam of the mattress. That could likely be bedbug poop.
- Unfortunately, bedbugs can occur anywhere, but the chance is greater if a hotel or hostel is unhygienic.
- There are even hostels that ban sleeping bags to prevent the spread of those annoying critters. Bedbugs rarely occur in tiled areas such as a bathroom, making that a better place to store your luggage than on top of your bed.
Where do fleas occur?
- The human flea is relatively rare nowadays but has a worldwide presence.
- However, the cat flea, dog flea, and rat flea are very common and like human blood as well.
- Chigoe flea or jiggers mainly occur in warm areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America, read more about jiggers
- Fleas like to live on furry animals or in the dens or nests of those animals. If you work with animals, especially in the care of sick and neglected animals, you will regularly encounter fleas.
What measures can you take against bedbugs and fleas?
- Bring an impregnated sleeping bag liner or a piece of impregnated mosquito netting. You can also place your (impregnated) mosquito net under the duvet cover... if there aren't too many mosquitoes or if a net is already hanging. A special thin plastic mattress cover is available. It is a small, fist-thick package that weighs almost nothing, and it is also used against dust mites.
- Avoid placing your luggage, and especially your clothes, on the floor (certainly on carpeting or rugs!). Hang it up or put it in a (clean) cupboard.
- If you are staying in the same place for an extended period, for example, at a volunteer project, invest in a local exterminator to make your stay abroad a bit more pleasant.
- Do you think or know that you have been to a place infested with bedbugs? Then unpack your belongings outside. Wash items that can withstand it at 60 degrees or higher and then put them in the dryer. Put clothes in the dryer on high heat without washing first for more delicate items. Freezing items in a sealed bag for at least 4 days (below -18 degrees) also kills bedbugs and their eggs.
- Use DEET mosquito repellent on the bedding if it won't do any harm: see DEET mosquito repellent and insect repellent.
- Continue treating for bedbugs and fleas to be able to catch various life cycles of the bugs.
- Unverified tips:
- You can treat your pajamas with insecticides.
- Expose infected items (clothes, bedding) to the sun (in a plastic bag).
- Cockroaches eat bedbugs, so do not swat the cockroaches in a room where both are present, but you might want to consider another hostel....
How can I treat a bedbug or flea bite?
- Have you been bitten? Then you can use an anti-itch or skin-soothing ointment, like a zinc ointment or calamine lotion.
- Is it severe? Then you can consider taking antihistamines (medications you also get for allergies, hay fever, or motion sickness).
- Try to avoid scratching and keep the area clean to avoid infections.
