"So you know, you need to be careful when staying in any hotel. I'm terrified when staying in a hotel. Just ask the wife. I have a lot of "staying in a hotel rules." Don't ever put your suitcase or clothes on the bed, on the floor or in the drawers. Never. Keep your suitcase on the suitcase rack (usually a metal, fold up thing), as bed bugs can't crawl up metal (well, at least not very well). Keep your stuff in the suitcase on the suitcase rack. Better yet, leave your stuff in the trunk of your car. Me? I leave my shoes on when in a hotel room. Don't even get me started about the carpeting. (Shoes are a great mode of transportation for bed bugs so you best check your shoes before putting them in your stuff--it'd be awesome if you could put your shoes in the freezer for two weeks but you probably don't have time to do that on vacation.) Before getting into bed, take a gander at the sheets and mattress cover. Go ahead, don't be afraid. If you see any little red dots or suspicious brown specs--especially in the corners--leave. (Well, unless you are European--then, you can think, "hey, this is a really clean bed--looks much better than mine at home.")"No offense to the Europeans. I just know you're not as freaked out about bed bugs as I am. I see this is a sign of strength.
We stayed at a downtown Chicago hotel this weekend, as part of a jubilant celebration better known as the wife's birthday. Securing a hotel is very traumatic for me, as I have to consider the potential of a bed bug infestation. Yes, I research this before booking a place to stay; in fact, I probably do more research about a hotel room than I did when writing my thesis. Research does not guarantee a bed bug free experience, but it brings a wee bit of comfort and confidence. I like the Bed Bug Registry. It's easy to navigate and full of information.
After seeing the price of hotel rooms for this particular weekend, I decided to live large and go with the search engine that finds you great hotel deals... but, you don't know what hotel you are "getting" until you've paid. It's a gamble. (It's the same website that got me an amazing airline deal for our Chicago-to-San Diego trip... via Cincinnati. Sigh.) They've never done me wrong, so I threw caution to the wind and gave it a shot. I got a great price and hoped the savings didn't include any new little friends.
Staying somewhere like Chicago, the bed bug capitol of the US, is frightful to me. (Yes, Chicago is currently #1. Poor NYC lost its way.) I love Chicago. I love being downtown. I love the hustle and bustle, the activities, the view, the lights, the shopping, the tourist-y things, the food. But, I do not like staying in Windy City hotels because of the dreaded little red bugs. I don't want to take that kind of souvenir home with me. I don't need the gift that keeps on giving.
The wife is used to my bed bug inspections upon arrival at every hotel. It's become a work of art, poetry in motion. I've now taken to putting the suitcase in the bathroom until the inspection is complete. I read that somewhere and thought that was a grand idea. Of course, the suitcase can't be on the floor--rather, it gets placed on the counter or in the bathtub (with the stopper in place). I then destroy the bed, pulling back sheets and mattress decorative things (what the hell are those called?), inspecting the piping of the mattresses, taking a gander at the bed frame, looking at the headboard. I use a cell phone as flashlight so I can take a closer look. I stop short of looking behind picture frames near the bed but that is a concern. (Note to hotels: stop putting pictures over the bed. Those critters love hiding there.)
As I was performing my search, the wife asked me what I would do if I found a bed bug or signs that bed bugs were in the vicinity. I stopped my search and contemplated this. My first thought is that I would probably freak out and become hysterical. I then recalled the results of research and knew my answer would be this:
I would go to the front desk, alert them of the issue and ask for a room at least two floors away, on a different wing of the hotel.
Of course, that might not be possible and then I'd have problems. After all, this was a pre-paid room. It's not easy to say I'm leaving and going to find another hotel when you've already paid a handsome fee for a Chicago room. There is no guarantee the next hotel would be bed-bug free. That would really suck. So, I would probably just go back home, sleep in the car or weep softly all night.
Thankfully, no bugs were located so I gave the "all clear" to the wife and allowed her to breathe a big sigh of relief. It was a bigger-than-usual sigh of relief, seeing as this was her birthday outing.
I wish I didn't have this terror because it really does make it a bit more difficult to travel. However, lest I be diagnosed with some form of disorder (on top of the ones I have already earned), I will keep staying in hotels and doing the best I can to do so in the least stressful manner. I will continue my crusade to remain bed bug free.
If you would like a demonstration of how to look for bed bugs, how to use the registry or what products to try when traveling (in an effort to repel those critters from your belongings), I'm yer gal. If you'd like to travel with us, I suggest you don't stay in the same room because you'll have to deal with this nonsense if you try to crash our party. If you'd like to learn more about bed bugs from the Addiverse's point of you, click on the link. If I've ruined you from staying in hotels, I apologize. You'll thank me later. Until then, sleep tight and don't let the....
....oh, you know the rest.
https://addiwp.blogspot.com/2012/07/bugged.html
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