Bedbugs and other bed pests in huts (bedbug)
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| bagi4. 10. 2016 11:23:18 |
When it hits you in the middle of the night  . Bedbugs. My experience ... itchy, painful, long-lasting. Not pleasant at all, nothing nice to look at. Happened to me in French huts, can happen anywhere. After all we have them right in the middle of Ljubljana, they spread quickly anywhere with mass visits, even to our huts.
You don't see them if you don't know them, you don't feel them crawling on you. They bite in salvos. In a good half hour in the middle of the night I got 40 bites and didn't even know what hit me. Few days later again in another hut. On face, neck, arms and more. And this despite using all preventive measures I know. Linen sheet over mattress, strong repellent use, zipped sleeping bag with own pillow and long clothes. Didn't help. They bite everywhere there's bare skin. With hikers' gear they move from hut to hut.
Some of my tips ...
In dubious lodgings necessarily use long tight clothes for sleeping. Pull socks over lower clothing part. Even thin cotton gloves are handy despite possible surprised looks from others. Linen mattress cover separates sleeping bag from base. In Spain in albergues such covers mandatory for few years. Dose of Pips around mattress edges right before sleep also helps. Have approx. 50-liter trash bag with you.
If burning itchy bites hit you in the middle of the night which turn into bloody blisters in following days you're a bedbug victim. Spray sleeping bag abundantly and airtight seal in mentioned trash bag for a few hours. This gets rid of current colony, repeat procedure anytime. Same with clothes. Inform hut keeper about bedbug attack urgently.
At home don't take gear directly to apartment. First use above described disinsection. Especially sleeping bag and sleep clothes additionally seal in freezer at -20°C for at least three days to kill the brood. They survive up to -10°C. Then wash all in washing machine at +40°C with some detergent and dry. No worries, it won't harm gear.
On this problem due to poor hut maintenance and lack of hygiene I massively ran into especially on Corsican mountain trail GR20 ... http://www.hribi.net/trenutnerazmere.asp?fra=1&gorovjeid=10015&id=7274
Same but much less happens also on very visited Camino France where they pay much attention to it ... http://www.hribi.net/trenutnerazmere.asp?ostalo=1&gorovjeid=10007&id=4576&stran=1
I wish you as little such night life as possible  . Welcome other tips too ...
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| bagi4. 10. 2016 12:17:31 |
Yeah, noticed right away, no chance for correction. Tadej ...
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| miri4. 10. 2016 14:17:51 |
"Tried" bedbugs in the army. I've had enough of them.
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| darinka44. 10. 2016 17:23:00 |
Today bedbugs. This can't be true. Even when I was a child, there haven't been any for many years. Despite poverty and shortage.
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| dprapr4. 10. 2016 18:40:13 |
That you expect bedbugs, but still go sleep in such a hut, that's not very understandable to me.
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| bagi4. 10. 2016 19:15:25 |
@dprapr ... you don't have much choice for sleeping in the middle of the mountains, nor do you really expect bedbugs there . I've slept in over 100 huts, even in more exotic destinations, and there was no such problem anywhere .
I also doubt anyone expected them in a residential building in Šiška in the middle of Ljubljana, but they are there anyway ... http://4d.rtvslo.si/arhiv/tednik/174427121
They are our reality again, and we need to be very careful about it
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| Nuša Javornik24. 03. 2023 10:21:39 |
I also experienced this on the French camino in Spain. First time right after coming from the Pyrenees to Roncesvalles and also in Burgos. That's why I later avoided huge albergues. I had a swollen face and had to go to the doctor. Now I carry antihistamines and ointment for bites with me.
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| bagi25. 03. 2023 06:39:58 |
Nuša, regarding Spanish Caminos, you can learn more about the current situation in albergues on Gronze.com. There you choose the Camino, then the stage and there all albergues of the selected stage are collected. They are colored differently based on user comments. Attention to the red ones.
When you click on the selected albergue, a *Comentarios* tab appears on the newly opened page above. Click and read all recent negative comments (use Google translator if you don't know Spanish). There you quickly find out if the negative comment is due to dirt, maybe bedbugs, or if someone just had a bad day.
I regularly use this checking method and do my homework on this topic before leaving for Spain. I avoid dirty albergues, but if I come across a suspicious one, I always first check the walls, window frames and bed edges. Only then do I unpack. The experience on GR20 in Corsica was unforgettable  .
I wish you as few such experiences as possible and as much enjoyment on the path
Emil
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