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Lovely Weekend - except..

(12 Posts)
1summer Mon 09-Oct-23 11:56:27

Yesterday I came back from a lovely weekend in London with my family. We stayed in a lovely hotel and was pleased everything seemed spotlessly clean ( which it should have been considering how much it cost).
We went to a nice restaurant for a pre show meal on Saturday we all enjoyed it but as we finished someone noticed a caterpillar in one of the serving dishes! The restaurant dealt with it quite well, very apologetic, 50% off meal and no service charge.
Then on checking out of hotel yesterday the couple in front of us were very upset as they were convinced they had been bitten by bedbugs, the hotel was adamant they treat all the mattresses regularly to prevent bedbugs. But the lady did have some bites on her arms - could have been anything I suppose.
Recently the news has been about stories of bed bug infestations especially in Paris so is on people’s minds.
On getting home I threw all my clothes in the washing machine and sprayed overnight bags that are airing outside. Not sure what else I can do.
Feel a bit paranoid at the moment but still enjoyed the weekend.

Oopsadaisy1 Mon 09-Oct-23 15:41:27

Put all of the washing on a high heat (tumble dryer) for 45 minutes.

Anything that the cases have touched ie in the car or the floor of your house could also be infected. Hoover all the nooks and crannies and wash and high heat dry as well. Special sprays must exist for carpets I would think.

The bugs will live in your car and house for a long time.

Oopsadaisy1 Mon 09-Oct-23 15:42:55

Don’t forget your shoes, cosmetics, anything that was in the room with (potentially) bed bugs.

DGS got them in Europe this summer, they were a pain to get rid of. He was covered in bites.

1summer Mon 09-Oct-23 20:45:52

Thank you Oopsadaisy1 for your advice. I did think of my shoes today so washed and sprayed them as well. I don’t think any cosmetics or toiletries touched any surfaces.
Hope I am just being a bit paranoid.

Polar22 Thu 12-Oct-23 17:20:45

We're going to Paris soon! I'm wondering if there are precautions I can take? Are there any sprays we can use in advance?

Aveline Thu 12-Oct-23 17:41:02

That sounds awful. What a worry. I hope you absolutely didn't bring any back with you. Better safe than sorry though so best carry out all those suggestions. Good luck.

Margiknot Thu 12-Oct-23 17:41:41

I don't live in London but just a little further north and we have had a resurgence of mosquitoes recently ( possibly due to recent warm weather) -so if you were staying near a pond or water the other customers bites might have been mosquito bites- but best to be cautious!! I read bedbugs can also be killed by leaving things that (eg can't be washed) in the freezer for several days. I don't know what that would do to shoes!

ExDancer Thu 12-Oct-23 17:43:12

Amazon have pages of sprays and insecticides for bed bugs - worth a try!

1summer Thu 12-Oct-23 22:03:35

I have had absolutely no evidence of bed bugs since I got home so think everything is ok.
But as I was feeling a bit paranoid I did strip my bed on Monday and washed all the sheets, pillowcases, mattress and pillow protectors on a hot wash with disinfectants. I also (which I read was good to kill and prevent bedbugs) sprinkled the mattress with bicarbonate of soda and lavender essential oil mixed together left for the day then throughly vacuumed off.
Not sure you could do that in a hotel though, best of luck Polar22 hope you have a great time.

MerylStreep Thu 12-Oct-23 22:44:24

Isummer
In the 16 years we lived ( on &off) with bed bugs I never saw one in a shoe 🤷‍♀️ but saw plenty in their favourite hiding places: the seams in your mattress.

Polar22 Fri 13-Oct-23 09:21:26

We’re on a river boat so I’m hoping they can’t swim 😂😂

Grantanow Sun 22-Oct-23 17:42:11

It's not a pandemic!