# How transferrable are bedbugs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 10, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215 "2015-11-10T19:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/1 "2015-11-10T19:10:31Z")
I just found out that a hotel that I was staying at last week had several reports on Tripadvisor of bedbugs at the same time that I was there, including in the rooms right next to mine. But I didn’t have any bites at all when I was there (2 nights), and didn’t see any signs of bugs. What is the chance that I brought the bugs back with me to my home? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/2 "2015-11-10T19:19:45Z")
I’ve known people who got them just because they live in an apartment building where their neighbors got them. However that isn’t the same as having them hitch a ride in your luggage after two days. Also just because you don’t see bites, I think they may still be there. Not everyone is allergic to the bites or notices them. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/3 "2015-11-10T19:27:47Z")
They’re extremely transferable. I’d read about what you can do to clean them off anything you brought with you (hottest wash/dry cycle (even maybe turning up your water heater first), I don’t know). Anything that can’t be washed, maybe leaving outdoors over the winter, if it gets cold enough in your location. Bedbugs are incredibly difficult to get rid of once you have them in your house. If you did bring them home with you, maybe you’re lucky and they’re still contained to the items you brought with you or the room those things are in. You can look into setting up a bed bug detector/trap with dry ice and see what you find and if you do find anything maybe consider calling in the pros now. Better to get deal with it now than after you try it yourself for a year and then give up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/4 "2015-11-10T19:31:41Z")
Put your bags into the garage immediately, in black plastic bags with one of those No Pest strips. In any area where the bags have been put out a no pest strip, if it’s safe (no pets, no food, not a sleeping area). _Bed bugs ex- posed to 113°F will die if they receive constant exposure to that temperature for 90 minutes or more. However, they will die within 20 minutes if exposed to 118°F. Interestingly, bed bug eggs must be exposed to 118°F for 90 minutes to reach 100% mortality._ Always check TripAdvisor before you go. which hotel was it? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/6 "2016-03-17T08:18:24Z")
…or people got bitten by, say, mosquitoes, and then blamed bedbugs and wrote up about it on TA… ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/7 "2016-03-17T11:09:19Z")
Reported anyway. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/8 "2016-03-17T12:10:54Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > They’re extremely transferable. I’d read about what you can do to clean them off anything you brought with you (hottest wash/dry cycle (even maybe turning up your water heater first), I don’t know). Only the dryer is necessary. If you have things which can’t go in the dryer, you can get a collapsible heat box that plugs in and gets to the temperature necessary to kill them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/9 "2016-03-17T15:02:30Z")
I’s been 4 months since the OP scared himself. I wonder if he ever found any bugs or just had the vapors over nothing? ---
**Author:** ![TheSundial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6f9a4e/32.png) [@TheSundial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSundial)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/10 "2016-03-18T10:45:19Z")
I had them once in a hotel and I figured out that they want to be as close to you as possible which is already clear with a bed. What I discovered is that more of them were underneath the chair that came with the room while I was using my laptop at the table. I just turned over the chair and killed them all. I actually defeated them that way. They aren’t smart enough to hide somewhere far away in the room just to confuse you or planning to attack later. They want your blood and they won’t waste time. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-transferrable-are-bedbugs/737215/11 "2016-03-18T12:39:54Z")
I figure that the hotel had probably washed the carpets and shortly after got the bed bug infestation. After a bit they realised that spraying surface spray to prevent cochroach infestaton, while off label, has a side effect of preventing bed bugs. They spray for a massive infestation of cockroachs (eg spray the skirting boards really thoroughly ) while the mattresses have no sheets… and the carpets and mattresses are no longer hospitable to bed bugs… So thats why the OP didn’t get bed bugs, its easily fixed… People scared of insecticide and live with the roaches get bedbugs and dust mites.