# I'm Here To Ruin Your Day -- Check This Out, And Try Not To Itch (Bedbugs!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416 "2010-02-18T01:05:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/1 "2010-02-18T01:05:35Z")
[http://www.bedbugregistry.com/](http://www.bedbugregistry.com/) Never. Leaving. House. Again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/2 "2010-02-18T02:09:12Z")
We thought we had bedbugs last year after a vacation at a mountain lodge. But the bedbug-sniffing dogs came and couldn’t find anything. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/3 "2010-02-18T09:30:00Z")
Stay home then. But, they may still come to you. I had them once, and it was a straight up nightmare. I thought the bite marks would never leave. It took years, but they finally did. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/4 "2010-02-18T10:48:32Z")
Years?!? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/5 "2010-02-18T11:28:03Z")
I used to do research on bedbugs. Fascinating creatures, but beyond scientific interest I HATE the little fuckers. I was always extremely paranoid about bringing them home from lab and took extreme precautions. I. Never. Check. Into A. Hotel. Without. Looking. Them Up. On. [Bedbugregistry.com](http://Bedbugregistry.com) NEVER. Even so, I do a thorough room check upon checking in (this takes about 30-40 minutes and I have a special kit). I never put clothes in the drawers. I live out of my bag, which stays hung on the hook in the bathroom door. When I get home, the first thing that happens is that my clothes and bag (which is simple canvas) goes directly into the dryer. I get no enjoyment out of staying at hotels - even nice ones. And I travel a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/6 "2010-02-18T13:18:02Z")
Itchy now. When I watched an episode of that parasite show (something Monsters Within something), they sprayed some kind of freezing gas in every nook and cranny of the house and its contents, and the woman lived happily ever after. I was hoping this was a miracle cure. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/7 "2010-02-18T15:45:22Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > When I get home, the first thing that happens is that my clothes and bag (which is simple canvas) goes directly into the dryer. Will that kill them? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/8 "2010-02-18T15:59:25Z")
Now I’ll never look at a Motel 6 (Sicks) the same way again. ---
**Author:** ![Waffle\_Decider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Waffle\_Decider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waffle_Decider)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/9 "2010-02-18T16:13:56Z")
This topic made me look up bedbug on Wikipedia. The section on [reproduction](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug#Reproduction) is disturbing: All bedbugs mate via a process termed traumatic insemination. Instead of inserting their genitalia into the female’s reproductive tract as is typical in copulation, males instead pierce females with hypodermic genitalia and ejaculate into the body cavity. :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/10 "2010-02-18T17:43:22Z")
DO they really make you itch? I’ve never been bitten, but I thought the bites were supposed to be _painful_, not itchy. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/11 "2010-02-18T17:48:14Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Will that kill them? Yes, heat in the dryer on “High” for about 45 minutes. This is why I don’t use traditional luggage - you can’t do this with a rollerbag. I use a canvas duffel bag. Bedbugs are actually pretty resistant to cold - I have had some survive for over an hour in a -20 freezer. But they are very sensitive to high heat. Because of heat sensitivity, some people advocate dis-infesting mattresses by bagging them in black plastic and putting it out in the sun. Don’t do this - it won’t get hot enough in the bag to kill them reliably. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/12 "2010-02-19T01:55:26Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > DO they really make you itch? I’ve never been bitten, but I thought the bites were supposed to be _painful_, not itchy. Bedbug bites are similar to mosquito bites. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/13 "2010-02-19T02:15:05Z")
If bedbugs squick you out then [don’t read this.](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/bugs-in-your-bed/Content?oid=3210060) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-here-to-ruin-your-day-check-this-out-and-try-not-to-itch-bedbugs/529416/14 "2010-02-19T02:23:51Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#): > > If bedbugs squick you out then [don’t read this.](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/bugs-in-your-bed/Content?oid=3210060) “Sexually antagonistic coevolution”? Cripes. [sub]Don’t let Dan Savage hear _that_ one…[/sub]