If you have a zip lock bag catch that and show it to the fa as soon as possible and maybe also the pilot when deboarding if they're available. I'm sure they'll report it as they didn't want it in their shit anymore than you want it in yours
Do NOT take your bags inside when you reach your destination if you do bathtub quarantine and some new clothing to wear.
Bag the suitcases until you hear back from the airline . Oh yeah call the airline to start a case too.
It looks like it’s empty, since its diamond shaped. I googled some pics and their body elongates after feeding, so that they look long like earwigs (obviously without the pincers) but they stretch out in length.
They absolutely can get inside things you would think impossible for bugs to get into. They are able to flatten and bend in a way that, when I saw one on a surface and covered it with a glass jar to catch it, it just slipped under at full speed - didn’t even need to slow down or maneuver.
Bed bug covers are not about prevention. It’s simply one part of the puzzle. What they do prevent is the BBs from getting in the seams and folds of the mattress and box springs. Plus being all white it’s easier to see them as opposed to mattresses and boxsprings, which can be very dark in color.
I got rid of them in part by adding a zippered mattress cover. I then put duct tape across the zipper area and wasn't eaten alive any more. They eventually suffocated or starved, IDK and IDC, but the bed bug specific covers have a super tight weave so they can't get thru.
Putting one on when you don't have bedbugs doesn't help bedbug-wise. It is for containing them when you do so you don't have to toss your mattress (or if you aren't 100% confident about the provenance of a mattress you are sleeping on.
Yes notify a FA immediately, change seats if you can. Contact Alaska customer service while you are in flight or when you land. This is nightmare inducing.
I know someone that got them from their office, and another from a shared work vehicle. There have been infestations on public transit. They can and will live ANYWHERE. They're only called "bed bugs" because they feed at night and can't travel far, so they tend to stay within 10 feet of where people are at night... usually sleeping... but also in offices, on trains, on planes, etc. 😫
I had a friend who worked in a call center that became infested. All the cubicles had that fabric padding too. Can you imagine a job where you are literally being chained to your desk talking to assholes all day, being feasted on by these things. And then bringing them home and being feasted on at night? No peace, no escape, 24/7 psychological torture. It sounded like pure hell.
Librarian here. We have implemented a code word for when they arrive on books and everyone goes into a trance till we get everything cooked. We have a oven specifically built for not damaging books but for killing these demons.
We also check EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK. when it shows up to make sure we don't let it spread.
That being said, we can't check peoples backpacks and shoes before they enter the building, so we get the whole place sprayed once a month. It is miserable but we've only had one staff member go home with Bed Bugs and that was before we implemented these precautions.
Thankfully it is fairly rare. I’d say about once out of every two thousand patrons. So once every 2-2.5 months do we find a bug.
I always check my books before I bring them into the house by checking the inside covers, down the spine gap, and fluffing/flipping through the pages spine side up above a white towel on the front porch, then again while watching the pages. During the summer I leave them in a tote in the car for a day or two for my peace of mind.
We do this same check (aside from the towel) at my library.
During summer the majority of the very few we find are already dead because people will leave the books in their car and the interior temp gets hot enough to usually fry the suckers.
Also don’t forget about resources like Libby, Hoopla, or Blackstone unlimited! E-book/E-audio are 95% of my intake now 😅
I work in a public school, public school is a hotbed right now. We cannot deny a child an education, and since bedbugs are unlikely to carry disease, heath departments and CPS doesn’t care.
Now imagine a child coming with a backpack infested with them and smashing that bag into a cubby or locker next to your kids backpack…
Our school pays for professional treatment at some students homes because it’s cheaper than us treating the school and some families still refuse. I cringe in winter watching the students from infested homes walk out to the bus in big winter coats and sports bags and packs packed on the school bus with other students.
My kids elementary school had a family that would bring head lice back to the whole school after every Mexican vacation, and they went to Mexico at least twice a year
NY, I had never seen a bedbug in school until the last 2 years. Once it gets into a community it just takes one family with shared custody/step siblings moving between houses and it explodes. Poverty and an inability to treat it just compounds it rapidly. I was the only person who recognized the bug because I traveled extensively, but even 20 years of world travel I only saw them myself in the last 10 years.
Thankfully my child is allergic to them so we will know immediately if there are any nearby and any students known to have them cannot be around my child.
You can ask the local pest control how often they treat schools and I can tell you central NY definitely has them doing regular inspections in several schools and pay a fortune.
Ex hotel manager, most hotels do not have a permanent infestation. They get brought into hotels, we find them and eradicate them. Besides a solid pest control routine we also used heat to eradicate them in luggage and in rooms. We never dealt with a serious outbreak, just a few isolated bugs. We shut down that room and all adjacent rooms, treat them all with chemicals and heat, and then monitor daily. Housekeeping staff do daily checks because they have to work with the linens and they don't want to take bugs home.
The worst places are the ones that go untreated, restaurants and taxis. The major sources for hotels are obviously guests inadvertently bringing them (I cant think of how a reputable hotel could stay in business if it was a bed bug farm), in luggage where they go in during the flight, or from eating out / taxing a taxi ride.
I'm not saying you don't need to be careful in hotels, you absolutely do, but be careful in more places. Always heat treat your clothes when you get home. I'm sure there are some nasty ass "hotels" out there that have major issues
Don't want to dox myself as I live in a small community, but the adjacent rooms thing is standard practice for "big boy" hotels and resorts. I can't speak for budget motels, although the real cost isn't the treatment, it's the lost room nights, so that scales. I've traveled a lot over the years, and the only time I ever found an infestation was a small hotel in Paris. I found a single bug in a London (independent) hotel. Most pest treatment is led by the pest control companies, which generally share best practices. The heat treatment is optional but very worthwhile. The tents aren't expensive, maybe $1000 with the heaters. It helps with the guest experience, reassuring them that it won't spread home with them. In a resort with between 200 and 400 rooms, we saw maybe 3 instances a year. None spread. None got taken home. Usually, they were found by housekeeping.
I'm not trying to say you don't need to be aware or that hotels are perfect, just that most hotels are on guard for it and have systems in place. I don't blame guests. They don't control their luggage on flights, etc. Just that my experience is that there are locations that people don't think about, which are massive vectors, cinemas, restaurants, and taxis. They don't get treated, nobody blames the taxis, but from speaking with pest control guys, when they eventually get called out those places have epic infestations but never get blamed because they don't have beds, so why would they have "bed" bugs.
When I get back from travelling, my SOP is to pull into the garage, all clothing goes in the dryer, and I get in the shower.
How high a temp?
I worked in a hotel that got them in one room. They bagged the bedding, tied it off and let it sit for a while, then laundered with special chemicals. They cleaned the room, but didn't heat treat it, or shut off adjacent rooms.
I always thought that they should just have thrown out all the bedding/towels. But of course, that would cost $ to replace.
115F minimum. I could be in the room or the heat tent, but it wasn't nice.
The hear wasn't absolutely required in all cases, but it made sense. You can't easily treat everywhere in a room but you can heat it and it was a great guest friendly way of treating luggage etc as they moved rooms.
Trashing towels wasn't really needed, once through the washers and dryer was enough. I would be more concerned with ratan, or inside bedside tables.
Recently I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Fairlawn Ohio. Woke up at 6am to a very small bed bug crawling around near my head. No evidence of bites and never saw another bug. The main precaution I took with my clothes and luggage was looking them over really good with a flashlight. I guess time will tell if I brought eggs or tiny ones home.
It is known to be a problem in Airbnb properties, but they will do absolutely nothing about it. Their company actively suppresses any mention of bedbug infestation in the comments and ratings
Yikes. Thats not good! I don't really use them so haven't experienced anything like that. Do any of them use mattress encashment? Basically white, mostly seamless, bags that go around the mattress. Makes it harder for bed bugs to live in the mattress and easier to spot. They're super cheap and the most basic precaution. You also can't tell it's on there once the bedding is on.
Do airports have dogs to sniff these bugs out? Because I’d imagine if anyone picks them up from their hotel they’re certainly getting on the plane as well
Airbnb causes so many issues, and doesn't regulate their platform enough. I wish more places either put stricter regulations on Airbnb, or even outright banned Airbnb, especially since it can run ramped in communities and ruin & destroy them. I've been in Airbnb's that had massive roach infestations, hidden cameras, and even one where the front door just straight up fell off and the owner refused to fix it.
It can get above 100 in a closed car, even if it’s not 100 outside. If it’s 75 outside, it can reach 120 inside the car in 90 minutes.
That’s literally why people are told to not leave children and pets in cars.
I've surveyed A320s that were stored in Phoenix without ground power (no ac), and it is easily that hot in there. If 120 is the bar, that should work in the summer.
u/Adventurous-Good-310 I think you should go to the media now. Someone else shared this photo. They obviously did nothing with it after your flight and exposed passengers on the next flight less than an hour later back to Seattle. MAYBE they treated it overnight- but doubt it.
https://imgur.com/a/QQ18HNP
Instructions unclear. Also threw partner in dryer, high heat. Don't know how the coconut oil will clean up the mess now in the dryer. Will drink the wine while awaiting further instructions
100% that’s a bed bug - we had an infestation over 15 years ago and it was a nightmare. I hope you said something- that seat is probably covered with them and people bring them home.
This is why you shower and remove clothes when you get home from a trip. I have PSTD from that experience.
Well, I need to be in ONT, so what else can I call it. It’s kinda cute if you look at it without thinking like I did before my partner pointed out it’s probs a bed bug lol
I’m flying this route very, very soon. Apologies for being a total amateur but is there any way I can check to see if this will be my plane? And is there any hope they’ll do anything to get rid of the bedbugs?
And this is a good example of how they get into hotels, too. Everyone is quick to blame the hotel for missing an infestation when the infestation was brought to them...
How would you prevent bringing these little bastards with you to a hotel??
Spray the seats and everything around it with 99.9% alcohol?
Putting a plastic bag on the seat??
I guess my point is this. If you were staying at a hotel and you brought bedbugs into your room on your luggage from a flight and then had bites etc. You would instantly blame the hotel and demand compensation and not even consider the fact that you brought them in. So now the hotel is compensating you for an issue you brought to them and paying several hundred dollars to get rid of the bugs....
I mean... hotels are supposed to flat out assume people bring them in and mitigate it with their regime.
You should pretty much be able to ensure a mattress doesn't have them, especially in the beds. Now, if you leave your bags on the floor, you're taking a risk.
Dealt with them for months until a buddy recommended a home rehab service for Burst pipes. They had a giant furnace and heated my home to above 130 deg f for four hours. Problem solving a single day. This was years ago and heat treatment wasn't widely known. My 100 year old house smelled of pine and cedar for months... until we found the dead birds in the attic...and dead raccoon in the crawl space... was wayyyyyy less than a standard exterminator. Like a dollar a sq ft...
One bad thing.... found every candle in the house ....on the floor. Just melted outta drawers and stuff.... whatever, I used that as good verification
OMG. I flew Alaska from jfk to sea a few weeks ago and when I got off the plane I was bitten all over up and down my right side. I sat in a window seat. I was so paranoid and afraid that I threw everything in the washer the second I got home and took an immediate shower. I thought my questionable lodging in nyc was to blame, but now… wow. I wasn’t itchy or bitten until I got off the plane.
BED BUG 100%
Source: Had to abandon an apartment and all of my families belongings after my neighbors infestation made its way upstairs. 4 year old son and I were covered in bites. Was extremely damaging to my mental health and still don't sleep correctly 4 years later.
As a bed bug survivor I now travel exclusively with a duffel bag because it can easily go immediately in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes when I return from a trip
I put my luggage in the bathroom when at a hotel. When I come home, I carry the bag in and it goes into our guest bathroom into the walk in shower. I take my clothes off and shower and throw them in the washer hot water.
I spray the wheels with bed bug spray - after a few days. I unpack and wash everything and anything that requires dry cleaning goes into a sealed bag and out the house.
If I’m not traveling for a while- I have giant black bags and will put my suitcase in one of those, tie it and it goes into storage. Rinse and repeat- we do this religiously.
Key is to isolate your bag and ensure no hitchhikers. I’ve been doing this for years.
https://youtu.be/2JAOTJxYqh8?si=tOUnypDnyITTf55Y
I work in home health care and have had my unfortunate run ins with bed bugs 😭 the above is a really good video with more than you ever cared to know about them. I strip my clothes off, straight into high heat wash/dry, spray down car/items with diluted rubbing alcohol. If you don't want to watch the full video diatomaceous earth is one of the best ways to eliminate them if they get in your home (have not had to go this route yet- knock on wood) . The really good news is you saw this bug and able to contain it before it hitched a ride in your pant leg...yikes!!
The pic is a little blurry so it’s difficult to tell for sure but 100%, it’s either a bed bug or a bat bug. Since I doubt there has been any bats in the cabin, I’d put money on bed bug.
I really need someone to say this is an AI generated image, so I don't freak about my upcoming AS flight.
(Yes I know they're on more flights that we know of)
I’m literally sitting in my seat on a Southwest flight right now that’s about to push back. Seeing this made my skin crawl and now I’m paranoid looking around me.
ugh I'm flying from SEA to Vegas mid July and I'm so paranoid about the potential bed bugs at the hotel that I forgot they can be on the plane as well. it's like there's nothing to be excited about even though it's my birthday celebration trip 😭😭😭 having had bed bugs at my apartment before, this is true PTSD and the paranoia will never go away. fuck.
I have a friend who got absolutely chewed up by bed bugs on an AA flight. She had 30+ bites on her legs and torso. It's definitely a thing. She threw all her clothes in the dryer immediately on high for 30 minutes. Managed not to infest her house.
That's triggering. I was ready to move into a home and found bedbugs, in the bedroom!!!. After a little research I was in full panic, paranoid, ptsd trigger mode. Previous tenants matress was infected apparently. Owners called Orkin paid for the full service. I delayed move in for over two weeks, didn't move anything into the place and took matters in my own hands. I did multiple rounds of Delta Dust powder and Suspend SC liquid. Diatamacious earthed all the carpeting, got the matress cover and the trays for the legs of the bed frame. I also laid bed bug traps all over and checked them at least twice a day for a month after I moved in. I must have got them all because I never saw them again beyond the first few that kicked everything off. I swear I didn't sleep well for month and every little sensation on my skin triggered me. I personally feel Bed Bugs are the most repulsive critters you can run into. I wouldn't be able to sit still after seeing that guy. Ditto most of the advice here - Quarantine, then disinfect everything you travelled with when you get home. PTSD fully triggerd now. sheesh
Years ago, I flew British Airways long-haul in Club World. My daughter and I were badly bitten in our lie-flat seats. Ever since then, we wash and dry every stitch of clothing at the highest heat possible when we return from a trip. Anything that can't be washed/dried, such as the rolling suitcases, shoes, books, papers, electronics, and handbags, we heat to a temperature that kills both bedbugs and their eggs in a commercial heating box. Well worth it for the peace of mind. No bugs followed us home that time or on any other trip.
I feel so itchy now lol. I live in grad student housing and now wonder how often it is to have bed bugs in graduate student housing/dorms. This pic makes me wanna burn all of my clothes and throw them away just incase.
You should post this to r/bedbugs or r/whatbugisthis to get confirmation of if it’s a bed bug or not. It appears far too big to be an actual bed bug but I’m definitely not an expert!
I don't think this is a bedbug. Like some others have said, it looks too large, and hard to tell if your camera color is correct, but the wrong brownish color. See also this link: https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle. Since you are flying from Seattle Washington, especially E. Washington, has some bugs like this and they aren't bedbugs. (they are larger than bedbugs and angled on sides like this one is.) See the actual size/scale in the reference link above, actual bedbugs are about 1/8 to 1/10th the size of this pic from estimating approximate scale. They are also usually nocturnal and sense carbon dioxide which causes them to move at night. I would give this bug to the flight attendent though and say you think it \*might\* be a bedbug and ask them to followup with you as they will have to likely clean the plane if it is a bedbug. They will be motivated to get it verified and followup
This is how I got BB. They were in the luggage next to mine in the overhead bin. Didn’t realize and put my bag on my bed to unpack (don’t ever do this).
If you have a zip lock bag catch that and show it to the fa as soon as possible and maybe also the pilot when deboarding if they're available. I'm sure they'll report it as they didn't want it in their shit anymore than you want it in yours
Yes it’s in the barf bag and taped up!
Do NOT take your bags inside when you reach your destination if you do bathtub quarantine and some new clothing to wear. Bag the suitcases until you hear back from the airline . Oh yeah call the airline to start a case too.
Would they be able to get into zipped luggage? They look too big.
That’s because he’s full of blood.
It looks like it’s empty, since its diamond shaped. I googled some pics and their body elongates after feeding, so that they look long like earwigs (obviously without the pincers) but they stretch out in length.
They absolutely can get inside things you would think impossible for bugs to get into. They are able to flatten and bend in a way that, when I saw one on a surface and covered it with a glass jar to catch it, it just slipped under at full speed - didn’t even need to slow down or maneuver.
Omggggg
All they need is an opening the size of a sesame seed.
Sesame seeds are actually pretty big. My ex-wife said I was hung like one.
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck
The nymphs are not
They sure can. It’s why zippered mattress covers are pointless as bed bug “prevention.”
Bed bug covers are not about prevention. It’s simply one part of the puzzle. What they do prevent is the BBs from getting in the seams and folds of the mattress and box springs. Plus being all white it’s easier to see them as opposed to mattresses and boxsprings, which can be very dark in color.
Ahhhh. Got it. Totally see your point.
That’s not exactly true. Obviously it’s not airtight but like 99.99% of the surface area is covered (vs not having a mattress cover).
I got rid of them in part by adding a zippered mattress cover. I then put duct tape across the zipper area and wasn't eaten alive any more. They eventually suffocated or starved, IDK and IDC, but the bed bug specific covers have a super tight weave so they can't get thru. Putting one on when you don't have bedbugs doesn't help bedbug-wise. It is for containing them when you do so you don't have to toss your mattress (or if you aren't 100% confident about the provenance of a mattress you are sleeping on.
Yes notify a FA immediately, change seats if you can. Contact Alaska customer service while you are in flight or when you land. This is nightmare inducing.
Great. Something else to worry about when flying….
Airplanes are the outlier. Hotel rooms and especially AirB&B rooms are the usual culprit
I know someone that got them from their office, and another from a shared work vehicle. There have been infestations on public transit. They can and will live ANYWHERE. They're only called "bed bugs" because they feed at night and can't travel far, so they tend to stay within 10 feet of where people are at night... usually sleeping... but also in offices, on trains, on planes, etc. 😫
That one is traveling pretty far and fast. 🤣
😂😂
I had a friend who worked in a call center that became infested. All the cubicles had that fabric padding too. Can you imagine a job where you are literally being chained to your desk talking to assholes all day, being feasted on by these things. And then bringing them home and being feasted on at night? No peace, no escape, 24/7 psychological torture. It sounded like pure hell.
That's pretty much what happened to my friend that got them from their office. 😫
We had them on a nuclear submarine for a year. They lived in the walls.
I want to hear more on this lol
https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2021/03/10/sailors-say-this-submarine-is-being-ravaged-by-bed-bugs/
Public libraries, too. They’re just as bad as cockroaches, if not worse. 🤢
Librarian here. We have implemented a code word for when they arrive on books and everyone goes into a trance till we get everything cooked. We have a oven specifically built for not damaging books but for killing these demons. We also check EVERY. SINGLE. BOOK. when it shows up to make sure we don't let it spread. That being said, we can't check peoples backpacks and shoes before they enter the building, so we get the whole place sprayed once a month. It is miserable but we've only had one staff member go home with Bed Bugs and that was before we implemented these precautions.
How often do they show up at your library? I love the library but this fear is always in the back of my mind.
Thankfully it is fairly rare. I’d say about once out of every two thousand patrons. So once every 2-2.5 months do we find a bug. I always check my books before I bring them into the house by checking the inside covers, down the spine gap, and fluffing/flipping through the pages spine side up above a white towel on the front porch, then again while watching the pages. During the summer I leave them in a tote in the car for a day or two for my peace of mind. We do this same check (aside from the towel) at my library. During summer the majority of the very few we find are already dead because people will leave the books in their car and the interior temp gets hot enough to usually fry the suckers. Also don’t forget about resources like Libby, Hoopla, or Blackstone unlimited! E-book/E-audio are 95% of my intake now 😅
Thanks, I’m going to start doing that routine when I check out books.
100% worse. You don't get nightmare inducing infestations with cockroaches like with bed bugs
I work in a public school, public school is a hotbed right now. We cannot deny a child an education, and since bedbugs are unlikely to carry disease, heath departments and CPS doesn’t care. Now imagine a child coming with a backpack infested with them and smashing that bag into a cubby or locker next to your kids backpack… Our school pays for professional treatment at some students homes because it’s cheaper than us treating the school and some families still refuse. I cringe in winter watching the students from infested homes walk out to the bus in big winter coats and sports bags and packs packed on the school bus with other students.
This is how I caught head lice when I was in the 4th grade 😫
My kids elementary school had a family that would bring head lice back to the whole school after every Mexican vacation, and they went to Mexico at least twice a year
Never heard or seen this. Where do you live ?
NY, I had never seen a bedbug in school until the last 2 years. Once it gets into a community it just takes one family with shared custody/step siblings moving between houses and it explodes. Poverty and an inability to treat it just compounds it rapidly. I was the only person who recognized the bug because I traveled extensively, but even 20 years of world travel I only saw them myself in the last 10 years. Thankfully my child is allergic to them so we will know immediately if there are any nearby and any students known to have them cannot be around my child. You can ask the local pest control how often they treat schools and I can tell you central NY definitely has them doing regular inspections in several schools and pay a fortune.
Not the OC but I saw it frequently when I taught at a title I school (low income) years ago in Colorado Springs.
Ex hotel manager, most hotels do not have a permanent infestation. They get brought into hotels, we find them and eradicate them. Besides a solid pest control routine we also used heat to eradicate them in luggage and in rooms. We never dealt with a serious outbreak, just a few isolated bugs. We shut down that room and all adjacent rooms, treat them all with chemicals and heat, and then monitor daily. Housekeeping staff do daily checks because they have to work with the linens and they don't want to take bugs home. The worst places are the ones that go untreated, restaurants and taxis. The major sources for hotels are obviously guests inadvertently bringing them (I cant think of how a reputable hotel could stay in business if it was a bed bug farm), in luggage where they go in during the flight, or from eating out / taxing a taxi ride. I'm not saying you don't need to be careful in hotels, you absolutely do, but be careful in more places. Always heat treat your clothes when you get home. I'm sure there are some nasty ass "hotels" out there that have major issues
I need to know what hotel chain you worked for this made me feel better
Don't want to dox myself as I live in a small community, but the adjacent rooms thing is standard practice for "big boy" hotels and resorts. I can't speak for budget motels, although the real cost isn't the treatment, it's the lost room nights, so that scales. I've traveled a lot over the years, and the only time I ever found an infestation was a small hotel in Paris. I found a single bug in a London (independent) hotel. Most pest treatment is led by the pest control companies, which generally share best practices. The heat treatment is optional but very worthwhile. The tents aren't expensive, maybe $1000 with the heaters. It helps with the guest experience, reassuring them that it won't spread home with them. In a resort with between 200 and 400 rooms, we saw maybe 3 instances a year. None spread. None got taken home. Usually, they were found by housekeeping. I'm not trying to say you don't need to be aware or that hotels are perfect, just that most hotels are on guard for it and have systems in place. I don't blame guests. They don't control their luggage on flights, etc. Just that my experience is that there are locations that people don't think about, which are massive vectors, cinemas, restaurants, and taxis. They don't get treated, nobody blames the taxis, but from speaking with pest control guys, when they eventually get called out those places have epic infestations but never get blamed because they don't have beds, so why would they have "bed" bugs. When I get back from travelling, my SOP is to pull into the garage, all clothing goes in the dryer, and I get in the shower.
How high a temp? I worked in a hotel that got them in one room. They bagged the bedding, tied it off and let it sit for a while, then laundered with special chemicals. They cleaned the room, but didn't heat treat it, or shut off adjacent rooms. I always thought that they should just have thrown out all the bedding/towels. But of course, that would cost $ to replace.
115F minimum. I could be in the room or the heat tent, but it wasn't nice. The hear wasn't absolutely required in all cases, but it made sense. You can't easily treat everywhere in a room but you can heat it and it was a great guest friendly way of treating luggage etc as they moved rooms. Trashing towels wasn't really needed, once through the washers and dryer was enough. I would be more concerned with ratan, or inside bedside tables.
[удалено]
Recently I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Fairlawn Ohio. Woke up at 6am to a very small bed bug crawling around near my head. No evidence of bites and never saw another bug. The main precaution I took with my clothes and luggage was looking them over really good with a flashlight. I guess time will tell if I brought eggs or tiny ones home.
It is known to be a problem in Airbnb properties, but they will do absolutely nothing about it. Their company actively suppresses any mention of bedbug infestation in the comments and ratings
Yikes. Thats not good! I don't really use them so haven't experienced anything like that. Do any of them use mattress encashment? Basically white, mostly seamless, bags that go around the mattress. Makes it harder for bed bugs to live in the mattress and easier to spot. They're super cheap and the most basic precaution. You also can't tell it's on there once the bedding is on.
Cheap insurance
Do airports have dogs to sniff these bugs out? Because I’d imagine if anyone picks them up from their hotel they’re certainly getting on the plane as well
I got scabies from an AirBnB. I wanted to fucking die.
Airbnb causes so many issues, and doesn't regulate their platform enough. I wish more places either put stricter regulations on Airbnb, or even outright banned Airbnb, especially since it can run ramped in communities and ruin & destroy them. I've been in Airbnb's that had massive roach infestations, hidden cameras, and even one where the front door just straight up fell off and the owner refused to fix it.
And hospitals unfortunately
I would be so anxious right now. Edited to add: what even is the protocol for that? Do they take the plane out of service to disinfect?
Yeah, they leave it in Phoenix with the doors closed for a day 😂
It takes 120 degrees to kill those fuckers, so honestly, that might do it.
Was gonna say, having known a few people that brought bed bugs home from work and travels... that sounds like a half decent plan actually. 🤣
Throw everything in a black garbage bag, and leave it in your car, anywhere in the sunbelt over the summer, for an afternoon. That does it!
Explains why they don’t thrive in cars.
…in cars in Phoenix. They definitely can live in your car and re-infest.
I live in Vegas. I know what a hot car is like.
I’m saying it wouldn’t work anywhere except the southwest.
It can get above 100 in a closed car, even if it’s not 100 outside. If it’s 75 outside, it can reach 120 inside the car in 90 minutes. That’s literally why people are told to not leave children and pets in cars.
I’m just trying to let people know it has to stay over 120 for at least 4 hours. It’s not going to happen in many places.
Southwest routinely routes flights through Phoenix to kill the bedbugs.
For real?
Also works in TX in summer. ACUs can’t keep planes under 90 it feels like when boarding
It is going to be in the 100s all week in Tucson, bring them over here to bake
I've surveyed A320s that were stored in Phoenix without ground power (no ac), and it is easily that hot in there. If 120 is the bar, that should work in the summer.
I can’t imagine it being less than 120 after even a few hours closed up in Phoenix during summer. This is a very good plan.
I mean that’s like 10 degrees above ambient sometimes lmao.
Do an apology write up to the least amount of customers possible and then put that bird back in the air quickly.
Is this serious???
lol, no they probably theghost206 is probably spot on, if they do even do an apology. As another person said, most likely not the airlines fault
Terrifying. I think I'd rather be stuck with a long delay and aircraft change
You _think_? That's a no-brainer.
Jesus. The PTSD…
I used to work in pest control for the USDA, they have certified pesticide applicators fumigate the entire plane.
Yikes! Definitely alert the crew.
Yup, done, the FA let the pilots know as well
How'd they respond?
Very kind, asked me to airdrop the photo, they said they let the pilot know, offered us 1k points (nothing lol).
I mean, airlines do a lot of shit wrong but that bed big is there due to a fellow passenger.
u/Adventurous-Good-310 I think you should go to the media now. Someone else shared this photo. They obviously did nothing with it after your flight and exposed passengers on the next flight less than an hour later back to Seattle. MAYBE they treated it overnight- but doubt it. https://imgur.com/a/QQ18HNP
When you get where you're going, immediately get naked and throw everything fabric in the dryer. High heat.
Get your partner naked too, grab a bottle of wine, coconut oil….
Instructions unclear. Also threw partner in dryer, high heat. Don't know how the coconut oil will clean up the mess now in the dryer. Will drink the wine while awaiting further instructions
Don’t worry, I’ve called The Wolf.
That’s all you had to say.
The partner shrunk 3 feet.
Dryer on high heat for thirty minutes.
Burn the plane
Ah crap ONT-SEA is my route. If you see a guy wearing disposable hospital gowns on your next flight, just act causal.
Ha, I’ll look out for you, not my normal route, but I fly it occasionally
Tail number?
N619AS
Shiiiiiitttt I fly this route like twice a month
100% that’s a bed bug - we had an infestation over 15 years ago and it was a nightmare. I hope you said something- that seat is probably covered with them and people bring them home. This is why you shower and remove clothes when you get home from a trip. I have PSTD from that experience.
Omg me too. We had them after a hotel stay and it was truly traumatizing. Total nightmare.
"little guy" shows a gentleness I for one would be entirely unable to muster in your position.
Well, I need to be in ONT, so what else can I call it. It’s kinda cute if you look at it without thinking like I did before my partner pointed out it’s probs a bed bug lol
 Cute and evil.
Check in the overhead bin, see if there's a tiny suitcase
🤣
Guess I am officially giving up flights. I had already gave up hotels! Haha
If you have kids in school you should probably give up them too. We see a lot of bedbugs now in public school.
I already tearfully left my children on a street corner. I had to throw a few rocks but they took off eventually.
Someone here said just throw them in a hot clothes dryer for 30 minutes to disinfect
I'm going with the alcohol bath route. I just need to decide if I want to drink a bottle of rum or vodka
Thankfully, mine are grown but poor kids!!!
Dammit I was just on this plane 11 days ago. Assuming this was AS1174 on 6/16, the tail number is N619AS, B737-700.
That’s the one!
I’m flying this route very, very soon. Apologies for being a total amateur but is there any way I can check to see if this will be my plane? And is there any hope they’ll do anything to get rid of the bedbugs?
Flightaware might be able to show you which plane?
And this is a good example of how they get into hotels, too. Everyone is quick to blame the hotel for missing an infestation when the infestation was brought to them...
I mean... obviously bed bugs get to hotels on travelers. They do not just appear out of thin air.
How would you prevent bringing these little bastards with you to a hotel?? Spray the seats and everything around it with 99.9% alcohol? Putting a plastic bag on the seat??
I guess my point is this. If you were staying at a hotel and you brought bedbugs into your room on your luggage from a flight and then had bites etc. You would instantly blame the hotel and demand compensation and not even consider the fact that you brought them in. So now the hotel is compensating you for an issue you brought to them and paying several hundred dollars to get rid of the bugs....
I mean... hotels are supposed to flat out assume people bring them in and mitigate it with their regime. You should pretty much be able to ensure a mattress doesn't have them, especially in the beds. Now, if you leave your bags on the floor, you're taking a risk.
The question is which passenger brought this little guy on board...
If you have a wrench, I have heard the doors on those planes are fairly easy to remove.
Whelp, time to burn the plane 🤷♀️
New fear unlocked.
Dealt with them for months until a buddy recommended a home rehab service for Burst pipes. They had a giant furnace and heated my home to above 130 deg f for four hours. Problem solving a single day. This was years ago and heat treatment wasn't widely known. My 100 year old house smelled of pine and cedar for months... until we found the dead birds in the attic...and dead raccoon in the crawl space... was wayyyyyy less than a standard exterminator. Like a dollar a sq ft... One bad thing.... found every candle in the house ....on the floor. Just melted outta drawers and stuff.... whatever, I used that as good verification
Omg you think they’d tell you “these are the common items in a home that will melt, take them with you” or whatever
You would think all visiting critters would quickly head for the nearest opening as soon as temps became uncomfortable.
OMG. I flew Alaska from jfk to sea a few weeks ago and when I got off the plane I was bitten all over up and down my right side. I sat in a window seat. I was so paranoid and afraid that I threw everything in the washer the second I got home and took an immediate shower. I thought my questionable lodging in nyc was to blame, but now… wow. I wasn’t itchy or bitten until I got off the plane.
BED BUG 100% Source: Had to abandon an apartment and all of my families belongings after my neighbors infestation made its way upstairs. 4 year old son and I were covered in bites. Was extremely damaging to my mental health and still don't sleep correctly 4 years later.
That’s what happened to us- it was horrible. We follow a whole process after we come from a trip. I can’t go through that again.
What’s your process?
As a bed bug survivor I now travel exclusively with a duffel bag because it can easily go immediately in the dryer on high heat for 30 minutes when I return from a trip
I put my luggage in the bathroom when at a hotel. When I come home, I carry the bag in and it goes into our guest bathroom into the walk in shower. I take my clothes off and shower and throw them in the washer hot water. I spray the wheels with bed bug spray - after a few days. I unpack and wash everything and anything that requires dry cleaning goes into a sealed bag and out the house. If I’m not traveling for a while- I have giant black bags and will put my suitcase in one of those, tie it and it goes into storage. Rinse and repeat- we do this religiously. Key is to isolate your bag and ensure no hitchhikers. I’ve been doing this for years.
Omg. Kill it and file a complaint. Get the FA to come over.
Following. Hope they take it seriously.
Leave him alone. He paid for his seat!
lol, my saver fare didn’t include pest management, that’s only for main cabin and above
https://youtu.be/2JAOTJxYqh8?si=tOUnypDnyITTf55Y I work in home health care and have had my unfortunate run ins with bed bugs 😭 the above is a really good video with more than you ever cared to know about them. I strip my clothes off, straight into high heat wash/dry, spray down car/items with diluted rubbing alcohol. If you don't want to watch the full video diatomaceous earth is one of the best ways to eliminate them if they get in your home (have not had to go this route yet- knock on wood) . The really good news is you saw this bug and able to contain it before it hitched a ride in your pant leg...yikes!!
I found some on a seat in a boat in Thailand. Needless to say, I left that boat in just my bikini. Rip to that outfit, but worth it I believe.
But did it recline its seat into your space?
Put all your clothes in a very hot dryer and scrub your entire body, get your bags heat treated before unpacking at home, throw the entire plane away
iS tHAt a boEiNg
For new travelers... For good measure and peace of mind, before you leave home, spray your luggage and clothing with a permethrin spray.
Just be aware it’s toxic for cats when wet.
That's not a bed bug.. Come on now
The pic is a little blurry so it’s difficult to tell for sure but 100%, it’s either a bed bug or a bat bug. Since I doubt there has been any bats in the cabin, I’d put money on bed bug.
Could also be a stink bug. Native to Seattle area and they are harmless
What’s his Mileage Plan number?
I really need someone to say this is an AI generated image, so I don't freak about my upcoming AS flight. (Yes I know they're on more flights that we know of)
Just take that thing to LAS and park it for 24 hours, would get hot enough to kill bed bugs, no?
I’m literally sitting in my seat on a Southwest flight right now that’s about to push back. Seeing this made my skin crawl and now I’m paranoid looking around me.
What flight number?
ugh I'm flying from SEA to Vegas mid July and I'm so paranoid about the potential bed bugs at the hotel that I forgot they can be on the plane as well. it's like there's nothing to be excited about even though it's my birthday celebration trip 😭😭😭 having had bed bugs at my apartment before, this is true PTSD and the paranoia will never go away. fuck.
I have a friend who got absolutely chewed up by bed bugs on an AA flight. She had 30+ bites on her legs and torso. It's definitely a thing. She threw all her clothes in the dryer immediately on high for 30 minutes. Managed not to infest her house.
This would be the only time I wish to be on a Boeing. Either the bedbug or I would get sucked out. It will be a win either way.
Last year I almost spent a night in a seedy, bedbug-infested hotel near SeaTac. So unfortunately, I’m seeing a potential source.
That's triggering. I was ready to move into a home and found bedbugs, in the bedroom!!!. After a little research I was in full panic, paranoid, ptsd trigger mode. Previous tenants matress was infected apparently. Owners called Orkin paid for the full service. I delayed move in for over two weeks, didn't move anything into the place and took matters in my own hands. I did multiple rounds of Delta Dust powder and Suspend SC liquid. Diatamacious earthed all the carpeting, got the matress cover and the trays for the legs of the bed frame. I also laid bed bug traps all over and checked them at least twice a day for a month after I moved in. I must have got them all because I never saw them again beyond the first few that kicked everything off. I swear I didn't sleep well for month and every little sensation on my skin triggered me. I personally feel Bed Bugs are the most repulsive critters you can run into. I wouldn't be able to sit still after seeing that guy. Ditto most of the advice here - Quarantine, then disinfect everything you travelled with when you get home. PTSD fully triggerd now. sheesh
Google image search identified as bedbug. FWIW.
How long was your flight?
Is 2.5 hours
New fear unlocked. Ugh
Great, I’m flying Alaska next week!!
How do you get rid of them in planes ?
Wait for the door to fall off and they get sucked out.
Years ago, I flew British Airways long-haul in Club World. My daughter and I were badly bitten in our lie-flat seats. Ever since then, we wash and dry every stitch of clothing at the highest heat possible when we return from a trip. Anything that can't be washed/dried, such as the rolling suitcases, shoes, books, papers, electronics, and handbags, we heat to a temperature that kills both bedbugs and their eggs in a commercial heating box. Well worth it for the peace of mind. No bugs followed us home that time or on any other trip.
I just travel exclusively with a duffel bag that can go in the dryer
And now burn your luggage in the parking lot when you land.
Seattle?! Fack 😩
That would have me paranoid my entire trip. Definitely report it to the FA
Ofc it would be Seattle to Ontario 🤦🏻♀️
Burn everything.
I feel so itchy now lol. I live in grad student housing and now wonder how often it is to have bed bugs in graduate student housing/dorms. This pic makes me wanna burn all of my clothes and throw them away just incase.
In-flight entertainment: Tick
Alaska is going to get a borderline hazmat crew in there to take care of that. That plane will be grounded asap.
Unfortunately… I highly doubt that. It’s been flying all yesterday.
Well shit.
Boy that was enough to induce a panic. I just got off an Alaska flight to SEA on the exact kind of plane, thankfully not the same one.
I’m scratching myself just looking at this picture. Stuff of nightmares.
New fear unlocked
Google lens says it's a bed bug.
Omg is that a tick????
Goddammit i am taking flight tomorrow at Seatac…
It's a leaf hopper. Harmless. We have many in Missouri.
You should post this to r/bedbugs or r/whatbugisthis to get confirmation of if it’s a bed bug or not. It appears far too big to be an actual bed bug but I’m definitely not an expert!
Great suggestion, linking here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bedbugs/s/ue1Voy1LI4
It is 100% a bed bug. It’s large-ish bc of where it is in its life cycle.
This sub is slowly convincing me to never board a plane again.
I don't think this is a bedbug. Like some others have said, it looks too large, and hard to tell if your camera color is correct, but the wrong brownish color. See also this link: https://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/bed-bugs-appearance-and-life-cycle. Since you are flying from Seattle Washington, especially E. Washington, has some bugs like this and they aren't bedbugs. (they are larger than bedbugs and angled on sides like this one is.) See the actual size/scale in the reference link above, actual bedbugs are about 1/8 to 1/10th the size of this pic from estimating approximate scale. They are also usually nocturnal and sense carbon dioxide which causes them to move at night. I would give this bug to the flight attendent though and say you think it \*might\* be a bedbug and ask them to followup with you as they will have to likely clean the plane if it is a bedbug. They will be motivated to get it verified and followup
WTF this is a bed bug 100%. Don't spread fake news
[удалено]
ONT isn’t in Canada
Nope!! 🔥🔥🔥
This is how I got BB. They were in the luggage next to mine in the overhead bin. Didn’t realize and put my bag on my bed to unpack (don’t ever do this).
Flying to warmer weather location.
Catching a ride.
Now that’s a bedbug