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Bedbugs and other insects on ferries


woolybanana
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My Welsh friends (the nationality is not important except they might read this and I wanna make them jump!) recently took a ferry back to YewKay. As I am not allowed to name the company, I can only say that it is the one which leaves from Caen. The lady, to avoid her man (sorry, dear, it has to be saud!), decided to pass the journey in a chair in the lounge whilst the guy, who used to play tiddeleywinks for Wales, went down to a cabin where he stripped off, climbed into the bed and slept solid the whole way, without even the benefit of a couple of bottles.

Anyway, arriving on home soil, he found he was covered in the most unpleasant, itching bug bites, confirmed as such by a pharmacist. Naturally, they informed the company who denied all responsibility, particularly that their beds might have bed bugs, and claimed that it must have been a customers fault.

So, I was just wondering whether anyone else has had a similar experience?

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Every last bit of my skin is crawling. My head feels like it has a million creepy crawlie things running across it. This is awful.

I do hope that others come forward and have their say and complain.

 

A few years ago we had friends holidaying on Chamonix. As the snow was not that good, they had a ride to see us. And when they got to us they told us the tale of bed bugs in their hotel. I had an attack of bug paranoia for weeks afterwards, such is my imagination. Thankfully they had not brought any with them.

 

 

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Reading somewhere about those people who make the beds first thing in the morning - not a very good thing to do. It means that, if there are bugs, that they are provided a nice warm place below the covers in which to procreate the species. Far better to leave the bed turned down, apparently their thoughts do not turn to romance when they are cold
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There was a horrendous programme on bed-bugs on French TV a few months ago, showing the increase in New York and the spread to Paris...

Some of the photos of places infested and the accounts of the lengths people had gone to to try to be rid of them were appalling.

Made the infestation by cockroaches, rats, and pigeons that are everywhere in our city centre look minor.

Here is a reference to the programme:

http://www.liberation.fr/terre/01012302580-la-punaise-de-lit-pullule-a-paris

If you bring them home you can find a specialist to help eradicate them here

http://www.punaises.fr/contact.htm

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I could never have done that, had my duvet hung out of the window down the side of my house and yet all my neighbours did at least once a week, if not more often.

I am a great believer in leaving the bed turned right back, just to air off for a few hours, or all day[Www]

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Especially when you see all the muck that comes off the roofs, the damp in the air and here especially, the dive bombing seagulls who always manage to target something on my line or my son's head, some are the size of albatross droppings.

I always leave the beds turned back to air, plus I have a king sized duvet and smallish windows so it would not air properly anyway.

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[quote user="Gemonimo"]

If Sweets reads this she will no doubt re-live her horrendous experience on the Camino to St. Jacques[:-))]

[/quote]

Oh, Gem, don't remind me!

Even the doctor said mine was one of the worst cases he'd seen.

Do you know, I was quite prepared to be scarred for life but, in fact, once the bites healed, no traces of the little blighters were left on the skin.

One of the Americans I met on the Camino had a daughter studying at a top university in New York (I think it was Columbia) and the campus was so infestated that some of the students were sent home for weeks on end whilst they tried to eradicate the bed bugs.

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[quote user="sweet 17"][quote user="Gemonimo"]

If Sweets reads this she will no doubt re-live her horrendous experience on the Camino to St. Jacques[:-))]

[/quote]

Oh, Gem, don't remind me!

Even the doctor said mine was one of the worst cases he'd seen.

Do you know, I was quite prepared to be scarred for life but, in fact, once the bites healed, no traces of the little blighters were left on the skin.

One of the Americans I met on the Camino had a daughter studying at a top university in New York (I think it was Columbia) and the campus was so infestated that some of the students were sent home for weeks on end whilst they tried to eradicate the bed bugs.

[/quote]

Perfect use for your steam cleaner Sweets, whilst out traveling spray the sheets with an alcohol liquid that really helps and soon evaporates. Yes low temperature washing is partly to blame together with central heating, carpets and Americans of course [:P]

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On the subject of manky bedding, a chap I know used to run high quality accommodation on a barge on the Canal du Midi. Despite guests paying an awful lot of money per head for a week of luxury, he thought it acceptable to occasionally skip the normal bedding changeover between guests and just give the sheets a quick squirt of Febreeze then a run over with an iron, still on the bed, to smooth them out before the next guests arrived!

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[quote user="dave21478"]On the subject of manky bedding, a chap I know used to run high quality accommodation on a barge on the Canal du Midi. Despite guests paying an awful lot of money per head for a week of luxury, he thought it acceptable to occasionally skip the normal bedding changeover between guests and just give the sheets a quick squirt of Febreeze then a run over with an iron, still on the bed, to smooth them out before the next guests arrived!


[/quote]

That is horrible!

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[quote user="dave21478"]On the subject of manky bedding, a chap I know used to run high quality accommodation on a barge on the Canal du Midi. Despite guests paying an awful lot of money per head for a week of luxury, he thought it acceptable to occasionally skip the normal bedding changeover between guests and just give the sheets a quick squirt of Febreeze then a run over with an iron, still on the bed, to smooth them out before the next guests arrived!


[/quote]

That is horrible!

Doubly horrible.

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Makes me think if I ever stay anywhere again, I will take my own sheets and stuff. What I would like to know is how often do the duvets if supplied, get washed or changed because they are not the same as washing and ironing a sheet or pillowcase after all - my own has to go regularly to the laverie where they have 18kg machines and I keep a couple of spare ones for changing, I can't see gîte businesses doing that nor the bloke on the canal b arge!
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On a slightly different tack if we eat out and my wife does not eat something on the plate she always meeses it up. She used to be in the catering business where it is practice to, if something on the plate has not been touched or looks as though it has not been touched, to serve it to someone else.
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Great! Now we don't only not go and sleep elsewhere for fear of being eaten alive or laying in someone else's muck, but if eating out, our meal could have belonged to a previous diner. Yes, I like the idea of making a messy plate,unfortunately the food is normally all consumed. 
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[quote user="Val_2"]Makes me think if I ever stay anywhere again, I will take my own sheets and stuff. What I would like to know is how often do the duvets if supplied, get washed or changed because they are not the same as washing and ironing a sheet or pillowcase after all - my own has to go regularly to the laverie where they have 18kg machines and I keep a couple of spare ones for changing, I can't see gîte businesses doing that nor the bloke on the canal b arge![/quote]

OK but these horrible creatures live in mattresses too, so you would have to sleep on the floor.

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