Bedbugs?!

[Kris]

Greetings forum! I was concerned with the outbreak of bedbugs in various countries and even in my home state. I had heard that they can infest your pack and other equipment such as your sleeping bag, is this true? I would really prefer not to sleep outside, although I will if the problem is widespread. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thank you for your time,
Kris

[Covey]

Bedbugs are an annual problem along the Camino trails, but there is really no way of knowing which albergues actually have them at any particular time, so one needs to be prepared.

The best form of preparation is to spray your kit with a chemical which kills or deters bedbugs and there are a couple of choices. Permethrin is probably the best treatment for your sleeping bag and pack. You use it in a 5% solution with water and spray it on your sleeping bag and pack and that is usually sufficient to ensure a bug free trip. Some countries do not allow the sale of Permethrin, but there are usually alternatives. There are also some "natural" solutions made from plant extracts which are said to offer protection, but I have always used Permethrin AND IT WORKS!! In the UK you can buy Permethrin in a made up 5% solution in the better camping shops. Permethrin is not usually sold in pharmacies but look in country stores that sell stuff for horses.

You can also buy "bug treated" sleeping bag liners in most countries which are manufactured with pre-treated material. DEET is another chemical which works.

I would suggest that if you are treating your sleeping bag/liner then you also spray your pack, inside and out when empty. Your pack is usually by your bunk and bedbugs live in the mattress and mattress covers and if your bag is up against the bunk, then the little buggers can hitch a lift to the next albergue.

It is said that a bedbug can live for months "between feeds" so precautions when you get home are necessary. Placing all your kit in a freezer for 48hrs kills them as does an hour in a tumble dryer on high heat. Just washing your kit does not work unless you use a very hot wash.

[Kris]

Thanks for the information, Covey. I will use the product and action suggestions you recommended on my trip and after.

Thanks for putting my mind at ease!
Kris

[jennifermcinnes]

Covey is correct. Just got back from completing the Camino 3 weeks ago. Saw many instances of bedbugs infestation along the way on the Camino Frances. I had treated a silk sheet to put on each bunk bed attached at the bed posts with elastics I had sewn on so it wouldn't slip. Used Permethrin, and sprayed on the silk sheet, my pack, and my silk sleeping bag liner. Never sat on the bed or put anything on it until I had affixed the treated sheet. Never got any bites at all, even when people in same room and even next bed over got bitten. I was very thankful that I had used the Permethrin.
Jennifer

[Covey]

Welcome back, and glad to hear that you remained bug free!! I was planning to take a fitted silk sheet suitably treated next year to augment my silk sleeping bag liner.

It's funny that whenever the subject of bedbugs is raised, there is always someone who writes in saying that they never saw or heard of anyone having a bug problem, yet in all my travels down the Camino Frances there has always sadly been evidence of their nocturnal wanderings. Mind you, they are often the same folk who say the Pilgrim Menu meals are wonderful!!

When you see the results of people being bitten by bedbugs and the ensuing discomfort (and distress), the simple expedient of spraying your kit before you leave for the trip seems a small price to pay to avoid the results of being bitten. There was a Korean guy this year who picked up over 30 bites in one night and his arms and legs looked terrible after 24 hours. Although the usual treatment of an anti-histamine injection will knock back the itching and discharge from the bites, they usually take 10 days to heal.

Probably the greatest worry, is trying to ensure that you do not bring the little buggers home with you.

[Kris]

I recently purchased a few bottles of the 5% Permethrin solution, and will spray all of my kit with it. Thanks again for the suggestions!
P.S. Do I really need a sleeping bag liner if my bag isn't down?

[Covey]

My normal advice to those walking the Camino in June through September is that a sleeping bag liner is all you really need to carry, but in October through May, a proper sleeping bag is needed. In summer, the albergues have a lot of bodies sleeping at night and the rooms are therefore warm anyway and a full sleeping bag is actually too hot to sleep in.

If you are carrying a sleeping bag, then spray that and don't bother carrying a liner. In summer the silk liners weigh a fraction of the weight of a sleeping bag and take up far less space, so are a good bet!

[Kris]

I will be going in March of next year, so Im just going to use a sleeping bag and soak it with permethrin, thanks. Is the pilgrims menu really that bad? Do you get it from the albergue or a local bar/resteraunt?

Thanks Covey,
Kris

[Covey]

March is certainly sleeping bag time!! The silk liners are brilliant in summer and silk has excellent thermal properties, as well as being very light and packs up into a very small roll.

As for the food? Last year in Leon I had a Pilgrim Menu meal in a restaurant just off the main street which was as good a meal as I have had anywhere. The restaurant was quite smart, nice tablecloths, napkins, china and glassware as well as excellent wine with half a bottle each, and we paid €10 each and fed like kings! On the other hand.....................! The average price of the Pilgrim Menu this year was €10 and most of the time it was not very good. If the albergue has decent kitchen facilities you are better off doing your own thing. If there are 4 of you wandering along together then €40 buys a lot of ingredients in the local supermarket and you can feast like kings.

The Camino causes you to burn energy at a sustained rate for 30-40 consecutive days. I estimate that a 30km walk in the heat will cause you to use at least 3000 calories a day and you need to replace the energy each day unless you want to lose a lot of weight. You will be surprised at the amount of food you need and consume each day. At best, the average Pilgrim Menu will give you 1000 calories so eat lots of fruit, chocolate, biscuits, cheese etc. Most bars you come across will do the Pilgrim Menu, and sometimes the private albergues will do a meal if you book. The official albergues do not offer food.

[Kris]

Ahh.. I was under the impression that the albergues provided the pilgrim's menu. Thanks for the clarification Covey, your promptness, clarity and detail are a credit to the Forum.

Thanks again,
Kris

[Covey]

Kind of you to say so, but in reality all of us on the Forum who have been before enjoy being able to pass on tips and advice to those planning their first trip along the Camino. Each year we learn something new, places to see or stay and giving help and advice is our way of repaying all the enjoyment we get from walking the Way.

[Covey]

It gets worse!! I thought they could survive for a couple of months between feeds on us poor pilgrims, but according to the Wikipedia info below can survive up to A YEAR between pilgrims!!!

Bedbugs can survive a wide range of temperatures and atmospheric compositions. Below 16.1 °C (61.0 °F), adults enter semi-hibernation and can survive longer.[7] Bedbugs can survive for at least five days at −10 °C (14.0 °F) but will die after 15 minutes of exposure to −32 °C (−26 °F).[8] They show high desiccation tolerance, surviving low humidity and a 35–40 °C range even with loss of one-third of body weight; earlier life stages are more susceptible to drying out than later ones.[9] The thermal death point for C. lectularius is high: 45 °C (113 °F), and all stages of life are killed by 7 minutes of exposure to 46 °C (115 °F).[8] Bedbugs apparently cannot survive high concentrations of carbon dioxide for very long; exposure to nearly-pure nitrogen atmospheres, however, appears to have relatively little effect even after 72 hours.[10]
[edit] Feeding habits


Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Cimex lectularius, digitally colorized with the insect’s skin-piercing mouthparts highlighted in purple and red.


Bedbugs are obligatory hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey are unavailable.[11][12][13] Bedbugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.[14]
A bedbug pierces the skin of its host with two hollow feeding tubes. With one tube it injects its saliva, which contains anticoagulants and anesthetics, while with the other it withdraws the blood of its host. After feeding for about five minutes, the bug returns to its hiding place.[4]
Although bedbugs can live for a year without feeding,[15] they normally try to feed every five to ten days. In cold weather, bedbugs can live for about a year; at temperatures more conducive to activity and feeding, about 5 months.[16]

[Kris]

That's a disgusting photo, Covey (note the bulbous, raspberry-like eyes) ; thanks for the rather daunting info.... I think I'm going to buy extra permethrin just in case. Looking forward to posting my experiences and helping other pilgrims after my trip.

Thanks again,
Kris