Bed Bugs

[Sly]

Lovely little buggers, eh?

As far as the A.T. goes, now whenever I go to a hotel or hostel I check under the mattress and around the tag, as well as around the curtains for signs of bedbugs. I also try to keep any personal items hung on hooks or luggage racks away from the bed.

What's to stop bed bugs from nesting in shelters?

[righand]

absolutely NOTHING! actually in a shelter bed bugs would be the least of my concerns LOL everything else is living in the shelters LOL. Once i slept in a shelter alone and when i woke the socks i took off to air out over night were gone when i woke LOL guess mice made a nest with then...

[Sarcasm the elf]

What's to stop bed bugs from nesting in shelters?

I'm not an expert, however my understanding is that 1) Bedbugs feed nearly exclusively on Humans and 2) Bedbugs do not survive long term in single digit (f) temperatures. These two factors would make it unlikely for them to survive long over the winter. I do suppose that it would be possible to have a seasonal infestation in the warmer months.

[Starchild]

I'm not an expert, however my understanding is that 1) Bedbugs feed nearly exclusively on Humans and 2) Bedbugs do not survive long term in single digit (f) temperatures. These two factors would make it unlikely for them to survive long over the winter. I do suppose that it would be possible to have a seasonal infestation in the warmer months.

Add to that spiders are effective predators of bed bugs and wilderness shelters are a pretty ideal habitat for spiders, being able to 'patrol' the spots where bedbugs hide and rest between feedings.