Guest says they now have bedbugs - WHAT???

[user 26]

well ... was 'just sayin' ... y
ou know, there's been so much in the news about bed bugs ... my daughter's house mate came back from a camping trip (spent two of the nites in an old scout camp lodge due to bad weather) and had all bites on his ankles and a few other places. he went to the doctor and said, do you think i might have bed bugs? the doctor said 'maybe' ... but the doctor had never seen bed bug bites so didn't know and prescribed something for the itch
my daughter freaked and was about to throw out the mattresses, had stripped the curtains and linens from the house and was frantically washing everything in hot water, was online checking prices of mattresses and box springs and pillows, contacted a bed bug sniffing dog company, when the fellow camper's wife called and told her they had poison sumac or something.
bed bugs indeed! it's not ALWAYS bed bugs. i mean, it can be ... but it isn't always.

 

[happyjacks]

I understand being freaked out hearing that past guests may have bbs (when did they pick them up? before they stayed with me? did they leave some behind?) but I don't understand getting so ticked off at the guest who emailed.
She clearly wasn't accusing, threatening or finger-pointing. She was just giving an FYI, a heads up, to say there might be a problem here so check it out and if so, take care of it early. Same thing a parent would do if they found their kid had lice or chicken pox: tell the day care and the parents in the play group (etcetera) so they could check the kids and deal with it if necessary before it gets to be a bigger problem.
I'm glad to hear she was wrong about the bbs. She must be as relieved as you are. It wasn't a pleasant email for you to read but I'm sure it was no picnic for her having to write it either.

 

[gillumhouse]

I understand being freaked out hearing that past guests may have bbs (when did they pick them up? before they stayed with me? did they leave some behind?) but I don't understand getting so ticked off at the guest who emailed.
She clearly wasn't accusing, threatening or finger-pointing. She was just giving an FYI, a heads up, to say there might be a problem here so check it out and if so, take care of it early. Same thing a parent would do if they found their kid had lice or chicken pox: tell the day care and the parents in the play group (etcetera) so they could check the kids and deal with it if necessary before it gets to be a bigger problem.
I'm glad to hear she was wrong about the bbs. She must be as relieved as you are. It wasn't a pleasant email for you to read but I'm sure it was no picnic for her having to write it either..

In the beginning I was not ticked off - just concerned and IMMEDIATELY went upstairs to check. I think what started me to be ticked was on re-reading the suggestion I contact previous guests. Excuse me? That would A - sound as if I was accusing them of bringing them and B - would really help the reputation of my inn .... Especially since I do not have them and a few days later they realize it is not the bugs.
What ticks me off most is her message today saying they found no evidence of them either, just the bites. Had she said that in the beginning, I would have asked where were the bites (upper torso or legs & ankles) or suggested what to look for due to our previous threads here I knew to look for black and/or red spots at the head of the bed. I had replied to her previously that it may be chiggers, something Canadians would not be aware of. She replied later this morning they had just found out about chiggers. I received her "concerned message" based on nothing other than itching bites. For an innkeeper that is not just a minor accusation/concern - it could be thousands of dollars and a reputation slam that could kill a good business.
Someone who had not had the advantage of this Forum could have gone apesh** and spent a fortune looking for or trying to eradicate something that was not there before getting her - oh, we just have bites and not think it is something else. The bb scare had everyone thinking they were everywhere and if you have a bite, that is what it must be.

 

[Highlands John]

Some friends of ours who have a holiday cottage received a complaint from someone claiming that they'd been bitten by bed bugs whilst staying in their cottage. Upon further investigation it turned out to be a tic, which are not uncommon in the bracken in the local countryside.

 

[JBloggs]

Some friends of ours who have a holiday cottage received a complaint from someone claiming that they'd been bitten by bed bugs whilst staying in their cottage. Upon further investigation it turned out to be a tic, which are not uncommon in the bracken in the local countryside..

Yes, they hear it in the news all the time (BB) so that scream BB when they get bit by something. That was what I wanted to know since they said they had them now, what does NOW mean, they found the bugs in their home. But asking just prolongs the issue, so I never suggested it.