After bed bugs invaded the terminal used by Southwest Hawaii flights at Honolulu airport, we revisited the problems of bedbugs in travel.
Last week Hawaii DOT director Ed Sniffen reported that bugs had made a home at the E gates in Terminal 2. At first, DOT thought the problem could be easily rectified by removing those things they thought were attracting the bed bugs. Not so.
By the next day, DOT heard from Southwest Airlines, which provided more samples of the bugs. At that point, the DOT dispatched staff (we didn’t know that DOT was bug-killing qualified). They began to perform deep cleaning and carpet removal, after which an exterminator was summoned to apply pest controls at three E gates, 5, 6, and 7. Those gates were closed temporarily.
DOT says the bed bug removal process will now be ongoing for 3 weeks.
DOT later said that additional measures would continue for three weeks to prevent reoccurrence. We hope that estimate is more accurate than what they gave for fixing runway problems at Honolulu Airport, for which they are also responsible.
Flight operations have thus far not been delayed due to the cleaning.
Airlines, too, have had their issues with bedbugs.
Previously American Airlines had bedbug infestations on its widebody 777/787 fleets, which caused an uproar among passengers and crew. Crewmembers on rest break were bitten. The use of insecticides was also severe and caused further issues among the crew.
At one point, American’s flight attendants union said, “We received countless reports this week from concerned Flight Attendants who have experienced various health issues after using crew bunks on our widebody fleet.”
As for other airlines, none are immune, and bed bugs still become a problem intermittently. Last year a family was covered in bites from bed bugs following a British Airways flight. And bed bugs are known to be frequent flyers in first class as much as those in economy.
Bed bugs in Hawaii travel.
While the name bedbugs make it seem like those are the only places you’ll find these bloodsuckers, they are common in public transportation (think airliners), hotels, and elsewhere.
Bed bugs typically enter the aircraft through passengers’ carry-on luggage. From there, they move around and end up in the upholstery or carpeting of the plane. They can also enter others’ carry-ons and wind up in unsuspecting passengers’ homes, hotels, or vacation rentals (such as in the graphic video below).
@saramics.potteryÂ
Unlike most of us on flights to Hawaii, bedbugs always have free meals – and that’s us!
How to avoid bed bugs in your bags:
- Don’t bring luggage directly into your home. Ever. It’s been suggested that you initially leave your bags in the garage or a sealed plastic bag or bin.
- Heat the luggage and its contents from your Hawaii vacation. For example, put the bags in a black trash bag in the sun. Or purchase luggage with a heater (yes, they are available!). Or buy a luggage heater. Bedbugs cannot live in high heat, so if you heat your bags and the contents, you’ll eliminate bed bugs by one method or another.
- Launder your clothes immediately after a trip using the hot cycles.
- Alternatively, freeze the contents of your bags, which will also kill the bed bugs. Some have suggested that it may take several days, and we can’t confirm that.
- When applicable, use hot soapy water and a scrub brush to remove bed bug eggs and bugs themselves from crevices.
- Use a flashlight to look for their presence.
- Look for live, moving bed bugs. These are tan, red, or brown, approx 0.15 inches long, oval in shape, and similar to an apple seed. An image search will provide you with all the necessary visual help.
- Bed bugs are more likely found on overnight flights when passengers sleep and there’s little movement or disturbance.
- On aircraft, look for signs of bugs near cracks and crevices in seats and cushions.
- Watch for an itchy rash or red bumps as signs of bed bug bites.
Also known as Cimex lectularius, bedbugs have a beak to penetrate the skin. They inject an anesthetic (very considerate!) so you don’t realize you’re being bitten and an anticoagulant to keep your blood from clotting.
It’s interesting to note that WestJet Canadian Airlines said their aircraft are cleaned every 24 hours to prevent bedbugs.
If they at airport, they likely now in homes. Look online for cases reported and how city is responding Z
Thank you for posting this very informative article and for photos. Bed bugs are no fun. And the more we know, better preventative steps
Orkin pesticide power is the best,they have a power. I went through a nightmare when I rented a place. 24, I was covered in bits… they smell you and will walk down walls. I didn’t sleep with the lights off for 4 months. Landlord spent $10,000 and they were still here😂😂Orkin is the Best!!!
Pesticides, laundering, cleaning, and glue traps will not kill bedbugs. The only truly effective way to kill them is to have professional heat treatment done. It ranges in cost from $1000 – $5000, depending on the size of your home. It is an exhausting week of prep for the homeowner, at least one night away from home, then cleaning the house and returning perishables to where they belong. It’s an expensive and exhausting experience.
Heat treatment was a joke, $10,000 later. They were still in the place. The epidemiology from Orkin was very interesting and informative. Please read about these parasite. They are blood suckers. They suck like ticks..
Lol, crossfire?
For those living in an urban environment, your neighbors can gift you those awful bugs too. I’m still traumatized by the centipede sting I received while sleeping on my trip to Maui last week! 6 inches of a mean, venomous, red centipede…I did not know these things delivered such deep, intense pain!
Mary D, I hope you are ok. I knew about centipedes being in Hawaii.
I have never seen one. I hope you are ok. I thought they were deadly. Since you’re alive they must not be deadly. I’ve never seen bed bugs either but I have talked with people who have been bitten. I think bed bug bites are painful too. I wonder if there is a bug spray to prevent bed bugs. Toxic sprays are not good either.
Gratefully, centipede stings are not fatal…to humans!
Thank you
Bedbugs on planes? Who knew? Bedbugs, unfortunately travel everywhere you and your luggage go. In a hotel room, I don’t put my luggage on the bed or on the floor. When available, I use those little folding luggage stands, or put my cases on the wood tables, dressers, etc. Spraying is a necessary evil. Unfortunately, airlines are going to have to rethink times when they spray the planes. They’ll need plenty of time to spray, let the insecticide dry and the fumes dissipate. But that doesn’t mean that plane will be ready for another flight the next hour. People can’t be breathing in those noxious fumes
Bedbugs live to hide in dressers and tables, just so you know! They can fit into a crevice as small as the width of a credit card with ease.
Ohhhhhh Myyyyyyy Great Bug! IF I ever encountered this situation, it would be so tramautic for me. I had no idea this was an issue, but then again, I should with all the worldwide travel and weather conditions. But just never thought about it. When I arrive at the condo, I dont want to set my suitcase outside, then I have a worry about roaches. SO will buy some plastic zipper cases to line the inside of my suitcase. Now I will worry about my carry on and backpack on the floor as it is an overnight flight. Oh My My! Now I have to look in my American seat backs before sitting down and then what, no way will they re assign my seat!
I have relatives presently dealing with a bed bug infestation in their house. They’ve had to get rid of their beds and bed frames and they replaced them with air mattresses. They’re still in the process of bagging up Everything and, since they don’t have a clothes dryer, they’ve been taking their clothes to a laundromat to spin them in the dryers (they live in a desert in a rural area & have always used a clothesline). Heat will kill them much faster than freezing. Once they get as much out as they can, the pest peeps will come in and bathe the inside with permethrin and my relatives will get to spend the night in a hotel.
I’ll take a roach problem any day. Aloha!
Most bedbugs have evolved to be permethrin resistant. Heat, Cimexa and Crossfire will kill them however.
Thank you for this article on how to look for bed bugs and how to clean luggage and contents.
I’ve never seen a bedbug 15 Inches long!
Hi Kathy.
Check that again please. It reads 0.15 inches long.
Aloha.
Good job on this article. Good information. Thanks
#7 trips to Hawaii over the last 34 years and I never encountered this problem either going or returning home. For that matter, having been flying and traveling extensively since I was 13 years old I have still never encountered the problems. So the question is why now?
I’ve been to Hawaii dozens of times, all islands, staying at all types of places and have never encountered bed bugs. Maybe my time is up!!
This is not good to hear, what is Hawaiian Air doing to prevent this from happening on there airlineYvonne