Woman bitten by bed bugs at Airbnb and explains how to search for them in travel properties: ‘New Fear Unlocked’

A Chicago woman named Sara Luepker (@saramics.pottery) recently posted a video detailed her experience at an Airbnb in which she suffered bites all over her body by bed bugs, while also explaining how to check for them. 

Luepker told how she stayed in an Airbnb for a friend’s bachelorette event, which looked nice and clean. Naturally, the first thing she did was to check for bed bugs, lifting sheets and looking at each corner to make sure the coast was clear. Everything seemed fine, so she slept in the bed. 

However, she ended up with a few bug bites the next day, which she attributed to mosquitos from the day before. As the trip progressed, bites continued to show on her skin. 

@saramics.pottery

Replying to @TessaG.G. 0/10 would not reccomend hopefully this information saves someone from this misery #bedbugs #fyp #storytime #travel #traveltiktok

♬ Moonlight – Villano

“Every five minutes, a bite that I did not previously have was appearing on my body,” she said. “They were in clusters. They were in lines. It was a mess.” 

According to the CDC, bed bug bites — which look similar to mosquito bites — can take up to 14 days to develop. Because of this, people need to check for bed bugs in several different ways such as, in the folds of the mattresses or being aware of a sweet musty odor.

“NEW FEAR UNLOCKED,” replied @jaceandjudy under Luepker’s video.

Once more bites started appearing, one of Luepker’s friends suggested going back to the property to double check for bugs. The friends eventually found them in a cloth headboard, leading the group to try and solve the problem.

After numerous showers and wash cycles, everyone on the trip was able to return home with no bed bugs. Still, Luepker felt the effects of the bites.

“Five or six days after I got the initial bites, I woke up and my bites were suddenly the size of golf balls,” Luepker siad. I had a killer headache and my body was painfully itchy.”

Airbnb did give the group a full refund afterwards, which gave a slight silver lining to the situation. 

“It’s kind of like I won everybody a free Airbnb trip and all it cost was a little bit of anaphylaxis.”

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