bedbugs

Some field folks are paranoid about bedbugs - only sleeping on top of the sheets, bringing their own sheets, taking special precautions to keep all luggage away from anything potentially infested, etc.

I am not.

I've only stayed in one room which may have had bedbugs: I got a line of several bites overnight. But I never brought anything home.

I'd estimate that I've spent 1/4 of my career (work/grad school) traveling and staying in hotels. I usually stay in one room per week; even with long-term fieldwork, I tend to go home for the weekend and then stay in a new room the next week. So, in a given year, I stay in 13 different hotel rooms. After 5 years, it's 65 rooms. After 10 years, 130 rooms.

I've stayed in fancy places (mostly for vacation), big conference facilities, little independently-operated motels, and the odd sketchy motel. I've stayed in major cities and out in the middle of nowhere. And only one potential infestation.

Travelers/field folks: have you run into problems with infestations, and if so, where?