Are you absolutely sure that the culprits were bedbugs? It's actually more likely that they were "no-seeums" or sand fleas. If you stay on the beach around sunset when they come out they can really do a number on you (which is why most beaches are pretty cleared out by sunset). If the condo was infested with bedbugs they wouldn't have waited until your last night before attacking. I've known many people over many years who've both lived at Anchorage and stayed there as visitors and have never heard of a bedbug problem there. Hope your GF feels better now!

I have to agree with STT, they wouldn't have shown up the last night as they are carried by people, bed to bed. Bed bugs CAN be seen with the naked eye and hang out under the sheets, near the little trim of the mattress. I am guessing it was no-seeums as well.

Yes , we are sure, we actually googled them and saw pictures.
They were tiny little red bugs on the mattress, we were/ are, very sure!
We think maybe, house keeping staff and or grounds keepers let friends
and family say in unrented units.

I agree. I've never heard of bedbugs being a problem here.

vicaptain wrote:
We think maybe, house keeping staff and or grounds keepers let friends
and family say in unrented units.

You don't think that it could have been your girlfriend bringing 'em to the VI? Or maybe you?*-)

i work for a company that has done quite a few anchorage rentals in the past, and i am thinking you were in a unit we don't represent... but never have i heard of bedbugs there.

if you're sure that's what you saw, you'd do us all a favor by reporting it to your rental agency or antilles resorts, however you rented so that they know. that way they can nip it in the bud.

Hey Vic Captain
Why would make you think that groundskeepers or houskeepers or their families would have anything to do with the bed bugs? Eh?

Not saying these were not bed bugs - but I always thought bed bugs were white and then brown after they are gorged with blood. I also thought that they don't bite and run, as do 'squitos and no-see-ums, but that they stay on and feed on your blood until they are sated and puffed up. Another source of the bites could be hatchling spiders – they are very small and often reddish in appearance.

There is also a little mite in the tropics - it's a weird little microscopic critter that has a really hard bite and it's selective about who it bites. Really, one person could be loaded with the mite bites and another could be bite free - even if they are at the same place at the same time. It’s not understood how it picks its victims. Because of the look of the mite bites they are often mistaken for spider bites or no-see-ums. These mites live on an animal host and when the host dies they move on quickly as they have voracious appetites. The bites are extremely itchy, last a long time, and become infected easily.

Whatever bit you could just as easily have arrived with a guest – or come in with you from the outside. Guess I don’t understand the staff being singled out as the source.

Hope you are recovering – the insects love me, unfortunately, and I have some allergies to certain types of bites so I know how painful and aggravating bites can be.

With all due respect, vicaptain, and despite your google search and identification of what appeared to you to be bedbugs based on that research, it still seems most peculiar that the bugs would only attack your wife and only on your last night in the VI. Bed bugs just don't operate that way.

BUT, maybe these were a particularly odd and mutated species with the ability to track visitors' stays. Laying in wait in a dormant state they suddenly come out in full force on the last night of a couple's stay and willfully dig into the female of the species (who is of course much sweeter than the male in most respects!), knowing that the natural sweetness of her blood has been charged with the addition of all that lovely sun and rum.

Just speculating, m'son - I just don't think for a minute that they were bedbugs. Cheers!

I completely agree - it is amazing on how often people blame noseeum bites on bed bugs. Where were these bites located on the GF? (at the knees and below - back of arms? - I suspect) Why at the end of the trip if teh bed-bugs were there the whole time? and why blame folks working there and their friends/relatives? (that seems a really questionable comment, and brings a total lack of credibility)

I would never indicate that it couldn't happen. All a traveler has to do is stay in a Motel/Hotel one night and then carry them to the next bed. It's possible. Only you know what you saw. The most important thing is that it be brought to the attention of the people who managed your place immediately so they can deal with it, weather it is the case or not, they can determine this.

There has actually been a case of bed bugs infesting a condo bed at Sapphire. The renter is a long term renter and had been suffering from what she thought was a rash from detergent or something. You correctly described the bed bug info she found on the web. Bed had to be removed and she had to move to another unit til the things could be eradicated. I work at a bar here and this is the second case I've heard of recently from locals. Yes Virginia, there are bed bugs in STT!

So, I just did a little research. It turns out that it generally takes a few days before bed bug bites become real itchy or noticeable. That might explain why it seemed to happen on the last night.