Guest claiming they contracted scabies

[Normen0]

We had a nine person rental for the house over the weekend Sat - Mon.  On Monday morning the booking guest (0 reviews) advised that they were about to leave and they had a great weekend. The only issue is her mother believes she was bit by bed bugs in the one room. Photo was sent - pustules on chin and neck.

When I arrived to clean, I pulled off the bedding and mattress cover and checked the mattress thoroughly. No evidence whatsoever of bed bugs. The mattress is pristine.  I took photos of the mattress. It looked like the guest had also looked as one corner of the mattress cover was pulled up.

I messaged her to say, no bed bugs and sorry to hear about her mom. Hope she feels better soon and let me know what it is.  

Last night the guest gave us a 5 star review. I did the review, not as great. Issues with a dog that I was  not advised about and 6 bags of garbage that was mostly recycling that I had to pick through because we have a garbage limit and I think they put a child in the hot tub against the rules.  Generally not clean after their stay but not the worst we have had. 

Today she said her mom went to the doctor and he said it was scabies and he also said she got it from bedding. So how does a doctor know this?  I advised her yesterday and today that no one has been in that room since Feb 3 or even in the house since Feb 13 except me to clean.  They arrived Feb 19. So that bedroom was cleaned and was empty for two weeks.  And the house was empty for six days. 

A quick search of CDC website says scabies can’t live without a host for more than 72 hours usually.  

Now she days her dog is scratching and they are taking him to the vet.  (This is the dog she didn’t tell us was coming even though I reminded her to tell us if she has pets coming in her check in detail message three days before arrival. And no pet fee collected). 

I have closed the house until Saturday when we have the next guests. All the bedding was washed in hot water as usual.  

I’m sure the mother has something whether it’s scabies or not. Now I have to monitor myself for 2 months!  

I’m furious and I’m just waiting for the message from AIRBNB support and for them to close the listing.  

Anything else I can do?  

[Laura2592]

@Normen0 from the CDC:

Scabies usually is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. Contact generally must be prolonged; a quick handshake or hug usually will not spread scabies. Scabies is spread easily to sexual partners and household members. Scabies in adults frequently is sexually acquired.

So its very doubtful your guest got it from bedding. More likely your guest got it from another person they were traveling with. I would just send the above quote and say:

"I am so sorry to hear you are having these issues. According to the Centers for Disease Control, "Scabies usually is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with a person who has scabies. Contact generally must be prolonged; a quick handshake or hug usually will not spread scabies. Scabies is spread easily to sexual partners and household members. Scabies in adults frequently is sexually acquired." As such we are not able to reimburse you for any costs related to this issue. We will be sending a request for additional cleaning and remediation of all bed linens due to the disclosure of this problem. Hope you are feeling better soon!"

[Normen0]

Thanks! Yes, I gave her the link to CDC info re scabies and pointed out the transmission to symptoms stage of 4-6 weeks. I didn’t want to point out how it may be transmitted and seem offensive. I’m sure she can read what Ive sent to her.
At this point she has not requested money. We wait.  My messages have all been very cordial and wishing them well.  
At this point, I think I will let it go if she does. There really isn’t any additional cost to the cleaning as we always wash everything and everything in hot water and hot drying.   
I like your response though and will keep it in my pocket.  

[Karla533]

I would request documentation of everything the guest claims, such as a letter from the physician.

So sorry this happened to you. This is my ABB nightmare scenario, as a guest or as a host.

I don't think it's a scam. I think it's a mis diagnosis. It could be a flea or tick reaction.

If anyone ever claims bugs on me, I will shut down the place without touching anything and immediately call an exterminator to come out and inspect. That's the one thing I think you should have done differently.

[Laura2592]

@Karla533 I own a property in New Orleans that I use as my personal getaway. In September after the last big hurricane I was there. I was CONVINCED I had somehow gotten bedbugs. I mean I had terrible rashy gross itching welts everywhere. I thought maybe a friend I had let stay had brought them in. Hired a fumigation expert to come and inspect/treat. 

Turns out it was chiggers from all the trash piled up after the hurricane. Collection was still slow in many parts of the city as services returned to normal. Grass was overgrown. And New Orleans is a swamp after all-- only takes a few weeks of neglect to re-wild. So as miserable as I was, I was thankful it wasn't bedbugs. 

All itchy rashes are not caused by your space. Let it be a lesson to hosts everywhere!

[Normen0]

Thanks for your reply. I responded to her with a link to the CDC which states (and I pointed out) that symptoms of scabies don’t show for 4-8 weeks from contact. She has not responded since. 
I like your idea of documentation. Should she come back with anything else, I will definitely ask for it.  

[Helen744]

Helen@744 scabies my dear is a sexually transmitted disease Mummy has been doing something naughty with someone naughty . Bed bugs are different . Tell her that you have had a fumigator in and if necessary get one to check and give you that clean bill of health you need. it is easy to say 'I got it fom a toilet seat  " or someones sheets but send your guest a google search for both bed bugs and scabies . touch wood we do not have a lot of bed bugs in australia but I did have a group who brought their own cockroaches . Dead thankfully from interstate and another man who developed shingles and said he had been bitten in his bed by 'Mothas' that he let in every night and sqished on the walls after he left the outside light on.I would call her bluff and send her the info to help her get her story straight and look up some entymology . You are smart , not any old bug will do H

[Helen744]

Wrong word / bug literature . What bug is that? H

[Helen744]

Helen @744 I think I would burn the sheets and throw out the mattress personally H

[Karla533]

Great example @Laura2592 , thank you for sharing this!  Sometimes people get spider bites and have very strong reactions.

[Karla533]

FWIW my mattresses are in bed bug proof bags, followed up a moisture proof cover, followed up a fairly thick all cotton quilted cover, and then the sheets.

If anyone has a different mattress protocol, I'm definitely interested to hear!

I found a powdered laundry detergent that creates hydrogen peroxide in the wash which bleaches everything without damaging fabrics.

[Sarah977]

@Helen744  Please get your facts straight. Scabies is not a sexually transmitted disease! And there is zero need for the host to burn the bedding and get a new mattress.

It's a skin parasite, a mite, that is primarily transferred from prolonged skin-to-skin contact. It gets passed around quite  easily in children- I had two or three times in the course of all the years I was raising my kids where I had to deal with scabies. One kid has scabies, there's a sleep-over, and now all the kids have it.

They aren't dangerous, they don't carry disease, they are just horribly itchy and annoying.

It would be unusual to get scabies from bedding, unless it was totally infested. Even if there is a scabies infestation, nothing needs to be thrown out. As someone mentioned upthread, scabies do not survive long without a host and they are destroyed by heat and freezing. Us parents used to put the kid's stuffies, pillows, blankets, etc. in a plastic bag for a week or so, which ensures there is nothing alive anymore. Scabies are also destroyed by a hot dryer or a freezer.

Dogs also get scabies- it is called mange in dogs.

@Normen0  The dog probably had mites. Whatever it was, the guests came with it, they didn't get anything at your place, where no one had slept for over 2 weeks. The guest assuredly didn't get scabies there. And scabies do not bite. They don't leave pustules. They don't go on the face. They are super tiny, like a speck you can hardly see. They burrow under the skin, lay their eggs there. You can often see their tunnels on the skin, although they are hard to see on darker skins. 

[Helen744]

Helen@744. Sarah  Half right . Scabies is considered an STI. I think you are mixing them up with head lice. I very much doubt if your kids ever had infestations of scabies or you may have had a visit from welfare,certainly in Australia H

[Sarah977]

@Helen744  No, Helen, I am not half right, you are 100% wrong. 🙂 No, I am not mixing  them up with head lice. I have extensive experience with both. I know exactly what scabies are and no, they are not considered an STD. Of course they can be passed between sex partners, as they have skin to skin contact, but they are not passed through sexual intercourse, which is what an STD is.  They are not a disease nor an infection, they are a skin parasite. Like lice, fleas and ticks. All you have to do to get rid of them on your body is wash yourself with Nix or any other anti-parasite medication, the same way head lice are treated.

And no, no one in Canada or anywhere else I ever heard of sends welfare authorities around for scabies. That's ridiculous.  

[Colleen253]

@Normen0 When it comes to Airbnb, as we all know well by now, facts don’t matter. The second the guest cries bugs to Airbnb, you are shut down and will be required to have pest services come in before you are up and running again. Be firm and shut down any notion the guest has that you are at fault. Hopefully they realize they have nothing going for them and don’t bother to contact Airbnb. Good luck, I hope it all turns out well for you.