Bed Bug Infestation is Scaring Millions of Americans!

[LongTomH]

From an article at Alternet:

Peter Krask stepped out of his New York City apartment one day last year, shut the door, and walked away forever, leaving behind almost everything he owned.

He carried away only a few items of clothing, personal records, and his computer.

Krask's apartment was infested with bedbugs. Savoring warmth, they swarmed in his DSL port, light fixtures, carpets and furniture. They'd feasted on him nightly for a year — which he spent visiting doctors in an increasing state of panic over the rashes inflaming his buttocks and other body parts before finally ascertaining the cause.

It was Cimex lectularius, the flat, cockroach-colored, lentil-sized pest whose favorite food is not just warm blood but human blood. Bedbugs are back, bigtime. According to a National Pest Management Association study, outbreaks have soared 81 percent nationwide since 2000. Their sudden resurgence in all fifty states of a formerly bedbug-free nation has caught off-guard not just the medical and pest-control industries but millions of ordinary people who now apply costly, time-consuming, potentially toxic and inconclusive strategies for slaughtering insects that inhabit indoor environments both soft and hard and can lie in wait without eating for up to a year. Finding hosts, they feed by night, doubling in size as they suck.

This is scary stuff! Apparently the infestation is particularly bad in the northeast. Trendy NY stores, including Victoria's Secret are being hit; even CNN headquarters.

Bedbugs were virtually eradicated in the US decades ago using insecticides like DDT. Since those more effective insecticides were banned, bedbugs have returned.

There is a national clearing house for people dealing with bedbug infestations: BedBugCentral.com.

[AnArmyVeteran]

1. I have a waterbed so I guess I have aquatic bed bugs.

[Dr.Phool]

6. Those are called phirannas.

[AnArmyVeteran]

18. Thanks in advance for the nightmares I'll have tonight!!!

[AnArmyVeteran]

36. A friend returned from the Amazon last week & she ate phirannas. They were good!

She said there were a lot of bones in them though. I knew phirannas ate people, but didn't know people could eat phirannas. My friend traveled the Amazon for two weeks and just came back.

[Call Me Wesley]

10. The bugs aquatic!

:rofl:

[Moosepoop]

29. Aqua Buggas

:hippie:

[Scatterheart]

2. I had them last winter.

I also had to abandon my apartment. It was one of the most terrifying, depressing ordeals of my life. They are EVERYWHERE these days, and this epidemic is only going to get worse.

[hlthe2b]

7. I worry about having them introduced on moving vans...

since I am almost certain they do not inspect (nor certainly spray) between moves. If they manage to move bedding that is contaminated with them, it would seem quite possible to introduce them to the "next load" of goods and into your home.

[K8-EEE]

61. I think wrapping mattresses and box springs in plastic

is absolutely a must if you are renting a moving van!

[hlthe2b]

68. What about sofas and other upholstered furniture....

:shrug:

I'm thinking the next time I rent a moving van, I'm going to consider making them let me rent a steamer and spray it down....or at least inspect it fully before loading anything...

[Scatterheart]

3. Dupe. Damned cell phones. n/t

.

[Scatterheart]

4. Never pick up curbside furniture

A lot of curb couches are there for a reason. Ive seen so many mattresses on the curb in the city these days its disturbing.

[mbillard1979]

53. Or buy used mattresses at yard sales

Never know what you're going to get.

[jmondine]

64. Mama always said, "Life is like used mattresses at yard sales".

[hlthe2b]

5. There will be a demand for more toxic residual insecticides....

probably not DDT, though the Pan American Health Organization has long argued for its return to fight malaria and dengue-carrying mosquitoes worldwide.

I am sympathetic to the issue, as nothing seems to be working well to control them and you can't really do much about your apartment or condo neighbor's behaviors that might introduce them to you as well... By the time you know you have them, control is often very difficult.

[AngryAmish]

8. Problem is these are the babies of the bedbugs that lived through DDT

Just tweak the molecule a bit or use another organophosphate pesticide. They may be banned here but that is why we have Mexico and Fed Ex, no?

[hlthe2b]

14. I have seen no data suggesting they are immune to DDT...

that would be extremely unlikely given how long ago its use was halted. BTW, black market DDT was once not that hard to find in third world countries that had not officially banned them. I do not believe that is true today.

[timo]

57. fail

thats not true, these bugs come in from other countries, they are not DDT resistant

[AngryAmish]

66. And those countries did not use DDT?

[timo]

69. maybe

but that does not mean they used it on the bed bugs, because a country used ddt means all bed bugs are resistant to it?? think about this ALOT of countries use ddt somewhere in the country....but do all the coutries citizens use it?? or is pesticide a luxury they can't afford???

[K8-EEE]

33. we got rid of them by endless steaming

we slept in another room for a week and steamed the matress and the carpet every day -- that was last Oct and it worked. They don't really travel very far on their own; he had made the mistake of putting his overnight bag on the vacant bed in his room. Use those foldy thingees! Because the bb's hitch a ride on your bag, you come home and throw it on the bed to unpack, then a week or two later comes the mysterious welts etc.

[hlthe2b]

39. Good advice... n/t

[demmiblue]

9. As they should be... it is very expensive to eradicate bed bugs.

I know someone who had an infestation of the little buggers after visiting New York City. Cost them upwards of $1000 to get rid of the little beasties.

I can't imagine what it would be like in a multi-family living space (i.e. apartment).

I do remember a DUer that was going through this awhile back. From her account, it was pure hell.

[Angry Dragon]

11. Another terrorist plot??

[Call Me Wesley]

12. CNN headquarters?

I blame Wolf Blitzer ...

[xultar]

20. I think Faux had them last year

[Call Me Wesley]

22. They hired them

They're now called 'Fox News Anchors.' ;)

[Cleita]

13. I've had some success in keeping bugs out of my house

with orange oil. I understand cedar and tansy are good too. I have seen spiders decimate cockroaches, but you have to let them live in your house. Creepy! I don't know if they would work on bed bugs though.

[Quantess]

21. I would rather have spiders in the house than cockroaches, by far.

Spiders may occasionally / rarely bite, but for the most part they go about their own business, preying on insects.

[stuntcat]

28. spideys :)

We have soooo many spiders, once or twice a year I have to have a Killin! and go around the basement with the hand-vac sucking them up. I apologize to every spider I kill too!

Hearing about the bedbugs does scare me pretty bad. This makes me want to go spray everything with Lysol.

[Quantess]

30. I guess that is most people's policy. I just throw them outdoors if they cross my path.

Oregon has a ton of spiders, too. In this area, the only ones we have to worry about are the Hobo spiders, but even then, they are self-defense biters who mostly live outdoors in their funnel webs.

[Dappleganger]

45. Nooooooo

They are the essence of nightmares. :wow: :blush:

[Quantess]

48. LOL. I think bedbugs would be the epitome of nightmares. Can't get any more gross than a bedbug.

A few months ago, there was a spider's nest just hatching on the porch. Someone happened to see it and eagerly offered to smash it, but I refused to let him harm the hundreds of baby spiders.
In fact, I got some entertainment from grabbing hatchlings by their webs, and scattering them around the yard. Haven't you ever seen Charlotte's Web? I was looking forward to having a lot of spiders in the yard to increase the health of the garden. IMO, spiders are only slightly more creepy than a ladybug.

[LoZoccolo]

27. I let spiders go and I rarely have anything else in my apartment.

I think I've seen two or three gnats this year and that's it, aside from the two or three spiders. And this is in a pretty dense part of Chicago. Spiders don't seem to infest like the other creatures so I haven't had a problem with that; I actually get a little geeked when I see a new one.

[DireStrike]

56. Spiders are GREAT

Unfortunately they don't kill everything.

In my last apartment we had a big roach problem. It got worse in the summer and we had to deal with it. We took everything off every piece of furniture they were near and cleaned 'em out. Under one cabinet we had a huge group of spiders, including a fantastically large broodmother. There were also a lot of roaches and clear signs of infestation. It turned out to be impossible to kill the roaches there without killing the spiders. We wound up spraying the whole lot of em. Sad, but the spiders would have starved to death anyway.

If you methodically go through the entire apartment, it DOES get rid of roaches. The only exception is if there are places you can't get to, like a wall adjoining other apartments with a huge gaping hole in it. I suggest coordinated action or blocking off any inaccessible areas with a good seal.

[Demeter]

15. This is True

A neighbor of mine is crossing the country by car, and panic-stricken at the thought of becoming infected at a motel en route.

Since she is already prone to excessive anxiety especially on health issues, I fear for her sanity.

We had a bedbug infestation in one of our condo townhouse buildings. We took steps to ensure that they were eradicated. It's not impossible, but it must be done correctly and promptly. There is no cheap way to do it.

Constant Vigilance!

It is in times of great societal upheavals and economic distress that such epidemics and plagues break out. Thank you, Banksters and fascists. Thanks W.

[Bitwit1234]

16. The best thing is if you have a steam cleaner --

is to steam around the seams especially and along the bed rails. Don't forget the mattress etc. And a site I went to said if you do this once a week or even once a month you won't have bedbugs. You could also do the same to your sofa. It is easy as pie I do it often. It also makes it smell fresh.

[hlthe2b]

17. Seems like a good thing to do to luggage upon return...

from a trip-- and before unpacking--outside if possible.

[LoZoccolo]

25. What kind of steam cleaner do you have?

I bought a cheap one once and it didn't do much good but I think it was just some poor-quality knockoff I saw at Walgreen's.

[hlthe2b]

55. I'd like to know which one is a "good one" as well...

[Ineeda]

19. Must be Obama's fault. n/t

[tammywammy]

24. Well he is doing a lot of traveling lately....

[readmoreoften]

40. Actually, it's the fault of the "professional left."

:eyes:

(really, does political bickering have to enter into EVERY thread?)

[Karenina]

23. Pestilence and plague!

:hide:

[pipi_k]

26. Wanna make some extra bucks?

Bedbugs are much easier to train for a traveling circus than fleas are...

[K8-EEE]

31. My husband brought them home after a weekend in Santa Cruz CA

In researching how to get rid of them I was totally shocked to find that sooooo many motels and hotels in CA -- including REALLY NICE ONES, had complaints!

[Froward69]

32. BLEACH... and remove

all carpeting. wash everything and place it all in plastic bags.

take some carpet tape (not the iron on kind but the pre-sticky flypaper stuff) and circle it around all of your furniture legs, sticky side out.

without any place to hide nor food... getting stuck trying to climb up to you. they will leave on their own.

they do proliferate by hitching a ride on your clothes. (like fleas) so if you ever go someplace knowing their are bed bugs disrobe before going inside your own house.

I have had infestations and lost Tenants over it. so now I just remove the carpet and pad and resurface the Hardwood floor. placing flypaper everywhere near electrical outlets, cracks in the floor etc.

oh and I scrub every nook and cranny with bleach, oven cleaner, de-greaser or any other harsh chemical...

as a boy I find it fun to watch the little fuckers die in the chemical bath.

[K8-EEE]

34. We got rid of ours just by steaming but

We were lucky in that we caught them early before a full-blown infestation.....if you take everything off the bed, steam ever surface of the mattress, box spring and carpet repeatedly for a week or so, it did the trick for us.

As far as prevention, now I always look under the sheets at the side seems of the mattress in hotels. If you see ANY sign of them (usually flakey red dots, which are dried blood,) get another room.

[Recursion]

35. There are signs all over Allston (a college neighborhood in Boston)

saying "don't pick up furniture from the curb" (several thousand students move out every September and leave most of their crap on the sidewalk).

[glowing]

37. They actually started appearing at hotels with the rampant "globalization"

Showing up at the highest ended hotels; perhaps brought in by a sheik from a foreign land... AND once they are in, they spread. It is quite possible, the whitehouse could or has been infected with the critters. I work at a hotel, we've had 3 or 4 room infected. Its a nightmare, throw away any linens, sometimes mattresses as well if they don't disappear after a heavy dosing. They will even hide behind picture frames and such. AND anyone can carry them around and not even know it. NY has the biggest outbreak due to the frequency of international travelers coming in and out.

On the other side of the coin, the chances are still minimal of being placed into a bed bug situation. However, its worse than lice to get rid of.

[pink-o]

38. Diatomaceous Earth, People!

I had a scare in 2007, then later realized it was fleas, not bedbugs. But this kills all crawling insects and it's sold in nurseries as gardners use it for snails as well.

I spread the powder on my mattress, boxsprings, sofas, chairs and carpet. Then I sealed it in plastic sheeting, taping it up with duct tape for about 2 weeks. My place looked like my Jewish grandmother was trying to preserve the furniture, but it wasn't like I could invite anyone over anyway, and it did the trick.

I'm very surprised more people don't know about this stuff. I guess there's a possibility that it could hurt your lungs, but unlike asbestos fibers, you're not gonna be breathing it in longterm.

A link:


http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/30/faqde/

[Quantess]

46. Diatomaceous Earth also works for chickens who have mites

It is also known as Seven Dust, I believe.

Chickens like to do dust baths anyway, and when they dust bathe in diatomaceous earth, the sharp edges pierce the exoskeletons of the bugs. At least, that is how I understand it.

[timo]

58. sevin has poison

it contains cabaryl its not JUST d.e.

[WinkyDink]

78. Clothing, sofas, rugs, etc.

[mike r]

41. FWIW - What Spreads Faster Than Bedbugs? Stigma

What Spreads Faster Than Bedbugs? Stigma
By EMILY B. HAGER

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/nyregion/21bedbugs.html

[BrklynLiberal]

42. Just reading about them makes me itchy all over...

[applegrove]

43. When you stay in a hotel in NYC put your bags and all your clothes in the bathroom. Bedbugs hate

hard flat surfaces like a bathroom.

[K8-EEE]

60. Yes! and never on the spare bed!

Don't fold/pack your stuff on the bed either.

[RagAss]

44. Americans are afraid of everything.....fear is all we export !

[pipi_k]

63. Remember the "summer of the shark"...

what...8 or 9 years ago...

It seemed like sharks were everywhere eating people.

The truth of it was, there were actually the same numbers of shark attacks (or maybe even somewhat fewer) as there usually are in a given year.

But it was a media circus with people being afraid to even use their own toilets in case "Jaws" was lurking under the seat.


Now it's the summer of the bedbug.

Although I don't know the statistics on exactly how many cases there usually are, or how many people get bitten, I would be willing to bet that the current "outbreak" probably falls pretty comfortably within the usual parameters.


Sharks!!! Terrorists!! Salmonella!! Bedbugs!! Bible-stealers!!! Gun confiscators!! Socialists!!! Muslims!!

AUGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:scared: :cry:

[RagAss]

75. Yup...It's a Carnival of Fear every freakin year !

[MikeW]

65. youve apparently never had a room or transported them home from travel

[pipi_k]

71. I personally never have...

and I would imagine they're a real pain in the ass, figuratively and literally.


But come on...they're not the Threat To Western Civilization the media are making them out to be.


:+

[MikeW]

76. look if they are spreading through hotels

then they have a def. impact on peoples lives.

stay in a hotel then spend 2grand trying to get them out of your house.

[Imajika]

47. That's it, we need DDT back...

After reading this I am now going to be absolutely paranoid about picking these up while traveling. I have been all over the world and never even so much as seen a bed bug. I thought a bed bug was like some sort of mythical thing that didn't really exist. "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" was something my grandmother used to say to us, I had no idea there were real bedbugs.

These things appear to be lounge ticks. Sitting around in beds waiting to suck our blood. They all must be destroyed - immediately. If it takes DDT to get rid of these things, then by God we need to bring it back long enough to kill all these bedbug things.

[NuttyFluffers]

62. being skin sensitive myself, i agree -- bedbugs, like smallpox, must be made extinct

i am perfectly fine with extinction for diseases (eradication for viruses, cuz they aren't really alive) and pests humans don't like. the bedbug has about as much right to live (exist) as the human flea, guinea worm, and smallpox -- which means none if humanity has any say in the matter. if it means that all carpeting and bedding must be sterilized around the world, and hard surfaces must predominate our indoor landscape until all species of bedbugs that can affect humanity are eradicated from earth, then so be it.

i vote for the Pentagon/DoJ to initiate the War on Bedbugs! }(

(PS: after staying in other parts of the less developed world, i have come to find a new and lasting appreciation of 'better living through chemistry'. cedar oils, citronella coils, naphthalene (moth balls), chinese ant chalk, etc. are all wonderful gifts to man for the control and eradication of small parasitic things. and i wouldn't be surprised if DDT was used in more than a few places i visited. and all of those things made my stays wonderful, (thankfully they were in a desert region with zero raptors or other avians).

the urban world of strong spices and chemicals smell like safety to me. the natural/rural world of shit and living things smells like danger to me. the pictures of National Geographic can stay as pictures for me, as far as i am concerned. give me a martini in a sterile room with an LCD screen of the jungle and i'm more than satisfied. prefer to observe my insects pinned under glass, thank you very much.)

[Imajika]

74. Yup, I am with you, make bedbugs extinct..

I prefer your idea of a "war on bedbugs" more than our current wars anyway.

And yeah, I stayed in many less developed places in the world too. I've seen lots of nasty critters, but never a bed bug. Not a single one. As I said, I didn't even know they were actually real. This thread got me asking people I know about them and they were kinda shocked I didn't realize they were real.

My skin is sensitive to a lot of things, bug bites being one of them. I am prepared to launch the jihad against bed bugs right now. I would take to the front lines but I think I would prefer to play some sort of leadership role far from the actual bugs themselves ;)

[mucifer]

70. Nerve gas ! that's a great idea.

[athenasatanjesus]

49. What actual danger do they cause?

From what I read they don't spread any disease.

[Imajika]

50. Well, from what I read they apparently bite you....

...and if your skin is sensitive like mine, it appears that you would have sores and marks on you from where you were attacked.

From wikipedia:

"Cimicosis is a skin condition caused by bedbug bites.<29>:446 Individual responses vary greatly. In about 50% of cases,<30> there is no visible sign of bites, and for those who do have a visible sign, it varies in size and itchiness, greatly increasing the difficulty of identifying and eradicating infestations.

Serious bed bug infestations and chronic attacks can cause anxiety, stress, and insomnia. Development of refractory delusional parasitosis is possible, as victims develop an overwhelming obsession with bedbugs.<31>
A bedbug nymph feeding on host

Patients given systemic corticosteroids and antihistamines for the itching associated with bites will still have visible signs of bites. Topical corticosteroids, such as hydrocortisone, can reduce lesions and decrease itching.<32>"

[Juche]

51. You can't sleep if they are biting you

Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to tons of health problems, auto accidents, irritability, etc.

[K8-EEE]

52. UM......GIANT, ugly, painful welts!

It's true they are less dangerous than mosquitos but the bites don't just itch, they hurt like a sunofabitch. Once you have them, believe me, you want them GONE. What most people don't realize is that they need blood to survive. Wrap the mattress in plastic (to suffocate them) and steam them, go over the hard surfaces of the bed with rubbing alcohol. Wash all your clothes and bedding in hot water, dry in a hot dryer, vacuum and steam the mattress and carpet and then STAY GONE. They really travel by hitching rides...they are unlikely to spread throughout your house unless you really let them go and I can't imagine how much crack you have to be doing to not notice them!

[Threedifferentones]

54. The itching and pain are an allergic reaction, which makes it much harder to find all infestations.

There are many people who do not even notice they are being bitten. You can imagine, the bites they inflict are far too small to cause actual bleeding, and so many people's bodies get away with just ignoring them. So, lots of people, especially single people, are probably sleeping with them and do not even know it!

[NutmegYankee]

67. Having been bitten after an infestation -

Imagine waking up to 10-15 1 inch size extremely itchy welts each morning. It is miserable and it makes you afraid to go to bed. I got lucky and eliminated mine after finding them in a wooden railing on my bed and "RAIDing" them to death.

[timo]

59. Houston is getting hit too

A friend of mine manages a large apt complex that she refers to as the U.N. because of the large mix of nationalities who rent there and they have for 2 years now been fighting an epidemic of bed bugs, it costs the company around 800 dollars to "cleanse" an apt of the bugs.

[pipi_k]

72. Just reminded me of something...

In the 60s we were all afraid of the "cooties" infestations....

Cooties were everywhere...


Only slightly more deadly than the nuclear bombs of the time...


Duck and cover!

And don't...under any circumstances...let anyone else borrow your comb or hat. And NEVER rest your head on the back of the seat in the movie theater!!!!

Bad things will happen if you do.


:scared:

[rainbow4321]

73. My daughter has been in NYC for 7 months

She's coming home for a month before she goes off and does a traveling job..I half jokingly told her to leave the bed bugs in NYC!
She says that she has not seen any evidence of the bugs at her place.
Still trying to fight off the urge of spraying her and her stuff with a bug killer before she steps into my apartment, though!

[WinkyDink]

77. This is a SERIOUS ISSUE. I'm going to Staten Island soon, and THIS is good advice:

http://membracid.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/how-to-inspect-your-hotel-room-for-bed-bugs/