Friday, June 4, 2010

Don't let the bedbugs bite...

From Times Online:

The cockroach has scuttled in retreat. Bedbugs have become New York, indeed America’s, latest bug noire. These tiny, yellowish creatures (which grow to 4-5mm long), fiendishly difficult to eradicate and understand, have become an obsession for landlords, renters, pest-control experts and scientists. Why do they feed so hungrily on human blood? Why have they proliferated? Why are they so hardy? How can you eradicate them?

“Don’t let the bedbugs bite” now has a particularly hollow ring to it: we are almost powerless to stop them. There has been a 71 per cent increase in bedbug infestations since 2001, according to the US National Pest Management Association. In 2004, there were a reported 537 complaints and 82 “violations” (verified infestations) for bedbugs in New York; in 2009, there were 10,985 complaints and 4,084 verified infestations. “That’s just the reported cases,” says Jeremy Ecker, of Bed Bug Inspectors, a firm that uses two specially trained dogs to sniff out the bugs in apartments before advising occupants and pest exterminators on the best action. “The problem is everywhere, it’s growing and it’s mostly invisible because of people’s embarrassment. People are too ashamed to say anything. If they admit to having bedbugs they’re frightened of losing their apartment, of being asked not to go into work, of getting rid of their possessions. We see people in extreme distress.”

A female bedbug (official name Cimex lectularius) can reproduce 400 offspring ...to eradicate bedbugs requires ruthless planning, “even before the exterminators come in”, May says.

It seems laughable that the hokey-sounding bedbug could cause such havoc — and indeed, a spokeswoman for New York City’s Health Department says: “Anyone who has had an infestation knows that it can stressful and unpleasant but while bedbugs are a nuisance, they do not present a health risk or spread disease.”

But they are far from dismissable creatures, according to those who have suffered them and the scientists researching them. “It’s a plague, an epidemic,” says a National Pest Management Association spokeswoman — and although her organisation represents pest exterminators this is not a fear-generating marketing campaign.

“It would not be extreme or hysterical to call this a pandemic,” says Tim McCoy, a bedbug research scientist at Virginia Tech University. “We haven’t reached the halfway point in bedbug numbers, they’re still on the rise.”

They show no respect, says Ecker, of class or creed: “We’ve inspected the fanciest apartments on the Upper East Side and one-room studios downtown. Doesn’t matter how big or clean or small or dirty your place is, bedbugs will make themselves at home.”

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

They are easy to stop - VERY easy, but no one makes the necessary chemical anymore (you are allowed to make 1000 lbs for no profit, but)

Want it's name?

DDT

Anonymous said...

They're hungry too!

Anonymous said...

1. Stop letting 3rd worlders (Ecuadorans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Chinese, Irish and Italians) in to the greatest country on the face of the earth.

cherokeesista said...

Stop picking up those FILTHY MATTRESSES off the street!!! People throw them out for a reason, their FRIGGIN GARBAGE!!!
But these people in Flushing especially are just NASTY as HELL, every Thursday night you see those vans or box trucks picking them up.

tarrabyte said...

It took six months to get bed bugs out of my home. It wasn't quick or easy. Most bugs want to get away from you, but not bed bugs. It's personal. Knowing they are going to come while you are sleeping and feed for 5-15 minutes each on your arms, stomach or eyelids is terrifying, but that is exactly what having bed bugs means. You can watch videos on how to inspect your home at www.bedbugsnw.com. Heat is the new best weapon for killing bed bugs but still requires pesticides with long term residuals. Once you have bed bugs getting rid of them is very difficult. I know, I did.

Anonymous said...

Mattresses should be destroyed before disposal. I have seen numerous people driving around picking them up from the curb and probably selling them to be refurbished.

Anonymous said...

. Stop letting 3rd worlders (Ecuadorans, Salvadorans, Mexicans, Chinese, Irish and Italians) in to the greatest country on the face of the earth.

blah blah blah blame immigrants blah blah blah. It couldn't possibly be tourists who bring them from overseas? Or even Americans returning from trips abroad? No, it's the immigrants blah blah blah

Anonymous said...

DDT will have to make a comeback.

Anonymous said...

DDT will have to make a comeback.

Brilliant! Did your parents have any children who were not born brain dead?

Anonymous said...

The illegals take the mattresses out of the garbage and repurpose them. They cover them and sell them as new. Meanwhile, the bugs are breeding inside. When you have apartments with 20 illegals in it sharing mattresses, someone is bound to bring bedbugs. This is what the politicians want -- Vibrant and Diverse.

Babs said...

The ILLEGALS? How about the BIG name mattress companies who got caught years ago selling USED and refurbished mattresses as new?!

Anonymous said...

DDT was banned not only because it is toxic to humans and accumulates in the environment but also because insects become resistant to it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
DDT will have to make a comeback.

Brilliant! Did your parents have any children who were not born brain dead?

Best post yet. Apparently a lot of people that comment on this blog danced around behind the DDT trucks when they were younger.

Anonymous said...

All of you tree huggers are guilty on this one. DDT killed the hell out of these buggers. Now there's just a bunch of less effective and probably equally toxic substitutes.