BLOODSUCKERS: Coming to a Bed Near You

Coming to a Bed Near You

Bedbugs are back—and these pests are hard to get rid of...

One morning a few months ago Sarah Walker-Martin and her boyfriend, Kevin O’Connor, woke up with itchy pink raised welts on their arms and legs. Since they often spend hot nights with their windows open, they thought the problem was mosquitoes. But when the bites got worse and no flying culprit appeared in their New York apartment, the pair turned to the Internet. The real perp? Bedbugs.

Those childhood warnings to not let the bedbugs bite are taking on new meaning in beds from New York to Los Angeles—and many beds in between. Although the insects do not transmit disease, living with these bloodsuckers can be traumatic. And the problem is growing in both cities and the suburbs. According to the National Pest Management Association, bed bug calls nationwide jumped more than 63 percent between 2000 and 2004. Today, the infestations are “nearly an epidemic in Manhattan and other U.S. cities,” says Robert Pineiro, a supervisor for Terminix in White Plains, New York.

“Of all the insects that invade your home, bed bugs are the worst, because they are hard to control and even harder to prevent,” says Richard Pollack, Ph.D., an entomologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. The bugs hide close to their warm-blooded prey in mattresses, box springs, floorboards and clothing. They usually remain out of sight during the day, making them hard to find and difficult to completely eliminate. Even when you’re bitten, the anesthetic the bugs inject numb you to the fact that it is happening. The only trace they’ll leave—apart from the welts—is blood or feces stained sheets.

Bed bug infestations have nothing to do with cleanliness. The bugs are great “hitchhikers,” says Fred Rozo, an associate certified entomologist at Western Exterminator Pest Control in Southern California. A bug can crawl into your suitcase or your jacket pocket, and once you bring it to your house, you can have an infestation. “You can pick up bed bugs at the best or worst hotels,” Rozo says.

What’s behind the bedbug renaissance? One reason could be the more-targeted, less powerful pesticides in use today. Increased international travel and immigration from the developing world are other possible explanations.

Prevention is not easy. Experts advise that you vacuum your suitcase and wash all of your clothes in hot water after you return from a vacation where you’ve seen signs of the pests. If you have the bugs in your home, wrapping your mattress and box spring with a plastic or allergen cover and placing the bed legs in cups of water may keep the insects out of your bed. Filling cracks in walls where bugs may crawl in from other rooms or buildings is another recommendation. Multiple pesticide treatments from professional exterminators are necessary...

This would be an awful problem to contend with.

I have now seen several articles in the last week concerning this being an epidemic in New York city!

If you travel, BEWARE!!! ...the bedbugs are indeed biting...

You just made me itchy all over.

This has been a growing problem in the hotel industry for a number of years, and I'm not sure if it's getting worse, or the media is just picking up the story.
But yeah, the bed bugs are out there.......

You can come home from your trip with just several eggs on your stuff, and a few months later have an infestation in your home. But because of the time lag you won't tie the infestation to your vacation that was 3 months ago.

All I can say is;
INSPECT YOUR ROOM CAREFULLY.....
Look for any little black spots around the bed and frame.
Pull back the mattress cover and lift the mattress itself.
Look under stuff in the room and near cracks and corners.

YOU DON'T WANT THESE LITTLE BUGGERS IN YOUR HOME......... :shk:

*member leaves to go and scratch*......

Thanks, anxietydisorder.....and er....sorry.

USA Today Reports Bedbugs on the Rise

Travelers everywhere woke this morning to a disquieting news story; USA Today reports that bedbugs, nocturnal, elusive and transient pests, are on the rise nationwide. Attributing the increase to a booming international travel industry, the paper states, "Bedbugs, the houseguests nobody wants, are back in growing numbers across the USA, and booting them from your bunk can be a lengthy, costly process."

And...

Bedbugs take bite after bite in Big Apple

They’re the scourge of hobo encampments and hot-sheet motels. To impressionable children everywhere, they’re a snippet of nursery rhyme, an abstract foe lurking beneath the covers that emerges when Mommy shuts the door at night.
But bedbugs on Park Avenue? Ask the horrified matron who recently found her duplex teeming with the bloodsucking beasties. Or Helmsley Park Lane, which was sued two years ago by a welt-covered guest who blamed the hotel for harboring the critters. The suit was settled last year.

Bedbugs, stealthy and fast-moving nocturnal creatures that were all but eradicated by DDT after World War II, recently have been found in hospital maternity wards, schools and a plastic surgeon’s waiting room.

Infestations have been reported sporadically across the United States over the past few years. But in New York, bedbugs have gained a foothold all across the city.

Last year the city logged 377 bedbug violations, up from two in 2002 and 16 in 2003. Since July, there have been 449. “It’s definitely a fast-emerging problem,” said Carol Abrams, spokeswoman for the city housing agency.

In the bedbug resurgence, entomologists and exterminators blame increased immigration from the developing world, the advent of cheap international travel and the recent banning of powerful pesticides.

Yup.... definitely a big problem. I could quote half a dozen news stories on this in the last several days...

I'm an Exterminator. Check the mattress and springs. I recommend putting 4" x 8" glue boards under the bed legs. Just lift the leg and stick it on. If anything crawls up or down the post it will get stuck to it.

Their right about bugspray being weak now. Most of the sprays we can use suck. Anything that works good we can't use it where we need to. It's retarded it's like asking a logger to cut down a forest with a pocket knife. Don't get me wrong though the spray will still kill bugs just not as quick and no where near as long as the old stuff. The new sprays cost 100's of times more than the old ones too. So naturally we use less. We use less of a bug spray that is much less effective. We want and need safe cheap bugspray but it's not going to happen.

It's all about money. The big chemical companies want the chemicals to cost alot and they want us to use alot.

Well - now I'm itchy too.

Great job loam. Not.

The bed bug plague thing seems to have come a few times over the past year or so.

So I have two questions:

1. Are bed bugs mites?

2. Do ya wanna see my links that show prions hitchhike on bedbugs?


BTW - Exterminator - pesticides are extremely dangerous to all living cells - not just bugs. I agree it's all about money - but I think we have to look further, or maybe in a different dierction to get the whole pitcha.

Originally posted by soficrow
2. Do ya wanna see my links that show prions hitchhike on bedbugs?

What about the bird flu?

I bet they carry that too

Originally posted by djohnsto77
What about the bird flu?

I bet they carry that too

I looked into this (at least with regard to generic diseases) and found statements that they do NOT transmit disease. Personally, I find that hard to believe.

Soficrow.... I'd love to see those links.

I'd sleep with bedbugs before I'd crawl into a bed that had been treated with DDT the day before.

Sure there are restrictions in place that prevent you from using certain chemicals, and they are there for a reason. I don't want to say that the multinationals aren't conspiring to drive up the cost to consumers, because I think they are. But I also see the reason behind the ban on certain pesticides.

I've spent many years around greenhouses, and I've seen many chemicals and systemic poisons come and go, but I don't think I've ever seen one removed from the market without a valid reason that would either effect humans or the environment.

Electricians used to wash their hands with PCBs and run wire in ships and buildings while asbestos was being applied, but we gave that up.......



EDIT:

Originally posted by djohnsto77
What about the bird flu?

I bet they carry that too

I have never heard of any case or read any study that would suggest that bedbugs transmit anything to humans.
Do any other members know different??????

[edit on 2/12/2005 by anxietydisorder]

Originally posted by anxietydisorder
I'd sleep with bedbugs before I'd crawl into a bed that had been treated with DDT the day before.

This actually made me laugh out loud!!!! I heartily agree!!!

There has to be a better way. I thought the glue board tip was a good one though...

Originally posted by soficrow

Do ya wanna see my links that show prions hitchhike on bedbugs?

Yes I Do........
Please post any information you have on this, I'd be very interested.............

EDIT: Just fixing



[edit on 2/12/2005 by anxietydisorder]

BTW - Exterminator - pesticides are extremely dangerous to all living cells - not just bugs. I agree it's all about money - but I think we have to look further, or maybe in a different dierction to get the whole pitcha.

When used properly there is no danger at all to any human. 99% of pesticide misuse is from homeowners who go to the hardware store and buy the strongest thing they can get and spray it everywhere. When asked about the toxicity of my sprays I say this. If you ate that whole bottle of table salt on the table it would likely kill you. The same goes for bug spray if you drank the concentrate you would possibly die. If you apply chemicals in the proper place with the proper dosage there is no danger. Salt goes on french fries and hotdogs and bug spray goes on bugs. Not the other way around.
Unless its snails.

table salt vs pesticides






[edit on 3-12-2005 by IXRAZORXI321]

Okay - you said you wanted to know.

Prion harboring and transmission by insects and mites

* "Fly larvae and mites were exposed to brain-infected material and were readily able to transmit scrapie (prions) to hamsters. New lines of evidence have confirmed that adult flies are also able to express prion proteins. Several cell types found on the human skin, including keratinocytes, fibroblasts and lymphocytes, are susceptible to the abnormal infective isoform of the prion protein, which transforms the skin to produce a potential target for prion infection."

* "Considering the huge amount of fly larvae that affects each animal, it is important to discuss the possibility that these ectoparasites could theoretically act as reservoirs and vectors for CWD and other prion diseases. It is critical to recognize all the possible factors involved in CWD transmission since ectoparasites could be handled in an easier way than the environmental persistence of infectious prions."

* Mites as vectors for scrapie.

* Characteristics of scrapie isolates derived from hay mites

* Also of interest: Winter survival of larvae and pupae of the blowfly, Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae). "...low temperatures did not appear to be the primary cause of high overwintering mortality in the field which, it is suggested, is more likely to be the result of the action of biotic mortality factors."


FYI - bedbugs are insects, but are said not to harbor any diseases.

IMO - everything, including bedbugs, can harbor prions - and I still would not sleep in a pesticide treated bed. I also eat meat. Go figure.



.ed brain burp

[edit on 3-12-2005 by soficrow]

Thanks for posting that soficrow, I'm going to read through all the links after I grab a bite to eat. But one thing that caught my eye was the scrapie link.

I find it strange that Australia and New Zealand have bedbugs that are common to the entire populated world, and they get exchanged at regular intervals through the constant movement of humans, and yet they have no scrapie.

I'd be interested in finding out if those countries have always had very tight restrictions on importing animal feed that contained rendered animal parts???
That would be the known vector for transmission......

I have found surface spray to be sufficient in warding of all bugs from entering the house, I am allergic to Mosquitoes and by spraying a lil surface spray around the outside borders of all windows and doors the problem has been minimized drastically. Not sure if this could maybe be safe enough to use on the legs of the bed after a lil spray outdoors? IXRAZORXI321 could probably tell us


I have stopped using bug sprays in the house because my cats like to eat them lol so really I have no need for it anyway but it's because they do that I refuse to spray anything now. So it's either the cats, a wet cloth or a shoe

anxietydisorder this may be what U are looking for ?

Originally posted by anxietydisorder

I'd be interested in finding out if those countries have always had very tight restrictions on importing animal feed that contained rendered animal parts???
That would be the known vector for transmission......

Sorry AD - but the focus on contaminated feed is mainly smoke and mirrors. There are numerous other prion vectors - including microbes, which don't respect border restrictions.

Scroll down to Prion vectors, modes of transmission, points of entry, and reservoirs

. Not sure if this could maybe be safe enough to use on the legs of the bed after a lil spray outdoors? IXRAZORXI321 could probably tell us

If your positive the bedbugs come from the ground up then yes. A synthetic pyrethroid on the bed legs should repel them and is very safe. Pyrethrins have been used since before America was discovered. They kill bugs fast but do not last long. I use them for about 95% of the work I do.

Pyrethrins and Pyrethroids

Okay. I did what I was supposed to do and clicked an ad on the right for a "Safe, Organic, Poison Free" bedbug killer.

Also - vacuum cleaners are proven effective. ...Of course, you need to do the mattress - flip it, etc. And don't forget to vacuum under the bed too!

I have no scientific data to prove this but I can tell you fromthe 30+ years my family has been in this business that people with low blood iron are more appealing to bloodsucking insects.

A study should be done. It may have been but i'm not aware of it. It may be as simple as taking iron supplements to keep from getting bit.

[edit on 5-12-2005 by IXRAZORXI321]

Lawyer: Women 'Eaten Alive' By Bedbugs

NEW YORK -- Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite!

But two Swiss businesswomen charge they were eaten alive by bedbugs at a New York City hotel where they spent a week in September. The women, Ksenija Knezevic and Marlies Barisic, are suing Manhattan's Hotel Pennsylvania. They said they had a lousy time trying to sleep.

The women said the bedbug attacks began the night they checked into the hotel across from Madison Square Garden.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's state Supreme Court, said they suffered bedbug bites over their torsos, arms and legs. Their lawyer, Alberto Ebanks, said bugs also bit their cheeks and necks and caused possibly permanent scarring.

Ebanks said the women had to seek medical treatment while in New York, where they were given antibiotics, and when they returned to Switzerland. He said photographs of the women's wounds are "gruesome."

"They were eaten alive," Ebanks said Wednesday. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Ebanks said that when the women told employees of the Seventh Avenue hotel that they were uncomfortable and something was wrong, one immediately exclaimed, "Bedbugs!"

The suit charges "extreme and outrageous" negligence on the part of the hotel, because employees knew about the bedbug problem and did nothing. A spokeswoman for the hotel said they don't comment on pending legal cases.

Hmmmm....maybe they should have consulted this thread...

[edit on 6-12-2005 by loam]

UPDATE:

Bedbugs evolve rapidly to withstand pesticides.

The first comprehensive genetic study of bedbugs, the irritating pests that have enjoyed a world-wide resurgence in recent years, indicates they are quickly evolving to withstand the pesticides used to combat them.

The new findings from entomologists at Ohio State University, reported Wednesday online in PLoS One, show that bedbugs may have boosted their natural defenses by generating higher levels of enzymes that can cleanse them of poisons.

In New York City, bedbugs now are 250 times more resistant to the standard pesticide than bedbugs in Florida, due to changes in a gene controlling the resilience of the nerve cells targeted by the insecticide, researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst recently reported.

More...

Yikes.