Sleep tight and...
don't let the bedbugs bite".
My mother used to say that as she put me to bed when I was young. I thought they were a mystical creature back then, but now I know they're real. Here's yet another news article on bed bug infestations spreading across the globe. Gives me the willies. One more thing to worry about.
We've been lucky to not run into bed bugs in our travels. This hotel bed bug registry doesn't make me feel any better, except no bed bugs reported up here. Problem is, I'd never heard of that web site before now and I'm sure others haven't, either. The site relies on personal reports to compile their list so I suspect infestations are under reported.
On the other hand, after reading normal lodging reviews on Yahoo and other sources, I've noticed- just like on blogs- some people don't seem to have anything good to say about anything or anybody. I can't help but wonder if somebody might have an ax to grind and make up a bed bug story about some place they may or may not have stayed just to get even with them for some slight, real or imagined?
Makes me not want to go anywhere anymore. I might end up bringing some home.
posted by Fred Mangels @ 7:05 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This is an interesting problem I'm aware of... but didn't know of the registry. We found some interesting things there and will be including this in our future travels! Others are interested, too. Thanks for the public service.
I personally think it is due to the rise in domestic dogs. It seams like everybody is sleeping with their dogs now days...... Call me paranoid, but when I was young, dogs were outside animals. Maybe we should get another proposition going. Call it Prop K-9; no sleeping with dogs. Yes on K-9. I can see the animal activists lining up now to spray paint our churches and charge us with discrimination.
Don't merely think only 'flea bag motels' have the monopoly on bed bugs. Even the finest hotels may have them. Fred's interesting link of the 'hotel bed bug registry' is surprising. I won't mention the exclusive, high-rate, hotel chains noted that you'd never suspect as having problems.
From my reading it's my understanding bed bugs are an enormous and spreading problem, especially East of here. They're moving West!
Yikes!
Bed bugs simply travel: hotels, suitcases, clothing, taxi trunks, airline cargo holds, etc. Anywhere clothes, luggage, mattresses, furniture, and even pets travel from any floor contact to house. Some travel advisories even suggest putting your hotel luggage up on a stand or even in the bathtub.
All it takes is one single bug. They were greatly reduced 50 years ago with DDT and pesticides, but over time the resistant bugs lived and spread to their growing and widespread infestations today. They're hard to eradicate; living in walls, electrical sockets, baseboards, etc., and avoiding fumigation. Remember, all it takes is one bug. They like cool climates, coming out at night... when you're sound asleep. They can live without feeding for one year; some folks wrap up their mattresses in a sealed liner for that period to kill them in place.
Don't buy used mattresses or furniture, either; many reports eminate infestations from these sources, as well as from traveling, too. Besides the usual suggestions, eradication also includes simply throwing all of your items out into the trash rather than trying to clean them.
If you're really obsessive about looking for these little bugs, here's a little tip someone noted elsewhere: wrap double-sided carpet tape around the lower portion of your mattress and after a few days, see what you find stuck to it.
Here's a Wikipedia link for more information to enlighten readers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bugs
And you thought you only had to worry about termites, roaches, and powder post beetles. Yes, bed bugs are the up and coming thing as of late.
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