Bed bugs.

Yes. Bed bugs. From the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website:

Bed bugs are small insects that feed on the blood of mammals and birds. Adult bed bugs are oval, wingless and rusty red colored, and have flat bodies, antennae and small eyes. They are visible to the naked eye, but often hide in cracks and crevices. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become a brighter red. In homes, bed bugs feed primarily on the blood of humans, usually at night when people are sleeping.

Did you know that for at least a year NYC has been experiencing a bed bug infestation? I didn't. Not until a friend told my wife about their building's problem. Their entire building in the heart of Brooklyn, with considerably more than 100 units, is infested with bed bugs. Every apartment. Every piece of furniture including lamps are infested. My friends are having to spend thousands of dollars to battle this infestation, steam cleaning every item and every surface to kill the hearty pests.

Typically, the bite is painless and rarely awakens a sleeping person. However, it can produce large, itchy welts on the skin. Welts from bed bug bites do not have a red spot in the center – those welts are more characteristic of flea bites...

Although bed bugs may be a nuisance to people, they are not known to spread disease.

Feeling itchy yet? Keep reading!

When I did a websearch, I found a few articles from early 2005 describing the sudden and unexpected explosion of bed bug infestations in the city. This is the first time in 60 years that NYC has experienced a bed bug infestation.

My friends can't sleep. They have a baby and a cat who also suffer. These small critters have taken over their life. There is no real health risk...other than perhaps insanity from the aggravation.

But it's worse. Doing a quick google search brought up some unexpected results. Apparently travelers to NYC hotels are finding the hotels infested! I found travelers' reviews alleging bed bug infestations at a Radisson at a Holiday Inn (with pictures!), at a Regency Inn and at many other hotels in the area. Now, this may well not be the fault of the hotels. Simply put, bed bugs are extremely difficult to get rid of.

The NYC Department of Health and Hygiene has this to say about getting rid of them:

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) recommends that homeowners hire a pest control professional licensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to evaluate what type of pest is present, and to exterminate them if required.

Time and money can be wasted attempting to eliminate an infestation if the insect is not identified properly. Controlling and removing bed bugs involves different procedures than the removal of other pests and often requires multiple visits. A pest control professional should perform a thorough inspection, find and eliminate bed bug hiding places, and return after several days or weeks to check for new bed bugs. A professional may also use specialized equipment, like steam cleaners, and may use pesticides to help kill the bed bugs.

Behind this bland suggestion of calling in professionals is the fact that professionals have a hard time dealing with them. They can come in and do their thing, but it doesn't work without draconian measures by the homeowners themselves in every unit of a building. Wrapping furniture in plastic, steam cleaning frequently, washing all fabric in hot water with bleach, etc. So NYC hotels are faced with continuing to do business while also having to deal with a tenacious and hungry pest.

But you know, it's even worse. It seems that since 2000, bed bugs have been making an appearance throughout the country, according to a December article from Time Magazine.

I did some searching to see if there were any particular trends that might explain the 60 year gap in bed bug infestations in NYC and why they have chosen now to come back. And, although the 1940's were an unusually warm period followed by an unusually cold period, and we are again experiencing an unusually warm period, that alone doesn't explain it because the we started experiencing the 1940's level warm in the 1980's and have considerably surpassed them long ago. Climate has a huge impact on the life cycles of critters like bed bugs and some more complex interplay of temperature and moisture could be coming into play. Having large numbers of troops stationed overseas might also be a similarity between the 1940's and now, though clearly we have had military presences overseas in between. So far no one seems to know why bed bugs are plaging America today.

Now even though there is an amazing coincidence between the year of Bush's ascendancy to the White House and this infestation, I don't think that the Republican and the bed bug infestations that plague our nation are linked, unless god is punishing America for allowing the Republican take over. Well...it's something to consider!

I will end with the list of what homeowners themselves should do in the event of a bed bug infestation, according to the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene (other than begging a professional to help):

Find out where bed bugs are hiding in your home

Use a bright flashlight to examine bedroom furniture for bed bugs or their dark droppings.

You should check:

* behind the headboard
* in the seams and tufts of the mattress, and around or inside the box spring
* along the crevices of bedroom baseboards, especially the baseboard area below the headboard
* inside and around nightstands
* behind or within other items or cracks in the bedroom (for example, window and door casings, pictures, and moldings, nearby furniture, loosened wallpaper, and cracks in plaster and partitions, and clutter)

In addition to using a flashlight, carefully aiming a hot hair dryer into these crevices while looking will help force bed bugs out.

Clean areas where bed bugs hide

* Thoroughly clean all bedding, linens, curtains, rugs, carpets, and clothes. Washing items in hot water and drying them on the highest dryer setting will kill bed bugs. For those items that may be harmed by washing and drying at high temperatures, soak in warm water with lots of laundry soap for several hours before rinsing.
* Wipe away or vacuum all dust from the bed frame, nearby furniture, floors and carpets. Vacuum mattresses carefully. After vacuuming, immediately place the vacuum cleaner bag in a plastic bag, seal it tightly, and throw the bag away in an outdoor container.
* If you find bed bugs on the mattress, buy a waterproof zippered mattress cover. These covers often say “allergen rated,

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