North American Bed Bug Summit

[RWebb]

Bedbug Experts Bring Samples To Chicago-Area Hotel : NPR

[azasadny]

Much ado about nothing...

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by azasadny

Much ado about nothing...

It's nothing until you get infested. From what I have read it is hard to kill them once they have infested your house.

[javadog]

It's no joke, believe me. I have a friend in the pest control industry and it's becoming a major drain on his time. It's not just hotel beds anymore. Airline seats, theater seats.... and it's going to get worse before it gets better.

JR

[GH85Carrera]

The national news has had stories of retail clothing stores in the big cities that had to shut down because of them.

[javadog]

Yeah, Nike shut down a store in NYC.

JR

[cbush]

My daughter's apartment was infested (downtown Chicago). It is a nightmare that never ends--she hopes a move next year will finally solve the problem. She has it under control, but keeps tape over all the door sills to catch the little critters if they try to get into her apartment or move around in her apartment. I saw one trapped on the tape. Pretty gross- looks like a small brown tick. She keeps all her clothes and linens in bags--a year later.
They are not sure how they got the infestation- whether they picked them up from a hotel room or they are in another part of the building. They spread really fast, and live for years. The pest control folks help control them, but cannot really eradicate them.
When they first found the problem, and were cleaning out the apartment, they were trying to decide whether to keep their new cloth headboard. With much reluctance, they finally decided to toss it. As it came apart while they were putting it in the dumpster they realized it has the mother load as hundreds of bed bugs came crawling out of their new nest! So next time you are in a bed with a cloth head board, sleep tight!

So yea, not a big deal until it happens to you!

[john70t]

Steam Cleaners: Best Steam Cleaners, Steam Cleaner Reviews ?

[Zeke]

This will build an entire cottage (literally ) industry. If the get to my part of the county, I'm going in business. I imagine I'll have to stop off at the gas station to change clothes every day, put them in a bag and throw them in the washer with hot water.

With the demographics we have here, every laundromat will be infested along with the courthouse and every other public place. You ought to see all the dollar stores 3 dollar t shirt stores and 10 dollar shoe stores we have in this city.

Not one will be safe.

[ronster]

Use this site before you book your hotel or motel.
Bedbug Registry

[ODDJOB UNO]

about as FUN as CROTCH CRICKETS!

[vash]

couple of weeks ago, i took a flashlight and tore my bedroom apart. i looked in and around bedside tables, headboards..everywhere. just to check it out. i found nothing and relaxed.

i think it is a matter of time before this thing explodes in our faces. it is one of the downsides of living in a modern, global world. we can be in another part of the planet in hours. the sharing of bugs is just one of the by-products of world travel.

cbush..i wish you had burned that headboard. that is insane!!

[vash]

think humans will ever have to "wear" a product like Frontline or Advantage? hahahah.

[TechnoViking]

It's a problem. And potentially a huge problem for many of us.

I read somewhere the exterminators have only a few chemicals in their arsenal that work on the bugs that haven't been banned by the FDA for in-home use.

And the bugs may be getting resistant to the usable chemicals.

[TechnoViking]

I may start looking at the mattress seams in all the US hotels I check into fro now on.

[JJ 911SC]

If Homeland Security is not involved yet... Maybe someone should put a in their

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by javadog

It's not just hotel beds anymore. Airline seats, theater seats....

I believe the airline/theater seats are having issues with head lice, but nonetheless, they are becoming more pesticide resistant, too.

[sammyg2]

Bed bugs? Just shave and put lighter fluid on half and then light it and use an ice pick to stab em when they run to the other side. No wait .......

[cbush]

Originally Posted by TechnoViking

I may start looking at the mattress seams in all the US hotels I check into fro now on.

Not to encourage paranoia, but it isn't a bad idea and only takes about 10 seconds.

Pullup the corner of the fitted sheet, and look at the crack in the seam around the edge of the mattress. If you see brown specks, you might have a problem. If nothing, then you really have nothing to worry about!

[flatbutt]

I've taken to traveling with a silk sleeping bag and pillow cover. Don't know if it is actually effective but so far so good.