In a national survey conducted for Pest Management Professional, University of Kentucky entomologist Michael Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. After near eradication by DDT-based pesticides in the 1950s, bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are on the rise. A few bed bugs can lead to a major infestation in just a short time. But when bed bugs bite, most people panic. They’re feeding on your family, your skin; their main meal is a human body,” a horrified Atlantic Beach bed bug victim told NBC 12 First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. Scratching can cause bleeding welts that only serve to “validate” victims’ claims of an insect infestation.
New York City recently launched an education campaign when serious bed bug infestations in the immigrant community were linked to the sale of infested secondhand mattresses. Eggs hatch in four to 12 days, and larva begin to feed, reaching adult status in about a month.”So what’s the real story? Are bed bugs a genuine threat or is this so much media hype.” Pest control companies that for decades had received no calls about bed bugs are suddenly receiving dozens. What could possibly be a better story than that? But just because it’s good copy doesn’t mean the stories aren’t true.”Sometimes the power of suggestion results in delusory parasitosis, or Ekbom’s Syndrome, in which real environmental elements such as static electricity or dry skin cause severe itching that is incorrectly perceived to be caused by insects.
Chastising fellow journalists, David Segal of the Washington Post pointed out in a February article, “more than 400 articles have wriggled into print, all making roughly the same point: The bloodsucking critters are back, and in numbers that amount to a scourge.”Scientists haven’t pinned down a single cause for the bed bug proliferation, but cite a combination of factors, including the increased ease of international travel, lack of potent insecticides, and discovery of pesticide-resistant bed bugs. They spread through multi-unit properties like apartments and hotels through air ducts, electrical and plumbing conduits and wall voids.S.S. in the past five years. “Tiny, Evil and Everywhere” shrieked the Washington Post.
“Experience shows that residents may have heard rumors about bedbugs, so if they wake up with a rash or an itch, they think they’ve got them. “This is a serious issue,” Potter recently told the New York Times. They don’t care whether there’s a bed bug invasion sweeping America or not. Still, last year bed bug infestations were reported in every state in the U. Twice a year bedsteads were completely dismantled and scrubbed to keep bed bugs at bay. While these figures seem astonishing, keep in mind that if a pest controller received two bed bugs calls in 2000, an increase of 500% would equal 10 calls in 2004, not quite the “invasion” trumpeted in news reports. Females typically lay 500 eggs during their six- to 12-month lifespan.
Metal bed frames, considered less likely to harbor bed bugs, were the rage. Easily transported, bed bugs often enter a home on luggage, clothing or used or rental furniture.S. “I get samples every day,” said Harvard University entomologist Richard Pollack, who noted that “fewer than half” turn out to be bed bugs. New technologies like Cryonite which freezes and kills bugs and eggs using non-toxic carbon dioxide vapor can be applied without going to such extremes. In large urban areas it’s not uncommon for companies to field 100 to 150 bed bug complaints a week, according to a National Pest Management Association survey. Shannon (who refused to give her last name) spent hours shuttling her welt-covered children to different doctors before Panel Lights Suppliers an entomologist correctly diagnosed the problem as bed bugs. Most incidents are related to seasonal changes in humidity triggered by the start up of heating or air conditioning systems
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