Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite? Seriously!
When I was a child, my father would always put me to bed with a few words; "don't let the bed bugs bite." As a child, I never knew what that saying meant as I can't recall ever being bitten by a bed bug. What was once thought of as a "monster in the closet" good night has now become something to worry about. Reports of bed bug infestations have doubled each year since 2005.
Bed bugs don't live on people, and they are not transported on skin. They move from place to place in luggage, clothing and computer cases. They hide out in the day, and, unfortunately, feed on you at night, although painlessly. What makes the bug difficult to eradicate is that the first signs that you were bitten don't normally appear until about a week after it happens. Since the signs don't appear immediately, it is difficult to tell where the bugs were when they bit you. Coupled with the high cost and time of eradicating the bugs, about $800 to $1200 for a one-bedroom apartment, the down turn in the economy has resulted in an a dramatic increase in the cases of bed bugs.
Back in 2006, a Chicago woman who was staying at the Nevele, a well-known hotel in upstate New York, sued the hotel owners after she was bitten by bed bugs more than 500 times! When she awoke the next morning, she noticed blood on the sheets. Her husband, who was not as badly bitten, tore the bed apart and found a swarm of bed bugs under the linens. Although bed bugs generally do not transmit diseases, their bites leave red welts that fade soon after they appear. However, some people may suffer anaphylactic shock or secondary bacterial infections from the scratching involved. Guests at a Motel 6 in Chicago sued the hotel after they were bitten by bed bugs and awarded $372,000 in damages by a jury.
Once thought to be eradicated, the banning of certain pesticides and the downturn in the economy has led to their resurgence. as the bed bugs generally don't transmit diseases, the Centers for Disease Control has not stepped up their efforts to control the pests, although some experts feel that they should. If you have unexplained welts appearing on your body or small droplets of blood on your sheets, seek treatment with a physician and then contact a licensed exterminator to help to eradicate the problem.
