No doubt you've been hearing about bed bug infestations in major cities.
It's not a joke.
The bed bug problem is real. It's here. It's now.
Bed bugs are being spread because of travel, immigration and their resistance to modern pesticides (or lacke thereof).
Here are some of the things you need to know:
1) A bed bug's egg can be no bigger than a speck of dust.
2) The bugs themselves are small and oval shaped with a flat body. They are brownish in color and can grow as big as a quarter inch.
3) bed bugs can survive for up to one year without any sort of nourishment at all. They can hide in walls and cracks. They don;t have to live in beds.
4) Bed bugs pass through five life stages and require a blood meal between those stages. The blood meal is where we (humans) come in.
5) Bed bugs feed at night. And one human can host hundreds of them on his or her body.
There is now even a web site (bedbugger.com) disseminating news and information about bed bugs.
Here's one sign of bed bugs: Little black specs may appear along the corners and/or seams of your mattress or box spring. These may appear to be specs of dirt. But if you have bed bugs, these are actually bed bug excrement.
Bed bugs can hide almost anywhere. They don't have to hide in mattresses and box springs -- or between the two of them.
It's no secret that there has been a record bed bug infestation in New York City this summer. And as we have previously reported here, some very reputable clothing retailers in the city have had to close because of infestations. Also affected have been movie theaters and hotels.
But the problem is by no means limited to New York City.
Become aware -- and be on the alert.
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