Friday, May 13, 2005

Hard to believe but true...

[See previous]

Irena (age 5) asked me about bed bugs this week. One of her friends had said, "don't let the bed bugs bite!" Since Irena is paranoid about bugs, the idea of a "bed bug" was a big concern to her. I told her that I had never been bitten by, or even seen, a bed bug in my entire life. I didn't believe that she had anything to worry about.

But it made me think. I'm under the impression that bed bugs were once a common problem, but that they were eradicated along with smallpox and the dodo sometime in the last century. I thought I would look them up just to be sure, and came across this surprising news story:From the article:Apparently bed bugs are experiencing a surprising resurgence.

The story has a nice photo of a bed bug -- my first sighting. And the whole thing is kind of creepy, given that I stay in hotels all the time. Just when you though it was safe to fall asleep...

Comments:
The dodo actually went extinct in the 17th century.
 
On a positive and proactive note:
There is a US and International web site www.QRegistry.org for business travelers and vacationers. They are listing hotels, motels, vacation properties ... who are proactive in an effort to avoid bed bug and pest infestation. From the backpacker motel to five stars; each room indexed must be verified as having good pest control practices and training programs for inclusion. They present your complaint of infestation to the property owners as well as the appropriate health agency for further investigation and extermination.
 
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