Yes, I’m that girl.
The one who looks tired, jumpy and a little strung-out. The one frequently searching for things crawling on her. The one constantly, silently, scratching.
The one with the bed bugs.
‘Ew‘, you might say. ‘Gross‘. And you’re right.
You might even go so far as ‘dirty‘, maybe?
But no. Let’s get that misconception out of the way right up front. Bed bugs are not a sign of filth, uncleanliness, or lack of hygiene.
Bed bugs are parasites. They want nothing more and nothing less than your blood. Sort of like mosquitoes, only not as honest and forthright. They don’t buzz around so you can see them. They hide until you are fast asleep, then come out, crawl across you until they find open skin and pierce your flesh to suck your blood. They’re like vampires. Only, not sexy. Trust me. If Eric Northman in an Alexander Skarsgaard suit were crawling out from under my bed and making me his blood meal every night, I wouldn’t be complaining. At least, not until the anemia kicked in.
Bed bugs don’t care about dirt, or unwashed plates, or not cleaning your pet’s poop off the floor, or half empty beer bottles full of chaw spew and cigarette butts randomly strewn across an apartment or any of the other horrifying conditions you see on an episode of Hoarders. Bed bugs appreciate clutter, but they’ll thrive in a minimalist’s space so long as there is a seam or a crack no thicker than a credit card for them to crawl into. They’re found in unkempt hostels, and at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. A frequent business-class traveler is just as likely to transport the littlest hitchhikers as the person in economy who uses garbage bags as a suitcase. They’ll live in an empty apartment until a new victim moves in or 18 long bloodsucking-less months go by with no victim to feed them and they die, whichever happens first.
A bed bug resurgence has been occurring for a couple of years now, but you may not have heard much of it until recently, unless you happen to be one of the unfortunates who've encountered them, or know someone who has. The bugs have been infiltrating hotels in most major US cities but this summer, Summer of the Bug we'll call it, saw a rash of infestations break out in non-traditional and very public places. Libraries, schools, military barracks, college dorms, movie theaters and retail stores like Nike, Victoria's Secret and Bloomingdale's are all places whose bed bug problems have made the news.
Well, at least I'm trendy.
I discovered bed bugs in my apartment on Friday, September 10, 2010, after living in this apartment for just a few days more than a year. I'd had what I thought was hives or a rash on my back, arms, and ankles come and go beginning in March, but never assumed I was infested with vermin. Besides go to work each day, I've done little other than combat and research the bugs, clean and attempt to bug-proof (ha!) my apartment. And scratch. And search myself and my surroundings for bugs. Usually I like the intensity of a project to focus my energy. But this isn't fun.
To channel some of the energy ... to break the cycle of endless research and cleaning in hopes of finding peace of mind I know won't come until the infestation is eradicated ... I've decided to start this blog. My goal is to document my experience in my quest to quell the scourge; to provide tips for searching for the presence of bed bugs and what to do if and when you find them; too gather current news articles; and hopefully to give voice to all of the people out there suffering the bugs in silent shame rather than suffer the stigma attached to having vermin in their home.
I hope, too, that people will share their experience and tips as comments on this blog. In all seriousness, we are in the midst of a public health crisis that is going to get worse before it gets better. Bed bugs are nearly impossible to prevent if you go out in public, live in a multi-unit building or even within a certain distance from other homes, travel and/or stay in hotels. They are really hard to eradicate once they've settled in. The more information we can get out into the public, the better for us all.
A bed bug resurgence has been occurring for a couple of years now, but you may not have heard much of it until recently, unless you happen to be one of the unfortunates who've encountered them, or know someone who has. The bugs have been infiltrating hotels in most major US cities but this summer, Summer of the Bug we'll call it, saw a rash of infestations break out in non-traditional and very public places. Libraries, schools, military barracks, college dorms, movie theaters and retail stores like Nike, Victoria's Secret and Bloomingdale's are all places whose bed bug problems have made the news.
Well, at least I'm trendy.
I discovered bed bugs in my apartment on Friday, September 10, 2010, after living in this apartment for just a few days more than a year. I'd had what I thought was hives or a rash on my back, arms, and ankles come and go beginning in March, but never assumed I was infested with vermin. Besides go to work each day, I've done little other than combat and research the bugs, clean and attempt to bug-proof (ha!) my apartment. And scratch. And search myself and my surroundings for bugs. Usually I like the intensity of a project to focus my energy. But this isn't fun.
To channel some of the energy ... to break the cycle of endless research and cleaning in hopes of finding peace of mind I know won't come until the infestation is eradicated ... I've decided to start this blog. My goal is to document my experience in my quest to quell the scourge; to provide tips for searching for the presence of bed bugs and what to do if and when you find them; too gather current news articles; and hopefully to give voice to all of the people out there suffering the bugs in silent shame rather than suffer the stigma attached to having vermin in their home.
I hope, too, that people will share their experience and tips as comments on this blog. In all seriousness, we are in the midst of a public health crisis that is going to get worse before it gets better. Bed bugs are nearly impossible to prevent if you go out in public, live in a multi-unit building or even within a certain distance from other homes, travel and/or stay in hotels. They are really hard to eradicate once they've settled in. The more information we can get out into the public, the better for us all.
No comments:
Post a Comment