Funniest 15 or so words I’ve read in a long time. Damn, that’s funny.
I’m really starting to believe that it’s true that Americans don’t have enough real worries. 
It’s more like we have so many real worries (war in Iraq, war in Afganistann, terrorism, crappy schools, unemployment, never being able to retire, ruinously expensive health care, getting accused to child abuse, and Canadians swooping down to steal our wimin) that we have to focus on things we think we can control.
Bedbug bites range from itchy to a fairly serious health problem, and the bugs are very hard to get rid of.
Mosquitoes can be easly barred from your home. Dust mites are rarely a serious problem, and they cannot be eliminated.
I don’t know if you should be* freaked*, but it’s certainly a valid concern.
Why can’t it simply be that I don’t want parasites crawling on me as I sleep? Is that really so hard to imagine, even if it doesn’t bother you?
Eta: sorry, a post snuck in between!
I don’t but it’s some people get freaked out when they read about the traumatic insemination.
I do not recommend that you read up on, say, the common toad fly.
I’m with the “It is a big fucking deal!” crew.
I’m the furthest thing from a germophobe that exists. I’m a staunch believer in the five second rule. I lived with roaches for a while, that new tenants brought with them. It was nasty, but I didn’t freak out about it. (The five second rule was put on hiatus during that time.) Bedbugs are a whole other kettle of pest. Bedbugs live on human blood. They’ll settle for warm blood from any living host, but they are very truly human parasites.
Putting them up as an example of class bigotry is completely disingenuous. Roaches tend to live in environments that are not well cared for. If you keep your place mostly clean and take minor precautions, they will search for greener pastures. Sure, some assholes might think that “my place is too clean to have bugs” but I think most are intelligent enough to understand the difference.
With bedbugs, you are the food. And not in the same way that you are food for mosquitoes. Not the same at all. There’s a lot of insinuation in this thread that people who have legitimate concerns over an issue as “minor” as bedbugs are a bunch of pussies who would cry over seeing a roach or a mouse in their living space, or getting bitten by a spider or a mosquito.
To those parties, I would ask: Why don’t you adopt some bedbugs and get back to us in a few weeks? I’d like to hear your opinion after a bit of first hand experience.
I’ll admit that I don’t have first hand experience with bedbugs either, and I sure as hell don’t want to. Nor would I make thinly veiled accusations against the character of anyone with valid concerns over the threat of bedbug infestation.
People are concerned about bedbugs because they are making a strong resurgence after almost six decades of being near extinct in this country. The last time they were a problem, a cheap, effective solution was available that no longer is (DDT). And most people are just that. Concerned. Not “freaking out”.
I have first-hand experience with bedbugs (Soviet dorm, circa 1989). Mosquitos are not fun; bedbug bites are really not fun. I had huge welts down my legs for months, and they itched like hell. It drove me completely bonkers.
(On the bright side, my Soviet fellow students were very amused by my translation/explanation of “good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite!”)
I mean you sound pretty reasonable.
But there are people on this board who do not sit down on upholstered furniture in public. People are canceling their vacation plans. Others are simply walking around treating their luggage like toxic waste. Hotel-room rituals are turning into ordeals that take serious chunks out of people’s lives. Some people are overreacting.
It’s one thing to take some reasonable precautions. It’s another thing to act like it’s 1982 and you just heard about AIDS for the first time.
Interesting. I went to the Wiki Bedbug page and saw this:
Why is biological pest control not practical? I’m thinking www.maskedbedbughunters.com might be a lucrative URL to own.
Somebody help me write a business plan! Assasin bugs? Seriously? How could we lose?
Thanks for meeting me halfway, even sven. I guess there are people at polar opposites of this debate. My main point is that bedbugs are a serious issue, and I wouldn’t scoff at anyone for having some apprehension over the issue.
So, how about www.maskedbedbughunters.com? Want to go halfsies? Come on, they have their own masks! 
This sound like asking why head lice is a big deal. Because it’s fucking gross. I don’t want bugs crawling all over me and biting me while I’m sleeping!!!
(Of course, my cats would probably have a ball trying to catch them)
Oh, stop it, Guin. You’re just a big, giant pussy. I mean, your head has so much blood it’s not even funny! Just share a little, would ya?
For me it is the ick-factor, plus it’s so expensive to get rid of them. I’ve seen estimates of $10K, but even at half that, it’s mighty spendy. And you HAVE to spend it. Unlike some other infestations you might ignore (because the bugs are quietly and invisibly chewing your walls like termites) bed bugs are fucking sucking your blood!
Actually, there is a fantastic book out about a guy who has a dream for an ecologically sound extermination business that uses assassin bug crossbreeds to kill off the cockroaches in buildings. Things go … awry.:eek:
My husband travels extensively for work through the US, Europe, South America and Asia. Since bedbugs can actually jump into suitcases and clothes left on the floor, you bet I want him to be deligent. Checking the bed, keeping his luggage on a shelf is not paranoia when the risk is real. It’s prudent.
Exactly. Perhaps I should have been more specific about what I meant by “freaking out”. I can see concern; I can absolutely understand pain and suffering if you have an infestation. That’s not “freaking out”. What I don’t understand is stuff like this.
Exactly. I can’t imagine refusing to sit on any upholstered chair that isn’t in my own home because I’m afraid of some little rapist bugs. Or cancelling my fabulous vacation plans, either.
This would be me. Extreme? You bet. An overreaction? Maybe - it comes down to what your comfort level is.
But I don’t come to this from ignorance. As I have said before, I am a PhD research entomologist who did research on and published numerous scientific articles on bedbugs for years. I am still invited to talk at bedbug conferences. I have helped develop regional management policies for various urban and community health and outpatient programs.
My actions are based on intimate knowledge of the biology of the insect and the relative risks involved. You may disagree with this analysis. That’s fine, everyone has to make their own decisions based on how they feel the cost-benefit analysis weighs out.
But I’ll continue doing what I do. Note that I don’t say that everyone has to do this, I’m just saying that it is what I do.
I still stand by my advice that everyone should check their hotel rooms.