I agree that the author needs to understand that bedbugs–as Jess said in the post above– cause discomfort, are easily spread, hard to get rid of, and cause enormous financial distress, as well as physical problems.

Anyone who thinks they’re not a health problem should realize that people can have trouble sleeping for months, and experience allergic reactions which can be anywhere from annoying to even occasionally life threatening! They’re also dealt with on the CDC website, a sign that they may be cause for greater concern in future.

On the other hand, with the utmost respect for your views, I have to say that bed bugs are not always as severe as you say. Many people eliminate them with 3-4 treatments, and the recommendation of most people now seems to be not to throw away everything you own.

People in multi-unit dwellings can have more severe problems, and this can be a special case. But that is not always true–if the infestation is brought into a single unit from outside, there’s a lot of hope if it’s treated quickly. (If it isn’t treated quickly, or if the tenants throw away infested items and other tenants take those in, it can be disasterous.)

I don’t want to sound like I am saying bed bugs are not serious and cannot be a severe problem. I know that you have suffered enormously from this as many of us have. I know they can be a nightmare.

However, in saying this is not always such an extreme experience, I am thinking of people new to the problem who may be reading this, and I don’t want readers to think they should not bother with pesticides (as I have seen some unfortunate websites proclaim) or that people should throw everything away (whcih can exacerbate one’s situation–especially in multi-unit buildings, can be a disaster). My latest post (on do’s and don’ts) is targeted at avoiding just those kinds of panic reactions. I don’t want readers to think that every case is hopeless–it’s my sense that more cases are solveable. If you and the professionals you deal with know what you’re doing, and do it tirelessly.

Those of us giving up a lot of time to write about this on websites are likely to have had the most extreme experiences, and we are in the minority, and we should remember that. We also, however, know how devastating bed bugs can be, and how easily things can get out of hand.