bed bugs, news at 11

WJZ tv news in Baltimore reports that an entire apartment building in Bel Air, Maryland is being treated by pest control operators. One tenant was quite distraught that thy would be disrupted for a three week treatment (I suppose that’s one or two follow-ups?), but I only hope that does it. The garbage bags in use were not fully sealed, and the tenants were shown pulling bugs off a mattress, so this may be a large infestation. The tenants complained at not being moved; soon, I hope journalists will start explaining that this is not always such a hot idea anyway. For every tenant relocated, you’d probably have another building infested.

I note, once more, that the descriptions in TV news reports and news articles are getting better. We no longer see as many articles which say people should throw their mattresses away; this reporter is wise to bed bugs crawling on pipes between rooms. The knowledge is spreading, though perhaps not yet as fast as the bed bugs.

On the other hand, Preston Today Business, from Lanchashire (UK), demonstrates that some people still confuse dust mites with bed bugs. NYC’s own NY1.com had a video reporting on the City Council Hearing on Bed Bugs last fall which made the same mistake, talking about bed bugs with a huge blow-up photo of a dust mite. People, we only wish we had dust mites, around here!

And, finally, here’s a warning from a by-gone age: