Comments on: Vancouver official blames hanky-panky for bed bugs in nice areas

By: BBcoukHome

BBcoukHome — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:53:25 +0000

I have seen a few house of ill repute that have been infested with bed bugs so am not too suprised to see this kind of article surface eventually.

Although they are unlikely to be the primary reason for the spread of bed bugs in a city it can be one of many factors.

If the report caused a few extra people to become bed bug aware it cant be too much of a bad thing. At this stage of the spread we have to say that most publicity is good publicity if the message to check and be careful is getting out there.

David

By: Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher has some progressive ideas about bed bugs

Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher has some progressive ideas about bed bugs — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 08:12:15 +0000

[…] me of when the chief medical health officer in Vancouver, John Blatherwick, implied bed bugs were spreading in Vancouver due to hanky panky in downtown eastside hotels. Doing or not doing “naughty things” had no bearing on the spread of bed bugs. What […]

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:32:41 +0000

Just what bed bug victims need, further shame and ostracism.

By: Attn. Oxford Mail editors: bed bugs did not return because students suddenly stopped cleaning their flats | bedbugger

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 06:58:03 +0000

[…] rich holiday travelers, actors, sports teams and so on. It’s easy to blame students, or drug users and prostitutes, but it is not […]

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:29:51 +0000

Buggles,

I am glad the national economy is doing so well, thanks for clarifying that!

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 11:39:39 +0000

Buggles I agree…These people benefit from social services. The dollars are there,, but they are not being allocated properly. I speak from supposition , but the majority of the homeless people on the street have serious problems…they aren’t just unemployed…According to a PCO the shelters have serious bed bug problems…We have to hope that the City is taking this seriously and seeing this as a problem that concerns everyone…

By: James Buggles

James Buggles — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 06:52:40 +0000

NB, the national economy is doing extremely well. International too for that matter. Unemployment is at historical lows. Stock prices are off the charts. There is no recession, which by definition involves a contraction of the economy. Why do you believe the economy is performing poorly despite the numbers?

We’re seeing more homeless now simply because Bloomberg is not hiding them as Giuliani did. As Bugalina noted, most of these people are mentally ill. As a society, we need to house them and get them off the streets. It’s one of the few good uses of tax dollars.

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 03:05:53 +0000

Bugalina,
I was referring to the national economy, which has an effect on individuals’ poverty, and is affected by the current political events. I don’t doubt the city has plenty of money.

Sean described in another comments thread actions being taken in Vancouver to halt the spread of bed bugs. So actually bed bugged residents there probably have a better situation than people living in similar housing conditions in NYC.

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 19:25:10 +0000

Buggles….I grew up in Chicago…in the Daley era…the old man !!! Not the son…he was a tough SOB but he knew how to run a City, like, imho Giuliani. As for bed bugs during Giuliani…yes I suppose they were there but probably not quite at the “walls moving” numbers of recent years. I remember when he got rid of the squeegee men..I was SO happy…they used to spit on my windshield and scare me to death. Actually nobugs, NYC has a very healthy economy…their financial coffers are in the blue. The problem is that people who cannot function in society as we know it, either because of drugs, depression, etc. need to be given at the very least , some basic,decent housing. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just clean and functioning. But this never happens. Trust me, I saw the Eastside of Vancouver. It would shock you…the needle using addicts are shooting up in the daytime. They beg everywhere. Imo, Vancouver has allowed this to get out of hand, and its not a pretty sight. Now, with bed bugs it presents another serious conondrum because these bugs hitchhike…I am not saying that bed bugs aren’t coming in on other folks…but these people on the Eastside don’t have the means to do something about their infestations…thus they are breeding the bugs on a massive scale….That’s what happened in the homeless shelters under Bloomberg….One of our members asked his exterminator what was the worse case of bed bugs he worked on. He told our fellow blogger that the walls in some City shelters appeared to be moving because there were thousands of bed bugs on them…This is under Bloomberg…I find that completely irresponsible…no words can express how this could be allowed to get so out of control….Yes..the war….I can’t go there…too upsetting….Lets just hope our soldiers can get the care and treatment they deserve when they come home…..

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 18:49:07 +0000

I think it is important to recognize that NYC’s bed bug problems began in Giuliani’s reign but were not as noticeable when there were few. Homeless shelters were overcrowded and breeding bed bugs before Giuliani left office too.

I don’t think we know for sure that he would be doing anything different now. (That said, I am definitely not defending Bloomberg.)

I also think that homelessness and poverty are getting worse, but this may be more visible now because of the recession, because the economy is so bad (not least of which because we’re sending so much money on a war).