His was an excellent rebuttal to what has become an obvious media bias about bedbugs. The sad thing is that if steps are not taken now and the bedbug problem is not addressed, bedbugs will continue to spread at the alarming rate that those of us on this Board are sadly well aware of.

Richard Cooper says in his letter, “Prior to 2004, presentations on bed bugs at the Entomological Society of America’s annual meetings were non existent.”

In 1999, I stayed on the futon couch of a friend in NYC. After a week, I knew I was being bitten (unlike my recent exposure) and was pretty sure it was bedbugs. Why? Well, I was used to using all kinds of economic furniture and travel measures and had never quite forgotten about BBs. Also, I have been exposed to many offensive insects in my life, so I’m a little wary.

I didn’t tell my friend, I just left and thought not too much of it. A year or two later, he blogged that he had bedbugs and had just bought a new bed at Macy’s. This was right about the time that newspaper articles started to run and highlighted the problem of delivery trucks spreading the bedbug problem by taking back old mattresses.

Subsequently, my friend spread bugs to his mother, best friend’s father and several other friends. I am only noting this story to illuminate that the problem was spreading before 2004 and that folks were very poorly educated about it. I am not a scientist, but this anecdotal evidence seems to say something about the statistical spread of the bugs and the importance of public awareness.

Geezer dude at the Brooklyn Eagle will not be happy…