Happy New Year, from bed bug central

nobugsonme — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:01:11 +0000

Toronto’s The Star included bed bugs in its “A Salute to 2007″ (a round-up of significant events of the year”:

Drugs poured into the city, guns poured into the city, bedbugs poured into the city: Snort, shoot and scratch.

The Daily News article was picked up by everyone from The Register (an IT website), to Gothamist, to the National Review, to Sean Hannity’s web forums (where–in perhaps the most stupid and original version of the bed bug blame game–Hillary is being blamed), to the Telegraph (UK), and on and on.

The comments on many of the above articles suggest many people still think that washing sheets (or people) will keep them away, that there are miracle sprays that work, that they’re either microscopic like scabies or 3/4 inch long like a large German cockroach, that your neighbors must have them because they came from another country, and that staying away from NYC will keep you bed bug-free. All wrong.

If you have bed bugs, I hope they’re gone soon. If you don’t, please learn more about them. Maybe our FAQs will help, or one of the links in our sidebar.

Merry Christmas; gratitude; the blasted 55-day rule

nobugsonme — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 16:20:05 +0000

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it.

And a special shout out to mangycur whose bed bugs unfortunately popped out on the 53rd day after they were last sighted, reminding us of the “55-day rule.” (If you remember, 55 days is the period of time Rich Cooper suggests you need to be free of bites and bug sightings in order to consider yourself bed bug-free; the relevant article is no longer online, but we quoted it here).

mangycur wrote om the forums:

I have had 53 days with no signs of bugs, no bites, no nothing. I am very allergic to their bites so I felt confident that if there were any around, I would know. Last night at a party, I actually told my best friend, “They’re gone. It’s over. If there were any left I would know.”

I started leaving my purse and shoes out, and tossing my coat on a table. I was ready to move on.

Last night a full grown, unfed bed bug crawled out of my couch. Merry F*cking Christmas! LOL

It actually suggests 55 days may not suffice–I note with some horror that mangycur does react to bites. Or did in the past, anyway. What if it took three or ten or twenty days more to see that bed bug?

mangycur’s story comes only the next day after a reader asked how a non-allergic person can be sure bed bugs are gone.

mangycur, May your New Year be better than this one.

Although we celebrate Thanksgiving in November here in the US, I feel every holiday is a time to give thanks. And I’m truly thankful for all of you.

Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com » new year

Happy New Year, from bed bug central

Merry Christmas; gratitude; the blasted 55-day rule