I am sure it is a coincidence that I criticized Meredith Viera’s recent recommendation on the Today show that viewers recycle used mattresses via Craigslist and Freecycle. But I am glad they’re doing it, all the same.

Update 11/20:

University of California at Berkeley entomologist Gail Getty provided good advice about getting a good PCO (and following his/her instructions!), not self-treating with foggers and Raid, and not picking up used furniture.

Among the more interesting images provided was video footage of a bed bug excreting something on a sheet (bed bug feces, I presume), and of blood stains on sheets. (As an aside, we were contacted yesterday by Today, which is how I knew about the segment in advance. They wanted to use Amy’s bite photo, the first one on the Bed Bug Bites Photos page, but unfortunately, they appear to have been unable to get through to Amy in time to secure the permissions.)

My only criticism was that while the focus on inspecting a mattress is useful for the holiday travel season, it is important to remind people that they can get bed bugs not just from hotel mattresses, curbside sofas, or by picking them up at the movie theater or in an airplane. They can also get them without doing anything, if they live in a multi-unit building.

And I am still worried that Meredith Viera and many of her viewers who might not have caught this Today Health segment might not make the connection between the advice to donate used mattresses to Craigslist or freecycle, and the spread of bed bugs.

Overall, however, it was a good segment. And you don’t even have to crack open that Tivo file and fast-forward through Bush pardoning the Turkey. You can watch the segment here. (Right now, you can click “next” to the right of the video boxes to scroll to the bed bug video, but later on you might need to use the search box at the Today site.)

• Today show recommends sharing used mattresses on Craigslist, Freecycle
• more from Pennsylvania
• Kentucky Department of Public Health steps up its bed bug fight
• Saskatoon professional development conference apparently bedbugged

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Close up of single female bug on mattress. She is upside down and eggs are below her head and elsewhere.
photo: L.Sorkin

To see even more close up: click photo, then “all sizes” then “large.”

• closeup of female bed bug with eggs
• close up of bed bugs on mattress
• More of Lou Sorkin’s photos
• bed bug nymphs, bed bug eggs, bed bug feces, on wood

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Female from below piping and sitting over eggs. Zoom in on bug and see eggs, many of which are full, some empty. Fecal drops also visible. photo: L.Sorkin

(Click photo, click “all sizes”, then “large” to zoom in!)

• close up of bed bugs on mattress
• More of Lou Sorkin’s photos
• close up bed bug with eggs
• Bed bugs in a group

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Female with eggs under piping (near top edge, left). Many bed bugs near right side in middle area between top and bottom of mattress.

(Click photo, click “all sizes”, then “large” to zoom in!)

• closeup of female bed bug with eggs
• close up of bed bugs on mattress
• close up bed bug with eggs
• Amazing photos from Lou Sorkin

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The link is in the menu above, so you can send people there. A special thanks to everyone who contributes photos, but especially Lou Sorkin–without Lou’s photos, there would be no such page.

Check it out!

• bite photos
• FAQ: Is this a bed bug? (photos of creatures mistaken for bed bugs)
• (Bed bug) service included
• Lou’s bed bug bite photos

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Click the photo to get all sizes of the photo, and then select “large” for the best view.

This one shows a lounge chair–do you see the staples–the same ones from the previous entry? You can see nymphs, shed skins, hatched eggs, and feces. The eggs are 1/32 inch long.

• upholstered lounge chair
• bed bug nymphs, bed bug eggs, bed bug feces, on wood
• lounge chair fabric
• Bed bugs in a group

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Detail of the same lounge chair.

Thanks to Lou Sorkin for the amazing bed bug photos!

• upholstered lounge chair
• Amazing photos from Lou Sorkin
• bed bug harborage inside a recessed screw hole
• spider beetle

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Lou Sorkin’s photo of blood smears on a pillow. Click to enlarge.

• close up of bed bugs on mattress
• spider beetle
• close up bed bug with eggs
• closeup of female bed bug with eggs

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