Richard Pollack from Harvard Comments on Bed Bugs. « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

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Richard Pollack from Harvard Comments on Bed Bugs.

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lieutenantdan

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 10:37:21
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Duxbury school officials say they weren’t warned of bed bugs

http://www.wickedlocal.com/duxbury/news/x2115300040/Duxbury-school-officials-say-they-weren-t-warned-of-bed-bugs

I found this.
Richard Pollack says -
"All this finger-pointing serves little value. Sadly enough, bed bugs are 'part of nature'. This is a nature camp, isn't it? Why is there relative silence when kids encounter mosquitoes, black flies, or ticks at camp? Those things actually can be far more burdensome and transmit pathogens"

It appears to me that Mr. Pollack is still taking a casual approach on bed bugs.
I guess that he still has not experienced an infestation in his home.
I wonder how he and his loved ones would handle it?
Keep a stiff upper lip!
Sleepless in NYC

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 11:21:00
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Unbelievable! Speechless, I am!,
so unsettling

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 11:49:06
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"Part of Nature." Yes, but so what? How is that supposed to make us feel better? Nature isn't a good thing. Scientists battle against nature and endeavor to control and maneuver it to human ends at every point. But when it comes to something like this unbearable pestilence, we are supposed to console ourselves with nature arguments.

They have no idea of the social-psychological ramifications of having these bugs. That's the part they don't get.
lieutenantdan

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 11:49:42
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I have found Dr. Pollack to be helpful and a gentleman but I still have a hard time with his casual attitude on bed bug infestations.
The Reluctant Entomologist

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 14:27:13
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Just to play Devil's advocate (personally, I want these creatures wiped off the fa`ce of the Earth), I suppose the attitude behind this entomologist's statement depends upon the context in which you look at it.

I think from a "social stigma" point of view, what Pollack is saying is quite helpful. No one gets accused of being a dirty tenant or a slumlord (or ends up stuck with enormous debt) because there are mosquitoes are on a property, even if they do manage to get into the house itself and bite the crap out of us. (I once had a roommate I wanted to strangle. I asked her to kindly not open the kitchen window in the evening so I didn't have to catch 5000 mosquitoes dining on me and absolutely covering me with welts. I'm one of the odd ones who doesn't react to bb bites but is driven to insanity by mosquitoes, which detect my presence as early as 3 p.m. and start going to town on me).

The real problems are 1) some people suffer horribly from the bites and 2) houses (which are far from natural) get pretty gross if an infestation builds.

The human mind, while complex, is also a force of nature. I say that in this case we use it to work for ways to eliminate 3 types of suffering (no, I'm not a Buddhist, but I do sound like I'm suddenly getting all Buddhist on your asses, don't I?):

1)bodily suffering
2) societally and emotionally inflicted suffering
3) financial suffering

What I mean is, let's work to lessen the stigma more and more and more AND let's kill the mo fos! (But find out how to do it much more CHEAPLY & w/o tearing people's lives apart). Ha! Killin' is natural too!

Yes, while it is true that I don't react to bites, I really lost my life over all of this in more ways than one. Namaste, baby!
SearchandDestroy

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 15:37:45
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ha ha ha...yes, there are times you sound buddhist and other times, not! LOL

I think we have a consensus..we need to get rid of these bastards. I tried meditating to calm the nerves in between my hot washing, HA! Forget it..doesn't even touch the anxiety. Calmness only returns after the suckers are dead and gone.

Yes, educate and find a cheaper solution so all can be free.

I think one still has to go after the tourism industry..they have big bucks and must be deeply affected by this by now...I mean, someone just wrote about staying in a 5 star and coming home with bbs. I hope she posted all over tripadvisor because when the travel industry comes to a standstill..someone will start listening. That's my buddhist rant for the day.
parakeets

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 16:52:22
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Experts from fine institutions such as Harvard are often called to testify in court cases and might even get research grants and money from industries such as the hospitality industry. Someone like Richard Pollack, with his excellent credentials, could be called to testify on behalf of defendants in civil suits that have bed bugs (hotels, dorms, etc.) What we are talking about here is the public relations end of science. The science of bed bugs is different. Bed bugs are just bed bugs until you get them. I once went to a bed bug conference where one of the most memorable speakers was a pest control operator who inadvertenly took his mother-in-law to a hotel that had bed bugs and boy, did she address it with him. Once it hits home, the situation is different. I doubt Richard Pollack or any of his close relatives have lived with bed bugs.
Sleepless in NYC

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Posted 2 years ago
Thu Nov 4 2010 16:59:18
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I just finished a conference at the Waldorf Astoria. (the one with the bb lawsuit pending) . While, I'm not sure if the lawsuit has any merit, I did take precautions. I brought a clear contractor bag to put over my chair which was ditched, because I switched to a big leather chair since it was more comfortable and the bag didn't appear to be large enough to encompass it. lol

But i also put my laptop case, coat, and handbag in plastic bags. Well, while most of the people I worked with understood, the "boys" were teasing me. We began to talk about bbs and it was amazing how little they knew about them. (amazing now that i'm such a bb expert. lol) They scoffed, they laughed, and said that it was impossible to bring bbs home unknowingly. I really did my best to educate them and I think by trying to prove me wrong they'll all be doing some research on bbs. So, I guess my job is done. Doesn't matter why they will be looking up info, as long as they do. Hopefully, they won't hit upon the sites that Richard Naylor showed us with ridiculous untrue facts.

Here's to hoping I came home bb free and that my home isn't already infested with them.