Bedbugs!

You can't seem to open a newspaper or watch a local newscast now-a-days without seeing a story about bedbugs.

I was thinking how parks & their related hotels might be a place where the little critters hop onto a new family (clothes, gym bags, lap bar bands, etc) and find a new home for a new colony. (Not the kind of souvineer you really wanted.)

This would most likey be even more of a problem at waterparks or places that offer water attrations due to changing of clothes, etc

I am seroouly thinking of staying away from all hotels for a while and which will limit my park experiences for the year.

Is this "epidemic" over-hyped? Any thoughts about this?

Thanks

I have experienced them personally, on a coaster trip no less. It was not pleasant. Since, every time I stay anywhere other than my own bed, I spend a good 20 minutes examining my room, much to the annoyance of my friends. I don't care. I never want to deal with that again. Though now I hear you can pick them up even at the office, gyms or even public transportation.

WTF?

I have not heard of this as an epidemic... ever.

It's actually quite a nuisance -- but only in areas where it's spread. Some very fancy hotels and even some high-end retail stores in NYC have had to close for some days or weeks and spend many thousands of dollars trying to eradicate the pests. I've heard it's spread to Philly, and probably further afield by now. If you haven't heard of the epidemic -- don't worry, you will soon enough.

I'm itching to find out more about this.

Just don't do anything rash...

This thread is crazier than....welll..... ;)

a_hoffman50 said:
I have not heard of this as an epidemic... ever.

You don't have to look very hard. :)

Not saying there's not an issue, but it sure seems like this year's "threat du jour" where people get all worked up about something that will likely never even come close to personally affecting them.

IMO, the media has created an epidemic of epidemics. Bedbugs, Avian Flu, Swine Flu, SARS, etc.

Exactly.

Ummm, 10% of New Yorkers say they've "grappled" with bed bugs. See here: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/16/2010-08-16_untitled_...gs16m.html

With a 10% incidence rate, and seeing how easily bed bugs can spread, it's definitely heading toward the "epidemic" level, if it's not there already.

Can't wait for the move to Manhattan this fall :-/

P.S. 47 million Americans (1 in 6 in the U.S.) were infected with Swine Flu. That's nothing to sneeze at. Pun intended :)

We are all going to die!!!

On the count of three, everybody panic.

d_port_12E said:
P.S. 47 million Americans (1 in 6 in the U.S.) were infected with Swine Flu. That's nothing to sneeze at. Pun intended :)

So 1 in 6 people got sick.

Exactly the point. A lot of hysteria over nothing.

You expect to sell newspapers and commercial slots with "nothing?"

We just walked the bedbug dog through our hotel to make sure there were no infections, then put down preventative in every guest room.

If you do not keep up with it, it will take over. Especially with so many different people in one place.

TheMillenniumRider said:
We just walked the bedbug dog through our hotel to make sure there were no infections...

Heh. Nothing worse than abuilding getting a bedbug infection. :)

If you do not keep up with it, it will take over.

Indeed. Which is why you keep up with it.

I'm just mad the media announced the bed bug epidemic before the bed bugs could.

They only announced the epidemic early because 2010 was planning on selecting diarrhea as it's epidemic of the year, despite the fact that contract negotiations with bedbugs were nearing the final stages.