Members Lucky Posted August 21, 2010 Members Posted August 21, 2010 Bedbugs. Tons of them. All over New York, infesting even the hoity-toity places. The Abercrombie boys, standing haughtily in their latest fashion, with Fitch boldly written on their itchy sweaters cannot get naked for fear of showing what they have- bites, and lots of them. Grinder and Manhunt are virtually shut down as New Yorkers refuse to visit apartments that might not be safe. Even church pews, long a place of refuge, can now harbor New York's latest scourge. Dare to go to confession these days? Do it over the phone, as Father doesn't want you bringing your bugs into his confessional. A towel offered at the gym? I don't think so. So, is it even safe to visit New York? After all, besides terrorism you would have to mingle with the afflicted. Could you hug your host in comfort? Could that fancy hotel be just waiting to give you some souvenirs to take home? Why chance it? Come to Palm Springs and bask in 112 degree heat- so hot that even the bedbugs won't come here. Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/nyregion/21bedbugs.html?pagewanted=1&hp Quote
Guest FourAces Posted August 21, 2010 Posted August 21, 2010 At first read I thought you were trying to pitch a B -Movie script Annoying to say the least. Glad you are safe in your desert Oasis Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted August 21, 2010 Posted August 21, 2010 Bed bugs are annoying but not really dangerous. Quote
Members Lucky Posted August 21, 2010 Author Members Posted August 21, 2010 Now bed bugs have been found in the Empire State Building, which once survived King Kong, so they won't be too worried about this. I hope that when you read my thread, you also read the linked article in the NY Times on how people with bedbugs are being stigmatized. From the Daily news: BEDBUGS BY THE NUMBERS New Yorkers who've had an infestation in their home: 11% New Yorkers with a close friend or relative who had bedbugs: 28% New Yorkers who've had an infestation at work: 9% New Yorkers who’ve seen bedbugs at a store: 9% Average home cleanup cost: $1,310 New Yorkers who think the city is doing too little to deal with bedbugs: 46% Bedbug problems by age: Under 45: 15% 45 or older: 8% Bedbug problems by race: White: 6% African-American: 12% Latino: 10% Results from a Daily News-Marist poll of 809 adults. Margin of error plus or minus 3.5%. Photo by AP. Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/08/21/2010-08-21_empire_bedbug_building_parasites_found_in_one_small_area.html#ixzz0xFKY8cQD Quote
Members eeyore Posted September 22, 2010 Members Posted September 22, 2010 Here's some more follow-up from today's WSJ: By JOE BARRETT ROSEMONT, Ill.—Bedbugs are getting to be big business, judging by the swarm of vendors, housing officials, entomologists, television-news crews and bug-sniffing dogs that crammed into a hotel convention center here Tuesday. Organizers of the first Bedbug University North American Summit said nearly 400 people had officially registered for the event, while an additional 250 wound up on a waiting list. Packed sessions offered tips on the latest fumigation techniques; how to freeze, fry or suffocate bedbugs; and handling lawsuits filed by customers driven buggy by the tiny insects. Bed Moat's booth showed off its signature product: a series of plastic cups designed to trap bedbugs creeping up bedposts. Heat Assault of Winnipeg, Manitoba, offered a $75,000 system that promises to rid tall buildings of bugs using "100% environmentally friendly heat transfer fluid." Visitors toted off free samples of BugZip Luggage Encasement, a clear plastic case its maker says "greatly reduces the likelihood of bringing bed bugs home." Once nearly wiped out in U.S. homes by the use of DDT after World War II, bedbugs have made a comeback in the past decade due to a number of factors, especially increased international travel that has imported more bugs. Itchy bites from bedbugs can become problematic for people who are allergic to them. Typically, the pests roost in beds, mattresses and sofas. They can be picked up anywhere where large numbers of people congregate, such as movie theaters, restaurants, offices and hotels. Treating infestations can cost thousands of dollars and force people to quarantine their clothes inside plastic bags for weeks. Attention to outbreaks this summer—especially to an infestation in New York City—has reached a fevered pitch. Just this week, the Niketown store in Manhattan was temporarily closed to battle the bugs. The uproar has been welcome for entrepreneurs pitching their wares at Tuesday's session. "It's been crazy," said Susan McKnight, an entomologist who two years ago invented the ClimbUp Insect Interceptor, a bowl-shaped device for snagging bedbugs as they assault bedposts. The past month's sales of the product—which she dreamed up one day while feeding her beagle—matched sales for the first eight months of the year. Exterminator David James was responding to a bedbug call at a Denver hotel two years ago when he came up with the idea for the PackTite, a heat treatment for luggage and other items that may transport bedbugs from one place to another. Travelers stuff a suitcase or other bag inside the foot-locker-sized device, which costs about $300. It heats items to 120 degrees for about an hour, killing any bugs or insect eggs that might have been picked up. Sales have taken off this summer, leaving Mr. James struggling to keep up with demand. Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted September 23, 2010 Posted September 23, 2010 Bed bugs are everywhere but you can find out where to avoid with this site: http://www.bedbugregistry.com/ Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 16, 2010 Author Members Posted October 16, 2010 I have been contemplating a trip to New york, so looked up hotels on the bedbug registry. Even the good ones have them, and not all hotels are very nice when you complain of them: http://www.bedbugregistry.com/search/hotel/l:New-York,-NY/ Quote
Members eeyore Posted October 16, 2010 Members Posted October 16, 2010 Looks like upscale properties in Las Vegas have them too. Yikes! Even a few hotels in Palm Springs Quote
Members lookin Posted October 17, 2010 Members Posted October 17, 2010 I wonder why they say someone is 'crazy as a bedbug'. Lucky's wandering mattress dwellers may be sneaky and rude, but how are they crazy? I once met a man who did seem crazy as a bedbug to me. His name was Dr. Zamal. He came to my house one day when I was living in India and asked for my help in getting a patent on the perpetual motion machine he had invented. He insisted on showing me the drawings and explaining exactly how it worked. Something to do with buckets of water on a rope pulley I recall. In engineering school, they taught me that perpetual motion was impossible, and even made me come up with some equations to prove it. But here was Dr. Zamal explaining how his contraption would run forever and, for the life of me, I couldn't show him why it wouldn't. He had a perpetual smile too, and when he got excited and talkative, he'd spritz anyone sitting too close. As he was nearly always excited and talkative, I tried to keep well back, which only encouraged him to move in closer. It was his eyes, though, that made me think he was moving into crazy as a bedbug territory. They were bright and glistening and they seemed to have some kind of a rapid flickering quality, especially when he got to the part about him being the only man in the world who had unlocked the secret of perpetual motion. I thought maybe he was trying to hypnotize me into thinking he was and he had. Of course I couldn't help him get a patent, but that didn't seem to deter him any. He just loved dropping by every week or so and talking about himself and his inventions. Always with the smile, always with the megillah, and always with the radioactive eyes. I can't remember how I got rid of him. I think maybe it was around the time I moved to a larger town. I know it wasn't bowls around my bedposts. How about you guys? Have you ever known anyone crazy as a bedbug? (Present company excepted, of course. ) Quote
Members xenophile Posted October 17, 2010 Members Posted October 17, 2010 I wonder why they say someone is 'crazy as a bedbug'. Lucky's wandering mattress dwellers may be sneaky and rude, but how are they crazy? ... How about you guys? Have you ever known anyone crazy as a bedbug? (Present company excepted, of course. ) Thanks lookin, message received, equilibrium restored. I sometimes get my forums mixed up, especially when the 420's involved (wild weekend...).Creative writing forum's that way -> Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 17, 2010 Author Members Posted October 17, 2010 LOL...I wasn't going to say anything, but... Quote
Members lookin Posted October 17, 2010 Members Posted October 17, 2010 Thanks lookin, message received, equilibrium restored. I sometimes get my forums mixed up, especially when the 420's involved (wild weekend...).Creative writing forum's that way -> Saw your stuff right after I posted the above and not before, I swear! (It took me an hour to write that one, believe it or not. Hell, it's taking me fifteen minutes™ to get this one live. I keep losing my place. ) So it wasn't in response to your delightful riffs, just a very happy coincidence. Schrodinger's escort! Purrfect! I'm honored to share a forum, and a Lucky one at that. Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 Bedbugs are what you get after eight years of republican rule. Quote
Members RA1 Posted October 17, 2010 Members Posted October 17, 2010 What do you get after two years of "progressive" rule? A lifetime of debt? Vastly increased taxes? I have no time for any politicians, as I am sure anyone who reads my posts will attest. As George Carlin said, are most of the people you know average and stupid? Just think, there are 50% more stupid than that. Otherwise, no one is safe around a New Yorker, but I love them anyway. Let's start a campaign to bring back DDT. It worked wonders and the bad effects for some uses can be controlled. I love eagles also. Best regards, RA1 Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted October 17, 2010 Posted October 17, 2010 I have stayed in seven different hotels in the past month, and checked each one carefully for bedbugs, but didn't find any. However, right after checking into the last one a week ago (I hadn't even had a chance to unpack), I was bitten by something I didn't see, that left a huge, dark red welt on my arm, which itched like mad, and it still hasn't disappeared. Quote
BiBottomBoy Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 Charlie, You need to get all the clothes you had on that trip washed in very hot water and you need to throw out that suitcase and get a new one. If you got bit, the odds are they are not living in your clothes and your suitcase. Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 Charlie, You need to get all the clothes you had on that trip washed in very hot water and you need to throw out that suitcase and get a new one. If you got bit, the odds are they are not living in your clothes and your suitcase. That would be good advice if it were bedbugs, but I don't think that's what did it. I had just arrived in the room and was nowhere near the bed, it was a single bite, and I slept in the room for three nights with no new bites; I carefully checked the bed and found no sign of bedbugs anywhere. And I'm not throwing away a brand new suitcase. Quote
Members TampaYankee Posted October 18, 2010 Members Posted October 18, 2010 That would be good advice if it were bedbugs, but I don't think that's what did it. I had just arrived in the room and was nowhere near the bed, it was a single bite, and I slept in the room for three nights with no new bites; I carefully checked the bed and found no sign of bedbugs anywhere. And I'm not throwing away a brand new suitcase. A spider maybe? Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted October 18, 2010 Posted October 18, 2010 A spider maybe? That's what I suspected. Quote
Members Lucky Posted October 18, 2010 Author Members Posted October 18, 2010 It's all part of the advertising for the new Spider Man Musical. What Charlie doesn't tell you is that he was bit by the actor who will play the role, Andrew Garfield, seen in the movie The Social Network and quite hot! Quote
Members eeyore Posted December 30, 2010 Members Posted December 30, 2010 Vermont is getting innovative about this problem: Pity the bedbug when Buster’s on the case. The mid-sized beagle bears no malice against the diminutive bloodsuckers: for Buster, sniffing through Vermonters’ sofas, mattresses and easy chairs is what brings home the biscuits. Here's a link to the the full article in today's local paper. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101230/NEWS02/101229032/Burlington-beagle-busts-bedbugs Quote
AdamSmith Posted January 1, 2011 Posted January 1, 2011 Otherwise, no one is safe around a New Yorker, but I love them anyway. Most grateful. Let's start a campaign to bring back DDT. It worked wonders and the bad effects for some uses can be controlled. I love eagles also. Remember when (did they do this in MEM?), back in the '60s, small tanker trucks would roll around the downtown streets during summer, spray-fogging big clouds of insecticide to try to control the mosquito population? Quote
Members RA1 Posted January 1, 2011 Members Posted January 1, 2011 They still do it but it isn't DDT now. They also warn the populace of when and where they are spraying. Before, they didn't bother. Best regards, RA1 Quote
Members MsGuy Posted January 2, 2011 Members Posted January 2, 2011 Remember when (did they do this in MEM?), back in the '60s, small tanker trucks would roll around the downtown streets during summer, spray-fogging big clouds of insecticide to try to control the mosquito population? The kids in my home town used to look forward to the fogging machine coming around. We'ed run out and play in the cloud. Not sure if that's a statement about how stupid we were or how bored we were. Quote
