Monday, August 2, 2010

Bed bugs in the news

Adult bed bug.
Two news items of interest (to me) with respect to bed bugs appeared this week.  The first is a report by NPMA in cooperation with the University of Kentucky that documents increases in bed bug problems worldwide, and not just in the U.S.  This is interesting because up till now there has been little information about what is going on with bed bugs outside our country. The survey contacted approximately 1000 PMP respondents about their experiences with bed bug problems.  Prior to the Year 2000 only 25% of U.S. PMPs had encountered this pest.  As of 2010, 95% of U.S. respondents have encountered bed bugs in their daily business.

New York City may be ground zero for bed bugs.  According to an Associated Press story released this week, bed bugs were included last year for the first time in a citywide community health survey.  More than 6% of respondents reported having battled bed bugs in the past year.  That's a lot of people with bed bugs. What's more, New York is directing $500,000 in city health department budget to battling bed bugs.  Believe me, you can buy a bunch of entomologists with that kind of money.

2 comments:

  1. Where do we find out more about bed bugs?

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  2. Just Googling bed bug will of course get you all sorts of information. Some of the better, more reliable information is available through the EPA bed bug site: http://epa.gov/pesticides/controlling/bedbugs.html as well as factsheets from Texas AgriLife Extension
    https://agrilifebookstore.org/publications_details.cfm?whichpublication=1512. PCT and Pest Management Professional magazines maintain archives of information on bed bugs, if you visit those sites.

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