US declares war on pesky enemy -- bed bugs

7 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US officials are on the warpath against a new plague pouncing on unsuspecting Americans from cellphones, keyboards and mattresses -- the humble bed bug now staging a comeback after two decades.

The tiny blood-suckers had all but vanished over the past 20 years, but now pose "the most difficult, challenging pest problem of our generation," entomologist Mike Potter from the University of Kentucky told a conference.

"In my opinion, we are not going to get out of this thing" until we "allow the pest-control industry to go to war," he warned.

The two-day meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, dubbed the first National Bed Bug Summit by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), heard the insects are spreading rapidly, infesting all kinds of public buildings and spaces.

"We've never seen anything like this," agreed Mike Deutsch, an entomologist with Arrow Exterminating, saying bed bug colonies were being found in lamp bases, clock radios, televisions as well as snuggled up in the pages of books.

"We certainly know that bed bugs are not restricted to beds and upholstered furniture, but now we're finding them in places even we never thought possible."

The talks aim to "identify ideas and options for bed bug prevention, control, and management; create strategies for outreach and education; and develop recommendations for action," the EPA said in a statement.

Infestations are being recorded in hotels and restaurants, and are now considered a major problem around the United States.

As their name suggests, bed bugs are primarily found in mattresses and become active at night when they gorge on the blood of sleeping humans who are blissfully unaware that they are providing an impromptu midnight feast.

Until the next morning that is, when red welts show up on the victim's skin.

According to the American Medical Association, the flat, oval, brownish-red creatures, which measure about five millimeters, do not transmit any diseases.

But they leave traces of blood and feces on the pillows and sheets, and an infested room can have a unpleasant, pungent smell.

eeeeeeewwwwwwww!!!

Good news for my brother... he works for orkin

Heard this on the radio yesterday, made my skin crawl! So nasty!

and here I had my nerf gun ready

Obama did it to help create jobs!