Just the thought of them makes you itch all over. Bed bugs! The ICK factor is extreme.
My daughter was unfortunate enough to share a bed with the little buggers at an Australian hostel during her wandering college years. My nephew was nibbled on recently when his family stayed at a small Pennsylvania motel and, choosing the short straw, he had to sleep on the roll-away. Nearly eliminated as a worldwide scourge after World War II, bed bugs are a rising problem in America and around the world. They don’t play favorites, visiting the rich and poor, college grad and high school drop-out, mansion and hovel alike.
Contrary to common belief, bed bugs are not caused by dirt, poor housekeeping or too few showers. They are a creature of convenience like lice and fleas. Bed bugs spread easily –hitching a ride on clothing, cardboard boxes, suitcases and used furniture; crawling through ducts and wall voids — making an outbreak difficult to contain, particularly in hotels, apartment buildings, long-term care facilities, cruise ships, etc.
Classified as a nuisance bug, bed bugs do not spread disease, though they can cause considerable discomfort and, in some cases, severe allergic reactions. It’s the psychological toll — repeatedly finding yourself on the menu — that pushes many victims over the edge. The rice-grain size bugs lurk in bedding and hide in tiny crevices near sleeping areas, sneaking out while their victims are comatose to feast on their blood, vampire-like, for as long as 5 to 10 minutes. Victims can become nervous and jumpy, constantly feeling phantom bites and crawling skin. Sleeplessness only exacerbates their anxiety and paranoia.