Are you ready for the bed bug explosion? It's been growing each year - as seen by the number of searches on Google, for the term, "bed bug". It has become a huge problem in major metropolis areas, in no small part to the over-crowding and the reuse of tossed furniture sitting on the road and in open dumpsters, looking as if they're perfectly clean and new. But the other problem appears to be the lack of an effective, modern insecticide that is both safe to use and effective at killing bedbugs. The most effective insecticide - DDT - has long been banned. Pyrethrins haven't been nearly as effective, with some localized populations of bedbugs showing high levels of resistance to Pyrethrins.
Here's something to think about. As infestations grow, people are moving out of apartment buildings. In moving out, they are unwittingly helping spread bedbugs to other apartment buildings and hotels.
Yes, hotels and motels are being infested as well, as travelers bring bedbugs with them from their homes.
Which bring us back to this video story about the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia, and how this single event may have been the catalyst for the massive jump in bedbug reports in Australia and around the world, since 2000. Jump to 3:02 to get the low down on the story of Australia's problem.
Hence I ask the question...is the world ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, BC? If you look at the Bedbug Registry, it's clear that just in the past 2 months, Vancouver's had numerous reports in downtown buildings. Considering that Vancouver's had this bed bug problem for several years now, I'm guessing visitors will be bringing home with them some bedbugs of their own this February, when they go to the Olympics.
I love this National Geographic video on bedbugs:
Of course, if you live in NYC, life is already a bedbug hell.
No comments:
Post a Comment