Bedbugs in the Limelight
Everybody’s least favorite scourge, the bedbug, seems to be a media star this week. The New York Times has mentioned them at least twice in the past week, with its weekend article about how bedbugs can be a deal-breaker for home buyers, and with Matt Gross’ piece yesterday about maintaining your health while traveling. There…
Everybody’s least favorite scourge, the bedbug, seems to be a media star this week. The New York Times has mentioned them at least twice in the past week, with its weekend article about how bedbugs can be a deal-breaker for home buyers, and with Matt Gross’ piece yesterday about maintaining your health while traveling. There was also an infestation at Penguin publishing and Bill Clinton’s office, which triggered a flurry of bedbug articles, and now we’ve learned there was even a bedbug symposium yesterday held in Newark, New Jersey—a conference intended to educate hoteliers and building managers about these pests and how to combat them. Bedbugs can inflict psychological stress, physical discomfort, and thousands of dollars in damage to denizens everywhere.
Buying and Selling in Bedbug City [NY Times]
Health Advice from the Frugal Traveler’s Doctor [NY Times]
Bedbugs at the Penguin Building [NY Observer]
New Yorkers Prefer Rats to Bedbugs [NY Magazine]
[sound of eyes rolling skyward, punctuated by a heavy sigh]
rob- before you diss snark, why don’t you read up on DDT and how it gets into the body, how long it stays, what it does. None of this is irrelevant- it just shows how little comprehension you have on these matters and for a guy like you, who has brains, its disappointing. Between this and not knowing who ted Kennedy is, you need to get out more 🙂
that’s why you f’ing move out for a few weeks while the DDT treatment on a building, enclosed, is being done, moron snark! no one is telling people they should be breastessess feeding while the exterminator sprays it. jeez. talk about pulling facts out of your ass that arent relevant.
*rob*
> DDT is safe for humans and will not hurt the environment.
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT#Effects_on_human_health
“exposure to DDT … might cause preterm birth and early weaning … toxicological evidence shows endocrine-disrupting properties; human data also indicate possible disruption in semen quality, menstruation, gestational length, and duration of lactation.”
“Human epidemiological studies suggest that DDT exposure is a risk factor for premature birth and low birth weight, and may harm a mother’s ability to breast feed.”
“a 2006 study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley suggests children who have been exposed to DDT while in the womb have a greater chance of experiencing development problems”
“DDT exposure is associated with early pregnancy loss, a type of miscarriage.”
“in utero DDT exposure may affect thyroid hormone levels and play an important role in the incidence and/or causation of cretinism.”
“There is good epidemiological evidence (i.e. studies in humans) that DDT causes cancer of the: Liver, Pancreas, Breast…”
As a landlord who has dealt with bedbugs in my tenants apartments, I really wish they would allow the use of DDT on a limited, tightly controlled basis. The issue with DDT was that it was used improperly and allowed to enter the ecosystem. Used in buildings for bedbugs, DDT is safe for humans and will not hurt the environment. The chemicals that they use now just do not do the job. You can get rid of the bedbugs temporarily, but they just retreat into the walls of old buildings and come back when the pesticides wear off.
East New York, ew.
Brenda, I think Mr. B. should hire you to write thread posts. You rock!
*blushes*
Sorry pete- didn’t pick up on that- my bad 🙁 (but yes he is cute)