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Bedbugs' Itch Breeding New Ways to Scratch

Freeze 'em, bake 'em, call in the dogs—pests can't bite if they're dead

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 20, 2008 2:00 PM CDT

(Newser) – No one’s sure why bedbugs are back, but US companies think they know how to kill them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Startups are using everything from dogs to cold blasts to hair-dryer-like devices to sniff out, freeze or bake the pests. “We... Read full story »

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bedbugs • entomology • University of Minnesota • pests • exterminators • Cimex lectularius • Steven Jacobs • Penn State University

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(NEWSER) - These are boom times in the bedbug control business and dozens of scientists, exterminators, and inventors have flocked to a summit this week on dealing with the resurgent pest. At the first-ever North American Bedbug Summit, being held in a suburban Chicago hotel, dozens of vendors displayed ways to trap, poison, fry, freeze, or suffocate the bloodsucking pests, the New York Times reports. More»

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(NEWSER) - The resurgence of an old pest has created new jobs for dogs. Bedbug infestations have soared in American cities over the last four years, creating boom times for exterminators, especially those using canny canines trained to detect the tiny suckers. Handlers say the dogs can expertly sniff out infestations and work their way through buildings a lot faster than exterminators looking for visual traces of the bloodsuckers. More»

Bedbug Mess Brings Work to NYC Actors

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(NEWSER) - At least one group of New Yorkers has benefited from the city's bedbug problem: out-of-work actors, many of whom have taken jobs as extermination preparers, the Wall Street Journal reports. They "have great personalities and follow directions well," says the owner of one company who hires them to help clients with the labor-intensive pre-extermination process—apartments must be cleaned, clothes laundered, book and media collections vacuumed, and items sealed in plastic. More»

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(NEWSER) - Popcorn isn't the only thing getting eaten at cinemas in New York City. The AMC Empire 25 in Times Square was temporarily shuttered Tuesday night while a team of exterminators tried to rid the place of blood-sucking bedbugs —two weeks after it had initially been treated for the pests. Bedbugs were found at another theater, the Magic Johnson Harlem 9, last month, notes CNN , and have worked their way into stores like Victoria's Secret . Click here for five creepy facts about bedbugs. More»

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Bedbugs' Itch Breeding New Ways to Scratch

Freeze 'em, bake 'em, call in the dogs—pests can't bite if they're dead

bedbugs • entomology • University of Minnesota • pests • exterminators • Cimex lectularius • Steven Jacobs • Penn State University

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More Newser Stories

Experts Swarm Bedbug Summit

Leaders in battle against bloodsuckers meet in Chicago

Bedbug Dogs Sniff Out Bloodsuckers

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

Bedbug Mess Brings Work to NYC Actors

... helping people clean apartments before extermination

Bedbugs Invade Our Offices

'Elle' magazine HQ closed until Monday due to infestation

Bedbugs Invade NYC Cinemas

Times Square theater temporarily shuttered

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