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NEWS ABOUT: bedbugs

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Body Hair Is Bedbug Warning System

Our layer of fine hairs aids parasite detection: study

(Newser) - Scientists who wondered why human skin still boasts as many follicles as that of great apes—ours, of course, grow hair much, much finer—believe our species' continued hairiness serves as an alarm system that protects us from bedbugs and other biting insects, the Economist finds. The researchers, who shaved... More »

Dozens Sickened Trying to Kill Bedbugs

CDC even reports one death over misguided use of pesticides

(Newser) - Don’t let the bedbugs bite—but if they do, don’t panic. While the creatures themselves aren’t known to cause much more than itching, the chemicals used to get rid of them have been linked to 111 illnesses and a death between 2003 and 2010, a CDC study... More »

Scientists Find Bedbugs Carrying Nasty Surprise

Drug-resistant MRSA bacteria found on bedbugs in Vancouver

(AP) - Hate insects? Afraid of germs? Researchers are reporting an alarming combination: bedbugs carrying "superbug" germs. Canadian scientists detected drug-resistant MRSA bacteria in bedbugs from three hospital patients from a downtrodden Vancouver neighborhood. The study is small and very preliminary: Five bedbugs were crushed and analyzed after a simultaneous boom... More »

Vets' Hospital: Please Stop Sending Quilts

Quilters say it's because of the bedbug scare

(Newser) - Enough with the quilts already. That's the message the Minneapolis VA has sent to local quilters, even if there's disagreement on the reason why. As the Star Tribune explains (in a story spotted by Pat's Papers ), the VA says it simply has no more room for... More »

Bedbugs Scoff at Our Puny Pesticides

They just keep getting better at building up resistance

(Newser) - Bedbugs are starting to take on the characteristics of comic book villains. The first comprehensive study shows that as we keep dosing them with pesticides, they keep getting stronger, reports the Wall Street Journal . They've quickly developed natural defenses on three fronts—better nerve centers to fight off the chemicals,... More »

'Bedbug Lawyer' Battles Creepy Crisis

Sues building bosses as 'unstoppable' creatures surge

(Newser) - The veteran of eight bedbug-centered lawsuits since September seeking $100,000 to $3.5 million, a Maryland attorney has earned himself a reputation as the bedbug lawyer, the Washington Post reports. Some are calling Daniel Whitney a “bloodsucker,” but he calls that “nonsense. These people need help.... More »

Bedbug Mess Brings Work to NYC Actors

... helping people clean apartments before extermination

(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... More »

Stink Bugs Invade Eastern US

Vacuum these well-armored critters, experts advise

(Newser) - Stink bugs have infested the eastern US, devouring crops in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and nearby states, CBS News reports. The brown marmorated stink bug has no interest in people, but farmers hate the insect because of its voracious appetite for crops and because it, well, stinks. (When threatened, it emits a... More »

Experts Swarm Bedbug Summit

Leaders in battle against bloodsuckers meet in Chicago

(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,... More »

Bedbugs Infest Google Offices

Manhattan site is trying to get rid of them

(Newser) - Truly no business in New York is safe from the bedbug threat—the pests have been found in Google's posh Manhattan office. The 9th Avenue office is famous for its free gourmet cafeteria and perks such as Lego sets. “Like several other businesses in New York City, we’ve... More »

So What Is the Bedbug?

Scientists are pretty baffled by the creepy critters

(Newser) - We know bedbugs are creepy and they're crawly, but not a whole lot more, reports the New York Times in a look at the mystery bug that largely vanished for four decades—only to make a very well publicized comeback that culminated recently. Entomologists have largely ignored the critter, and... More »

Cities With Worst Bedbug Infestations

Ohio has three in the top 10

(Newser) - The bedbug problem continues to spread across the US, with 95% of pest companies reporting encounters. But which cities are the hardest hit? The Daily Beast consulted exterminator Orkin for information—and found that it's not a good time to be in Ohio. The biggest infestations are in: More »

Bedbugs Invade Our Offices

'Elle' magazine HQ closed until Monday due to infestation

(Newser) - Bedbug infestations continue to take hold across America—nearly one in five US exterminators have found the pests in an office building, USA Today reports. Worse still, in 2007, only 1% of them had done so. In New York, the headquarters of Elle magazine had to be closed for the... More »

Bedbugs Invade NYC Cinemas

Times Square theater temporarily shuttered

(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.... More »

5 Creepy Facts About Bedbugs

They have a smell...that comes from their feces

(Newser) - Bedbugs are back in a big way, with infestations closing at least two stores in New York City recently. AOL News lists five things you should know about these creepy crawlers:
  1. They smell: If you can smell their sweet, musky scent, chances are you’ve already got an infestation
... More »

Victoria's Secret Store Infested: Bedbugs Are Back

Recent NYC store closures mark comeback

(Newser) - The recent closures of a Victoria's Secret and an Abercrombie & Fitch to rid the New York City stores of bedbugs are only the latest example of the strong comeback the blood-drinking bugs are making worldwide. Bedbugs were largely eradicated from the US in the 1950s, but now they're back... More »

Bedbug Dogs Sniff Out Bloodsuckers

Trained hounds in high demand as infestations rise

(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... More »

US Goes to War on ... Bedbugs?

Feds convene summit to scratch evidently pressing itch: Milbank

(Newser) - Wondering a bit about federal priorities “in an age of bin Laden and Ahmadinejad,” Dana Milbank headed yesterday to an Environmental Protection Agency summit on the blood-sucking menace of bedbugs, he writes in the Washington Post. With reps from agencies including the Pentagon on hand, an entomologist opined... More »

Author Offers Creepy Look at Critters With Taste for Blood

Bats, bedbugs, leeches, and mosquitoes have a common thirst

(Newser) - With Halloween nearly upon us, the author of new book on bloodsucking creatures—vampire bats, bedbugs, leeches, and the like—leads the New York Times on a sanguivore safari. The world's bloodthirsty creatures vary enormously, as Bill Schutt details in Dark Banquet, and some are mere dabblers, but many specialists... More »

Bedbugs' Itch Breeding New Ways to Scratch

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

(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 don’t have an easy... More »

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