Thursday, September 2, 2010

Do Bedbugs Want You to Buy Used Furniture?

I recently wrote a column about bedbugs on All Life Is Local, but an article in today's New York Times inspired me to write this follow-up. The problem that the Times reported, quite simply, is what about all those used mattresses that crop up during the beginning of each school semester? The used mattress that you're getting for a song, or for free, might very well have some hitchhikers on board in the form of bedbugs.

To recap:  Bedbugs don't cause disease. That's the good news about bedbugs. Because of some unknown ecological quirk, if the bedbug bites, you won't get sick. The bad news is that bedbugs are proliferating. And they are very, very hard to kill. (The only effective way to get rid of them is to heat the room in which they are found to 140 degrees, in combination cleaning that room and using pesticides. DYI bedbug removal is almost impossible.)  More bad news: bedbug bites often hurt and itch like crazy. You don't want bedbugs. No way.

Bedbugs like hotels, too. If you have bedbugs on the brain, consider taking along a lightweight sleep sack. With a sleep sack you don't come into contact with the hotel's bedding and bedbugs can't come into contact with you.

Bedbugs are found not just in people's homes, but on clothing and...in used furniture. Especially in used furniture. Very especially in used mattresses. I wonder what bedbugs will do to the used mattress market. Until there's an effective bedbug detector, you'll just have to take your chances when you buy a used bed or couch. Sheesh.

3 comments:

  1. According to a personal friend, who is the general manager of a hotel in a major top name brand hotel, most of the bedbugs in hotels don't actually hide in mattresses or box springs, but behind the hotel headboards that are attached to the wall! That's not exactly where you'd expect them to dwell, but it's one of the key places those in the hotel industry are told to check/monitor.

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  2. Do Bedbugs Want You to Buy Used Furniture? is an interesting post.The problem that the Times reported, quite simply....According to one of my friend who worked in a hotel,most of the bedbugs in hotels don't actually hide in mattresses or box springs, but behind the hotel headboards that are attached to the wall.I don't have a personal experience but i know it is not good............

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  3. Yes, your right bed bugs don't cause disease but I consider as one of the dirtiest pest ever.So ewwwwww, pesky, itchy and irritating to my nerves!

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