American GIs were deloused with DDT. If it was good enough for them ...
Posted on 09/12/2010 9:14:52 AM PDT by george76
Reports of bedbug infestations are on the rise, news that strikes fear into the hearts of frequent travelers.
While hotels and motels aren't the only places where these insects can hitch a ride on clothes or other belongings -- after all, you can pick one up just by visiting a friend's home, and recent findings in movie theaters and offices prove how easily these bugs get around -- the high-traffic buildings are some of the highest-risk places to encounter these tiny insects that live by feasting on human blood while we're sleeping.
By knowing what to look for and taking a few easy precautions when you travel, you can easily reduce the probability of bringing home one of these nasty bugs -- or kill them before they have a chance to infest your house.
In Orkin's commercial division, bedbug treatments jumped to nearly 5,800 in 2009, from 250 in 2007, with most of the treated buildings in the multifamily and hospitality industries...
They're also not always easy to find and kill. While they tend to settle within a five-foot radius of where a person typically sleeps, according to Orkin, they don't always hide on beds. They can also spread to furniture, wall hangings, headboards, nightstands, baseboards and through a building's pipes.
The flat, brownish or reddish bugs grow to the size of an apple seed, and can live for about a year without eating. Although they were nearly eradicated after World War II, they've re-emerged due partly to increased international travel. They're also treated differently than in the past, due to restrictions on chemicals once popular to kill them.
Before booking, ask the hotel about its procedure for dealing with bedbugs.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Interestingly, a quick online search produces controversy as to whether or not they carry diseases which humans can catch.
Back when I was a young Rep traveling the back woods of Asia, we carried a little DDT powder..called “MOMs” to sprinkle in the beds of the guest houses we got stuck staying in. Most people don’t realize that DDT was originally made for use on humans to kill buggy parasites.
international travel = illegals from third world hell holes
...I spent 28 years as a road warrior...glad I don’t have to do that anymore.
Bring back DDT!
It’s time to bring back DDT.
Bedbugs follow — or more correctly, fall off of — dirty people.
I've read that bedbugs are immune to DDT. I've read that DDT still kills bedbugs. Anybody know for sure?
Bedbugs immune to DDT??? I honestly don’t know! However on a website for one of the Cincinnati area newspapers there was a discussion re this very thing. One man who seemed to be quite knowledgeable on the subjet wrote that bed-bugs had become “Genetically immune” over the years.
The reason that the bedbugs have increased is that we no longer use DDT to kill them. Enjoy the ride. We did it to ourselves.
Bedbugs are democrats..
Amen. While no one is watching, EPA is working like little termites, banning one pesticide after another. The price of food will be going up, too, because of the agricultural chemicals being banned.
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