Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

By Matt Wood in Miscellaneous on Jan 24, 2006 5:25PM

CBS 2 has the gross-out story of the week: exterminators say that bedbug infestations are worse in Chicago now than they have been in years, and surprisingly, they're cashing in their travel points and hanging out at upscale hotels. Exterminators say bedbugs are the new black this year because people travel so much, carrying the no-seeums in their luggage and clothes. They also don't spray for insects the way they did a few decades ago, when the Dale Gribbles of the world used so much DDT that they'd dab a little behind the ears just to keep that familiar smell with them. Now most exterminators use gel-based repellants that are mainly aimed at cockroaches, and don't have much effect on bedbugs.

Chicagoist's parents always used to say, "Don't let the bedbugs bite" when they tucked us in as a kid (up until last year, really). But we were never too concerned because our mother was a clean freak, and we associated bedbugs with the same kind of kids who always got sent home for head lice. But these little creepy-crawlies aren't attracted to filth; they head for carbon dioxide, meaning they're up for any slack-jawed sleeping humanoid, no matter how tidy. They hide in the nooks and crannies of sheets, mattresses, pillows, night stands, etc, and feed on your blood at night. They hide during the day, so your only chance of spotting them are blood spots they leave behind, or yes, the brown trails of fecal stains. Awesome. Fortunately, bedbugs aren't disease carriers like fleas or mosquitoes, and the only negative reactions you might get from an infestation are mild skin irritation and involuntarily shuddering every time you think about it.

So next time you put your parents up for the weekend at the Palmer House, tell them to give the sheets a once over. They might have a few uninvited guests.