[Gocamino] .. and bedbugs.

[t]

hi

yes!! in boston, too.
the past several years, especially as the september turn-over of 
leases, there have been many, many bedbug warnings and infestations in 
boston. it got to the point where all the trash put out for collection 
would have pre-printed city warnings posted on it 'bug infestation, do 
not take' to try to prevent trash pickers from spreading the critters.

i know that up here in maine, last year the fleas were prolific, so far 
this year, not as bad but still prevalent. the cycle for these critters 
- bedbugs (human fleas??) and fleas seem to escalate as the summer 
winds down. it's as if the little creatures have realized that we have 
central heating and it might be better than hibernating under the 
frozen ground.

i like the suggestion of oils to combat them. usually with such 
remedies, they do a great job of prevention but once the infestation is 
abundant, don't actually rid the critters. but simple solutions like 
vinegar & soap spray combined with sunlight will kill them off your 
clothes and bedding.

take care all
tinuviel

>
> Of late there have been a spate of messages referring to "bedbugs" in 
> the Camino.     Well..... in tomorrow's New York Times   (we get the 
> special Sunday sections on Saturday) in the Real Estate Section, the 
> front page is Headlined  "BEDBUGS" in two-inch bold lettering.  Since 
> the middle of the summer there have been a great deal of complaints 
> about  bedbugs infestations in the city. The complaints were started 
> by tourists who were paying up to 500 Dlls. a night in first class 
> hotels and who were attacked by the critters.  With characteristic 
> xenophobia the first  inclination was to blame those tourist who might 
> have brought the bedbugs from Europe, South America, or whatever.  The 
> newspaper reports, however, that the infestation is just as noticeable 
> in ghetto areas of the city, which are highly unlikely to have been 
> visited by tourists.
> For months, tenants have refused to pay their high rents and some have 
> even sued their landlords. Apparently the only effective means of 
> combating the bugs is by bug-bombing and sealing off the room or rooms 
> for a few days.  In letters to the editor, and such, some sufferers 
> have suggested that getting rid of all the bedding and dousing the bed 
> frame and nearby furniture and walls with rubbing alcohol seems to 
> help.
> The bugs' bites produce a rush that metamorphoses into liquid-filled 
> welts which are terribly itch.  (I haven't gotten bitten, fortunately, 
> but several friends of mine have).
> Might these bugs be the Weapons of Mass Destruction that we have all 
> been fearing?
> \