Room 306: The internet is a dangerous place, especially in the insect world. Do me a favor, minimize this post, go to google, and type in bedbugs. How many hits did you get? 5 Years ago, that number would have been dramatically different, far less. This is the insect epidemic of our day. Pharoah had frogs and locusts, we have bedbugs. It only began a few years ago when international travel started to get more and more accessable to the general public. It began in New York, and has spread like a brush fire. Chicago and the surrounding areas are number 1 this year in bedbug cities across the nation. Lets start with a few common questions about this nasty little bloodsucker. 1. Do they spread disease? No. There is no legitimate study that shows that if a bedbug bites someone with a bloodborne pathogen, then bites you, it will spread to you. 2. How do I get them? Many ways. I have personally fought these guys in hotels, movie theatres, homes, apartments, hospitals, public transport, planes, retail stores, multi family housing. Best advice I can give is, watch what you buy. Garage sales? Dangerous! Trash day pickup? Never! 3. Are they impossible to get rid of? No. Difficult, but not impossible. Not something you want to try on your own. You WILL make it worse. 4. Do they fly? No. They don't even have wings. 5. What do they eat, and what are they attracted to? They eat blood, and prefer human. They are attracted to the CO2 we expel. 6. Can you do anything to prevent them? This is a scary answer, No we cannot. There is nothing, NOTHING, that anyone can do, to keep bedbugs out of your property. This is a reactionary service, not a proactive approach. 7. What do they look like? The look a lot like a tick. Roughly the size and shape of an appleseed. 8. Do they really live in the bed? Yes, and the boxsprings, and the nightstand and the carpet etc etc etc 9. If I get them, do I have to get a new bed? Maybe. You can encase the mattress and boxsprings though. 10. Is it expensive? Yes, one of the most costly problems to have. So what do you do? A few tips: 1. Educate yourself, know what to look for signs of the problem, if you travel a lot, check your hotel room before every time you stay. 2. Pack light. The less stuff they have to hide in, the better. 3. Deep Woods off. The DEET product in off keeps bedbugs away for up to 8 hours per application. 4. If you suspect you have a problem, call someone. There aint no shame in that game. Don't be a hero, we know what we are doing. The best example is room 306. We have in our business what we call "mystery biters" These are folks who are absolutely convinced that they have some kind of insect biting them, and cannot be convinced otherwise. She was no different. She was convinced she had a bedbug problem, and they called me in. I met the property manager, who warned me of the little issue they were having. I assured her with some convincing that I could handle whatever it was. The maintenance man and I went to her room and that is when it got interesting. She answered the door in a robe, That's it. I asked her if now was a good time or if we needed to return, she assured me now was perfect. I went in, and performed my inspection, talking to her the whole time and letting her know that I am not a doctor so I cannot diagnose her bites.(truth tell, your doctor cant tell you either) Finding no bedbugs or sign of bedbugs, the lady of the house tried to show me pictures of the bites she had, the only problem was they were on her breast. Did I mention this young lady was probably 85 years old? Trying to keep my composure, I told her that wasn't going to help me, So then OFF CAME THE ROBE!!!! I did not see this happen, but the maintenance man says he is scarred for life. Over the next 14 days, we made 15 trips out to her place, including bringing our bedbug sniffing dog in to assure her that she doesn't have a problem. To this day she still insists she has them. Talking to her son over this time, she had gone on the net, read all the horror stories and had convinced herself that it was happening to her. Morale of the story? Misinformation is More dangerous than not being informed at all. Below are some pictures that should help you out.