1 in 5 Americans has been infested or knows someone who has
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.com'Pervasive' bedbug woes in U.S., survey finds
Seeded on Wed Jan 12, 2011 11:03 AM EST (msnbc.com)
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I've been fortunate to never have had to deal with a bedbug issue. But I know of someone who has and they way they described their ordeal made me cringe.
I had my mom use diatomaceous earth to get rid of them. But poor mom. :( She was so embarrassed because she's a very clean person. It took a while for her to get over the idea that there were bedbugs in her home and she lost sleep as a result.
What the article fails to mention is stores that accept returns are the culprits spreading these bugs! Stay away from consignment shops and any store that accepts returns or you too will be a victim
""Bedbugs are found in penthouses and five-star hotels as well as in low-income housing and budget motels.""
The difference being that those with penthouses and five-star hotels can afford to exterminate bedbugs, while the poor will typically let the problem go as a frivolous expense. So, there is more truth to it being more pervasive in poorer areas.
I saw a television program over the weekend that featured a family with a bedbug infestation. Heat will apparently kill bedbugs better than dangerous, noxious chemicals. The companies bring in heat pumped through tubing at approximately 150 degrees, which apparently will kill the pests.
I also heard freezing them works. If you live in the north like here in WI you could put your stuff in the garage for a few days and they will die. I would guess you could shut off your water and just leave the house freeze for a few days too.
I can tell you how to beat them. It is based on the way people in jungle areas deal with the many insects there.
Get a new mattress. Use no headboards. If you are reusing the supports, make sure they are completely sterilized.
Place the 4 legs into poisoned or soapy water filled containers. Use no blankets that touch the ground or the walls.
This works in places where scorpions can kill you. It also stops nuisance bugs. Millions of people sleep like this.
Bedbugs rarely just walk out in the middle of the day and jump on you. They usually hide within a easy commute of your bed. If you sleep on the couch, you may have to do the same thing with that, but it's not as easy.
Bedbugs can live for a while without eating, but not forever. After 9 months, you are good to go back to how you did it before.
Of course, if you live in tightly packed apartments, you will probably have to do this forever since you can't control your neighbors.
jwhite, good move there. Diatomaceous earth is a safe, cheap, easy to administer, and readily available alternative to toxic pesticides.
1.4 deleted, life4music4life blaming Muslims for bedbugs and derailing about bombs:
You're suspended for a month for violating #4 and #5 of the Code of Honor. If you come back quit trolling.
That life4music4life comment was hilarious actually. Truth be told, they'll hide in any clothing, in peoples hair even. I was in an apartment that got infested. It was a miserable experience. When you get into bed they crawl all over you, you feel this creepy sensation from their tiny legs on your skin. Sometimes you even feel their bites with a tiny pinch. Trying to kill them all is like trying to kill all the mosquitoes in a swamp. They breed like rabbits. And they are experts at hiding in every nook and cranny, crack and crevice. I think they are what inspired the term "coming out of the woodwork." Their bites leave a red mark and itch like crazy, and you become inclined to scratch until it hurts and your skin gets all red. I remember waking up with them biting my scalp and scampering through my hair as I tried to kill them.
Even after they are gone, you remain paranoid, every little thing that brushes against your skin with the right amount of pressure reminds you of those bugs crawling all over you. You obsessively hunt through your residence trying to find any trace of them.
one girl I know had them and she slep around and gave them to everyone.
are you talking about crabs or bedbugs?
bed bugs
lol!
Dam how would anyone not know they had a crab stuck on them. "Is that a crab in your pants or are you just happy to see me".... LOL
You can't spread bed bugs like that. Nice try though.
Actually if she had them, and they attached to her clothing, her pants finding there way to may floors could spread them.
If there are live bugs in a womans vagina, it's time to say no and get her to a hospital ASAP
One word: DDT! It is cheap, it works - you just use indoors, not spraying thousands of gallons all over the countryside. There are still few chemicals that work better, particularly at the price that it could be produced. Yes, you have to use with caution, but like so much of the old technologies, it just plain worked! How come you didn't hear about this until a couple years ago? We had them pretty much wiped out.
Incorrect. They have done scienfitic test and prove this generation of bed bugs is immune to DDT. They have grown immune, much in the same way roaches can quickly become immune to certain poisons.
The only pesticide proven to work is not certified for indoor use. And the company that makes it has no interest in certifying it, as it cost too much to conduct a proper study.
It's a real problem.
Don-1219091 is partially correct. Bedbugs had developed resistance to DDT by the mid-1950s. Until 2000, organophosphorous insecticides were used with great success. They were so successful that bedbugs were almost completely eliminated. However, the EPA banned the use of organophosphorous insecticides from indoor use which became effective in 2000. At that time, pyrethroid insecticides replaced the organophosphorous type insecticides (Malathion, Diazinon, Chlorpyrifos) for indoor use. At first the pyrethroids worked okay, but within just a few years the bedbugs had developed resistance. Carbamate insecticides, such as Propoxur, are perhaps a bit less toxic than the organophosphorous insecticides and their use is being advocated.
We "quarantine" our luggage in the garage for a few weeks when we get back from trips. We launder all clothing immediately, including any clean clothes.
JON is INCORRECT. DDT eradicated bedbugs 40 years ago. DDT works because it persists and needs only one application. Any surviving bedbugs may be "resistant" but they don't stick around. DDT repels the "resistant" bedbugs eradicating them from the dwelling. DDT works.
It must be possible to get rid of bedbugs without poisoning yourself too.
My experience is yes call a professional to spray, but you have a lot of work before and after to totally rid your house of these pests. CLEAN OUT!!! I mean damn near everything you have. Yes just like you are moving. It seems a little over kill, but really how many times do you want to pay someone to spray poison in your home? After three professional trys, I finally came up with the best idea. And it has worked! CLEAN - MOVE IT, VACUMN, DRY cloth items for a hour in your dryer. My problem began in 2005. I have beat those bugs. I do believe posion is needed, but if the bugs don't come in contact with it they do not die. Period, no matter what you have been told!! Do not try poisons that can be purchased as they do not kill them. You must look everywhere. I found a few in the top of my sons closet on the wall. Why??? Things tend to live close to their food supply which is our blood. I found that they like the curtains next to the bed. Good Luck If you have not had this experience, be very vigilate not to bring these bugs into your home.
Pervasive blood suckers, hmm, sounds like a politician.
These things have been around for centuries, why all of a sudden are they mainstream news? Is this really the best that our media has to report on?
So what does diatomaceous earth do? It's fossilized algae basically. I'll bet you can go to a health food store and find some type of natural aid. Or, you can just do what the green berets do, eat a few match heads a day. The sulfur gets into your blood and bugs wont come near you. It is the greatest trick for camping, no bug bites. You do smell like a match, but no bugs!
LordRaven "what does diatomaceous earth do?"
Diatomite is also used as an insecticide, due to its physico-sorptive properties. The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects' exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate.[7] Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick's law of diffusion
If bedbugs were the only problem in the U.S.
It's the scourge of our times!
I figured I had bedbugs a few months ago. I ended up burning my couch, dresser, mattress, and other family heirlooms. After testing and follow up visits at the clinic, I'm relieved to know that bedbugs are not the problem, just a horrible, raging case of crabs.
Does that mean you should burn the person you got them from too? Or do you put a pot on the stove with some potatoes, corn, and onion to make a boil?
Do you serve red or white wine with people soup?
If only the crabs grew large enough, impoverished people could harvest them and use them for food. Talk about renewable resources.
Crotch crabs, it's what's for dinner.
My husband works for Denver Housing as a Tech. He deals with this issue every single day. He says people just need to be more educated on how to prevent them, but most people today just do not care. They are everywhere(stores, restaurants, buses, you name it) These creatures are becoming immune to the treatments techs do. There are people studying them, but the government will not provide any support because these creatures do not carry any infectious diseases. He just went to a huge conference and was told eventually people without bedbugs will be unheard of. One thing to do, when you purchase any type of clothing, put it in the dryer for 20minutes. I even have my children do that after spending the night at a friends house -- immediately -- then they head straight for the shower.
You also have to do that with your suit case have you seen how many little places they can hid!!
That would never be true in free standing houses. You can stop them from getting established, and there is no evidence that they go from one house, out 20-60 feet in the environment, and then find there way to the bedroom in the next house.
Of course, they may be right about condos and apartments.
Sleep tight don't let the bedbugs bite
After having had an infestation, I will NEVER use that phrase again. I wouldn't wish bedbugs on my worst enemy.
But if they do, put em in your shoe and tomorrow we'll make bed bug stew!!
The complete saying is:
Night, Night, Don't let the bedbugs bite.
And if they do, hit 'em with a shoe,
Until they're black and blue
Makes my skin crawl. Especially every time we stay at a B&B or hotel.
Bring back DDT!!!!!!!! There is absolutely no reason why DDT chemical has been banned in the United States. we need to educate ourselves and make known to our legislature that DDT does not harm humans or domestic animals. It was the only chemical sprayed in the air that controlled them and we almost had them eraticated! There is no reason why we can't bring back DDT, its not fair that i find bed bugs in my couch or bed and have to throw away money i do not have!! Let's fight to bring back DDT!!!!!
Eddie L.-2910346, Seriously, DDT even in trace amounts is so toxic and long lived in the environment it can actually cause multi-generational birth defects and stillbirth in a broad array of animal populations including humans. It nearly wiped out the American Bald Eagle. Hey, I'll bring over the spray and we can do you and the wife. Is that crickets I hear (silence)? What no takers? I didn't think so!
Bullcrap.
Bedbugs developed resistance to DDT back in the 1940s, and so the belief that DDT is a silver bullet is erroneous. DDT does not exterminate bedbugs, but rather it has effects much like a stimulant and spraying it only increases the number of attacks.
Eddie L., what a joke.. animals up and down the food chain recovered whet DDT was eliminated. But dont' let scientific proof sway your opinion. That would be too much like using a fact to come to a conclusion.
Let's have the return of DDT be experimentally started in your back yard...agreed???
DDT eradicated bedbugs 40 years ago. DDT works because it persists and needs only one application. Any surviving bedbugs may be "resistant" but they don't stick around. DDT repels the "resistant" bedbugs eradicating them from the dwelling. DDT works. Tank, Jaybee, John, and Humansmatter are all IDIOTS. There has NEVER been a single scientific study that linked DDT to any of the claims these morons espouse.
DDT was outlawed because it worked. So we used alot of it. The amount used was the real problem.
Now they can sell you lots more "short" acting poisons.
The more frequent application of the short acting poisons may lead to more exposure by the applicant.
At my house, that is me.
So yes, I would prefer less applications of longer lasting poisons.
Amen! DDT has been given a bad rap. Farmers in the 60's overused it and ruined the name. When used correctly, DDT would not only end Bed Bug infestations but it would wipe out Malaria and other mosquito born illnesses. Instead of DDT, we stupidly buy mosquito nets and protect a few people only when sleeping. Makes no sense! Bring back DDT!
Sadly this generation of bugs has proven immune to DDT.
How would you know that this generation of bed bugs is immune when we havn't conducted real test in 18 yrs!
Seriously, DDT even in trace amounts is so toxic and long lived in the environment it can actually cause multi-generational birth defects and stillbirth in a broad array of animal populations including humans. It nearly wiped out the American Bald Eagle. Hey, I'll bring over the spray and we can do you and the wife. Is that crickets I hear (silence)? What no takers? I didn't think so!
Don-1219091 is correct. DDT will not kill bedbugs. However, DDT has very low toxicity to mammals. It does have a hormonal effect which in birds causes them to lay eggs with thinner shells. That is very detrimental to large birds as their eggs are very susceptible to breakage. Further, DDT very fat soluble. An animal with a steady body mass is not affected very much, but a migrating bird burns a lot of fat. This results in DDT being released into the blood. This resulted in some rather spectacular mass deaths of robins and other birds at the end of their migrations. There is no evidence that DDT causes birth defects.
Dale is WRONG about the birds. It was proven that STRESS from NOISE polution caused the eggshell thinning. DDT had NOTHING to do with that. Rachel Carson is an idiot. Stress caused the mass deaths of migratiing birds this study was repeated and proven long after DDT was gone from the environment. DDT eradicated bedbugs 40 years ago. DDT works because it persists and needs only one application. Any surviving bedbugs may be "resistant" but they don't stick around. DDT repels the "resistant" bedbugs eradicating them from the dwelling. DDT works.
GUY SMITH-2914893, which research lab do you work for?
Probably a Meth Lab...
@GUY SMITH
Yes, I'd like to read that study. Would you quote your source please?
And, by-the-way, making such a significant "scientific" claim while at the same time calling another posters idiots doesn't exactly instill a sense of credibility in your posts.
Anyone think its weird this raging infestation has been on the rise lately - along with illegal immigrants - truth be told, they are probably bringing in worse things than bed bugs (TB, whooping cough etc.) Why do you think we have immigration laws? To prevent diseases, infestations, crop and plant diseases etc. These people come illegally and bring all manner of pestilence with them - it will get worse until we realize they are the problem and make them follow the laws that already exist if they want to come here.
Amen.
Bed bugs are all over the world. They come in with international travelers, as well as international shipments of clothes etc. This problem cannot be put at the feet of illegal immigrants as they are typically not staying at the Waldorf Astoria and other high end or midscale hotels that are currently under seige.
The reason we are hearing more about them now is because these little buggers are affecting everyone indiscriminately. Additionally, cleanliness has nothing to do with it as they do not feed on food scraps (like roaches do), they merely need your blood to survive and reproduce.
I suggest you take your illegal alien routine to some other thread.
"tell me you're joking" The problem with comments like yours is you don't bother to do a little research for factual information before you post a comment. Every single article I have read concerning the resurgence of bedbugs has attributed this situation to globalization and the tremendous increase in international trade and international travelers from literally all over the world. I live in one of Americas largests cities and we have visitors from virtually every country in the world and according to the experts this has been the major reason for the increase in bedbugs. May advice is to do a little checking before you assume you know for certain what is responsible for a certain problem.
"Tell me you're joking" - Illegal immigrants are the reason our country is falling apart at the seams. Not because of the business lobby, or business welfare where the entire country has subsidized the crown princes of banking and their bailout, and not because of ignorance such as the type you have so obviously displayed. Those darn illegal immigrants! If we could keep them out of the country we could use all the money we save to buy you a set of teeth!
Bed bugs were a huge problem on U.S. military bases during World War II. This was a big concern for General Douglas MacArthur. Were illegal immigrants to blame for that, too?
WOW. People's ignorance AMAZES ME. Illegal immigrants are blamed for everything in this country even for bedbugs? Oh please. We help this country in so many ways. So instead if talking things that make no sense, keep your mouth shut. Bedbugs hide in things such as clothes, mattresses, etc. Have you noticed that most of our clothes come from countries such as China, India, and so on? Bedbugs are probably infesting those factories, the bedbugs attach themselves to the clothes and get shipped to good ol' America, thus we get the bedbugs.
Maybe they were, who knows.
wow, I'm impressed with the ability to turn a discussion about bedbugs into an immigration debate.
I don't understand how people can say illegal immigrants are the source for bed bugs. When a person immigrates to the US in the legal fashion they don't get a bed bug inspection and declared "all clear." So who's to say legal immigrants aren't the source? Hm? (I'm just having some fun here, people...)
tell me you're joking...please tell me you're joking
Umm, yeah, I guess we Native Americans shouldn't have finally caved and allowed illegal immigration to go on this last decade or so... Now we got the bed bugs!
Suuure...?
Hey, wait!
sounds like; everyone needs to clean & disinfect their furniture, incl. bed frames and throw out their mattresses..
That is not enough they go into the walls in your picture framesany crack in your furniture I.E. where it is joined together.
We had to vacuum every day (used three vacuums)then every 30 days pull our furniture 18" from the wall, put all your cloths through the dryer, pull all the draws out and lean the bed against the wall (it had a bed bug cover on it). after two years and "three expert pest companies" we just gave up destroyed all our furniture, appliances, cloths, and moved. that is what we had to do to get rid of them.
People might try putting a stem of Tansy in their bed and other furniture. I had a problem with a different bug brought into my house by a cat I took in. That was a type of mange--an even worse bug since it lives in the skin. After trying numerous things that did not work, or seemed to work but did not last, the Tansy finally did the trick. CAUTION Tansy can cause abortions in large enough doses, though I am sure that is when it is consumed orally. People may want to consult with an herbalist or natural health care provider before using Tansy. I just picked a long stem, 2 feet or so, and put it in the bed. After three days the problem was gone. They were even off of the cat, who slept on the bed. Thereafter when I noticed the cat still seemed a little itchy I put another Tansy stem in the bed. No more mange, after three years of this! Tansy is an invasive species from Europe. It can be found naturalized in North America. Roadsides and trailsides are a likely place to find it.
Thank you. Many natural treatments exist for various pests. Anyone advocating manmade poisons is just being ignorant.
I think that stating an herb causes "abortions" might be a little ignorant, too. An abortion is an intentional action to terminate a pregnancy. Not a miscarriage. Sorry, but I'm not taking advice from hippie herbalists who let dirty cats sleep in their bed and give them mange.
jennyt, good lord, the medical term for miscarriage is "spontaneous abortion". It sucks when you're trying to be high handed and it doesn't work out, huh?
Staying in a hotel with your dog (ugg)? You are inviting those bed bugs into your home! It doesn't take too much insight to understand that bed bugs on the hotel bed, floor, and/or furniture upon which you allow your dog to rest contain a pathway for the bed bug to your dog. Guess what's next? You now have bed bugs in your home and/or you transmit them to the next hotel which you bring your animal. Hotels, in need of business and a lack of concern for their hotel guests that don't enjoy sharing their room with the previous occupant's dog (and associated dander and who knows what else), simply ignore the relationship between bed bugs and dogs. Pet owners are in denial about this problem. There are plenty of reasons for bed bugs appearing in your home or hotel room and you should add the obvious mentioned in this article to that list. "You don't have to be weatherman to tell which way the wind blows" or an investigative entomologist to figure out some sources of bed bug infestation.
Stan Hrincevich
5 Caleridge Ct
Littleton, CO 80130
720 289 9966
Bring back DDT!!! There is absolutely no reason why DDT chemcial has been banned in the United States. It does not harm humans or domestic animals, so we need to educate ourselves and let legislature know that we should not have to suffer because of a few hippys a couple of decades ago felt that DDT was bad. Why do I have to suffer if I find bed bugs in my bed or couch and throw away money I do not have. First world country with 3rd world problems? Please someone explain to me what is wrong with this picture! If we have money to try to solve other countrys problmes, lets start using some of that money for our own domestic problems. Please write to your congress person and bring back DDT!!!
Eddie L.-2910346, Seriously, DDT even in trace amounts is so toxic and long lived in the environment it can actually cause multi-generational birth defects and stillbirth in a broad array of animal populations including humans. It nearly wiped out the American Bald Eagle. Hey, I'll bring over the spray and we can do you and the wife. Is that crickets I hear (silence)? What no takers? I didn't think so!
You're joking, right? Carcinogenic neurotoxin, hormone mimic, birth defects, diabetes not to mention wiping out birds and other wildlife.
DDT will not kill bedbugs. Bedbugs became resistant to DDT by the mid-1950s. While DDT has very low toxicity to mammals, it does have a hormonal effect which in birds causes them to lay eggs with thinner shells. That is very detrimental to large birds as their eggs are very susceptible to breakage. Further, DDT very fat soluble. An animal with a steady body mass is not affected very much, but a migrating bird burns a lot of fat. This results in DDT being released into the blood. This resulted in some rather spectacular mass deaths of robins and other birds at the end of their migrations. There is no evidence that DDT causes birth defects.
Dale and Tank are WRONG WRONG WRONG. DDT eradicated bedbugs 40 years ago. DDT works because it persists and needs only one application. Any surviving bedbugs may be "resistant" but they don't stick around. DDT repels the "resistant" bedbugs eradicating them from the dwelling. DDT works.
I ran into bed bugs in a middle-range motel in St Louis last year. Didn't even know they were there until the following morning when I saw all the blood spots on the sheets and pillow. There was even one still crawling around inbetween the sheets.
But here's something you may not know. I thought I'd gotten away with it. No bites, no blood on me, nothing. So I finished my trip, laundered my clothing that night, checked the suitcase, and still nothing. Fortunately, I did escape without taking any of the critters with me, but about a week later I broke out in dozens of bites all over my head, neck, and shoulders. So be careful and realize the bites don't show until much later.
I've seen this type of article before but no one says what has caused it. Maybe you can explain?
The cause is a combination of complacency and the banning of the organophosphorous insecticide Chlorpyrifos (Dursban) from indoor use by the EPA in 2000.
We love to travel, but noticed that the hotels we stopped at (even though they were reputable chain hotels) were not very clean. In fact, some of them were disgusting - those we left immediately. Hotel standards aren't what they used to be, and some "cultures" do not have the same level of hygeine that we have. Nothing too cultured about that!
So, about five years ago we bought an RV. I can lay my head down to sleep with no worries that there are visitors in my bed. I think we were just in time, bedbugs seem to have become epidemic in the last two or three years.
One thing that bothers me is that I can't believe they do not carry disease. Lyme disease is carried by mosquitos, bubonic plague is carried by fleas, and so on. Why wouldn't the same mechanism work with bedbugs?
And I do believe there is a strong connection between unchecked legal and illegal immigration and the huge rise in infestation.
Bed bugs do NOT carry disease.
Illegal immigrants are no more to blame than international business travelers.
Lyme is from ticks not mosquitos. The disease has to adapt to not dying in the digestive system of the blood sucker in order to spread it to the next meal provider.
Even more so, the disease has to infect the vector (aka blood sucker) and spread to the salivary glands. The vector's saliva typically contains an anticoagulant to keep the blood of the host from clotting. The vector injects saliva into the bite to prevent clotting and the disease travels into the host (person) with the saliva.
I didn't know penthouses and five star hotels were full of illegal immigrants.
i think what hes saying is if they werent coming over her illegal,we wouldnt be getting all these wierd bugs and getting sick with things.once its here u cant change things.the immigrrants work alot of times in these places for cheaper pay!but people also need to relize they travel on animals(squiarls,birds,ect.) they travel on the warm pipes.so its not just people!
They work there make beds, wash sheets and doing other odd jobs for these places.
In this article, page 2. "...according to Richard Cooper, an entomologist who serves on the New York City Bedbug Advisory Board and is vice president of BedBug Central, a company that provides educational resources to the public.
“There are still an amazing number of people that think bedbugs are some kind of folklore,” he says. “Or, if they do know about them, they think it’s due to poor hygiene, or it’s a problem that only affects the lower classes.”
Most people say the got "spider bites" in bed although no known spider sucks blood or bites humans execpt in self defense.
back in the 40s growing up as a child I remember a bed bug infestation and the way they got rid of them was to spray everything with cole oil, the odor is not nice but I am sur if you need to you could spray the air with room fresheners, it worked then it may work now, worth a try.
To anyone who is having a problem with bugs. If its actually freezing outside or close to it, letting your house fully freeze inside will kill of all the bugs. And should also kill the eggs. Its radical, but it works. And you dont need poison.
If you are wondering if you have bedbugs, you should find little blood spots on your sheets from bites.
Im glad I live in the north, to cold for bedbugs up here :)
Bedbugs are alive and well in Seattle...I'd call that "North"...
The Empire state building hate bed bugs in their basement not too long ago and I think it's pretty cold in New York.
sorry "HAD" bed bugs in their basement
Bedbugs are killed by freezing temperatures (less than 20 F) and high temperatures (over 120 F). However, bedbugs will move to avoid those temperatures and they are not killed instantly. This means that to freeze bedbugs out of furniture, it must set outside in a location where even the deepest crevice will be under 20 degrees and stay under 20 for several hours. Bedbugs are inactive and do not reproduce at temperatures under 40. However, at such temperatures they can survive for up to a year. Freezing in a freezer is a good way to eliminate bedbugs from toys and pillows. Other objects can be heated in a dryer set on high.
So I should just open the windows up tonite when the temp is suppose to drop to 3F? My wife is not going to be happy, but we all need to make sacrifices. I only wear a thong at night.
TMI! LOL!
I work in the pest industry in the south and last summer there was a rise in need for bed bug treatments, but we haven't done too many lately. Two methods that seem to work effectively are a freeze method and a heat method. Bed bugs tend to be nocturnal and they can hide just about anywhere: sheets, mattress seams & covers, headboards, loosened wallpaper, baseboards and moldings, things you hang on your wall and furniture. It is a tough process to get rid of them but they can be killed. Bed bugs do not discrimanate, anyone can get them no matter where you live and they can carry disease but do NOT transmit diseases. World travel is what is reintroducing the bed bugs to the U.S. motels and hotels.