Omss-Culture: Culturebox: Don't Let the Bedbugs Fright



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Science Don't Let the Bedbugs Fright False alarms can be just as bad as the real thing. By Eliza Barclay Posted Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, at 10:04 AM ET In September 2009, a small population of bedbugs gulped my blood and took sanctuary in my mattress. For a few weeks, I endured ferociously itchy bites and prepared for the trio of invasive chemical treatments that would rid them from my home. When the pest management technician finished his work, he warned me that even though the bedbugs were gone for now, they might be waiting to relaunch their invasion from the neighbors' place. A friend at the health department had the same advice: I should always be on guard for a resurrection. On two separate occasions, both months after the original plague, I came very close to hiring an exterminator once again. The appearances of a strange bug near my bed, and then a smattering of unexplained bites, led me to consider dousing my home with chemicals at great expense. But I never did spend that money, nor did I suffer the same blazing blisters I'd had last fall. Yet the considerable anxiety and angst I felt during these false alarms easily matched the effects of the real thing: hours and hours spent brooding over where they might have come from, pacing the house, and cursing violently. To continue reading, click here. Eliza Barclay is a writer in Washington, D.C. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Tea Party Is Making Plans for Its Takeover of the House Why Are Scientists So Obsessed With the Behaviors of Ovulating Women? Does Obama Actually Do Any of His Work in the Oval Office?	Advertisement
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Now playing: *Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V* at www.slatev.com.
Science Don't Let the Bedbugs Fright False alarms can be just as bad as the real thing. By Eliza Barclay Posted Monday, Sept. 13, 2010, at 10:04 AM ET In September 2009, a small population of bedbugs gulped my blood and took sanctuary in my mattress. For a few weeks, I endured ferociously itchy bites and prepared for the trio of invasive chemical treatments that would rid them from my home. When the pest management technician finished his work, he warned me that even though the bedbugs were gone for now, they might be waiting to relaunch their invasion from the neighbors' place. A friend at the health department had the same advice: I should always be on guard for a resurrection. On two separate occasions, both months after the original plague, I came very close to hiring an exterminator once again. The appearances of a strange bug near my bed, and then a smattering of unexplained bites, led me to consider dousing my home with chemicals at great expense. But I never did spend that money, nor did I suffer the same blazing blisters I'd had last fall. Yet the considerable anxiety and angst I felt during these false alarms easily matched the effects of the real thing: hours and hours spent brooding over where they might have come from, pacing the house, and cursing violently. To continue reading, click here. Eliza Barclay is a writer in Washington, D.C. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE \| READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Tea Party Is Making Plans for Its Takeover of the House Why Are Scientists So Obsessed With the Behaviors of Ovulating Women? Does Obama Actually Do Any of His Work in the Oval Office?	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters on Slate Unsubscribe \| Newsletter Center \| Advertising Information Please do not reply to this message since this is an unmonitored e-mail address. If you have questions about newsletters, please go here.
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to newsletters@slate.com. Copyright 2010 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLC \| Privacy Policy Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive \| c/o E-mail Customer Care \| 1150 15th Street NW \| Washington, D.C. 20071

Culturebox: Don't Let the Bedbugs Fright

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