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Coverage of the recently concluded (and sold out) two-day North American Bed Bug Summit in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, strangely didn’t grab the attention of many print and television news editors around the nation despite the public's growing interest in the blood suckers, notes GrumpyEditor.com.
Most editors feel putting the spotlight on the bugs isn’t as “sexy” as the unveiling of another Apple Inc. product --- or covering other summits, especially in foreign lands.
Bed bugs are popping up everywhere around the nation and increasingly are putting the bite on Americans.
Hotels, hospitals, movie theaters, military housing, college dormitories, shelters, retail stores, among others, are popular gathering spots for the mushrooming tiny bugs that also are invading homes.
Bed bug capital right now is New York City. Recently, the Nike flagship store in Manhattan and a Victoria’s Secret closed temporarily due to infestations.
Credit the shelving of DDT for the bed bug upswing. The pesticide, banned 38 years ago, kept the apple seed-size insects under control.
Thus, the North American Bed Bug Summit last week attracted entomologists, vendors, exterminators and scientists all focusing on how to combat the upsurge with techniques and products now available.
The event attracted 400 --- paying $399 each --- to the Hyatt Rosemont. About 200 others were turned away.
Among suggested actions to kill the pesky insects: bug-sniffing canines, assorted detection devices, treatment routines (including both heating and freezing assaults) and fumigation.
The National Pest Management Association estimates bed bug complaints have soared 500 percent in five years.
