Don’t let the bedbugs bite.
And if they do
Then take your shoe
And knock ‘em ‘til
They’re black and blue!
--- Author Unknown
This bedtime rhyme dates back to the mid 1800’s and millions of children have been tucked in bed snug as a bug in a rug with these soothing words. This seemingly harmless nursery rhyme is not fit for children and I’m about to tell you why, but I’m going to revise the poem and bring it into the twenty-first century.
Forget good night, forgo sleep tight,
Those nasty bedbugs are gonna bite.
And when they do
You’ll need more than a shoe
Because sucking your blood is what they do.
It’s what they do, it’s what they do!
Hotels, motels, theaters, and clubs
No one is safe from this vicious bug.
My innocence lost at such a cost,
Suitcases and clothing, all were tossed!
I didn’t spend a lot of time on the new version, roughly twenty minutes, but I have spent over two weeks cussing, rubbing, medicating, and monitoring the bedbug bites I acquired in New York City. I didn’t mention them in my January 29th blog, Notes from New York, because at that time I was still a naïve bedbug victim - believing the bites would disappear within a few days and, basking in the warm memory of Manhattan, I kept quiet, mollified by the honeymoon phase.
Seventeen days later, I am a distrustful human being. Not towards my own kind – my cynicism is focused, clearly directed at insects and specifically, parasitic insects. I have an enemy. I don’t want enemies and try very hard not to accumulate them, but this antagonist will not let me be.
The top three destinations on my Bucket List: The rainforest, New York City, and Tuscany, Italy. Last year I went to the rainforest and returned with chigger bites that lasted for weeks - six weeks to be exact. My feet, ankles and calves were covered with small lesions that itched, burned, blistered, and scarred. Paranoid upon my return to the States, I threw away all my socks, shoes, underwear, t-shirts, and my suitcase. I checked and re-checked my household plants, looking for the little buggers just in case they hitched a ride to South Dakota and found my Dracaena or Ficus to their liking. Yet, despite all that, I would return to the rainforest; this time better informed about chiggers and with a strategy to steer clear of their habitat. I know where they live, I know their secrets.
So why am I so distressed about the bed bugs? On day fourteen, I awoke with a red hot poker in my arm. My skin was swollen and stretched tight around three bites (referred to as breakfast, lunch, and dinner) with a red line streaking to my upper arm.
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| Bedbug bites courtesy of Manhattan |
By afternoon, my forearm from wrist to elbow was bright red and on fire. The doctor determined I had soft tissue infection and blood poisoning. The vile little bloodsuckers poisoned me! Tried to kill me! I can’t forgive that.
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| Blood poisoning on its way to my heart |
Massive doses of antibiotics were administered – ten a day for seven days, heavy dose of Prednisone for three days, tapering off every three days for nine days. Ever had to take prednisone? This was my first rodeo with the drug and I didn't dare leave the house all weekend. Didn’t trust myself. I felt like Joan Rivers on steroids with a severe case of PMS. Not cool at all. On this bug-go-round I also threw away my suitcase, my underwear, my socks, and my pajamas. I am 99% certain that the vampire bugs did not fly home with me, but my concern now is…When I travel in the future, where do I lay my weary head after a long day of sightseeing? I was blissfully resting in my hotel room on a Sweet Sleeper bed with plush pillowtop mattress when the blood-thirsty bugs assaulted me, inserting their dual feeding tubes into my unsuspecting flesh, injecting anesthesia with one tube and extracting blood with the other. I wasn’t traipsing about the jungle knee-deep in tropical flora. I was in a safe place. Or so, I thought. How will I ever regain trust in the hotel bed? Where will I find the money to buy new suitcases and underwear? What insect will accost me in Italy?
According to bedbugger.com, deadbedbugs.com, thebedbugsbite.com, badbedbugs.com, ehow.com, ezinearticles.com, CBS, NBC, ABC and all the exterminators in the U.S. – we are in the midst of a bedbug epidemic. A resurgence in bedbug infestations. A bloodsucking war that we are, thus far, losing. In August 2010, CBS listed the top ten bedbug infested cities and Ta! Da! New York City was numero uno.
I have shared my battle with the bugs and if you want to know more, visit any of the above websites/blogs to learn how to identify and exterminate bedbugs. Some of the sites include tips for travel and safeguarding your home. There are plenty of photos of the perpetrators and their victims.
Sweet dreams.
