Recently, my friend told me he was staying in a motel in Florida and was attacked by bedbugs. He was bitten over 100 times and ended up getting a systemic allergic reaction. I told Make senior editor Paul Spinrad about it and he told me bedbugs are on the rise. He's right. There are a lot of news stories about the phenomenon.
A local bedbug expert is Brian Cabrera, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. "They are definitely back," he says.
"Whereas before, pest control companies would see two cases in a year, they're now seeing 20, 50, 75 cases a year. Definitely an increase, but it won't constitute an epidemic."
Cindy Mannes, vice president for public affairs with the National Pest Management Association, says between 2000 and 2006, pest control companies have seen a 71 percent increase in the number of calls about bedbugs, some receiving as many as 30 or 40 a week. And some companies, she says, are setting up bedbug divisions.
