Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite

There's swine flu, global warming, pollution, and now, added to the growing list of worries in today's world, bedbugs. So maybe they're not quite that bad, but, according to the government, bedbugs are coming back. And they are biting.

Bedbugs, often confused with ticks and even fleas, are tiny, reddish insects that thrive in the warm nooks and crannies of mattresses. They have been on the way out since a peak population during World War II, when they lived in the filthy sleeping bags of the army. Now, for the first time ever, the feds are noticing a rise in their numbers, as the blood-sucking creatures invade everywhere from college dorms to homeless shelters and hospitals. The problem has gained so much attention, in fact, that bedbugs were the subject of a two-day conference held by the Environmental Protection Agency in April. Faced with complaints, the committee is pushing a bill titled, aptly, the "Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act, which aims to eradicate the critters using carefully prepared insecticides. Unfortunately, the bugs have already developed a resistance to many pesticides on the market, and some of the most effective chemicals include nasty, infamous chemicals like DDT. However, concern for public health and the sheer annoyance of these little bugs may soon warrant other, desperate measures.

And until then, we won't be sleeping tight.