Are illegal immigrants bringing bed bugs to New York?

Question

I saw this article about how bed bugs, nearly eradicated in the WW II era, are back with a vengence:

"Absent from the U.S. for so long that some thought they were a myth, bedbugs are back. Entomologists and pest control professionals are reporting a dramatic increase in infestations throughout the country, and no one knows exactly why."

I thought to myself SURELY we can blame this on illegal immigrants, and SURE ENOUGH down in the middle it says:

"Experts are not entirely sure what has caused the marked increase. Some speculate that increased international travel and immigration may be partially to blame."

There you go! What do you think?




http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060807/ap_on_re_us/bedbugs_are_back_4

Could be the politicians at that.

Or maybe global warming, that was my next idea.

Mexican, I said nothing about Mexicans. In areas where there are fewer Mexicans the predominant illegal alien nationalities are from elsewhere.

mryteaandcoffee and Sashie - hey, I am just reading what the paper says... immigration, right?

ranger12, my tongue is firmly in cheek, you will note the comment about global warming. However, in the same vein, we all know what the word 'immigrants' means in the press these days....

sqwirl - trust me this is better than a lot of the questions today.

Answer 1

Bedbugs in NY, huh? I'll have to conclude you are a racist, sir ... :)

Answer 2

Basically, the bedbug invasion is coming from international arrivals at the US. There are countries where the bedbug is rampant and are brought here unknowningly. They can survive without food ( blood) for a long time. They can hide themselves in luggage, clothing etc. They are usually found in motels/hotels. There has been a marked increase in the bedbug population since the mid 1990's and getting stronger each year. Seems logical to think with the increased legal/illegal immigration the US has been having that it could very well be one of the causes after some 50 years of infestations of bedbugs being under control.
From what I read, they ( the exterminators) feel it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Answer 3

I read this today, too, and I thought the exact same thing. While I am sure that ALL bedbug infestations cannot be blamed on illegals, I would bet a good portion of them are. Same as with the resurgence of TB and the many more cases of Hepatitis and even HIV.

Answer 4

Bed bugs have always been a problem, they are just getting allot of publicity lately.

How can you surely blame this on illegal immigrants?

How can anyone else here say oh.. another thing for liberals to get mad at? Are you sayingthat when anything goes wrong liberals get mad?

oh bird flu may or may not be coming, bet those damn liberals will blame bush.

Oh oil spill in alaska, bet those liberals will blame bush.

Oh were being racist, bet those liberals will complain that we're racist.

Answer 5

If bed bugs are coming here with immigrants, how do they tell the legals from the illegals?

And for the moron who equates higher rates of TB and hepatitis, how do those diseases tell the legals from the illegals? or is it that legals get hepatitis and illegals get hepititus?

Answer 6

I had to check your Q and A and make sure this was you.

I like sensible and even Dars..........not new and improved "Darbug"

Why can't this infestation be JUST because NY is nasty and filled with filth, bugs and rats. UGH.

OH Crap.......I get it........."UGH"........sorry.

Answer 7

Provocative......hmmm This is something I would like to know more about. It's the first time I have heard about this. It's very interesting.

Answer 8

Funny, libs are probably going to blame it on a Bush conspiracy.

Answer 9

Hm, I don't know. But bed bugs gross me out! I don't even like to think about sleeping with bugs. *gag*

Answer 10

They bring bugs and vermin. We need to spray the bastards when we catch them.