Imagine going away to college to begin your path to life and a career. You get to your new dorm room, home and life and begin to settle in. Life is exciting and wonderful, that is, until you start to notice a rash. You change detergents and soaps and deodorants thinking that maybe you have become allergic. You wonder if it is poison ivy or if you are just coming down with a virus. I would almost prefer the virus. You finally begin to put two and two together and find your dorm room is infested with bed bugs. Let me rephrase that, your dorm. These critters have invaded your personal belongings. They are in your book bag or purse, they are in your clothing, they are everywhere. The most disturbing thing to deal with is when you begin to realize that you have visited friends and family over the several months you have been trying to figure out what this mysterious rash was. You friend now has bed bugs, and when you go home for spring break you find them in your bed there. They have spread like the virus mentioned earlier except there is no easy way to get rid of them. The pure expense and physical labor that is involved in eradicating bed bugs is enormous. What was supposed to be the beginning of a bright future has become a nightmare. The mental anguish is overwhelming, your grades start to suffer, you relationships are strained and the embarrassment of the bed bug problem has made you an outcast, after all, you can't risk any more of your friends or relative getting this problem because of you.
Now wake up...was it really a just a nightmare?
Bed bugs are reported to affect one in five Americans. It is a problem that is going to become way worse before it gets any better. Your best defence is a strong offense. Be educated and diligent and use preventative measures.
