Bedbug Registry: Don't Leave Home Without It

In a sign of the times, bedbugregistry.com--a website that reports bedbug outbreaks in hotels and rental apartment buildings around the U.S.--is raking in the eyeballs.  The site, which offers an interactive map of infestations and "Recent Bedbug Reports" on the homepage, describes itself as follows:The Bedbug Registry's logo.

"The Bedbug Registry is a free, public database of bedbug sightings in the U.S. and Canada. We have about 20,000 bedbug reports dating back to 2006.

[The] site is administered by Maciej Cegłowski, a writer and computer programmer, as a way of getting vengeance against bedbugs after a traumatic experience in a San Francisco hotel."

The registry even offers alerts, which are emails sent when someone within a mile of you reports bedbugs. For people living in New York City, that could become burdensome for the inbox.

Update on Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at 1:03PM by Kathy

Word has it the best information for fighting bedbugs comes from a report by the New York City Bedbug Advisory Board, which came out this year, and can be found here. The report's advisory report represents some of the nation's best bed-bug exterminators, so address books should be updated accordingly. The good news is the report details many ways to get rid of the pests without toxic chemicals, including using steam heat to fry the suckers.

Some gems from the report:

"Bed bugs are a pest like no other. There is no simple, straightforward, or typical treatment; it requires approaches and resources that are different than most other pests."

"Private residential rental housing violations data in New York City show a greater than 240% rise in bed bug violations (from 2006-2009, from 1,193 to 4,084 violations.)"

"Ideally, a Bed Bug Academy should be established. The Academy would provide comprehensive training to stakeholders in the public and private sector."  

One shudders to think of the entrance exam for the Bed Bug Academy!