Detroit bus drivers report being bitten by hitchhiking bed bugs...

[Zacha341]

Oh, uh another reason to stay off DDOT buses if at all possible! Is DDOT now going to have to take the buses off for fumigation or inspection? But then again DDOT's CEO says it's not a big 'widespread problem'? What? I guess you best hope you 'sit' in the right seat or ride the right line?

DETROIT [[WXYZ) - They are "notorious little buggers" says Brian Miller, Vice President of the Detroit bus drivers' union. Miller talked with 7 Action News about the bed bugs that he says have boarded some city buses and bitten about a dozen drivers in the past six months.

The heads of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 26 AFL-CIO are hoping Detroit City Council and health officials will join them in urging DDOT management to be more proactive in tackling the bed bug issue.

Ron Freeland, CEO of Detroit Department of Transit [[DDOT), says while they have detected bed bugs, "We don't consider it to be a widespread problem. If it becomes a widespread problem, we will deal with it on that basis."

Read more: http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/news/region/...#ixzz1zHRT39JD

[Wheels]

New slogan for DDOT:

Ride Tight
Don't Let the Bus Bugs Bite!

[Zacha341]

Hah! Here's a sub head for that:

DDOT: Wait a for long while...
Endure small friends with a smile!

New slogan for DDOT:

Ride Tight
Don't Let the Bus Bugs Bite!

[Lowell]

Sensationalist reports like this rankle me because they are not based on any facts. They make for eye-catching news while further degrading the perceptions of public transit. They are allegations. Where are the bugs? Are the bites from bed bugs or the thousands of other biting insects of summer?

Why doesn't WXYZ take their high paid investigative team and actually find bed bugs on a bus or buses with a professional pest expert and show us the bugs? You know - some actual evidence.

As for the drivers, I don't know of anyone else who sits in the bus drivers' seats than bus drivers, so my investigative team would start with that seat.

I also think they would more likely find lice that bedbugs who actually live on their hosts than bed bugs who visit them for lunch.

If they want to run with this, a better candidate would be those movie theaters with fabric head rest chairs rather than the less porous vinyl bus seating.

"You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to the facts."

[Gannon]

We never watch Fox2 news, but caught that silly-ass promo from Charlie LeDuff dressed as a clown, so we kept the projector on to see it larger-than-life.

They led with the D-DOT bedbug story, and my girlfriend moved a few feet away from me while looking out of the corner of her eye.

I'd taken the 31 Mack down to meet her after work the day earlier.

I don't know why she thought the cat's flea dip bath would do anything...geez does that stuff sting.

Next week, if I'm still clean, she'll let me back into the bed. She likes it when I bug her...


Cheers!

[j to the jeremy]

I'd love to have a "chat" with Ron Freeland....

[thecarl]

I remember in 2009 taking the SMART 200 line between downtown and Ford. Occasionally I'd board a bus that reeked of urine. It was bad in the summer, because folks would open the windows to get fresh air - but in reality, the result was stench-laden hot gasses blowing right in the face. The soiled buses ran for 2-3 days before being removed from service. I learned to remember the bus numbers to avoid the ones that had been contaminated. So, the bed bug story does not surprise me.

[trotwood]

I was really...bugged by this story[[so sorry for the bad pun).
I take a bus into the city at least twice a month for one reason or another&can't help but worry a bit about riding now. What should those of us who use the bus[[Smart&DDOT)do to be a bit proactive given this latest story?
Initially I thought I'd take a can of repellent with me to spray a seat before I sat down. I decided not to do that as I can see where that might cause an unneccessary problem with my fellow riders. Then I thought I'd spray my clothing down before&after boarding a bus. However I don't know if that's safe for me personally. What should we riders do to try&prevent bringing unwanted guests into our homes after taking a ride on a bus?
On another note something else irritated me about the bed bug story on DDOT buses. I fear more than a few will use this as another slur on the city of Detroit.This will somehow turn into another good reason why Detroit should be avoided at all costs. I hope I'm wrong but given the feelings many here in the Metro area have about Detroit I'm almost sure it's coming
I'd appreciate any useful information you all may have to offer.

[thecarl]

On another note something else irritated me about the bed bug story on DDOT buses. I fear more than a few will use this as another slur on the city of Detroit.This will somehow turn into another good reason why Detroit should be avoided at all costs. I hope I'm wrong but given the feelings many here in the Metro area have about Detroit I'm almost sure it's coming

Trotwood, I would not take this personally. Consider that clothing stores in New York City have been shut down and fumigated because bedbugs attached themselves to the inventory, and created problems for employees and customers. It's an epidemic certainly not unique to Detroit, and bedbugs are tenacious insects and notorious hitch-hikers. They've also created quite a problem for the hotel industry nationwide and beyond, so this is not strictly a Detroit thing!

[Gannon]

Yeah, I thought it strange that my girlfriend threw down the covers at our hotel up in Superior, WI a few weekends ago...but realized she was looking for evidence of bedbugs. Her company only puts her up at the best of hotels, and she got quite bitten up by some hiding in one of the shower robes at a hotel in Dallas! She's a bit manic about it, actually...although my comment above WERE a joke.

[detroittrader]

I sell supplies to multi-housing in Southeast Michigan, just about everywhere with 25 or more units is our customer. I can tell you the bedbug situation is not sensationalism, and it's not just the ghettohoods. I tell my friends to call me before moving into an apartment so I can look at the history on bedbug erradication sales for that property. 5 years ago we sold NO bedbug supplies and no one was asking.

That being said, I am going to Jamaica next month and when I return I am going to put my luggage in the garage [[leave it there for a couple months), strip naked and walk in the house...lol No way are those little bastard getting in my house!

[trotwood]

Trotwood, I would not take this personally. Consider that clothing stores in New York City have been shut down and fumigated because bedbugs attached themselves to the inventory, and created problems for employees and customers. It's an epidemic certainly not unique to Detroit, and bedbugs are tenacious insects and notorious hitch-hikers. They've also created quite a problem for the hotel industry nationwide and beyond, so this is not strictly a Detroit thing!

Thecarl I appreciate you responding. I'm not taking it personally lol but I know the mindset of some here in the Metro area.All to often something like this is used as a pole to bash Detroit proper. While I no longer live in Detroit I'm beyond tired&angry at the constant Detroit bashing.
I'm so very glad you mentioned NY. I well remember hearing of that city's brush[[battle?)with bedbugs.
So these bugs aren't hikers,at least not as bad as I've made them out to be in my worried imagination?
Thanks so much Thecarl

[trotwood]

......That being said, I am going to Jamaica next month and when I return I am going to put my luggage in the garage [[leave it there for a couple months), strip naked and walk in the house...lol No way are those little bastard getting in my house!

LMAO!! I can't say I blame you.

[Axle]

I was really...bugged by this story[[so sorry for the bad pun).
I take a bus into the city at least twice a month for one reason or another&can't help but worry a bit about riding now. What should those of us who use the bus[[Smart&DDOT)do to be a bit proactive given this latest story?

At risk of making you paranoid,
Do you hang your coat in a common area at work that comes in contact with others coats?
Do other people sit in your chair at work?
Do you sit on chairs sat in by others?
Do you brush up against other people?
Do you buy clothes?

Bedbugs are akin to ticks, you pick them up from where ever they happen to be, and spread them around.

Alex.

[compn]

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/bedbugs/ has a lot of info on how to prevent, diagnose and treat bed bugs. do what nurses and janitors do, wear a jumpsuit/scrubs over your clothes and seal it in a bag after you get home/work.

[Alley]

I definitely can't blame anyone who's concerned about picking up bedbugs...they are disgusting little things, more common than you'd think [[and not just in the hood where you might expect) and very hard and expensive to get rid of since DDT and Propoxur, highly effective yet dangerous chemicals, were banned. Not sure which channel I saw it on, but the driver showed a picture of one of the bedbugs he found on his bus--it made me itchy! It's true, you can pick them up pretty much anywhere in public but, if you're riding the bus, it might be a good idea to throw your clothes in the dryer on high for at least 30 minutes after

[Jimaz]

Bed Bugs 101 - History & Resurgence

Bed bugs were a common problem in the United States up through the World War II era. Around this time, they were virtually eradicated from the US with the wide scale usage of pesticides, such as DDT and Malathion. During the late 1990's bed bugs began to re-emerge as a pest in the United States, Canada, Australia, the UK, along with a number of other countries. Their secretive behavior, coupled with a lack of public awareness, has enabled this insect to move very efficiently from one dwelling to another and has facilitated their rapid dispersal throughout the country.

While no one can say for certain what caused the resurgence of bed bugs in the United States, there are a number of factors that have probably influenced the re-emergence of this difficult pest. There has been a general increase in bed bug activity on a world-wide basis over the past decade. Due to the increased prevalence of bed bugs world-wide, the frequency of encounters with bed bugs during travel is also likely to have increased resulting in a greater number of introductions into the US than in the past. Most of the early introductions appear to have been associated with travel as many of the early infestations in the late 1990’s were identified in hotel guest rooms.

It is also likely that changes in pest management practices coupled with the development of resistance to modern day pesticides has contributed to the successful re-establishment of bed bug populations in the United States. In the past, hotel guest rooms were typically treated on a regular basis with residual pesticides. As a result, bed bugs introduced during travel were likely to contact pesticide as they left the luggage and traveled to the bed. During the mid 1990's there was a dramatic shift in pest management practices. Routinely scheduled treatments of baseboards in hotels, motels and apartments were replaced with targeted applications of baits for pests such as ants and cockroaches. With the absence of the residual pesticide applications, bed bugs are able to travel freely and safely from the luggage to the bed, and successfully begin an infestation. It is likely that these factors have played a role in the bed bug's ability to become re-established in the United States.

One of the many prices of Globalization?

I think it's important to note that we're currently regressing while we were formerly progressing lest younger readers miss that point.