A Bed Bug Registry has been set up as a public database of bedbug infestations. For instance, the Gateway Inn hotel in San Francisco (438 O'farrell St) had a reported infestation a few weeks ago. There were 133 reported infestations within 1 mile of that hotel!!! You can use this registry to see if a hotel you are considering staying at has or may have bed bugs. We just returned from a stay in SF and I just checked the hotel we stayed at and it has no reported infestations.
Apparently, bed bugs are becoming a bigger and bigger problem in many parts of the world. These disgusting little bastards are wreaking havoc all over! Bed bugs are nasty little bugs that survive by sucking your blood and typically live in mattresses, sofas or other cushy furniture. Because they are typically active at night, they prey on you after you've already starting sawing logs. Recent, drastic increases of bed bug numbers are believed to be partially due to the ban and reduction of spraying with residual insecticides and other liquid sprays that were being used to control cockroaches. The advent of cockroach bait led to the end of the spraying and subsequent rise in bed bugs. If you want more information the Wikipedia entry of bed bugs is interesting.
Ick.
