Forget mosquitos, chiggers and ticks. I feel for this broad. I know a number of people who have been through this. Bedbugs in an urban environment are a HORROR. They can hibernate for a year. So, if you move into what looks like a nice, clean apartment, they can come crawling in from upstairs, under the floorboards, behind the wallpaper, etc. They have even been known to hide inside clocks and in book bindings. There are now even bedbug-sniffing dogs that can be rented for a couple hundred bucks an hour.

The bites are the least of it. Getting rid of them is hellish. In the suburbs, you can drag your shit onto the lawn and bomb the place. NYC apartments are akin to being underwater in a sub. I've been very careful when moving, but it's always a fingers-crossed situation. I also check mattresses in hotels as soon as I walk in. Last thing I want to do is bring one of those fuckers back to my Manhattan apartment, especially because I don't want to throw out all my books.

BTW, this epidemic is the result of the banning of DDT.