Philly Has a Troubling Bedbug Problem

It’s well known–anecdotally at least–that Philly has a bedbug issue. Just do a Google search for “Bedbugs Philly.” Now, a Penn study published Wednesday in the Journal of Medical Entomology (what, you don’t subscribe?) confirmed the impression.

The Penn team analyzed 236 calls to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health between December 2008 and May 2011. It learned that the number of reports was increasing, that they came from almost all parts of the city, and that the bugs caused the most distress in the summer.

In case you’d like to be more freaked out this morning:

[Researcher Michael] Levy said the bugs, which can go a year without a meal, do not die in the winter. “They certainly don’t go away,” he said. “They’re probably just hiding out in people’s houses and not being very active.”

Think twice before you complain about the cold–bedbug season is right around the corner in our fair city. [Inquirer]