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All I Want For Christmas is to Not Get Bedbugs
Photo by bedzine via Flickr
Whether you're traveling for the holidays, or welcoming out-of-towners into your home, one gift you don't want to give, or receive, is the gift of bedbugs. When people are moving about the country, bedbugs, those "lentil-sized vampires," are more than happy to go along for the ride.Beverly Hills Patch has put together a set of tips for travelers and homeowners to make sure there are no bedbugs under your Christmas tree...or, rather, in your bed. Although there have been a few reported cases in Beverly Hills, data gathered by the L.A. County Department of Public Health shows that the largest concentrations are in Downtown and the San Fernando Valley.
While Santa might care if you're naughty or nice, bedbugs don't care if you're rich or poor: "They cross all socioeconomic lines. Cleanliness is not a factor. We've seen them in swanky hotels and homeless shelters. It's a blood meal that they want and they'll take that from everybody," said Todd Veden, a Terminix technical specialist in Southern California.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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