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The conflict between humans and insect pests has raged for centuries, but few battles boast the sheer make-your-skin-crawl ick factor as the war between people and bed bugs. And the battle, once played out largely in hotels with high international traffic, has moved to the home front.

Infestations are occurring in homes, hotels, hospitals, day care centers, college dorms, schools, movie theaters, department stores and even public transportation in every state. Don’t think you’re safe from the little blood-suckers just because you travel little or stay at only the best hotels, professionals say.

Bed bug infestations have little to do with cleanliness or quality. Bed bugs are notoriously hardy and just a few of the hitch-hiking pests – which you can pick up virtually anywhere these days – are all it takes to ultimately establish an infestation in your home or apartment. When the lights go off, the bugs come out, and bite and drink from any unsuspecting human who happens to be unlucky enough to be occupying the bed with them. While they’re not yet known to transmit disease, bed bugs can leave you with itchy welts – not to mention severe mental distress.

A Miami-based real estate investor is suing over a pesky problem at a recently purchased West Palm Beach apartment complex – bedbugs. According to a lawyer who filed the Nov. 23 lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, about 25 percent of the units at the Palo Verde apartments off Forest Hill Boulevard were infested with the blood-sucking parasites at the time of the January purchase.

Attorney Robert Stok, who is representing Palo Verde Investors, a subsidiary of the Aztec Group, Inc., said the units were badly overrun. ”The property manager said it looked like a war zone with blood spots everywhere,” said Stok, who added that the apartments have since been rendered bedbug free. “The exterminator said it was the worst infestation they’d ever seen.” Palo Verde Investors purchased the note to the apartments for $11.25 million while the complex off Forest Hill Boulevard was going through a foreclosure, Stok said.

Built in 1973, it had extensive renovations completed in 2005 and 2006, according to a news release written after the acquisition. Investors expected “both higher occupancy and growth in rental income” from the 276-unit complex, the release says. Instead, they were blindsided by bedbugs, according to the lawsuit filed against Nationwide Life Insurance Company.

Read more about Bedbug infestation at West Palm Beach apartments is nasty surprise for buyer at: PalmBeachPost.com

If bed bugs manage to move in despite your precautions, it’s not likely you’ll be able to get rid of them yourself. Just 25 percent of consumers try to treat bed bugs themselves before calling a pro, down from 38 percent a year ago.

At times, it can feel like you are battling a war against an evil blood sucking army of the world’s most irritating creepy crawlers, however, you can win! Rest assured, killing every bug, male, female, or larva will be promising once you  take the steps that are recommended. Don’t suffer anymore. Don’t let these bed bugs inflict hysteria in your household any longer.

The last time the U.S. experienced a bedbug problem of this magnitude was the 1940s and 1950s, experts say. That infestation was handled effectively with pesticides, primarily DDT. But half a century later, in the late 1990s, bedbug reports began to resurface – this time linked to international travelers who picked up the insects in South America, Africa and Asia, and brought them back to American shores in luggage and clothing.

Don’t let bed bugs drive you crazy and ruin your homes. Follow easy bed bug prevention tips that actually work at BedBugBully.com

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