Monthly Archives: May 2016

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Latest Bed Bug Incidents and Infestations

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Bed bugs ! – Review of Hyatt Regency Toronto, Toronto …

Posted on May 28, 2016 by toronto Click Here For Article

Dear Ottawan_10

Thank you so much for your feedback. Our sincere apologies for the inconveniences caused during your last stay with us. Providing comfortable, clean and well-maintained accommodation, as well as outstanding customer service is absolutely critical for us.

As a policy, all reports of bed bug activity are treated with the utmost importance. We have contacted Orkin, our pest control provider, who after an inspection, informed us that there were no traces of bed bugs in the room you stayed in or any other infestation in our hotel.

We take all comments received very seriously, and review them with our staff to ensure that any issues are resolved. If you would like to discuss your experience in more detail, please send an email to catarina.ferreira@hyatt.com.

Warmly, Customer Service

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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Are These Bed Bugs or Carpet Beetles? | Terminix

Posted on May 23, 2016 by admin Click Here For Article

If given the choice between having carpet beetles or having bed bugs, the obvious answer would be neither. However, if you suspect that either one of these pests has already snuck into your home and become a threat to your family, you need to know which is which so you can eliminate the threat.

Bed bugs are in the family Cimicidae, while carpet beetles are in the family Dermestids. The difference here is that bed bugs have a mouth made for piercing skin and sucking blood while carpet beetles have a mouth made for chewing on plants and other fibrous material. The good news is that this means carpet beetles dont bite humans. The bad news? Bed bugs do.

Bed bugs feed on human blood while carpet beetles actually prefer pollen and nectar (which is why they often enter your home on cut flowers). Once inside, carpet beetles expand their diet to include hair, fur, silk, wool, clothes and other fibrous material. While carpet beetles arent an invasive danger to your body (they may produce a rash from skin contact), they can still do some serious monetary damage to your carpets, fabrics, upholstery, furniture, food and family possessions.

Another important distinction to note between carpet beetles and bed bugs: carpet beetles can fly. They can enter your home through cracks, doors, windows and other openings. Bed bugs cannot fly. Instead, they drag their blood-filled bodies across your skin to and from their hiding spots.

Bed bugs are reddish-brown, flat and shaped like an apple seed. Carpet beetles vary in color depending on type (e.g., varied, black, furniture or common carpet beetles). Sometimes they look like a black and yellow ladybug. They have short antennae and round bodies and might also have irregular brown, orange and white scales or be solid brown or black. Carpet beetles are generally smaller than bed bugs.

Carpet beetles typically have 11 segments to their antennae, which are shaped like a club. Their membranous wings are covered by a hard exterior shell. Bed bugs have thick antennae arranged in four segments. They have wing pads on both sides of their head, but no wings (i.e., vestigial or undeveloped wings). Its extremely hard to see a carpet beetles eyes, while a bed bug has eyes that protrude from its head. An immature carpet beetle has tufts of hair sticking out from its body while bed bugs may appear hairless.

Bed bugs typically hide within eight feet of their victims. Check in and around your bed as well as clothing, drawers, cracks, baseboards, floorboards, electrical switch covers and anywhere else that grants these pests easy access to your sleeping family.

Carpet beetles arent always found in carpets, especially since many modern carpets are synthetic. Instead, look for carpet beetles in spaces between walls, chimneys, crawl spaces, attics and basements. Carpet beetles particularly like living in places where other insects have lived, especially if those insects are dead. Of course, flowers are their preferred food source, and they are attracted to sunlight, so indoor plants would be their ideal habitat.

Generally speaking, carpet beetles damage your belongings, while bed bugs damage your skin. Still, bed bugs and carpet beetles can both leave similar evidence of their presence on your skin. Bed bug bites are actual bites. The bug injects anesthetic and anticoagulant into your skin with its mouth to ensure a quick feeding that wont disturb your sleep. This saliva causes an allergic reaction in some people, which registers as raised, red welts that itch. Carpet beetles can also leave red bumps on your skin, but they arent bites. These bumps and rashes are caused by an allergic reaction to hairs or bristles on the abdomen of carpet beetle larvae as well as to traces of the insects blood.

The two can easily be confused as both bed bug bites and dermatitis caused by carpet beetles often appear in a straight line or row. This is caused by the path the bug or insect takes when crawling over your skin. Both instances may result in itchy welts that can become infected and erupt from excessive scratching.

Both carpet beetle and bed bug infestations are serious matters that need professional pest control treatment. Both of these obscure invaders disperse throughout your home and are experts when it comes to hiding. Instead of carpet beetles vs. bed bugs, it quickly becomes pests vs. your family. When that happens, be sure to call Terminix to make sure the battle is short-lived.

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How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs – WFSB 3 Connecticut

Posted on May 23, 2016 by admin Click Here For Article

Experienced Pest Control Companies are the Best Option for Getting Rid of a Bed Bug Infestation

Purcellville, VA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/18/2016 -- There has been a resurgence of bed bug infestations not only in the United States but worldwide as well. Bed bugs can show up anywhere, as they do not thrive on filth and dirt. They can appear in the homes of the richest person as well as that of someone living in less than standard conditions. They are, however, attracted to clutter. The more clutter the more difficult it becomes to get rid of them. They can travel easily and can be unknowingly transported by unsuspecting travelers.

Once bed bugs arrive at a new location, they can scatter fast to new hiding places in just about any location in one's house or other living quarters. It is just a matter of time before they multiply and become a real nuisance and challenge to get rid of. If the infestation gets too bad, it is almost impossible to get rid of them without soliciting professional help from an exterminator or other pest control professional.

Many victims of a bed bug infestation generally try to get rid of them on their own. However, this may prove difficult to an untrained person and may only superficially address the problem instead of completely getting rid of them.

Experienced pest control companies are specialists in bed bug extermination and know where to look for bed bugs. They are trained in the most innovative and up-to-date bed bug extermination methods. It is important when looking for a bed bug exterminator to inquire as to whether they utilize an integrated pest management process. As an important first step, they will begin their quest to get rid of bedbugs by performing an extensive visual and physical inspection of the premises that includes beds, furniture and linens. In addition to a visual inspection the pest control professional may inquire as to past infestations, prior treatments, and whether nearby buildings have had bed bug issues. Once an infestation is confirmed, the exterminator such as Environmental Heat Solutions will determine an appropriate treatment for getting rid of the bed bugs.

About Environmental Heat Solutions Located in Purcellville, Virginia, Environmental Heat Solutions was founded with one goal in mind: To help those suffering from bed bug infestations. They are heat treatment bed bug specialists, offering bed bug heat treatment and canine detection services Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. With many years of experience handling bed bug infestations, Environmental Heat Solutions has found heat treatment to be the best approach for eliminating widespread infestations quickly and with minimal environmental impact. Environmental Heat Solutions offers a free, no-strings attached consultation with the desire to inform anybody who suspects a bed bug infestation and provide them access to definitive answers regarding the costs involved with finding and eliminating such infestations.

For more information, please visit: http://www.GreenBedBugSolutions.com

For more information, please visit http://www.greenbedbugsolutions.com/

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/how-to-get-rid-of-bed-bugs-689710.htm

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Bed Bugs Pages | PestMall Blog

Posted on May 22, 2016 by admin Click Here For Article

January 16th, 2015

Pests are unwanted organisms that interfere with human activity. They may damage property, bite, destroy food crops and make our lives more difficult. If not controlled at the right time, these grow multiply rapidly and the damage too increases exponentially. Thus, pest control is imperative. You may hire professionals to do this or you might just try it out yourself.

Effective pest control requires some knowledge about the pest. There are three basic steps involved in pest control identify the pest, learn about the pest, and determine control strategies. The two most common pests found are: Powder post beetles and Bed bugs. Let us look at a quick guide of how you can do pest control yourself!

Tags: bed bug spray home depot, celsius herbicide, powder post beetles pictures Posted in Bed Bugs, bed bugs spray | No Comments

Malathion is one of the widely used and most effective treatment for killing and controlling fleas. Besides flea control, malathion is also known to treat and control tent caterpillars, adult Japanese beetles, red clover mites, lace bugs, spiders, mites, thrips, aphids and much more. Malathion is a strong chemical concentrate that requires caution when being used to avoid mishandling and ensure effective results.

Fleas

Fleas are microscopic insects which feed on animal and human blood by piercing into their skin. Their bites leave tiny red bumps which may aggravate into hives or rashes when itched. Flea bites can be very itchy and when itched continuously may also get infected. These insects are also capable of spreading diseases to animals and people. Malathion is the most popular flea control treatment. However, other companies such as Backed by Bayer are also known for their flea control treatments such as Temperid Ready Spray.

Malathion Application & Precautions

Application of Malathion requires a little prep. Since its only meant to be applied outside, clear your yard of all kinds of debris, including animal droppings. Avoid undertaking the treatment during wet or windy weathers. Now mix 5 ounces of Malathion into 1 gallon of water and spray the mixture using a garden sprayer. The rate of spray should be 1 gallon/ 1000 sq.ft.

Keep the following precautionary steps in mind:

Have you ever used Malathion for treating fleas? Was it effective in getting rid of fleas? Share your thoughts and experiences with us below.

Tags: backed by bayer, malathion flea control, red clover mite Posted in Fleas | No Comments

In the past buying a pest control product required a trip to the market, going through aisles and aisles of mind-boggling variety of products and in the end picking something that the salesman suggested without actually knowing how effective it actually is going to be.

Lets just say, life is a tad bit easier nowadays. The answer to all ones pest control product queries and buying lies in the wide range of online pest control stores that are within access now. Stores like Pestmall.com not only stock a huge variety of pest control products for almost every type of rodent and pest, but also offer great prices and proper descriptions to help make the right choice.

Whether one is looking for a professional grade bed bug spray or specifically for Spectracide carpenter bee killer, it is al there complete with reviews.

This turns out to be an exceptionally helpful feature especially for those who are new to the domain. The customer reviews help in making an informed choice and by learning from the experience of other customers one can pick the best possible product.

Lets just say that one is looking for Terro brand sugar ant baits. It is literally a one step process nowadays, to go find the product online, check the reviews, price and order. Just like that.

In todays times when almost all of the population is struggling to manage time, the online store for something as common as pest control products comes as a relief.

Looking for a product? Hit the internet today and order what you want, at the click of a button!

Tags: professional grade bed bug spray, spectracide carpenter bee killer, terro brand sugar ant baits Posted in Products | No Comments

Bug attacks are a common thing in and around the house and something that needs to be controlled right from the word go. While in most cases it pays to actually find ways that help prevent the invasion from taking place in the first instance, in a circumstance where the attack has already happened, there are steps that need to be taken to rectify it.

There are a number of CY Kick Scorpions products in the market that are specifically created towards the elimination of particular types of bugs and insects. That being said there are a few multifunctional ones that are strong enough to attack more than one species. Given that, it is handy to know which ones these are. Heres a lowdown:

In addition to the Drione insecticide, CY Kick Scorpions and Demon Insect killer there are similar products available in the market that can be located via good research.

Looking for good pesticides to keep around the property? Choose from any one of the ones above today!

Tags: cy kick scorpions, demon insect killer, drione insecticide Posted in Products | No Comments

Cockroaches are both disgusting and a threat to human health. One of the most common pests to invade homes, roaches multiply quickly and if an invasion is not checked quickly can be seen crawling all over the property unabashedly.

When it comes to roach control using just one method rarely suffices. In a severe case a commercial roach killer might also need to be applied. Other than that there area several bait such as avert cockroach gel bait, alpine cockroach gel bait, maxforce roach killer bait and the likes available. Depending upon the type of roach invasion one or more of these can be applied.

While these are steps that need to be taken once the infestation has taken place, in order to control its a process of inspection and exclusion that needs to be applied. Inspecting signs of roach activity on a regular basis and keeping an eye out for cockroach eggs and shed skin is helpful.

Talking about exclusion steps can and need to be taken to reduce cockroach-hiding places. Gaps, pipes under sinks and cracks in walls are potential areas where cockroach breeding takes place.

In addition to these, sanitation is the ultimate goal in order to make sure no breeding takes place. Removing sources of food and water is the key and while it is not practical to be able to do this completely, efforts should be made towards minimization.

In the end, all one can do is take care of these things but if all else fails and an attack does take place, pest control services are imperative. The professionals will use a commercial roach killer and get rid of the pests and after that it is a matter of continued maintenance.

Want to control roaches? Use the steps above for guidance and get started today!

Tags: avert cockroach gel bait, bat repellant moth balls, commercial roach killer Posted in Pest Info, Roaches | No Comments

Bug attacks are a common thing in and around the house and something that needs to be controlled right from the word go. While in most cases it pays to actually find ways that help prevent the invasion from taking place in the first instance, in a circumstance where the attack has already happened, there are steps that need to be taken to rectify it.

There are a number of products in the market that are specifically created towards the elimination of particular types of bugs and insects. That being said there are a few multifunctional ones that are strong enough to attack more than one species. Given that, it is handy to know which ones these are. Heres a lowdown:

In addition to the Drione insecticide, CY Kick Scorpions and Demon Insect killer there are similar products available in the market that can be located via good research.

Looking for good pesticides to keep around the property? Choose from any one of the ones above today!

Tags: cy kick scorpions, demon insect killer, drione insecticide Posted in Products | No Comments

An ant invasion in the home can be the stuff that nightmares are made of. While a few ants here and there can be lived with but a full-blown attack has to be controlled, terminated and further prevented.

Upon research on the web and elsewhere, one is able to find a lot of tips and methods detailed that can help in getting rid of the problem. While some of these are DIY and natural, others involve using products such as Optiguard anti gel bait and Intice ant bait. Every product comes with its own features and effective range and the real choice will depend upon the nature and the magnitude of the problem.

While preventive steps can include things like managing the trash well, closing food containers well, cleaning up all the left over food from bench-tops and table ops and marinating a good hygiene level, once the onslaught has taken place, further corrective and more specialized steps have to be taken.

Products that can help with this control and elimination include ones like optiguard ant gel bait and intice ant bait. Optiguard with its powerful ingredients is able to kill almost all kinds of ants and is great for both indoor and outdoor use. Similarly Intice ant bait is made with very dynamic technology to attack even ants who are resistant to baits. This product is also pet safe.

Buying these products is easy as they are available on a number of online stores also selling other pesticides such as ultracide flea spray etc.

Want to take care of an ant invasion? Take relevant steps today and be attack free forever!

Tags: intice ant bait, optiguard ant gel bait, ultracide flea spray Posted in Ants, Pest Info | No Comments

Termites, as we all know, can be an extremely serious problem in any home or property. While on the one hand there are certain DIY methods to help control and eliminate the pests, albeit not easy, the other option is to take the help of certain products available in the market.

The onslaught of a good pesticide when used correctly can destroy termites effectively. Talking about available products, two that work well are Termidor and Cyper TC.

Heres a lowdown on both:

Termidor: Before one starts to wonder where to buy termidor, it makes sense to understand what it is and what it does. Termidor TC can be bought online and applied to areas in and around the house in order to prevent and kill the termites. For application, Termidor has to be mixed with water as directed and then using a spray can applied to the foundation areas of the house that connect the building and soil.

Cyper TC: Cyper TC is another powerful odorless insecticide that helps control subterranean termites effectively. It is non-irritating and non-staining and almost impossible to tell where it is applied after it has dried out. It is also compatible and can be used in conjunction with herbicides, fungicides and liquid fertilizers.

Termites can be the bane of existence for anyone and if not checked on time can corrode the very foundation of a property. Ina lot of weather conditions where moisture is present they can be a dominant problem but using one or the other of the above products can be helpful.

Want to treat termites? Use the above-mentioned products and start your mission today!

Tags: cyper tc, onslaught pesticide, where to buy termidor Posted in Pest Info, Termites | No Comments

Dealing with cockroaches, bugs and moths every day? Try these simple DIY products to deal with common home pests.

Dr. Ts Bat Away Repellent

Bat repellent and moth balls or traps can be used simultaneously to control invasive animals without the hassle of killing and cleaning. Bat repellent like Dr. Ts can be used for bats, birds, squirrels and rabbits and comes with naphthalene, which is a common product used in moth balls as well. These products can be used with moth traps and balls for dealing with Mediterranean flour moths, tobacco moths, raisin moths, almond and Indian meal moths.

Commercial Roach Killers

Roach killers, such as Avert Cockroach bait Gel offers an ideal solution against cockroaches. This gel bait comes with special formula that kills even the most resistant and immune set of cockroaches. Plus, you can use it in cracks and crevices where cockroaches are found most often. The product can be employed in commercial, industrial and even residential areas. Read the manual to know if it can be used for food handling areas as well.

Delta Dust

This broad label insecticide can help you deal with a large range of common household pests. The product can be used for quick kill of ants, bed bugs, ticks, plant pests, beetles, scorpions, termites and carpenter bees among others. Ensure that you read instructions manual for long lasting and effective protection.

We at Pestmall offer a wide range of DIY pest control products. For free delivery and lowest prices, visit our website.

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Calling a professional pest control service for dealing with those insects, scorpions, bed bugs and ants can burn a hole in your pocket. But with DIY pest control products, you can deal with hundreds of pest infestations without a fuss. Just remember that you read their usage label to ensure hassle free and safe usage. Check out this list of popular DIY products that America is using for dealing with infestations-

Drione Insecticide

Drione Dust is one of the most popular insecticides in the country. The broad spectrum dust can be used for contact kill and residual control of over 20 kinds of pests, including ants, bees, bed bugs, centipedes, silverfish, sow-bugs, wasps, spiders and ticks. Manufactured by Bayer, the product is great for cracks, crevices, gaps and voids treatment.

CY Kick Aerosol

CY Kick is used for scorpions, spiders, ants, bees, centipedes and a range of other pest infestations. Killing instantly, this aerosol product offers residual action as well and can be used for cracks and crevices or spot treatment. With cyfluthrin as the main ingredient, the product offers broad spectrum activity and is great for wood injection as well.

Demon Max

Demon Insect Killer or Demon Max Insecticide provides dual treatment for over 20 pests. The product is known for delivery 90 to 100 percent control and comes with cypermethrin. It targets pests like ants, bugs, insects, beetles, termites, wasp and ticks.

We at Pestmall offer a wide range of products for pest control and lawn maintenance. Visit our website to order these easy to use pesticides for discounted rates.

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Almost every home encounters a pest infestation at least once. But thankfully, you dont have to waste your time and money hiring an exterminator when you can use these affordable DIY products. These professional grade products work well for ants, bees and bedbugs.

Rest Easy Bedbug Spray

This professional grade bed bug spray is an all natural substance for your needs. Designed to be a non-irritant, this spray can be used anywhere (even when you are traveling) and can be sprayed directly in rooms (except for food handling areas). It can be used for moths and lice as well. The spray has cinnamon scent.

Terro Brands Sugar Ant Baits

Ants go crazy over these sugar baits. If you want to kill an ant colony once and for all, this is the product to invest upon. It features borax and sugar. These ant baits also offer residual protection, ensuring that you dont have to worry about another infestation.

Spectracide Foaming Aerosol Spray

Spectracide carpenter bee killer comes in a handy aerosol spray bottle, providing you the comforts of control bee population without worrying about stinging and infections. The product can kill yellow jackets and carpenter bees on attack. Because of the foam technology, it can spread in infestation areas, providing quick knockdown, even in hard to reach spaces.

We at Pestmall offer a range of economical and effective DIY pest control products. For free delivery and discounted prices, visit our website or email at info@pestmall.com.

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Bed Bugs,Tapeworms and Bot Flies: Seven Terrible Parasite …

Posted on May 22, 2016 by admin Click Here For Article

The holidays are over, and for those of us sighing at the cold, dreary, vacationless months ahead it is important to remember some blessings.

For instance, that winter means fewer bugs.

That's precisely why Tara Dairman, 30, was confused by a painful itching on her scalp this December after returning from months abroad in Central and South America.

"I thought the bite was really weird when we got home because we were in Indiana and it was cold," said Dairman.

Dairman quickly found she had been infested with not one, but two painful parasites in her scalp. Her run-in with a blood-sucking bug happened in the jungle of Belize, but there are plenty of parasites one can catch in the United States.

"We're pretty sure that they came from the jungle in Belize," Dairman said of the two bot fly larva that embedded themselves in her scalp.

Dairman and her husband, Andrew Cahill, 30, already had plenty of bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) bites from the trip. But little did the couple know the bot fly lays its eggs in a more insidious way.

"They actually capture a mosquito or a tick and they lay their eggs on their stomachs," said Dairman. The bot fly then releases the mosquito or tick and hopes it will find a good host -- like Dairman -- to bite.

The warmth of the blood the mosquito sucks from the body prompt the bot-fly eggs to hatch. The larvae then embed themselves in the skin either through the new insect bite or a hair follicle, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

As if that's not bad enough, the larvae start to grow spikes on its body to keep hosts like Tara from pulling them out as they feed on her flesh.

"They have these little barbs in them so either when they move or when they're feeding it feels like this hot needle stabbing into you," said Dairman.

Days after the first symptoms, Dairman discovered she had a second itchy, painful spot on her head that caused a lot of pain.

An infection of the bot fly larva found on the head of Tara Dairman, 30. The tip of the larva can be seen as a white dot in the center of the red sore. Photo courtesy of Andrew Cahill.

But Cahill couldn't see what Dairman was talking about. With some Internet searches the couple matched Dairman's symptoms to the notorious bot fly. They also read the best way to find the larvae is to try and deprive them of oxygen.

Put on some form of grease, in this case Vaseline, and the larvae will burrow upwards and fight for air.

The couple would have visited a dermatologist, but wanted to see if they could do it without paying hundreds of dollars for a visit.

"Since we quit our jobs to go traveling we don't have health insurance to cover us in the United States, we only have insurance for emergencies," said Dairman.

If you're fast enough you can grab them with tweezers and (painfully) pull them out. Cahill however, found it was better to suffocate them first.

"We covered them with New-Skin for the night to cut off their air supply," Cahill wrote on their blog, "Andy and Tara's World." "New-Skin is basically fingernail polish that is meant to go on small cuts and scrapes for protection. This morning when we got up, we peeled the New-Skin off one of them and the dead worm was visible."

Dairman said she'd go back to Belize, even after her experience with the bot fly.

"Belize is terrific. So I'd certainly recommend it to anyone," said Dairman. "I think this is really rare."

For a spare few aficionados of raw fish, the delicacy they love can lead to a very unwelcome visitor -- the kind that takes up residence in your intestines.

Anthony Franz was one such case. In the summer of 2006, he went to a Chicago area hospital carrying a 9-foot tapeworm that had come from his digestive tract.

Franz, who was not available for comment, filed a lawsuit against an Illinois seafood restaurant for $100,000 last spring.

"Basically we discovered that this particular tapeworm was caused from uncooked seafood, particularly salmon," said Franz's attorney, Gregory Leiter. "That's what he brought into the hospital."

Franz is one of the small but growing number of tapeworm victims in cities across the world who are discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host parasites.

Fortunately, the number of people who have a story similar to Franz's is still relatively low; a recent study in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases pegged the number at just 1 per 100,000 people in Kyoto, Japan in 2008.

But as sashimi and other raw fish dishes grow in popularity, experts say such cases could become more common.

"Usually, with this particular warm it produces discomfort, some pain, and it can produce anemia," Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, told ABCNews.com.

The worm rarely poses an imminent danger to health, Cabello said. But he added that its presence can leave its host drained.

"The parasite sucks the vitamin B12, and the person with the parasite does not have enough," said Cabello. "This is a worm that can reach 25 feet and it might take months, a year to grow."

For Rosemary Alvarez, it was a diagnosis that brought both relief and revulsion.

The relief came when Alvarez, a 37-year-old Phoenix resident, learned from her surgeon that her neurological symptoms had not been caused by a brain tumor, as her doctors had initially suspected.

But the revulsion soon followed -- when the surgeon said her balance problems, her difficulty swallowing and the numbness in her left arm had been caused by a worm he had just pulled out of her brain.

"She was deteriorating rather quickly, so she needed it out," Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, told ABC News.

But when Nakaji cut into Alvarez's brain to extract what he thought was a tumor, he instead found a parasite living in her brain -- a tapeworm called Taenia solium, to be precise.

"I was actually quite pleased," said Nakaji. "As neurosurgeons, we see a lot of bad things and have to deliver a lot of bad news."

Unfortunately, it is difficult to avoid the worm, which usually only infects pigs. Nakaji said Alvarez's hygiene habits were probably not to blame. It was more likely that someone, somewhere, had served her food tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.

Parasitologists say that while brushes with the pork tapeworms remain relatively rare, they endure in certain areas of the country.

"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."

And the eggs of the worm are nothing if not resilient.

"These eggs can live for three months in formaldehyde," said Kuhn. "You got to think, sometimes, a person is slapping lettuce on your sandwich with a few extra add-ons there."

"Don't let the bedbugs bite."

What once might have been a facetious nighttime saying became pretty good advice for New York City commuters in 2008, as an official with the city's Department of Housing, Preservation and Development told an audience that the city's subway trains and stations may have been infested with the insects.

The New York City Transit Authority immediately defended itself. But Edward Brownbear, lead education instructor for the housing department and the city's top bedbug authority, reportedly said that he himself had seen the bugs on the wooden benches of Manhattan's Union Square station and The Bronx's Fordham Road station -- as well as on the clothing of a passenger on a train.

At least one Manhattan pest control professional agreed at the time that bedbug infestation had been a growing problem in the city's subway system.

"I've been talking about it for five years," said Jeffrey Eisenberg, president of Pest Away Exterminating, adding that he had personally reported bedbug sightings to subway administrators seven to eight years before.

Efforts to track the critters have revealed that, after a long decline, bedbugs have rebounded in the United States in recent years. This is partly because of increased international travel. The tiny, nocturnal insects are able to live in both fibers and wood. They are also known for their bites, which cause itchy bumps on the skin.

But the bite can lead to more than an itch. According to reports from the U.S. Public Health Service, bedbugs are known to carry dozens of infectious diseases, from smallpox to the flu.

And where people are, the bugs are sure to follow, said Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association.

"If you think about large groups of people, in many cases this is how bedbugs are transported," Mannes said at the time. "I know they've been found in movie theaters and other strange places."

The horrific nature of a Guinea worm infection is perhaps best captured in its Latin name -- Dracunculus medinensis. Roughly translated, the term means "little dragon of the Mediterranean."

Despite its small size, the Guinea worm can cause excruciating pain. The pest infects a human host through contaminated drinking water. The larvae of the worm mature in one's stomach and reproduce in the intestines. The mature female worms migrate to the surface of the skin. There, the worms embed themselves, growing up to three feet in length.

Primarily found in the Middle East and many African countries, the Guinea worm enjoys a colorful history shared by few other parasites. It has been found during the dissection of Egyptian mummies and is well documented in ancient texts. There are even possible references to it in the Old Testament.

Some even believe that the Guinea worm was the inspiration for the design of the caduceus -- the serpent-entwined staff that is now the symbol of the medical profession. The theory springs from the fact that in the ancient world, the proper removal of the worm involved grabbing the exposed tail and gradually winding the body of the worm around a stick -- as pulling too hard would cause the worm to break, resulting in infection and inflammation. Thus, some believe, the symbol of the parasite twisted around a stick became synonymous with the healing arts.

Fortunately, public health efforts appear to have largely turned the tide against Guinea worm infections. According to statistics compiled by The Carter Center http://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea-worm/index.html -- the disease-fighting nonprofit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter -- eradication efforts have reduced the number of cases reported in 20 African nations from 3.5 million in 1986 to just a few thousand last year. And some hope that the disease will be completely eradicated within the next few years.

Arguably the deadliest parasite ever known to man, a microscopic organism known as Plasmodium is responsible for the disease known as malaria. The disease is spread by mosquitoes, and each year between 350 million and 500 million people worldwide fall ill from it, according to statistics from the CDC. Of those stricken, more than a million die.

Those infected with malaria generally have fever, headache, and vomiting, starting 10 to 15 days after contracting the disease from a mosquito bite. The deadliest form of the parasite, called Plasmodium falciparum, can rapidly threaten the lives of its victims by disrupting blood supply to vital organs.

The deadly nature malaria has put it in the crosshairs of global health organizations and charitable institutions alike.

"Malaria still kills more than 1 million people every year," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon during a speech on World Malaria Day in April 2008. "The toll it is taking is unacceptable -- all the more so because malaria is preventable and treatable."

And the solutions for this devastating disease are simple ones. Bednets, insecticides and inexpensive antimalarial drugs all go a long way in the areas where it still threatens humans, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.

For many, infection with Chagas disease takes place in the dead of night.

When the lights go out in many of the adobe and mud homes inhabited by the rural poor in Central and South America, the triatomine beetle -- also known as the "kissing bug" -- creeps out from the crevices in walls and ceilings, seeking out warm, sleeping bodies.

The bug got its seemingly-romantic nickname because it is attracted to its victims' faces. At night one's face is generally uncovered and gives off body heat. The insect sucks one's blood through a long proboscis. As it feeds, it defecates -- and spreads the disease.

Within the fecal matter of the bug lives an organism known as Trypanosoma cruzi. And if this parasite enters the bloodstream -- perhaps when a sleeping victim wakes up and inadvertently rubs it into the new, itchy wound left by the beetle -- it can lead to Chagas disease, an infection that is both lifelong and life-threatening.

While early symptoms of the illness include nonspecific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, body aches and headache, the chronic phase of the disease can be deadly. At its worst, the disease can lead to heart failure and sudden death.

While most of the 8 to 11 million victims of Chagas live in Mexico and Central America, it is also seen in poor Hispanic households in southern states and along the Mexican border. Exactly how many in the country are infected is a matter of contention; estimates range from a few thousand to up to a million.

Chagas is just one of an array of diseases that disproportionately affect the poor -- and it was one of the diseases highlighted in a recent report titled "Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States of America."

"The fact that these neglected infections of poverty represent some of the greatest health disparities in the United States, but they remain at the bottom of the public health agenda, is a national disgrace," said Dr. Peter Hotez, author of the analysis and executive director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases in a press release.

Reports from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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