Time Warner centre succumbs to New York bedbug epidemic

[CHIMO]

The blood-sucking menace that has infiltrated Manhattan's skyscrapers has taken another scalp, after the headquarters of media empire Time Warner became the latest landlord to own up to the presence of bedbugs.

The city that supposedly never sleeps is under attack by night from an epidemic of stealthy, tiny, red-brown creatures that leave a tell-tale trail of itchy welts, distress, embarrassment and anxiety.

Homes, designer shops and government offices have fallen victim to bedbug infestations, which have exploded from 500 cases in New York during 2004 to 10,000 last year. "As part of a routine cleaning and preventative process, it was discovered that there were bedbugs present in a small contained area within Time Warner's offices," said a terse statement from the parent company of CNN, Warner Bros and Time magazine, following a leaked memo warning staff at the landmark Time Warner centre, on the corner of Central Park.

Time Warner is not alone. Characterised by entomologists as expert tourists, bedbugs cling to clothes, shoes and luggage until they reach a warm crevice, usually a mattress, where they can launch nightly attacks on sleeping hosts. Several high-end clothes retailers, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and Victoria's Secret have been obliged to temporarily shut Manhattan stores to eradicate unwanted visitors. Even the office of Brooklyn's district attorney has suffered an outbreak.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/16/new-york-bedbugs-time-warner

[Vincardog]

1. Too bad they can't hitch hike to visit the RSCC and RCCC exclusively. Blood sucking parasites belong

together

[tinymontgomery]

2. To bad they don't go

into congress.

[xchrom]

3. Oy. Yeesh. Ick. Gross. Nt