Theresa Braine

Bedbugged! is a weekly column by journalist and bed-bug survivor Theresa Braine. For more, click here.

Nearly a year has gone by since my bed bug episode, and I am just like those of you who have not been forced to live with these creatures – with one exception. Since last October I have been all but preaching about inspection and prevention, and spouting precautionary tales.

Bedbugged! is a weekly column by journalist and bed-bug survivor Theresa Braine. For more, click here.

I've spent the last eight or so months describing my personal battle with bed bugs. Now that my adventure has largely tapered off (a future column will discuss the lingering mental effects), I turn my attention to those folks who have bed bug anxiety rather than the actual pests themselves—and how their fear is fueled by hype, hysteria and lack of concrete information.

Bedbugged! is a weekly column by journalist and bed-bug survivor Theresa Braine. For more, click here.

I had finished my move, bed bug free. I had “come out” to my new roommates. I had even fielded a (thankfully negative) bed-bug scare.