Tag: Scary Bugs View All Tags
Scary Bugs
Itchy Travel: Bedbugs Now In Planes, Tranes and Automobiles Too
September 23, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments
While we thought bedbugs were something that only worried our sister blog, apparently our jet-set lifestyle--especially thanks to budget airlines--is spreading bedbugs to places you might not have expected to catch them. In western Europe, pest controllers Rentokil report a 40% increase in the incidence of bedbugs in planes, trains and buses. Ew!
Apparently as well as nestling in seats that aren't cleaned adequately between passengers, the bedbugs also party on in the luggage hold and hop between bags. This summer the bedbugs have been especially active in Spain, with pretty much every hostel along the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim trail infested--they're hoping to close them all down in winter and clean them up until the next Ryanair or Easyjet load of bugs (we mean, tourists) lands.
Related Stories:
· Bedbugs Make a Return Through Low Cost Flights [Guardian]
· Bedbug Plague Strikes Santiago de Compostela Pilgrim Route [Telegraph]
[Photo: Alaina B]
Animals
Austrians Pumped Up Over Spider
August 4, 2006 at 10:38 AM | 0 Comments
We think of Austrians as pretty tough folk--their skiiers are hardcore, for instance--but they are currently whipped into a tizzy over the Yellow Sack Spider. The creepy crawler is causing mass panic across the Alpine nation; this week 190 people visited a hospital in Linz, although only eight of them actually had symptoms resembling a spider bite.
It's fine that the Austrians are practicing spider safety, but the arachnid isn't poisonous--the bite is similar to that of a wasp's sting. As creatures terrorrizing a nation go, it's not the same as Bruno the Bear, but we could see how intensive media coverage of the spider could cause people to fly off the handle. As for us, we still think the scariest thing from Austria is, and always will be, Ah-nuld.
Related Stories:
· Austria gripped by fear of spider [BBC]
