BEDBUGS??? .. ROACHES...??? Yeah, I've had MY fill of them both. I recall, during one HOT summer in Rio de Janeiro, encountering GIGANTIC roaches in my kitchen! This was no broken-down neighborhood either. Anyway, while I was preparing a salad one evening after a particularly tiring class, I was accosted by one of those ugly monsters which actually scared the hell out of me, forcing me to drop my entire tray of food -- beer and all! I didn't want to stomp on a creature that size for fear of messing up my entire kitchen and shoes! I decided NOT to make a pet of him due to a guaranteed negative reaction on the part of my neighbors, not to make mention of the "commitment papers" they'd surely have sponsored in my behalf! So, I had no choice but to DISREGARD same or occasionally leave some food scraps OUTSIDE my apartment to divert the bastards! Of course, in the final analysis, if you get spooked by such undesirable "company" in your abode, you can always RESPECTFULLY SALUTE same, shrug it off, and go your way!

No ... other than bug spray, there's little else you can do about the bedbugs and roaches that usually come with the territory, especially in the warmer and more humid semi-tropical and tropical climates. In fact, in some instances, it's wiser to merely accept them as a way of life, no mater how and ugly and repulsive they might be. It's sort of like one's learning to countenance the presence an ex-wife! (:D)

In spite of it all, TRY to have a pleasant evening.

Love,
The Arrogant One

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> I haven't seen this problem discussed before on this board. I thought
> I was on to something with Maggots v Parasites, but it didn't pan
> out.

> I've convinced myself that bedbugs are the root of lots of sleepless
> nights, but have no idea how to get rid of them.

> Anyone else have this problem while traveling or living abroad? How
> do I get rid of them?