Entomology

637 readers

29 users here now

A general community to post things about insects

For more specific communities:

Isopods and Myriapods: [email protected]

A community for our eight-legged friends: [email protected]

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

“Those Disturbers of my Rest”: The First Treatise on Bedbugs (1730) (publicdomainreview.org)

submitted 2 years ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

2 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Observing Southall “often rub and scratch”, the nameless man “wonder’d [why] white Men should let them bite; they should do something to kill them, as he did.”

How do you not know to kill a bug that keeps biting you?

The nameless man was a slave in Jamaica, incidentally. Not relevant, but interesting trivia.

[–] rlhe 3 points 2 years ago

How do you not know to kill a bug that keeps biting you?

In a large infestation, smooshing them would seem futile and at some point I think you'd just accept your fate. Fortunately there are better options now with modern pest control -- though the pesticidal liquor does sound pretty awesome!