[Noisebridge-discuss] bedbugs -- we are clear, it is all fine, nice work, good job.

Danny O'Brien danny at spesh.com
Fri Sep 7 02:14:35 UTC 2012


So Rhys and his human associate (Cliff?) from Scent Tek[1] came by and
checked out the whole place for about an hour, thanks to Jeffrey
organizing it. Old hands may remember that they did this about a year
ago, and apart from some scent in an old couch (which we threw out), we
were clear, but we felt maybe we should do this on a regular (maybe
annual basis). We were due for another checkout anyway. 

Rhys went through the whole place very carefully. Jeffrey and I chatted
with them a lot afterwards, and they're going to send their full report
to one of us, but basically:

1) We're completely clear of bedbugs. Yay! To repeat: we don't have an
infestation, eggs, or bedbugs living at noisebridge, or even just saying
hello.

2) Rubin gets the hawkeye award for catching that one bug. Rhys' boss
said that happens in most public places. It isn't a problem, because
it's pretty hard to transfer bedbugs outside of an exchange of clothes
(or beds). I asked him hey what if Rubin caught one of the first ones,
maybe we brought you guys in too early, and he said, no we can pretty
much detect an infestation instantly. So we're still clear. He says if
we see anything else in the next few months, they will come by for free
to double-check. (They cost $160, btw, and are well worth the money, not
only for the examination, but for the expert advice, which herewith
follows).

3) In general, if you have bedbugs problems at home, it's always a good
idea to keep your clothes in a separate place -- ie don't hang up
jackets next to others, or throw your coat over someone else's couch.
They don't really transfer that easily this way either, but it's a good
precautionary measure. Hackerspaces should definitely not have big piles
of warm clothing, therefore. (the crafting center fabrics aren't a
problem -- it really has to be something that you've immediately taken
off, because bed bugs would much rather stay in bed than travel.)

4) It was also confirmed that if we *did* get infested, it would be hard
work to disinfest (but not impossible). Scent Tek has the names of some
good bugbusters, but he said there's no point in giving us it right now,
because we don't have a problem. One thing he said was that local
preventive measures like rubbing alcohol can do more harm than good,
because they can potentially just move bugs around, which is the last
thing you want to do. You really need to zap the whole thing when you do
have a problem.

5) Anyway, to repeat, as with last time: Noisebridge, using the latest
evidence-based procedures, is now the premier hackerspace in America to
have statistically a extremely high unlikelihood of bedbugs [2]. You may
hack in luxuriant comfort. Until, that is, you frequent your nearest bar
or workplace, bwahahaha.

[1] http://www.scent-tek.com/sherlock-hounds
[2] It's possible that Steamiestpunkland, the Yellowstone
hackerspace with the ambient temperature of 150 degrees fahrenheit, may
share this title. Warsaw's Wacszi World o' Marie Curie may have a claim
for the world title, although technically it's not a hackerspace, more
an orphan source  -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_source

d.



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