Talk:Bed bug

Interceptor traps

Hello 71.78.112.194 and @MrOllie: I think this is a good addition now, with the EPA source. Invasive Spices (talk) 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Yes, I'm fine with it with the new source. - MrOllie (talk) 17:58, 2 October 2022 (UTC)

Lifetime of a bedbuv

The article states that a bedbugs can survive without feeding for 70 days and then later states that bedbugs can survive without food for 100 to 300 days. 2A01:B340:60:60CA:E13D:5117:444D:E5F3 (talk) 08:42, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

Fixed (reconciled two sources; neither source mentioned the figure of "70 days" that I could see). OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 12:58, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

External links

There were eight entries in the "External links". Three seems to be an acceptable number and of course, everyone has their favorite to add for four. The problem is that none is needed for article promotion.

• ELpoints #3) states: Links in the "External links" section should be kept to a minimum. A lack of external links or a small number of external links is not a reason to add external links.
• LINKFARM states: There is nothing wrong with adding one or more useful content-relevant links to the external links section of an article; however, excessive lists can dwarf articles and detract from the purpose of Wikipedia. On articles about topics with many fansites, for example, including a link to one major fansite may be appropriate.
• WP:ELMIN: Minimize the number of links.
• WP:ELCITE: access dates are not appropriate in the external links section. Do not use {{cite web}} or other citation templates in the External links section. Citation templates are permitted in the Further reading section. -- Otr500 (talk) 14:39, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

How did you decide this?

• http://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug.html
• http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/
• ISBN 1-74080-135-0

are large government sources while

• http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/bed_bug.htm
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfKCcSPCOQo

have smaller scope

• http://medent.usyd.edu.au/bedbug/

had smaller scope and is now dead. Invasive Spices (talk) 21:19, 10 March 2023 (UTC)

@ Invasive Spices: So sorry for the long delay. Multiple health issues, including one that has literally been "a torn in my side" (kidney stones), giving some hindrance to keeping up.

On how I decide, to be honest, there are several procedures, but "sometimes" I just pick some. Most of the time I start with an intended talk page discussion, but that has proven ineffective at best. Sometimes I try to dig in with some research but that is rare as I am working with a backlog of multiple hundreds of articles. Sometimes I just delete some to get to three or four and local editors seem to make any corrections. I have been doing maintenance in "External links" for a fairly long time, actually in the appendices area as a whole, and added B-class articles in with it. I haven't looked but if you see any that could be exchanged I will offer no objections.

I recently created Haematosiphon inodorus (terrible at this point needing lots of work) and hope to branch out as host switching on bed bug relatives has had little coverage. I was amazed that the range of hosts was that varied and that the species actually causes a lot of bird health issues. Thanks for the message, -- Otr500 (talk) 01:55, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

I suggest we retain

• http://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug.html
• http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/
• ISBN 1-74080-135-0

Invasive Spices (talk) 15:40, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

You would need more information on the third choice. -- Otr500 (talk) 15:46, 12 April 2023 (UTC)

Article issues

Someone added content regarding fear of insects and it was reverted as being unsourced. This "fear" is called entomophobia or "Fear of Insects", usually because of traumatic experiences, and can be a general fear or specific to a particular insect. An emotional toll of having bedbugs can lead to psychological issues, including PTSD.

A problem I see is the separation of symptoms, reactions, and health issues, covered in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th paragraphs of the "Bites" section, and a small amount of coverage of "chronic attacks" and psychological issues in the "Other effects of infestation" section. These should be covered in one section possibly with subsections.

Some people can have a temporary Psychosis (as opposed to a persistent Delusional parasitosis), referred to as formication, a form of tactile hallucination. Although actually very common, there is not much coverage in the media or on Wikipedia. If a person mentions bed bug bites or possibly head lice, it is not uncommon for the other person[s] to react negatively proclaiming the discussion makes their head or body itch. This is especially true if the reaction is because of a past issue.

Anyway, that is just some information, but if psychological issues are going to be mentioned it should be more thorough or have main links. -- Otr500 (talk) 16:22, 16 April 2023 (UTC)

" if psychological issues are going to be mentioned it should be more thorough or have main links." The problem with the removed text was its lack of sources. Any text connecting bed bugs to phobias and hallucinations has to be sourced. Dimadick (talk) 07:11, 27 April 2023 (UTC)