UGLY TV

No, this is not about DWTS or similar "reality" TV (though it could have been). It's about the truly disgusting things I've watched recently and will never watch again, even though the info is (somewhat) educational.

I've found Monsters Inside Me to be strangely compelling and useful if you want to know how to avoid rare human parasites. I guess these stories of parasites aren't scary because they are so rare and unlikely to happen to me (I don't walk barefoot, I don't travel to third world countries).

Rat Busters NYC -- really, who thinks up these programs? The story of a rat infestation requiring breaking down walls, ceilings, and cement floors to find the source is enough to make you want to move to a clean icy igloo. While watching the exterminators setting traps for rats in a warehouse, I wondered if any pest control company has considered specializing in a pack of rat terriers to catch and kill rats and mice.

The ugliest program was on Animal Planet. Bedbugs are small creatures but they are spreading across the USA and probably Canada too. They can be picked up from hotels and other places where you use furniture.
- Bedbugs bite people for their blood.
- There are dogs trained to detect their odor.
- 120° steam can kill them.
- Rubbing alcohol kills them but it is flammable so you don't want to use it any place there could be a spark.
- Carbon dioxide can flash freeze them.
- Heating a house to 120°+ can desiccate them, but they may find cooler spots to hide in so the exterminator needs to check for cool areas.
- Heating clothes in a hot dryer for 30 minutes should kill them.
- The program didn't say whether diatomaceous earth could kill them.

Now, a pleasant photo to put that ugliness out of mind:

Freshly fallen white snow, anyone?