New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority announced this week that bedbugs were found hitching a ride on the seat cushions of subway conductors on the N line, which runs through three of the city’s boroughs. While the pest-ridden train cars have since been sidelined and fumigated, bedbug horror stories are popping up across the country: An infestation was reported at a United Airlines corporate office in Chicago (not the planes themselves, knock on wood), and pest control giant Terminix ranked Dallas, Denver, and Los Angeles among the top 15 most bedbug-infested cities of 2014. And all the traveling we’re doing is only spreading the love, as the little parasites ride on our clothing, suitcases, etc. If all this bad bedbug news has you ready to hole up in a stainless steel bunker, we’re with you. But that only happens in movies—for now, you’ll have to read up on the best ways to protect yourself from bedbugs. MORE: 10 Things Everyone Needs To Know About Bedbugs
