This holiday season give your children the gift of paranoid creature fear.
No doubt in light of the recent bedbug invasions across the country, the 1985 Hasbro game Bed Bugs has been reissued. Liscened to Patch Products, the motorized plastic bed features color-coated, jumping bedbugs that must be plucked up unrealistically with tweezers. The first player to rid the bed of their color of creepy crawlies wins, freeing the terrorized Jim Croce look-a-like from his infested sleeping arrangement. Retailing for $15, the game is recommended for ages six and up.
(More on NewsFeed: Bedbugs Watch Out, Stinkbugs Are Invading)
Though extremely topical, the game is currently serving as a hilarious, yet ominous symbol of this office’s collective bedbug fears. It’s a terror and a delight. In the past few months, the pests have plagued movie theaters, clothing stores and office buildings – even the United Nations fell victim to problem. Why the panicked fear? Because ridding yourself of the tiny insects – which can live up to a year without a meal – is extremely costly, meaning many can’t afford the exterminators necessary to nip the problem, leaving bedbug populations to grow and infestations to spread. New York, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit and Denver are all among the cities with the worst bedbug cases in the U.S., leaving urban dwellers with nothing but pest paranoia and shredding sanity.