2010-10-27

Pest outbreak in NY a part of social mood

This headline says it all. Are people avoiding public spaces because of the pests, or are the pests just the excuse for staying home?

Concerns over bedbugs and other pests still have New Yorkers crawling away from public spaces
"I think about bedbugs everywhere I go," says film production manager Nora Killoran, who lives in the Village. "I'm very worried about it. I avoid stores that have been in the news that have reported having bedbugs. I used to love thrift stores, but now I avoid them. There was a screening in Tribeca of a film last week that I worked on, and I had to think twice about going."

Catherine Yan, 23, who recently moved from L.A. to east midtown, says she won't even sit on the subway - "or visit my friends' apartments who aren't the cleanest."
One can imagine that during peak social mood, people would say things such as, "I'm concerned, but I'm not going to let a few bugs ruin my plans."

Taking a broader look at the pest problem, it is probably mostly due to several factors including reduced use of pesticides (overconfidence during rising social mood?) and possible increased global travel, another artifact of peak social mood. International travel is going to decline with social mood, but how about the use of pesticides, will it increase during this phase?

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