Would You Break Up Over Bedbugs?

Are bedbugs the new crabs? CNN recently investigated how the unstoppable critters have invaded the love lives of itchy, bewildered New Yorkers. Although the city's been dealing with bedbugs for decades, the past year's infestations are making people paranoid about who they date.

Stacie Handwerker, a real estate attorney, said that one man asked her point blank if she had bed bugs in her apartment. If she said yes, her date would have ditched. He didn't even ask her if she carried any sexually-transmitted diseases. "Well, a condom can't protect you from bedbugs," Handwerker said. The TMI (Too Much Information) Disease

Another interview subject mentioned a couple he knew who had broken up over bed bugs. The woman was so afraid of them, she dumped the guy after realizing that he had them. On A Post-It? The 10 Worst Ways To Break Up

Sound harsh? Exterminator Timothy Wong told CNN that his company hotline has received a number of calls from couples who started blaming each other over the phone. In one instance, a couple fell out over bedbugs and remained broken up even after Wong had gotten rid of the infestation. Like us, he suspects that the bugs were the final straw in an already damaged relationship.

Although it sounds a little ridiculous to tell people that you broke up over insects, we guarantee that anyone who has suffered from household pests will sympathize. Unlike rats or roaches, bedbugs don't need the lure of food or hollow wall spaces. Your apartment can be gleaming, but a bug you carry home from the subway or grocery store will latch onto your mattress and multiply like crazy (a female bedbug can lay up to 150 eggs before needing to mate again.) Even if he didn't mean to bring them home, we'd be hardpressed to keep an already problematic boyfriend around if we thought the bugs were his fault. Most of the time, you can never really know who brought home the bedbugs, so we wouldn't recommend throwing out accusations right away. Focus on getting rid of the bugs (and bug-induced rage) first, and then take the relationship from there.

As far as casual dating goes, one woman interviewed by CNN claimed that bedbugs were a bigger deal breaker for women than men. A woman would bolt if she discovered bedbugs in a guy's apartment, but a man wouldn't let them get in the way of hooking up with someone really attractive. The male interview subject agreed, saying that if he saw bedbugs in a woman's apartment, he'd just move the date over to his place. Chivalry lives!

Getting rid of bedbugs is a pain, so we're with the women on this one. If you want to date us, get rid of your pest problem before inviting us over. And unless you enjoy summoning fear and paranoia, don't mention a bedbug problem when you're out with somebody new. God knows that the last thing anyone should feel on a first date is itchy. Single Life: 7 Ways To Stay Positive About Dating

Are bedbugs a dealbreaker? Would you still date if your apartment had a pest problem? 

Image courtesy of TreeHugger.com