Bedbugs are shaping up to be the hot new blood-sucking parasite of 2007. To get ahead of this trend, my friend Britta and I have started setting up a Bedbug Registry, where you can submit bedbug reports and look up hotels and addresses throughout Canada and the United States for reported problems. If you've come across bedbugs, please submit a bug report!

Until you encounter bedbugs, it's hard to see why they're such a big deal. But a night in their company has a way of converting people into zealots. The little vermin are spreading rapidly through American hotels and have reached alarming numbers in several cities, including New York and Boston. They are easy to bring home in luggage or used furniture and almost impossible to eradicate. For this reason, many hotel owners and landlords choose to keep quiet about their infestations. The goal of the registry is to give travelers and renters a fighting chance at avoiding them.