Archive for March, 2011
NYC.gov launches bed bug portal
Here’s Crains report on the portal launch. NYC.gov Bed Bug Portal.
Good information particularly for those who have significant infestations. Glad to see the attention on the problem and the information about tools people can use.
How to Dispose of a Mattress
Unneighborly Disposal
Hercules and I were recently out for our afternoon constitutional, taking in the scents, sights and sounds of the neighborhood , as only one strolling with a dog can do, when we came across a mattress, bedframe and bedding stashed by a public trash bin on a busy street corner.
With the NYC Department of Sanitation rules being enforced as of January 3rd, 2011 people are trying to avoid the $100 fine AND the bother of wrapping their mattress in plastic before hauling to the curb. This mattress was heavily infested, as was the bedframe and the bedding dumped in the street. If you look at the picture you can clearly see egg casings, blood-stains, bug fecal matter and other grossness. I counted at least 30 adult bed bugs on the outside of this mattress before I got bored. So let us consider for a moment the process of disposing of this mattress; they dragged all this buggy stuff through their house, out past their neighbor’s homes, and into the street, with bed bugs jumping off at every turn. Chances are, the room is still harboring a significant population and now they are in the rest of the apartment along with the hallway and stairway by their neighbor’s apartments. Within a few months, the new bedding will be just as infested as this example and the bed bugs that they have so inconsiderately shared with the people of their neighborhood may be creating issues of their own.
I was pretty ticked off at this all-too-common example of bad manners and would have come home in a bad mood except that we soon came across another example of infested mattresses being thrown out.
Good Neighbors
These ones were actually wrapped in encasements and so far less likely to pose a danger to the owner or their neighbors. I am surmising that the owners of these mattresses had completed bed bug treatment, otherwise the mattress would be in a $10 plastic bag and not a $100 encasement. Extra credit points for these folk for not bringing new bedding into an infested environment. Let’s hope we see more of this thoughtful behavior and not just because of the $100 fine, but because we care about our community.
‘Unleash the love’
How great to know that J&K Canine, the best scent detection training academy in the US, is also staffed by a team of people who understand the value of dogs in all the work they do! A pleasure to be at their High Springs facility and continue our work with the entire Pepe dogs’ family.
‘…the summer of bed bugs’
A bug scientist affiliated with a credible NJ pest management company created quite a stir just a few days ago. At his turn at the mike, he made his predictions about the Summer of 2011 at a seminar.
And the story took off. This NBC piece includes year over year numbers but can’t help itself in aiming at people’s fears. ‘Brace yourself for the summer of bed bugs.’
It is true that reported cases at NYC schools were up by a factor of 10. And like with lice it’s good to check often. But the baby bed bug is small enough where 3 or 4 can sit on the head of a pin and they’re transparent. While detection and monitoring is an incremental expense, we are confident that it’s the best solution when you look at the whole picture.
