NJ halfway house infested
By nobugsonme on Aug 14, 2007 in bad ideas, bed bugs, bedbugs, best practices, government, new jersey, steam, treatment, treatment in institutions
The once-monthly pest spraying at this halfway house wasn’t keeping bed bugs away (of course it wasn’t!) so the staffers have got some steamers.
It’s a state residential substance abuse program for women nearing the end of a prison sentence. (Withdrawl: bad. Withdrawl plus formication brought on by a bed bug infestation? Nightmare.)
… after four state inmates at the halfway house were forced to sleep in the basement lounge to escape the critters, staffers were forced to purchase a number of steam cleaners to eradicate the problem.
“They have become resilient,” said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Deirdre Fedkenheuer. “The heat is the one sure way to ensure they’re going to go bye-bye.”
Heat is good, but they might want to work with a professional PCO who knows bed bugs, to supplement their steaming regimen. (They are hopefully using dry steamers to prevent mold growth?)
I truly believe you need some expert help when fighting bed bugs. (And no, I do not make my living from offering such help.) Maybe after working with them a while and soaking in all the bed bug knowledge you can, then that’s another story. Good luck to these folks.
And please, journalists: cut the “critters” talk. There’s no Disney movie in which a beautiful princess lives with her cuddly woodland friends, the bed bugs.
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James Buggles | Aug 14, 2007 | Reply
Yes, “critters” is not appropriate. Apparently, journalists don’t bother searching Google to make sure they don’t sound like every other journalist — or maybe they’re all “cribbing” (to use another c word) from each other.
Bugalina | Aug 15, 2007 | Reply
I agree. The use of the word “critter” to describe a bed bug is analogous to using the word monkey to describe King Kong. The sentence should read, ” were forced to sleep in the basement lounge to escape from the blood sucking vampire bugs”….