Niketown’s flagship store on East 57th Street is the latest New York City store to close down for treatment after detecting a bed bug problem. The NY Post reports:
Update 9/23:
NY1 reports that Niketown has reopened after an “environmentally-friendly treatment program,” but also notes that a Nike Sportswear store in SoHo has also been found to have bed bugs (WSOC Charlotte notes it has also been closed temporarily).
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Meanwhile, JDNews.com in Jacksonville, North Carolina reports that Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune also “confirmed its first case of bed bug infestation in a barracks room this week.”
It’s not clear whether that’s the first case of bed bugs in the barracks since the camp was founded in 1941, or the first since bed bugs bounced back, starting in the late 1990s.
In any case, the article suggests Camp Lejeune intends to address the problem in a serious manner.
Update (9/20):
Here’s a brief piece in the Marine Corps Times about the Camp Lejeune story.
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Finally, check out San Francisco resident Jon Roemer’s new piece in Salon about living with bed bugs: “How bedbugs ruined my life.”
Here’s a taste of Roemer’s life with bed bugs:
No one can tell me how long this will go on. It’s like my home is chronically sick. My life, too, is taking a beating. And with the news stories, pumping up fear and tripping over facts, there’s the general sense of a vague lurking threat. Name your favorite scourge. Bedbugs pretty much fit.
He hit on some critical points, among them:
1. Who is to be blamed (so he or she can pay for it)?
2. The chemicals don’t work (that is simply not established).
Hi Carpathian,
Yes– it is simply untrue that chemicals don’t work against bed bugs. They can work, but they are not universally effective or terribly efficient. Multiple applications of steam, sprays and dusts tend to be employed because of this, and reapplications are generally necessary every 10-14 days until the bed bugs are gone.
As to who is blamed, it sounds like the author’s landlord is misinformed or simply trying to evade his responsibilities, because in San Francisco, the law says landlords pay for bed bug treatment, according to “Beating Bed Bugs: Landlords and property managers dealing with a bed bug infestation:”(PDF)
SFDoPH has a Vector Control Department which apparently takes complaints about pests (SF residents can call Norma Castro 415-252-3805 to report a complaint, as of January 2010). The Environmental Health section of the SFDoPH also advises landlords on bed bug treatment (according to the same brochure).
SFDoPH provides information on prevention (PDF) and treatment (PDF) for residents and on prevention (PDF) and treatment (PDF) for landlords. SF residents may find the latter useful when dealing with their landlords.
Hi Everybody,
Me and My girlfriend are dealing with a bed bug infestation in Philly! Uggh. Anyway we purchased a packtite for the extermination process and they sent us two! Therefore I have an extra one which I have posted on Philly’s craigslist if anyone is interested. I am currently using the other one and it is working like a charm. I am using it for books, picture frames, glass basically anything we didnt leave out for the pesticide. We will be using the extra dough to cover extermination costs. Here in solidarity… this bed bug extermination process is really beyond the pail.
V
Here’s a brief piece in the Marine Corps Times about the Camp Lejeune story.
Update 9/23: NY1 reports that Niketown has reopened after an “environmentally-friendly treatment program,” but also notes that a Nike Sportswear store in SoHo has also been found to have bed bugs (WSOC Charlotte notes it has also been closed temporarily).
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