• Apartmenttherapy.com: Amanda update (#7)
• ApartmentTherapy’s fourth post on the Amanda bed bug case, since Wednesday
• Amanda at Apartmenttherapy.com, part 5
• Nicholas Brown’s Bedbug Chronicles, Part 7

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Amanda has now had (apparently) one treatment and one follow-up treatment from Metro Pest. (Their protocol is listed here.)

Apartment therapy’s Maxwell has the idea that “you have to keep the clothing out” of the apartment “for three weeks.”

This was my response to the notion of putting back clothing:

I don’t know about keeping clothes out of the apartment. On http://bedbugger.com we tell people to wash and dry on hot, bag in XL ziplocs, and keep those ziplocs in the apartment. But don’t return stuff to closets and drawers.

I am not sure where Amanda sent her stuff for three weeks, and I’d be really interested to know. But her PCO’s protocol appears to require stuff be not just bagged but out of the way, making treatment easier.

People should be aware that washed clothing should stay bagged and out of closets and drawers until bed bugs are LONG gone. Many people require more than two treatments, so be warned. Needing 3-4 is not uncommon. And the stuff should be bagged until there are no further signs of bed bugs, bites, fecal specks, etc.

Richard Cooper, a pest control expert in NJ, says in this article that it takes 55 days of “bug-free, bite-free time” to know the bed bugs are gone for good. It sounds extreme, yes, but if Amanda is already putting clothing and stuff back in drawers and closets, three weeks from the beginning of treatment, I personally think that doing so is foolhardy.

Maxwell also shared this scary story:

Meanwhile, in other bedbug news, we recently heard that another friend and her boyfriend lost their apartment in Brooklyn due to bedbugs. Away in Vancouver for the summer, they had sublet to folks for 4 months, but had pulled a rug in off the street just before leaving that let bedbugs out on the subletters.

Freaking out, the subletters fled the apartment and our friends lost the rent and were then liable for the cleanup cost. Needless to say, they are now considering staying in Vancouver for the long haul.

Yikes!

Subletting is hugely popular in NYC, especially in the summer. Artists, students, people with summer homes or travel plans, commonly rent out their apartments for one week to three months in the summer. Some people rent theirs to multiple subletters in one summer!

I regularly get forwarded offers via email to rent people’s apartments. And I gotta tell ya, lots of people are going to be coming home to bed bugs or unknowingly taking bed bugs home with them. Subletting in this city is not going to slow down, but it is a great way to spread bed bugs. And you don’t even have to drag an old rug in off the street to get them. Remember, the neighbor who dumped the rug in front of your friend’s building had bed bugs. If they live in the same building, your friends could have got them anyway!

• Amanda at Apartmenttherapy.com, part 5
• Bedbugs called “a new kind of roach”; building managment lies
• FAQ: How can I avoid spreading bedbugs to others when I visit their homes?
• ApartmentTherapy.com still does not quite get the bed bug thing

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AT’s latest bed bug story, however, is a little different. In an AT Good Question, Anne asks, What Can I Do If They Lied About Bedbugs?

I just signed a 1yr lease for a new apartment. Prior to signing, I asked the management company whether there had been any roach, mice, or bedbug infestations. I was most particularly concerned about bedbugs. Management said no, and I believed them. However, after signing the lease, I returned to the apartment to take some measurements and met some of the prior tenants…

Oh, no, no! We know where this is going and we can see between the fingers covering our eyes that it’s not going to be pretty:

They said that one of the four roommates did indeed have bedbugs and that the management company sent an exterminator three times!

OK, first thought, one of the four roommates had bed bugs? That is an interesting, and perhaps revealing, way of putting it. If one of the four roommates had bed bugs, the other three roommates had them too. Even if they were not allergic to the bites, or were not bitten, or the bed bugs did not actually spread to their rooms (I think I just strained my optimism muscle), an apartment with bed bugs presents what you might call a situation for all who live there, a situation often freighted with stress and anxiety, sleeplessness, an overwhelming amount of work, and all-around aggravation. Laundry, cleaning, decluttering, bed bug treatments, all of these simply cannot be a matter solely for the one person in the apartment who is being bitten. I hope this is what occurred in this apartment: everyone worked together in one effort even if the roommates simply can’t bring themselves to say that they, too, had bed bugs. The alternative scenario is not very encouraging, and would not bode well for poor Anne, since any hope of the bed bugs being gone from this apartment starts with the image of a cohesive, supportive set of roommates bent on eradicating the bugs tormenting one of them.

All of that speculation aside, however, I am not forgetting that they did tell Anne about the bed bugs! Yes, indeed, and well done! Therefore, I am prepared to believe that these roommates are good bed bug citizens trying to do the right thing, which brings me to the second troubling thought, did they actually get rid of the bed bugs, or are they moving because of them? Well, we can’t possibly know. So, what should Anne do?

I am very angry at the management company and feel foolish for taking their word. I am going to insist that they exterminate the apartment again before I move in but dont know what they will say.

Is there anything else I can do at this point?

Consulting a lawyer as a first step to terminate the lease is one possibility, perhaps the wisest. Bravely taking your chances is another. Yes, insisting on a professional inspection, perhaps even a bed bug dog inspection, would be advisable. We’re told that treating an apartment for bed bugs, successfully, involves sleeping in it, in order to draw out the bugs. I’m not sure that I could have any confidence in a pre-moving treatment plan for an empty apartment. In our heart of hearts, if Anne were our dearest friend, what would we tell her? I know what I would tell her! And you, bedbuggers? What would you say?

Still, in a major U.S. city, and perhaps elsewhere, what are the chances of moving into a building with a previous infestation history? Should the infestation history matter? In what way? If, or when, most buildings in an urban area have experienced infestations, would it not be better to ask What is your pest control policy? in addition to Have you had bed bugs here?

I’d be interested to hear perspectives from lawyers, PCOs and renters who have encountered or are worried about encountering Anne’s difficulties. The leasing, enforceable, obligations of landlords… do they include disclosure of bed bug infestations? Should they?

Finally, you don’t have to be in the middle of an apartment search to think about bed bugs. You can start a conversation about bed bug prevention and eradication protocols with your landlord and neighbors now, before you ever have a problem. Learn the basics and ask the tough questions.

If you are apartment hunting in New York City, you can look up violations at your prospective address at the HPD website here. Check the bed bug registries for your new building and new neighborhood here and here. You should also read Bedbugger’s landlords, tenants, and legal issues FAQs. And, yes, visit AT for inspiration; we hope you make yourself a lovely, bed bug-free home.

• Shameful landlord AIMCO: biggest landlord in USA refuses to deal with bed bugs
• another Lawsuit: student bitten in Fordham’s satellite dorms @ The New Yorker Hotel
• Bed bugs & tenant organizing: don’t take this lying down
• an honest PCO, a clever move

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But I am glad to see Maxwell at Apartmenttherapy.com covering this question as a poll. I think it’s great AT is taking bed bugs seriously. After all, it’s a home and design blog. Nothing, nothing screws up a home (or design scheme) like bed bugs.

Check it out.

• Homage to Catalonia, Props to Apartmenttherapy.com
• How did you deal with your bed bugs?
• ApartmentTherapy.com still does not quite get the bed bug thing
• Amanda at Apartmenttherapy.com, part 5

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• Homage to Catalonia, Props to Apartmenttherapy.com
• Furniture scavenging: does it appeal, in the age of bed bugs?
• Indiana, call a pest control operator
• ApartmentTherapy.com still does not quite get the bed bug thing

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Amanda didn’t sleep at home last night. The exterminator finally arrived (scheduled for noon, came at 5pm) and the work began in earnest. Before he arrived, however, she got a chance to visit her neighbor’s apartment, the one that shares a sheet rock wall with her:

“Yesterday evening the landlord and I got into my neighbor’s apartment [he’s away]. There were bug carcasses and cobwebs everywhere. The landlord caught six of them in five minutes in daylight! it was like infestation like you see in the photos online. Clearly this is where my bedbugs have been coming from…”

She did not sleep at home, but promises she is going back the next night. Important, because she is the bait to draw those bed bugs out.

It sounds like the neighbor, who travels a lot, and is currently away, has a lot of bed bugs. Since he is away, it does not surprise me that the landlord encountered six live bed bugs in broad daylight there. After all, if he was away for several weeks (as he may have been), those bed bugs would be hungry and looking for food. It may explain why they came over to feed on Amanda in his absence. None of this seems in any way surprising to me.

We finally convinced Amanda via the comments that landlords are liable for treatment, and now her landlord wants to go halfsies on the PCO:

The landlord said that he’d split the cost with me and i almost killed him. I couldn’t believe it. I was so angry and thought I was going to snap. I mean, he’s responsible for any infestation in his building. On Bedbugger.com it says this, that your landlord is responsible. He said he would ask his legal advisor and get back to me. ”

Amanda wants to know: Is the landlord really liable for paying for this and has anyone done this before?

Maxwell included a poll, so people could vote as to whether the landlord should pay or not.

Um, yeah. The landlord is liable–we are not making this stuff up! Honest. They are liable, though it’s best to go through the landlord, as we originally suggested, since they may not be liable to pay if they did not order the service. He should pay, in my opinion, because he should have known the law about landlords and pests.

The other reason you must go through the landlord is because all other adjacent units (top, bottom, and on all sides) must be inspected by a PCO who knows how to look for bed bugs. People who do not complain of bites or see bed bugs are not necessarily clear. If people treat themselves, thinking their neighbors are unaffected, the landlord and PCO may not be doing the kind of investigative work needed to eliminate bed bugs. If Amanda were the only one treated, they’d never go away. Even if neighbor is treated, there may be many other infested units too.

As I have said before, I love Apartment Therapy and I am so glued to this story and glad it’s being covered. But I am a bit frustrated too. After all, if Maxwell and Amanda left comments here four times recommending the best place for me to buy Glowing Grout, I would so totally believe them. So why are our reasonable and researched nuggets of information with citations (no less) not getting through?

Anyway, I am not really mad. What’s great here is that lots of information about bed bugs is getting shared in the AT comments by readers of that blog. Talking about bed bugs is good. More talking about bed bugs, even better.

Today’s photo on AT was Amy’s bite photo, which Maxwell must have found on our bite photos page.

I hope Amanda’s PCO comes back in two weeks, and that we get an update then about how things are going.

• ApartmentTherapy’s fourth post on the Amanda bed bug case, since Wednesday
• Apartmenttherapy.com: Amanda update (#7)
• ApartmentTherapy.com still does not quite get the bed bug thing
• FAQ: Do I have to tell my landlord / co-op board / condo association / residents of attached house next door?

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Last week, Amada was not sure she should to take action after seeing and catching just one bug. She was waiting for a jetsetting neighbor to return home so their place could be inspected too (the inspection, of all adjacent units, is essential).

She also dithered about spending $650 for a PCO, even though her landlord knows about the problem, and even though I repeatedly pointed out in the comments each day that the landlord was liable to pay. I am not sure she’s paying attention to my comments. But I think it’s worth commenting on AT because they have so many readers, and this is an opportunity to spread good information about bed bugs.

Today, she washed and bagged and called a PCO. Maxwell writes,

Amanda didn’t show up for work today. Over the weekend, the bedbug situation got suddenly worse, and she barely slept. She called us to give us the lowdown:

“Basically, on Friday night, I woke up and found 2 of them and a massive number of bites. On Saturday I freaked out and called the pest control people and their coming later today.”

“Even though I slept with all the lights on on Saturday night, I still got bit again.”

I am glad she’s called a PCO and hope she will read our FAQs and learn more about what she can do to make sure this is gone quickly, and for good.

I hate that one more person is suffering from bed bugs, but I am glad Maxwell is covering the story so thoroughly. I think a lot of people who may have thought it “wouldn’t happen to them” are now thinking again. That can’t be bad. Awareness of the problem is a prerequisite for catching an infestation early.

• Amanda at Apartmenttherapy.com, part 5
• ApartmentTherapy.com still does not quite get the bed bug thing
• Apartmenttherapy.com: Amanda update (#7)
• Furniture scavenging: does it appeal, in the age of bed bugs?

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Two months ago, as you may recall, loyal Bedbugger S. wrote to Maxwell to correct some misinformation in the Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure book, which suggested something to the effect that keeping a clean home would prevent bed bugs. (I have the book, but not handy, so I can’t quote right now.) Maxwell graciously posted a long message from S. which detailed both the causes of bed bugs (i.e. you don’t get them because your home is not clean) and the total nightmare involved in getting rid of them, especially in multi-unit buildings. We appreciated Maxwell devoting a post to S.’s letter, and we also appreciated that he linked back to us.

So imagine our surprise when the following appeared on the Apartment Therapy NY blog yesterday:

Bedbugs Take Manhattan!

This is breaking news. Within one of the homes previously toured on AT (don’t even try guessing), a bedbug has been found (see above) within the past 24 hours, after more than a week of reported bites…

Apparently the news is sobering. Nighttime bites were growing within an apartment that is chic, beautiful and CLEAN. The owner has not been traveling lately. No besotted overnights with traveling salesmen had been happening (lately). The building has no other reported sightings. This bug was found by leaving the lights out all evening and then snapping them on to catch this nocturnal creature.

Pulling the bed away from the wall helped to avoid any bites last night.

The apartment is getting bombed tomorrow.

We’ll be there.

Okay, if you snap the lights on and find a bed bug, then odds are, you have a lot of bed bugs. Why? Because bed bugs feed for 3-10 minutes. You don’t feel them doing so. So the odds of turning the light on at precisely the right time are slim.

Also, moving the bed from the wall (and keeping the lights on, for that matter) will do little to help you avoid bites. (Moving the bed from the wall is good if you have protected your bed per our FAQs).

I was struck by Maxwell’s reluctance, still, to understand that clean spaces are not immune to bed bugs. Period. Yes, chic or drab, clean or dirty, zen master or pack rat, you can get bed bugs.

That said, I am glad that Maxwell posted this entry. Very glad, because people obviously are not getting this message: bed bugs do not discriminate!

I am not sure if the AT tour home was really “bombed” or not, but if so, unless the entire structure of the building was completely evacuated of all living creatures, and then tented and treated with Vikane gas by professionals, then the “bombing” probably did not work, and may well have made the problem much worse, by spreading the bed bugs.

I am also glad Maxwell promises to “be there” for treatment, since further coverage will be a good thing. I look forward to all follow-ups.

I invite AT readers to check out our FAQs, especially those in Bed Bugs 101, especially, “Think You Have Bed Bugs? Some Do’s and Don’ts.” Perhaps we should change the title to something like, “If you ever get bed bugs, this is the information you need to know in advance.”

Because once people see a bed bug, freak out, and run for the DIY bug bombs, the horse is seriously out of the gate.

Update (6/15): On Thursday, a day later, AT gave an update on “Amanda’s” situation:

The drama unfolds. Where to begin? Let’s see, Amanda (the one with the bedbugs - not her real name) informed us today that she was both grateful and worried by all the comments on the thread yesterday.

Last night she went to bed with all the lights on, fully clothed, with a sleep mask and bug repellent applied liberally (now that’s a picture we want). She received no new bites, and now she has a question for all of you…

The original pest guy quits: Your comments were excellent and she felt that it was a good point that bombing MIGHT make the problem worse. So she asked they pest guy who was coming tonight. He was so offended that she doubted his prowess, that he quit over the phone, sight unseen. Then she had to find someone else.

Amanda takes your advice: Left empty handed, Amanda took YOUR advice and called up Stern Environmental (210-319-9620) and arranged for them to come over on Tuesday. They recommend that she wash all of her clothing and fabrics first.

Second thoughts arise as the price goes up: The pest people charge $650 for their services and now she faces the prospect of spending the entire weekend washing all of her belongings, which is going to cost at least $600 (she has a lot of clothes).

Now the folks in her office are arguing that perhaps she should WAIT and SEE if there’s really another bedbug before going through with all this and paying over $1000.

So tonight, she wants to ask all of you whether she should go to bed regularly tonight and see if any new bites appear OR sleep fully protected with lights on again and go through with washing all her belongings and treating her apartment on Tuesday???

There’s even a scary “Choose Your Own Ending” poll, where readers can vote for Amanda waiting-and-seeing while sleeping un-armored, or Amanda springing for full treatment and doing all the hot wash / hot dry stuff. You know where my vote ended up. But readers are (as of this writing) split on that.

I encourage you to go to the site and read the comments, which demonstrate not only how much misinformation still abounds, but also, how much wisdom. I was really glad AT readers convinced her not to have the place “bombed” and to get someone in who knows more about bed bugs. I look forward to following the drama as it continues to unfold.Check it out.

Another update (6/15): a third bed bug post today from ATNY:+ no progress, but Amanda now thinks her neighbors who travel a lot may be the source. They’re on vacation till next week.

She has not sprung for the exterminator, but asked her landlord about the neighbors. Ding! Ding! Ding! (That’s the sound of bells going off!) She is renting, people. She does not have to pay $650 for the PCO. Her landlord does. She still does not know this. Hopefully she will see my comments clarifying that fact which I’ve now left for two days running.

We provide the FAQs, folks, but people have to read them.

• ApartmentTherapy’s fourth post on the Amanda bed bug case, since Wednesday
• Amanda at Apartmenttherapy.com, part 5
• Apartmenttherapy.com: Amanda update (#7)
• craigslist: An Open Letter to my Bedbugs

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