Bushwick, Brooklyn is home to two large dueling loft buildings: 248 and 255 McKibben Street. Yes, that’s right: they’re buildings so hip, fun, and now, they have their own myspace pages. (Don’t laugh, but we have one too.)

Gawker did an article today about the buildings’ problems with bed bugs, though judging from the comments there and on myspace, only the residents of 248 are claiming to have a problem with bed bugs.

The Bed Bug Registry has complaints from thirteen different tenants about the building. (For its neighbor 255 McKibben, there are none.)

248 McKibben also has a whole blog running on myspace about the building’s alleged bed bug epidemic. It makes for interesting reading. The residents are correct that the entire building must be treated, if the infestation is as extensive as they claim it is. There’s a reluctancy on the part of some residents to call HPD (311) and file a housing complaint, for fear they won’t get references from their landlord in future.

Such concerns abound on our forums too. I have not heard from anyone who has filed an HPD report on a landlord and who has not been able to rent after that. I do know multiple people who have “pissed landlords off” by expecting to have pest problems, leaks, etc. fixed, and whose landlords were so happy to see such “troublemakers” move on that they gave the next landlord glowing reviews!

So I think the idea is kind of an urban myth. If it happens, though, surely the tenants could clip articles about how infested their building was, and show it to future real estate brokers as evidence that they had good reason to file an HPD report. Frankly, shouldn’t the real estate brokers recognize that if HPD agrees with the tenant that their building is infested (and files said report), then the tenant should not be blacklisted in this way?

Or are we all going to end up living with bed bugs because we’re afraid our landlords will not give us a good reference when we want to move to another building with different amenities and more bed bugs? Because if everyone is afraid to demand their landlords treat the problem, we’ll all have bed bugs soon.

• Shameful landlord AIMCO: biggest landlord in USA refuses to deal with bed bugs
• Lexington, KY vs. New York, NY: a tale of two bedbugged cities
• 25 Grant Street in Denver, Colorado: bed bugs for two years
• Bed bugs in homeless shelters, casinos, hotels, apartments: Waynesboro, Atlantic City, Greenpoint, Toronto

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It begins with Al Grable, local Pest Control Operator (PCO):

While there have apparently been no official bedbug complaints lodged against any Walla Walla county motels, local residents can’t rest easily.

Al Grable, owner of Agreeable Pest Control in College Place, knows better. The pest expert has treated apartments, homes and motels throughout the area. And, although he declined to name the hospitality facilities, one was severly infested, he found. “And it was one of the better ones.”

When it comes to bugs, Grable gives legs to his profession. He taught entomology at Walla Walla College for 28 years and has vanquished pests for 15 years since retirement from teaching. He is certified with the Entomological Society of America and a member of the National Pest Management Association.

His first case of bedbugs came about four years ago, catching him by surprise, Grable remembered.

Clearly, local motels do have bed bugs, and Grable is treating them. But not one customer has called the local health department to complain about this. That may be because it doesn’t occur to travelers to do so.

Those planning travel in Washington can get some help, said Shannon Walker with the Washington state Department of Health. Her office inspects and oversees lodging businesses throughout the state.

With the increased publicity about bedbugs, her desk is crawling with requests for hotel and motel inspection reports. People want to about any multi-legged guests before making a reservation, she said from her office in Olympia.

Many consumers are unaware they can get such information or lodge their own complaint with the state, Walker said. “I’ll take a complaint in any way. They can call me, they can e-mail, they can fax it.”

No one will make a pest out of themselves in doing so, she promised. “I love it when people call me.”

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

If you encounter bedbugs while lodged in Washington, the state Department of Health wants to know, at (800) 633-6828, by fax at (360) 236-2901 or at shannon.walker @doh.wa.gov.

There is no centralized location for such information in Oregon; travelers must check with each county health department.

This article focuses on the Washington State Health Department as a place to report hotel bed bugs, as well as a place to check whether a hotel has bed bugs before you stay there. (Don’t assume that a hotel with no bed bug reports is bed bug free, though, since obviously everyone does not yet know to report them in this way.)

We haven’t really seen local health authorities inviting the public to enquire about bed bugs, or report bed bugs, in this way. But now that I read this, I am inclined to think that anyone who has experienced bed bugs in a hotel or motel should not only report them to the hotel or motel, but also to the county and/or state health departments.

If you encounter bed bugs in a Washington State hotel or motel, call the health department listed above. If you encounter them in another state, find out what county you are staying in, and google the county health department, as well as the state health department, to notify them of your experience. Doing so is not about revenge. It’s about letting others know where bed bugs lurk. And with the government, it’s about letting them know how bad the problem is–so we can all get some help with this. The government needs to know our concerns.

Travelers should also post a review on tripadvisor.com which details their experience in the particular hotel. This warns others of your experiences. I always check tripadvisor before I book a hotel, and I follow up once in the hotel by carefully searching the room for bed bugs (the CBC video gives a detailed demonstration).

• Rockford, IL: half of Red Roof Inn shut down due to bed bugs
• bed bugs in Virginia Beach (again), Brown County, Ohio, and potential health risks
• Bed bugs on increase in Ripley County, Indiana
• Alton, Illinois, motel: blaming the bedbug victim

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Why the fear? Well, one reason people have mentioned many times in the blog’s comments is that in many cities, landlords “blacklist” tenants. Although “we’re not supposed to know about it,” and its often illegal, landlords in some places can allegedly check a list to see which tenants have complained to the housing board, taken landlords to court, filed violations, or just been “a pain” generally.

Up until now, as people have escaped from bad bed bug apartments, often at great cost, their only way of warning future tenants was to post their infested address on Bed Bug City, or Bed Bug Registry, two sites that register bed bug infested rental apartments, and hotels.

Those sites are very useful and people should report their addresses to both sites. Why? Well, I saw a building next to my friend’s apartment on one site, and the building on the other side of hers on the other. Neither site was telling the whole story. And the sites are full of reports of adjacent or nearby addresses, a reminder of just how common it is for people to pick up infested stuff on the curb, and take it home. But I digress.

Now there’s another option for tenants. The playing field may be slightly leveled by apartment ratings websites, which allow users to post reviews of apartments.

Here’s an example: myhood.ca. Here, Toronto tenants can complain of problems in the properties they’ve rented, warning other tenants.

I looked at the Bed Bug Registry and found a reported address in Toronto: 321 Sherbourne St., Toronto, where someone reported having bed bugs as of 1/15/2007. (Remember, these reports are not checked, so this is just an allegation as far as we’re concerned.) Meanwhile, two apartments in this building were listed at myhood.ca (a 1BR and a 2BR). Neither had any reviews at the time of this writing.

Another example: mega-apartment complex Presidential Towers (where this Bedbugger lived for a few months, 9 years ago!) in Chicago, the focus of several bed bug lawsuits. Look at the listings on ApartmentRatings.com. Marvel at the many negative bed bug reviews, and the entry for 4/4/07, who actually had bed bugs in their unit and wants to get back in (not allergic, I guess?)

On the Bed Bug Registry, meanwhile, there’s one entry for Presidential Towers (aka 555 W. Madison, Chicago), here. Again, these are just allegations, though in this case, supported by lawsuits.

The bottom line is that these listings are not foolproof and they’re not verified (though it can be said that if landlords have a blacklist, that’s not verified either.) Tenants are consumers and renting an apartment is one of the costliest decisions one can make–especially if the hidden costs include not just “first, last, and security,” but a course of 5 bed bug treatments, or even paying money to move to a new apartment and throwing out a lot of stuff.

It would be much better if we could get away from the blame game. If bed bugs were treated like an environmental and public health problem, rather than a shameful secret tenants and landlords try to hide from one another, we’d all be better off.

The government could require PCOs to register all locations receiving treatment, and could assist those unable to pay (just as they do in other public crises, like mudslides, floods, and tornados.) It may sound extreme to treat bed bugs like a natural disaster, but the truth is, if they were addressed as such, they could be brought under greater control. Instead, they’re spreading.

And while landlords and hotels would no doubt balk at an official registry, there would be a lot less shame when everyone saw just how widespread things had become.

• Use bed bug registries and warn others about infested buildings and hotels!
• bed bug registries
• bedbugregistry.com is working now: report your bed bug infestations!
• The strange case of bed bugs in Bushwick

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In the recent reports was listed: “E 75th Street 5th to Park Ave NYC NY 10021″

Fifth to Park Avenue: that’s two blocks, and two long ones at that. Not sure if someone was being creative or if the Upper East Side is a mess. (This was in the tentative “reports in the last 2 days” section at the bottom; I believe these are held there until they’re edited and placed in the registry–the site owner may well not use this data.)

One Bedbugger reported that Upper East Side socialites she encounters are complaining of bed bugs, so perhaps it’s true.

• bed bug registries
• Bonnie Friedman’s NYTimes Op Ed on Bed Bugs
• Bed Bug Awareness bill in Ohio House of Representatives
• How bad are bed bugs in Toronto? Nobody knows for sure.

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They also say when the infestation occurred, so it is not like landlords will have a black mark against their name for all time. But it is good to warn people who might be moving into your building or former apt. And of course, multiple infestations will be obvious in time, and that will be essential information for renters.

Please use both registries, since they are separate and you want to make sure anyone checking in will see your address. They do hotels too!

Bed Bug Registry (for bed bugs in USA or CANADA)
Bed Bug City (For bed bugs anywhere on earth)

Don’t put it off for another day. Think of the poor sap who might move in next door, or take that apt. you fled.

People are starting to use these. A friend’s sister has one building next to hers on one list and one on the other (hence the importance of using both sites!) If everyone were to use them, we’d get a clearer picture of how prevalent this is, as well as warning other renters. Also, if you live in a neighborhood and the neighbors have bed bugs, be warned– someone is going to throw something out and someone in your building is going to take it home. We need to become aware of this problem and share the knowledge with those around us.

Sadly, there is no solution right now for homeowners, since no one is going to register a house they might want to sell.

• bedbugregistry.com is working now: report your bed bug infestations!
• Escaping tenants leaving crumbs, marking the bed bug trail
• How did you deal with your bed bugs?
• Street scene: still life with bed bugs

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A number of people have started their own registries which, a step above a text list, are interactive: you type in the address, it gets mapped.

Some of these, like the BedBugRegistry, which covers addresses in North America, will allow you to look at the resulting reports (there is a space for maps, but it does not seem to be active yet). This NYC one, Bedbug Project, allows you to click arrows on a map and see the addresses reported. But it isn’t being publicized yet, from what I can see, so I don’t think they have a lot of addresses yet.

The third site, Bedbug City, had some limitations. I wanted to like it, but when you input your address, it only creates a marker on the map. When you click those markers, you expect to see the addresses, but they’re hidden. I assume this was done to protect the site author from lawsuits. I am not a lawyer, however, I think a disclaimer (stating that the data was input by site visitors and that the owner of the site was not responsible for their accuracy, which cannot be verified) should do the same. (Perhaps a lawyer could correct me.)

Honestly, if I go to a bed bug map, I want to be able to see where in my neighborhood the infestations are, and I mean exactly where. The visual effect of “wow, lots of bugs in Midtown” doesn’t do it for me. Also, from a data collection perspective, if you’re asking people to rate their infestations, you need to clarify what that means (rating on a scale of 1-10 is pretty subjective; who knows how bad an infestation is? What are we comparing ours to?) I do like the concept of rating severity. In my experience, asking visitors how many bugs they see within a one week or one month period is a good indicator. I’d check first with an entmologist to see what they thought.

It strikes me that we need one comprehensive database. I think each of these sites has potential, but it would be great if there was one people could really get behind. Because we need one place, not many.

We need the people who put it out to be really clear about their goals and purposes, and to have transparency (if I enter my address, I should be able to see other addresses). Some of the sites above make their goals clear, others don’t.

I do think this can be done by individuals, especially if the government agencies are slow to come up with a database of their own.

• bedbugregistry.com is working now: report your bed bug infestations!
• Use bed bug registries and warn others about infested buildings and hotels!
• Reader question: if I don’t react to bites, how do I know they’re gone?
• Escaping tenants leaving crumbs, marking the bed bug trail

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