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A tale of two bed bug-troubled cities: Cincinnati, Columbus

nobugsonme — Sat, 23 May 2009 05:12:56 +0000

My report about the Hillrise Apartments in Cincinnati the other day highlighted what can happen when local officials stop inspecting rental units based on bed bug complaints.

As you’ll recall, funding was cut at the end of 2008 for the Cincinnati Health Department’s bed bug inspection program.

Here’s another story with bedbugged tenants, this time in Columbus, Ohio, where the Franklin County Board of Health is able to inspect homes based on tenant complaints.

NBC4i reports that some residents of The Pointe Apartments on Harrisburg Pike, fed up with bed bug bites, have evacuated their homes for hotel rooms:

[Tenant Chris White] called officials after an exterminator hired by the property managers didn’t show up May 6.

The property manager wasn’t immediately available for comment.

Neighbors are helping each other look for bed bugs in their cushions and mattresses.

“It’s not my responsibility to do this. It’s the apartment complex. I’m helping friends out,“ he said.

Residents received a letter from the complex officials saying that exterminators would arrive on May 6, but residents said the exterminator never showed up.

Franklin County health officials went door-to-door inspecting apartments.

For the second time since last fall, health officials are issuing orders for pest control as soon as possible.

[Emphasis added.]

Obviously, if there are inspectors who can come in and issue pest control orders, this does not mean bed bugs will necessarily be eradicated quickly and fully.

However, tenants who can call upon such services stand a much better chance than those who can’t. And of course, they are able to call again, if the problem persists, as it did in this case, and the inspectors can become involved again.

Note: the Franklin County Board of Health (this is their bed bugs page) is part of the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force, a group that stepped up, according to this article in the Columbus Dispatch last September, when local officials started to become aware of the problem and its effects in Cincinnati.Similar Posts:

Towels under the door: when cities abandon tenants with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:10:55 +0000

This is what happens when local authorities cannot help low-income tenants get help and treatment for bed bugs.

WLWT in Cincinnati reports that the Hillrise Apartments for Seniors in College Hill still has a serious bed bug problem. Cincinnati, you’ll remember, did not fund its Health Department’s bed bug inspection program in their last budget, and ceased doing bed bug inspections in January 2009.

The Cincinnati Health Department had to cease inspecting for bed bugs even though requests for assistance had gone from 70 requests in 2007 to 750 in 2008.

The residents at Hillrise Apartments appear to be living without proper bed bug treatment, claiming they’ve had bed bugs for years. In fact, we ran a story on Bedbugger about bed bugs in the Hillrise Apartments back in October 2007, when they were already said by tenants to have “spread from one end of the building to the other.” And that was over nineteen months ago!

The video linked below shows senior citizens attempting to ward off bed bug bites with 91% isopropyl alcohol (a contact killer if sprayed directly on a bed bug, this won’t prevent bed bugs from biting) or attempting keep them out of apartments with a towel stuck under the door. The video shows bed bugs crawling and fecal traces in the corners of a room that must have had bed bugs for a very long time.

WLWT notes that many residents have sought medical help for the bed bug bites and

The problem is so bad that local hospitals have actually called the Health Department looking for help for Hillrise residents.

The Cincinnati Health Department says landlords are responsible for treating to get rid of bed bugs, but as as we noted above, the Health Department no longer sends inspectors to identify the problem and educate residents about treatment options:

The Health Department said it did have a program that would check for bed bugs and then educate residents on their options, but that program was cut months ago when the city slashed its budget.

Please go to Seniors Battle Bed Bugs At Infested Apartment Complex – WLWT Cincinnati to read the full story and watch the depressing video.

And think long and hard about what happens when local public officials have good ideas about fighting bed bugs, but no funding to implement them.

And before anyone asks, yes: I get that the economy stinks. However, it’s more expensive to treat bed bugs when an infestation is allowed to get very bad. And obviously, the longer it goes on, the more citizens will get bed bugs (increasing treatment costs exponentially).

We’re talking about a city in which a recent study found one in six people had had bed bugs. One in six, according to the Spring 2008 Greater Cincinnati Health Survey conducted by the University of Cincinnati Institute for Policy Research.

And that was in Spring 2008; I do expect that number to grow.

If infestations are allowed to go on for years, with insufficient or no bed bug treatment, not only do the residents suffer, but bed bugs also continue to spread to others and infest more people’s homes, causing more suffering, costing more money.

I wonder how many more people in Cincinnati and the surrounding area have bed bugs as a result of this particular infestation being allowed to go on for years. Similar Posts:

More on the National Bed Bug Summit

nobugsonme — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:19:56 +0000

Renee of New York vs. Bed Bugs has more details on the upcoming EPA National Bed Bug Summit (April 14-15) in Arlington, VA):

Sharon Heath of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will speak at EPA’s National Bed Bug Summit on April 14. It’s a portion of the session titled “How Public Health Agencies View Bed Bug Infestations,” with Mike Herring from CDC, Dr. Camille Jones from the Cincinnati Health Department and Sarah Norman from Baltimore City Health Department.

and…

EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs has made the meeting agenda (PDF) available. Topics include bed bug basics, impact on public and private housing, control methods and challenges and the government response to bed bugs.

For the details, and the links to the agenda and details on the webinar broadcast, see NYC Department of Health at National Bed Bug Summit (plus agenda and webinar details).Similar Posts:

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Bed bug sniffing dogs abound

nobugsonme — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:51:24 +0000

Dog Nose

Originally uploaded by jason044

The dog’s nose is a potentially powerful tool in the fight against bed bugs. It’s a war where the enemy is notoriously stealthy. We need all the help we can get.

Bed bug canines are always popular in the news media. Like some other bed bug-related services (such as structural fumigation and thermal treatment), every region does not have easy access to canine bed bug detection teams, so the news stories both do companies the favor of spreading the word about their existence, but also help bed bug sufferers, who might not know this option is out there. Luckily for us, they are popping up in more and more geographic areas.

One recent bed bug sniffing dog business was started in the Cincinnati area by LeAnne Montgomery and her husband John. LeAnne is better known to longtime participants on our Bedbugger Forums as “bugbait” — she was an active Bedbugger who came to the site to get support in dealing with her own bed bugs, long before the couple went into the bed bug dog business and started Canine Bed Bug Finder.

LeAnne and John did not have access to a bed bug k9 service when their home was infested. You can read a recent story here about the Montgomerys’ new bed bug sniffing dog Hershey, who was trained at Florida Canine Academy. Congratulations to LeAnne and John — I hope Hershey finds a lot of bed bugs!

There was also a recent story in the news about a new bed bug sniffing dog in Las Vegas.

Finally, Ontario’s Michael Goldman (of Purity Pest Control) and his bed bug sniffing dog Kody (who is said to have been the world’s first bed bug sniffing dog) were featured in a Discovery Channel story last week.

The segment on Kody starts about six minutes in (you can move the cursor past the iceberg story after the initial brief commercial). Click here to see the story.

It’s important to note that all bed bug sniffing dogs and handlers are not equally skilled. Dogs and handlers must constantly train in order to maintain the dog’s skills.

If you need help determining whether you have bed bugs, do your research, ask for k9 recommendations on the forums, or references from the handlers.

Are there any other specific questions readers should ask a bed bug dog handler, before hiring him/her? Please share your answers in the comments below.

Thanks to the anonymous tipster in the forums who pointed me to the segment on Kody!Similar Posts:

Self-treatment for bed bugs probably caused Cincinnati fire

nobugsonme — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:07:21 +0000

This article from Local 12 in Cincinnati, Ohio reports that a resident’s attempts to self-treat for bed bugs likely contributed to a fire last night in Scottwood Avenue in Bond Hill.

Investigators believe the resident was treating a bedroom with a mixture of alcohol and bug killing solution. A cigarette may have ignited fumes generated by the mixture.

Oh dear.

I assume the alcohol is 91% rubbing alcohol, which some people use as an inexpensive contact killer for bed bugs. Many people probably overdo it. It is important to remember that even a common household item such as rubbing alcohol is flammable (and also generates fumes which may cause danger). And, honestly, you are probably not doing any good if you are trying to saturate your home with any contact killer (alcohol or otherwise).

Smoking around alcohol or pesticides is just a very bad idea. And pesticides should only be used appropriately and according to the label instructions.

Bedbugger understands how expensive bed bugs are to get rid of, but we still recommend getting a professional who is knowledgeable about and experienced with bed bugs to treat your home. (With the usual caveat: all bed bug professionals are not experienced in efficiently and successfully killing bed bugs.) Not only is it usually quicker and more effective to get someone with experience to do this job, it is also usually much safer than doing your own pest control. We say this as consumers; if you could do it more easily or cheaply, believe me, we would happily tell you.

And if you apply anything at all, please, please be careful. This isn’t the first fire we’ve heard of (apparently) being caused by DIY bed bug treatment. There have been other cases where misuse of pesticides in bed bug treatment have led to injury or death. Another man, in New Jersey, caused an explosion and fire using bug spray. And then there are the bug bomb injuries and deaths.

A recent survey showed that 14.5% of the people in Cincinnati have had bed bugs. Of these, 31% used only an over-the-counter spray to treat for bed bugs.

And those are the do-it-yourself folks who only used an OTC spray. I am not sure of the definition of over-the-counter: does it include professional-grade materials available for public purchase? If so, we can only guess that an even larger percentage self-treated with more powerful materials, dusts, etc.

Seeing bed bugs or suffering from bed bug bites is unpleasant and can cause serious sleep deprivation and stress, and sometimes more serious health problems. Lots of people in Cincinnati are desperate to get rid of bed bugs, and many of them cannot afford to pay for professional treatment. Stories like this remind us that this can be a dangerous situation to be in.Similar Posts:

Contact your elected officials — tell them about bed bugs

nobugsonme — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 04:59:35 +0000

I just wanted to remind everyone how important it is to call, or write, your elected officials (city, state, and other representatives) and let them know what a tremendous hardship bed bugs can be.

I did this today, and not for the first time. But I always feel like I am getting a load off my chest.

Those of you in New York City, please sign on with me and the other members of New York vs. Bed Bugs. Since there’s currently a bed bug bill (Intro. 873) under consideration, it’s especially important right now. Renee shows you how to get involved and contact your reps here. And then come back to New York vs. Bed Bugs and leave a comment on this post, letting the group know you did it. (This is important, so New York vs. Bed Bugs can keep track of the effects it is having.)

If you’re not in New York, google the name of your city council or county elected officials. All the local websites I’ve seen tell you who your representatives are, and how to call, write, or email them.

Do some research here and on New York vs. Bed Bugs about what’s being done by other cities like Cincinnati and Toronto, who have bed bug task forces. And tell your elected officials what a mess bed bugs made of your health, skin, schedule, sleep patterns, living room floor (covered in plastic bags), etc. Tell them how much money you spent on your bed bug problems. Tell them how long you had the problem, why it was hard to get rid of, how hard it was to detect in the first place. Tell it like it is: politicians need to hear your stories.

This does not have to be a long conversation/letter/email. But do it, all the same.

It believe that if we all do this, it can make such a difference.Similar Posts:

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Cincinnati stops bed bug inspections; MSNBC touts Cincinnati’s educational campaign; hmpf.

nobugsonme — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:05:05 +0000

Cincinnati’s health department got almost 11 times as many requests for help with bed bugs in 2008 compared with 2007 (the number jumped from 70 to 750). And the Cincinnati Enquirer reports today that they’ve now ceased inspecting for bed bugs.

Hmpf.

We knew this was coming when the 2009 budget did not include the $291K needed for this purpose. The City is trying to find this money from other sources.

MSNBC sings the “Cincinnati has bed bugs” song today:

Health officials said the best way to combat the city’s bed bug problem was to raise awareness, and now the whole world knows about the area’s resurgent pests.

But awareness is only one factor in the fight against bed bugs.

MSNBC also notes that while 15% of Cincinnati residents has had bed bugs, only 31% are using licensed pest control specialists to get rid of them. It is important to understand that licensed PCOs are not necessarily experienced or knowledgeable about bed bugs. You’d be surprised by how many licensed PCOs still don’t “get” bed bugs. And don’t forget that even knowledgeable PCOs may be stymied in their bed bug treatment by the inability to treat neighboring units in buildings. (This may come down to money, tenants’ or landlords’ refusals to have inspections or treatment of adjacent units.)

Inadequate or incomplete bed bug treatment (which likely includes most self-treatment, and probably a lot of professional treatment as well) is likely a key factor in why more than 10 times as many people called the Cincinnati health department in 2008 compared with 2007.

It’s really hard to get rid of bed bugs even if you know what you’re doing.

Public education and the willingness to receive such reports likely accounts for some of it too: how many more people suffered from bed bugs, vs. how many more called the city about the problem (where they might have kept it to themselves).

But come on, Cincinnati!

Don’t you realize citizens and city alike will have much worse financial problems if in 2009, you see a rise in bed bug cases?

And come on, news media!

Let’s put two and two together. It isn’t enough to be the city that understands the depth of its bed bug problem. They also have to come through with more than awareness: cold hard cash, legislation, action.Similar Posts:

Forget bed bugs “over there” in Cincinnati. Look in your own sofa cushions!

nobugsonme — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:15:08 +0000

This in a new article from WLWT NBC 5 in Cincinnati:

Dr. Camille Jones, assistant health commissioner for the Cincinnati Health Department, said the city’s bedbugs have gained fame not because its problem is worse than other cities, but because local officials have more aggressively tackled the problem.

“We’re trying to get ahead of it, and we’re also the only city that has baseline data on about the prevalence of the problem,” Jones said.

In other words, cities like New York and Chicago look like they have less of a bed bug problem than Cincinnati, because they have not even attempted to come up with statistics on the scope of the problem.

I personally find it amusing when the news media outside Cincinnati talk about the rise of bed bugs in that city, instead of considering their own bed bug problems which are receiving (in most cases) less attention from the local government or health department.

Case in point? Articles like this recent one from Los Angeles, which appeared in various iterations in Australia and Connecticut — a country and a state with big bed bug problems, at least in some of their cities.

On the positive side, articles such as this raise awareness of bed bugs as a problem. They introduce the idea that one in six people in a city could have encountered bed bugs in a short span of time. Thanks for driving that idea home, Cincinnati!

And they hopefully also bring a lot of people to look at the bed bug activist site New York vs. Bed Bugs. Even if they sadly missed Renee’s point (and misquoted her to boot), publicity for the issue and the organization is still good.

(Still, “a clean house”? Seriously? Are we still there? I thought we had moved past the idea that there might be a correlation between bed bugs and housekeeping.)

Anyway, isn’t it silly to talk about bed bugs “over there in Cincinnati,” when you haven’t even turned your mattress over for a look?

But even if readers think, “Ewww, Cincinnati!” they’re also probably thinking, “Oh, if Cincinnati, then maybe here, too.”

And when it comes to agitating for change, imagination is key.

Until everyone thinks, “Bed bugs could (will) happen to me, too,” there will still be those who laugh at the idea of bed bug task forces, or bed bug legislation.Similar Posts:

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14.5% of Cincinnati residents surveyed have had bed bugs?!?

nobugsonme — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 10:40:25 +0000

New York vs. Bed Bugs points out the distressing data from a recent survey: the Cincinnati/Hamilton County Joint Bed Bug Task Force (JBBTF) sponsored a series of questions in a survey conducted by The University of Cincinnati Institute for Policy Research. They found that 14.5% of Cincinnati residents surveyed had had bed bugs.

Renee of New York vs. Bed Bugs writes,

Cincinnati, population 332,252, received give or take 757 official bed bug complaints in 2007. Do we realize what this survey suggests about the likely underreporting rate? The official stats could account for less than 2% of the actual cases.

And is it possible that there could be ______ New Yorkers who have bed bugs? Why can’t we have this type of survey here?

I agree, and I suspect we would find the percentage of New Yorkers who have or have had bed bugs is much higher than that represented by HPD bed bug violations.

We’ve known for a long time anecdotally that the official numbers probably do not account for the majority of NYC bed bug cases.

It’s scary to consider that a number like this 14.5% might be applied to the NYC population.

And let’s not start in on the fact that the same survey found 31% of Cincinnati residents with bed bugs used only an over-the-counter spray to fight their bed bugs — a method likely to allow bed bugs to keep on thriving and spreading.

New Yorkers, don’t walk by the entire wall of bed bug spray in the Duane Reade on Fifth Ave. in midtown and tell me you are not worried. Join us at New York vs. Bed Bugs and write your letter to tell the city to do something, now.
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Cincinnati cuts budget, cancels $290K bed bug inspection program

nobugsonme — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 22:55:40 +0000

This does not seem good. At all.

Cincinnati’s newly approved budget cut $290,000 — a choice which, according to this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, cancels a bed bug inspection program.

What was approved in the budget?

– $1.8 million for police overtime walking patrols;

– Restoration of the appliance collection service, but for a fee to be researched by the administration and approved later by council;

– $1.8 million expected from the federal government in reimbursement for the September windstorm, to go into emergency reserve savings account;

– $250,000 for renovation of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center;

– $248,000 small business loan for Goodies Barbecue restaurant to open a second location in Price Hill;

– $100,000 the mayor wanted to spend educating people about the importance of their participation in the 2010 census.

I understand money is tight and bed bugs may not seem important to many. But they are. And getting rid of them once they spread further is so much more costly than preventing their spread by catching them early.Similar Posts:

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