WNYC reports on the EPA National Bed Bug Summit which is happening tomorrow and Wednesday in Arlington, Va.

WNYC’s Fred Mogul interviewed New York City Assistant Health Commissioner Dan Kass:

KASS: There are folks who have done a tremendous amount of study, about the kinds of products and practices that work well, there are other jurisdictions that may have some ideas about how to encourage property owners to act quickly. We’d like to hear some of those.

Kass says he wants to see what regulations other states have to police over-the-counter pesticides – many of which he says are dangerous and ineffective.

The city health department for years said bedbugs were not a public health problem, because they are a nuisance but do not transmit disease. Kass says his agency now is committed to assessing the problem thoroughly and helping property-owners, tenants and exterminators work together more effectively.

See: WNYC – News – Conference to Address Bedbugs.

I’m really glad Dan Kass is enthusiastic about the EPA Summit.

We really need housing and health officials to learn as much as they can from entomologists who study bed bugs, and can speak to various issues around their control and spread.

We also need public officials to share their experiences and learn from the experiences — both good and bad — of their counterparts in other locations.

You can get all the information on the EPA Summit from this post at New York vs. Bed Bugs.

I look forward to hearing about the EPA National Bed Bug Summit, which I unfortunately cannot attend due to work commitments. Perhaps some of our regulars would report back to us about the event.Similar Posts:

• Soundbites from the EPA National Bed Bug Summit

Renee of New York vs. Bed Bugs uncovered a surprise on the New York City Council website: a new bed bug bill, Int. no. 873, calls for the Department of Health to get involved in the bed bug fight in New York City, by

• training PCOs in proper bed bug treatment,
• providing a list of those PCOs to the public,
• training property owners in how to eliminate bed bugs, prevent their spread,
• providing information on the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website, and
• providing information about bed bugs to 311 callers, and taking reports of bed bug infestations via 311.

The bill does not go into a lot of detail on these steps, for example, I’d love to know more how these training programs will be carried out.  It’s essential that the best advice and bed bug expertise will be sought in creating and implementing them.

And what will be done with the reports of bed bug infestations?  I hope they’ll be used to track where bed bug infestations occur.  Right now, someone in New York City knows which tenants have called 311 to complain about bed bugs.  If violations are found, we have a limited degree of access to this information.  We have no idea how many tenants in NYC have bed bugs, nor how many homeowners do.

However, despite these questions in my mind, there’s a lot to be hopeful about here.  Education of property owners and the general public is crucial to eliminating specific infestations and to reducing the spread of bed bugs in the city.  The Department of Health is a very appropriate agency to get involved in this issue.  And we’d love to see the city tracking bed bug infestations via 311.

For that reason, I think we all need to get behind this bill.  If you’re in New York City, please click over to New York vs. Bed Bugs for more information on what to do, and to join our campaign.

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The full text of Intro. 873 follows:

Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 17 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 17-194 to read as follows:

§17-194 Bed bug techniques training program. a. The department shall establish a program to train exterminators in the proper techniques to eliminate bed bugs. Upon successful completion of this program, the exterminator shall be considered trained pursuant to this provision, in the proper techniques of bed bug extermination.

b. The department shall establish a program to train property owners in the proper techniques to eliminate bed bugs and to prevent the transfer and spread of any bed bug infestation. Upon successful completion of this program, such owner shall be considered trained pursuant to this provision in the proper techniques of bed bug extermination.

c. Any training programs developed pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to, identification of bed bugs and understanding their life cycle, inspection procedures to identify infested areas and furnishings, techniques to prepare infested sites for containment and extermination, encasement techniques, and proper techniques for the moving and disposal of infested furnishings and materials. Any training program should also provide instruction on which techniques and pesticides are inappropriate for bed bug elimination.

d. The department shall make available on its website general information on bed bug awareness, infestation and control.

e. The department shall ensure that a toll-free hotline number, such as the 311 citizen service center, shall be made available to the public for any person seeking to report an incidence of bed bug infestation or to request information on bed bugs.

f. A list of exterminators trained pursuant to this section shall be made available to the public on the department’s website, upon request by calling the 311 citizen service center, and upon request in person at department offices to be located in each of the five boroughs, as determined by the department.

§2. This local law shall take effect ninety days after its enactment, provided, however, that the department of health and mental hygiene shall take any necessary actions to implement this law, including the promulgation of rules, prior to such effective date.

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• Bed bugs invade New York City Department of Health offices

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City has put out two new fact sheets on bed bugs. (Be aware, clicking each of the following links will download a PDF!) One is for the general public, and the other for hotel and hospitality workers, managers, and owners. Thanks to blogger Bugged Out for the tip.

I am really glad to see the Hotels fact sheet. I wonder how it is being disseminated.

I am more skeptical about the fact sheet for the rest of us. I see in it a few possibilities for misinformation. While it does suggest in the first column that people with bed bugs call a licensed pest control professional (as they, or their landlords, should), later, I am concerned with the answer to the question “Is it necessary to use pesticides to get rid of bed bugs?”

The answer begins:

The best way to get rid of bed bugs is to clean, disinfect, and eliminate their hiding places. Since bed bugs can live several months without food and water, pest control professionals may use a pesticide.

Whoa, Nellie! They may use a pesticide? They bloody well better use some pesticides.
First, every account I’ve seen states that bed bugs can live as long as a year (and some sources say 18 months) without feeding. And as far as I know, the food and water is your blood.

Next, sure, the best way to get rid of bed bugs would be to get rid of them. But since you cannot probably reach their hiding places, you had darn well better expect to involve some pesticides. I have never heard of a pest control professional examining a known infestation and saying, “Hmm, well, we might just use some pesticides to be sure.” It’’s the main way of eliminating something that can live in the cracks in your bed, the cracks in your floor, the cracks in your wall, the crevices of your electrical sockets and your light fixtures.

There is no good way to get rid of bed bugs by cleaning. Even if you think they are just on your mattress (and you are very likely to be wrong) cleaning and or removing the infested item can spread the problem. You can disperse the monsters through your home, inadvertently, as you drag the mattress out, or clean it.

And they are likely to be living in other locations.

They also come in 5 convenient sizes which range from the barely visible size of a speck of dust to the easily recognized “size of an apple seed.”

How you expect to “clean” something out of your home when you can’t see it on the item in front of you (let alone hiding in your baseboards) is beyond me.

Yes, maybe New York City needs a Bedbug Czar. And, Mayor Bloomberg, I’m available, as I am sure lots of more qualified people are as well. Someone needs to proofread this stuff they’re putting out.

The bed bug life cycle photo is from Stephen L. Doggett, Senior Hospital Scientist in the Department of Medical Entomology at the University of Sydney and Westmead Hospital. This is their bed bug site. He’s also the principle author or the Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations in Australia, which can be downloaded from the same site. We thank Stephen L. Doggett for giving us permission to post this helpful photo, which also appears in our FAQs! Similar Posts:

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