Bed bugs in Davenport, Iowa? Abilene, Texas? Be sure and call the Health Department…

nobugsonme — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:43:18 +0000

In the television news spot below from WQAD.com in the Quad Cities of Iowa and Illinois, it is noted that

Environmental Health Specialist Jackie Hall of the Scott County Health Department [where Davenport, Iowa is located] says cases of bed bugs have been very rare in the county. Their most recent report of these was in October of last year.

Because the Scott County Health Department has not had a call about bed bugs since October, 2008, and they are assuming that this means that there have been no bed bug cases in the county since then.

We suspect they are probably wrong. After all, people of Davenport, did anyone tell you, that you should notify the Scott County Health Department, should you find bed bugs in your home? I suspect they did not.

Davenport, Iowa is part of the Quad Cities of Iowa/Illinois (which actually now includes five cities: Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, and Rock Island, Illinois).

Reporters in the story below from Davenport imply that locals only need to worry about encountering bed bugs when they travel. Not so — two large local complexes — Joseph Fulton Homes East Moline, and Warren Tower in Rock Island County — suffered from publicized bed bug infestations in 2007.

So if you suffer from bed bugs in Davenport, at home or in a public place, please, call your local Health Department and let them know!

Update 4/20: According to the Reporter News Online, public health officials in Abilene, Texas also claim to not have a local bed bug problem.

Bedbugs may be biting in some parts of the country, but so far, Abilene does not seem to be plagued by the pesky little insects.

“I am not aware of any problems we are having with bedbugs in our area,” said Kay Durilla, nursing program manager for the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District. “However, it seems it is a recurring problem along the East Coast.”

Not just the East Coast. Bed bugs are in all 50 states, according to national pest control companies.

Again, people of Abilene, TX: if you have bed bugs, be sure and let the Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District know that bed bugs are a problem in your area.

The truth is that unless Abilene is inside a sealed airtight bubble, and no people or goods are allowed in and out, there are or will soon be bed bugs in Abilene.

Similar Posts:

And so, it gets worse: bed bugs on the move

nobugsonme — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:59:31 +0000

A news round-up for today:

This article in the Quad-Cities Online reported yesterday on bed bug infestations in a public housing complex in East Moline, Illinois. The reporter quotes one resident who has been battling bed bugs since fall.

“I work too. My tax dollars are going to support places like this (government run low-income housing). If people knew how disgusting this is, I’m sure they’d be upset,” said a resident of the Joseph Fulton Homes. The woman asked to remain anonymous.

Interestingly, a number of comments to the article also note that low-income folks should not have to live like that. At least one commenter (going by the name “some anonymous person”) mentions that “only the poor have to live like this.”

Well, not exactly. While it’s true that in this case, it’s a low-income residence, sadly, people of every social class and walk of life are having to deal with bed bugs. Many, many people we hear from at bedbugger.com — low-income, moderate-income and middle-class– have a problem getting their landlords to treat the problem promptly and effectively. The rich are perhaps in the best situation, since they have more possibility of moving, but this problem is not easy for anyone, and everyone who suffers from bed bugs suffers and takes a hit. And it can afflict anyone at any time.

We need better government support for fighting bed bugs, because nobody should have to suffer this problem for long (and a week is too long).

A second local public housing complex, a senior apartment building called Warren Towers, also has units with bed bug infestations, a story which was covered by the Quad-Cities Online on May 30th.

In other news, even though I have a google alert which tells me when people mention bed bugs in the news or in their blogs, I don’t usually mention non-bed-bug-blogs in our news round-ups. There are just too many people blogging their infestations on a daily basis to keep up.

But today, one caught my eye: this professional blog at LibraryJournal.com, suggests that folks are starting to talk about their bed bug infestations not just amongst their nearest and dearest, or in the workplace, but amongst colleagues they may not know well. That’s good news: talking about bed bugs means more people learn about the problem, how to spot it, and its likelihood of appearing in their lives, too.

Bravo to Heather McCormack at Library Journal, and Heather–we hope your Brooklyn bed bugs are on their way out!

Meanwhile, Lisa Hoffman’s Scripps News article on bed bugs (the one also published in the Knoxville News) continues to make the rounds of syndication, now in the Albuquerque Tribune.

Next, for anyone in Boston who does not have to work next Wednesday, the Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation is having a Bed Bug Conference.

2nd Greater Boston Bed Bug Conference: Extermination and Legislation
Wednesday, June 13, 2007, 8:30AM – 3:00PM

There is still time to register! Registraton is $25.00 and includes lunch and refreshments. (Click the link above to get to the ABCDC site and download the registration form.)

Sponsored by the Greater Boston Bedbug Task Force, this event will provide updated information about the bed bug outbreak to more than 200 exterminators, inspectors, health providers, property managers/landlords, tenants and housing advocates, as well as members of the general public.

There’s also information at the same link for local residents to apply for a grant from the ABCDC to fight bed bugs in your home. Allston Brighton residents take note! We’re big fans of the ABCDC’s bed bug-fighting attempts (some of which are mentioned here), and we’d be glad to hear about other community organizations that are trying to help people with bed bugs, or help people avoid getting bed bugs in the first place.

And finally, today some tenants in a Jamaica, Queens apartment set off a roach bomb which exploded, harming them and damaging their apartment and belongings.

Authorities say the explosion shattered the windows of Apartment 4E at 164-30 Hillside Avenue just after 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

Some residents inside the apartment were overcome, and at least two were taken to the hospital.

The force of the explosion reportedly blew pieces of the fourth-floor window onto a construction shed and the street.

Fire officials said the roach bomb explosion may have been sparked by a pilot light or a refrigerator compressor.

In case the fact that bug bombs do not work to rid your apartment of bed bugs did not dissuade you from using one, they’re also apparently potentially dangerous.
ABC 7’s photo shows what looks to be much of the apartment’s contents pushed up against the (blown-out) window.

I realize the news reports this as a roach bomb, but since there are (for good reason) no over-the-counter bed bug bombs, since we know people attempt to use bombs made for other pests to eradicate bed bugs, and since Queens is experiencing a lot of bed bug infestations, I do have to wonder if that might have been the case here.

Don’t try that at home, kids!Similar Posts:

Got bed bugs? Bedbugger.com » east moline

Bed bugs in Davenport, Iowa? Abilene, Texas? Be sure and call the Health Department…

And so, it gets worse: bed bugs on the move