In an article in Newsday last week, Dave Mejias (D-Farmingdale) was cited as saying bed bugs were migrating to Nassau County, Long Island from eastern Queens.

On Long Island, infestations are increasing in Nassau County, officials said. The exact number of complaints logged by the county’s Health Department was unavailable. Bedbug calls are listed in a category called “commensal pests” and aren’t separated or tracked, an agency spokesman said.

Legis. Dave Mejias (D-Farmingdale) believes the reddish, six-legged bloodsuckers are migrating from eastern Queens into Nassau, although experts have said the problem already existed on Long Island.

In the city, many complaints come from Brooklyn. However, it’s a citywide problem, said Seth Donlin, spokesman for the housing, preservation and development department. “It’s not only one part of the city that’s really seeing an increase,” he said.

(Emphasis mine.)

Bed bugs are a citywide problem.  They’re also a state-wide, region-wide and country-wide problem.

We have heard the claim made before that Queens may have been one of the places bed bugs first took root in New York City.  Entomologist Gil Bloom told the Queens Tribune in December 2006 that

“We started to notice [bed bugs] in 1999 or so. I will say that Queens is one the early epicenters. Astoria is probably one of the early epicenters in this area,” he said.

(Emphasis mine.)

Saying Astoria was one of the epicenters is not the same as saying Queens was “ground zero” for bed bugs (as the same article’s title alleged).

Saying Long Island is getting bed bugs from eastern Queens seems like a stretch: as the article notes, people in Long Island have had bed bugs for a long time.  Bed bugs are not being tracked there, so no records really exist.

I am wondering if there is some study out there that Mejia is privy to — one that tracks bed bugs as they hitchhike (march?) from Jackson Heights or Jamaica, Queens to Nassau County.

I am visualizing little bed bug ankle tags, and entomologists hunched over microscopes, reading little tiny numbers off their ankles.

(Oh, I just know I am going to get commenters telling me bed bugs do not have ankles.)

Bed bugs aren’t squirrels or monarch butterflies (sadly).  Sure, they can walk, but they don’t have to migrate by their own steam, walking or flying from county to county.

They can easily hitchhike, catching a ride on people and their possessions: from Manhattan to Old Westbury, from Orlando to Hicksville, from London to Garden City.

And in the other direction.

They can travel with you on purses and in backpacks and suitcases, even in a pocket or trouser cuff, from fine restaurants, movie theaters, ivy league colleges, hotels, resorts, and clothing stores, that clean-looking commuter train you rode home on this morning.

The key word there is you. They can hitch a ride with you, oh people who travel to and from Long Island.

They probably came to Nassau County like they came to eastern Queens, Chicago, Vancouver, Prince Edward Island; like they came to Maya Rudolph’s former loft, to Ralph Lauren’s design studio, to the most prestigious law firms in New York City, Stanford University, the finest hotels in London, the trains of Thailand and France.

They came with people.

I fear that the Nassau County Legislator is associating bed bugs with the big, dirty city.  Make no mistake: bed bugs can and will come home with you from anywhere.Similar Posts:

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The New York Daily News has a good article today on the 34% increase in bed bug complaints in the last fiscal year, compared with the previous one.

The data for this came from the amazing Renee Corea, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request on behalf of New York vs. Bed Bugs.

Adam Linsberg reports,

“There are lots and lots of people who are having a devastating experience with bedbugs,” said Renee Corea, who helped start the coalition New York vs. Bed Bugs after being bitten. “We are already regarded as the most highly infested city in the United States.”

New Yorkers called 311 with 9,213 bedbug complaints in the last fiscal year, up 33.7% from the year before, according to records that Corea’s group obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

That probably understates the problem, Corea said, because uncounted numbers of New Yorkers call exterminators instead of phoning 311.

Thanks to Renee for communicating this crucial fact — one we bedbuggers know too well, but one which the powers that be — and the media — almost always overlook.

The article also mentions the crucial bed bug hearing next Tuesday at City Hall (1 pm, 2/24). Our good friend Lou Sorkin of the American Museum of Natural History is also quoted,

“If you look at other cities, their local governments have taken a big step to try to educate people and deal with the problem.”

Yes indeed.

Other important information conveyed in the article:

The city Health Department doesn’t consider bedbugs a health issue, but at least three other city agencies track bedbug infestations separately in Housing Authority projects and school buildings.

Not all exterminators know how to spot and treat bedbugs, and critics say the city doesn’t do enough to stop infected mattresses from being reused. Some victims may be too embarrassed to seek help, and some small landlords may not be able to afford a competent exterminator, advocates say.

It would seem obvious that the city needs a more unified fight against the red menace, and that the current advice the city gives — when it is heavily prodded — to tell your landlord, to call 311: these are not always sufficient.

Want to know what happens when entire buildings become infested and landlords react after the fact by continually treating the entire building for bed bugs?

This happens. Here’s a bed bug registry complaint about a building on Lawrence Avenue East in Toronto, but it could be anywhere bed bugs were allowed to take over a building.

The Landlord here has told me that she is battling bed bugs on EVERY SINGLE FLOOR.

Every Monday the pest control guy comes and makes his rounds to spray for bed bugs.(For people that have prepared their unit, and are on ‘the list’ to be sprayed)

I’ve had my unit sprayed so so many times this past 12 months, and I still have bed bugs!

As if the idea of people living indefinitely with bed bugs is not enough, the poster goes on to claim a man in the building killed himself due to the ongoing infestation.

This report (brought to my attention by Death2BBs in the Bedbugger forums) was from a building in Toronto, but it could have been anywhere.

Thanks to Renee and Lou for getting the important facts about bed bugs out there, to Adam Linsberg for the excellent story, and to Roy Edroso in the Village Voice blog Running Scared for spreading the word.

And check out New York vs. Bed Bugs for details on how to testify in person at next week’s City Council Hearing (and on how to testify in writing if you cannot be present).

Update 2/17:

More from ABC 7 online, New York 1 andStaten Island Live (quite a turn-around for bed bug news in Staten Island.)

And then there’s WCBSTV.com, which says we got a bed bug task force in New York City in January 2008…

Update 2/28:

NBC News and The Staten Island Advance, the NYPress blog and Gothamist.Similar Posts:

• Steven Kells: bed bugs “could almost be considered like a disease themselves”
• Mark Sheperdigian on the limits of bed bug inspections
• Wednesday’s New York City Council vote on the Bed Bug Advisory Board: it passed!
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• Status of New Jersey bed bug extermination bill A3203: so far so good

The Staten Island Advance reported today that P.S.16 in Staten Island has a bed bug problem. They’ve had two treatments and the bed bugs persist. And it sounds like a fairly serious problem:

The creepy crawlies have been seen at PS 16 in the borough’s Tompkinsville community for several weeks now and exterminators have already visited the school twice, parents and education officials said.

“But this is still a continuous problem,” Ms. Guzman said. “I don’t know what’s going on. All I know is my child is putting her coat in her bookbag and the school had to get rid of puppets and lots of classroom supplies, even snacks.”

Nevertheless a New York City Department of Education official played it down:

Margie Feinberg, a DOE spokeswoman, said the Department was in the process of analyzing the specimens and that pest control went to the school yesterday.

“This is not a health issue but a nuisance issue,” Ms. Feinberg said. “Bed bugs do not carry disease. They are usually brought into the building on heavy clothing. We are looking into the matter.”

Though not yet known to spread infectious disease, bed bugs are nevertheless a health concern. The World Health Organization sure thinks so.

An even more immediate concern may be the costs of treating for bed bugs carried by so many, including parents whose kids may bring bed bugs home from school, or their landlords.

Back in January, Seth Donlin of the New York City Department of Housing, Preservation, and Development (HPD) told the Daily News,

“The Bronx had the second-lowest number of complaints last year,” said Seth Donlin of the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development, which keeps track of such calls to the city’s 311 hotline.

“It’s the lowest total after Staten Island, which is statistically insignificant,” Donlin said.

So Staten Island had the lowest number of complaints to 311 about bed bugs last year. It sounds like plenty of people in Staten Island are suffering now. One thing bed bugs do well is spread. Quickly.

Unless those bugs took the ferry in to school, or drove over the Verrazano Bridge, they may have come to P.S.16 with someone who lives in Staten Island. You can bet they’re probably going home with someone who lives in Staten Island.

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• Halifax tenants dealing with with bed bugs and unsympathetic health department

The official New York City data on how many people have bed bugs consists of two sets of numbers: calls to 311 (which are available to the public, sort of), and constituent complaint calls to city council members, which are currently shrouded in mystery.

311 posting NYC

Originally uploaded by Beauty Playin ‘Eh

According to NYC HPD data obtained by New York vs. Bed Bugs, there were 8,840 complaints and 2,757 violations in fiscal year 2008, as of June 19, 2008. (That means 8,840 people called 311, and of those whose homes were inspected, 2,757 cases were cited as bed bug violations.)

Still, those numbers, as alarming as they may be, are relatively low.

Homeowners never call 311 to report bed bugs. And most tenants don’t call 311 about bed bugs, unless their landlord is such a deadbeat that fuggeddabout calling a bed bug specialist, s/he won’t even call the building’s once-a-month roach-spray guy and have him do a little spray and pray.

And few people call their city council members about bed bugs, though I seriously think we all should, now that we know they’re actually keeping track of the calls.

I have often cited the incidence of New York City residents visiting the Bedbugger forums and complaining of bed bugs — compared with the extremely small number who tell us they called 311 to file a bed bug complaint — as anecdotal evidence of how much bigger the bed bug problem is in this city than the city’s limited data shows it to be.

And the anecdotal evidence keeps coming from elsewhere too.

Yesterday, Aly Walansky, of the SheKnows A Little Aly-tude blog, blogged about a string of bed bug infestations among her New York City friends and acquaintances:

. . . today I got an email from one of my closest friends…she is actually a friend I almost moved in with last year, and she recently moved to studio in the heart of Hell’s Kitchen. Apparently, last night she discovered that her neighbors had bed bugs…and today, she discovered she did, as well.

Sadly, this isn’t even her first time dealing with them. Last year, she had a ferocious experience coping with said vermin at a boyfriend’s home. Matters were made worse when she escaped home to her parents, and discovered some had followed her there.

At the time though, we had chalked it up to the freaky Queens infestation crisis.

My friend persevered, spent a fortune on decor for her new home…and now is dealing with it again. She’s understandably hysterical.

But Aly’s story does not end there.

Not an hour later, I was telling my BFF what the morning’s events had uncovered, and she shared horrible news. (No, she does not have them.) However, one of her good friends does too! Then, I get to the office I am at today, and overhear another person chatting…you guessed it.

So Aly’s friend has had them twice, the friend’s neighbors have them, the friend’s boyfriend and parents had them the last time the friend was infested. Aly’s friend-of-another-friend also currently has them, as does someone at Aly’s workplace.

You might wonder if Aly has a fairly large social circle, but really, if New York has over 8 million residents, and only 2,757 people were known by HPD to have had bed bugs in FY2008 — why that’s about 0.003% of the population! The odds of a single individual knowing such a disproportionate number of bed bug sufferers are quite astronomical.

That is, if the HPD data comes anywhere near approaching the actual incidence of bed bug infestations in New York City.

I think it’s safe to say most people also don’t yet report their infested addresses on the Bed Bug Registry.

So, perusing the 311 stats yet again, I got to thinking: how many different people from New York City came to Bedbugger.com last month?

Without going into too much detail,* I’d estimate, based on Google Analytics data, that at least 9553 different New York City residents visited this site in the month spanning June 14th to July 14th. These are what Google calls “Absolute Unique Visitors,” not folks coming back again and again (as many readers in the throes of a bed bug infestation do).

I think it’s safe to say that many of these are just bed bug-curious. (May they remain only curious.)

Some may be having a bed bug scare. (May it remain just a scare.)

But I think it’s highly likely that a good chunk of the 9,553 are either in the throes of a full-on bed bug encounter, or have reason to think they have been exposed to bed bugs, or have seen an unidentified insect and/or felt unexplained itching or have apparent bite marks, and suspect these are bed bug bites.

I can’t make any claims as to what percentage of Bedbugger readers fall into the “bed bug-curious,” “having a scare,” “suspected or known bed bug exposure” or “full-on bed bug infestation” categories.

However, for what it’s worth, I do note that more NYC residents paid a visit to Bedbugger in the last 31 days than called 311 to report bed bugs in the entire fiscal year 2008 so far (as of June 19th).

They’re not here for the witty repartee, fashion advice, or gossip. Something is making them spend their precious leisure time reading about a blood-sucking insect.

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*Detail, for those who enjoy it: Google Analytics separates NYC into the four normal boroughs and then every “city” in Queens, making this hard to tot up, so I am counting only cities in Queens with more than 9 visitors. In other words, this is a very conservative estimate. I also don’t get data on unique site visits based on geography, so I’ve used the percentage of unique site visits for the site as a whole and adjusted the NYC visitors based on that.Similar Posts:

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• The Sun reports Edinburgh hotel guests “flee bed bug horror”

The Greenpoint HPD Bed Bug Seminar was last night.

I was not able to be there, but Miss Heather has an excellent recap on the evening.

New York vs Bed Bugs members were there spreading word on how to get some change on the bed bug issue in NYC.

The presenter was Ed Brownbear, the only HPD educator who has actually had bed bugs.

Congratulations to those who helped organize this event (Miss Heather and Ann Kansfield) and to Lou Sorkin and the NY vs Bed Bugs crowd for being there!

If anyone who was there wants to share some details, they’d be very much welcomed.

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Miss Heather of NewYorkShitty.com knows that the war on bed bugs needs a little Bill Murray, Caddyshack-style.

She also reminds us there’s a bed bug seminar coming up in Greenpoint next Tuesday.

Tuesday May 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The Greenpoint Reformed Church
136 Milton Street
Broooklyn, NY 11222
RSVP (HPD): (212) 863-8830

To our knowledge, it’s the first HPD seminar that was specifically requested by residents of Greenpoint, namely rock stars Miss Heather and her friend, Pastor Ann Kansfield of the Greenpoint Reformed Church, the host of the event.

If you can help Miss Heather by posting flyers for Tuesday’s event in Greenpoint, Bushwick, Long Island City, or Williamsburg, please click the link above to volunteer.

Helpful Hopelessnomo reminds us in the forums about the Greenpoint event, and that

. . . there is another one in Williamsburg in June:

Wednesday, June 18, 2008
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Lindsay Park Building 4 Community Center
31 Leonard Street
Between Moore and Boerum Streets
RSVP (HPD): (212) 863-8830

Even if you’re already hooked up bedbug-information-wise, Hopelessnomo reminds us,

. . . you can encourage your friends and neighbors to attend these seminars so that they can get a quick overview. Plus I imagine that well-attended seminars also send a message and HPD scheduling these classes in more neighborhoods can only do good.

Yes indeed.

Wouldn’t it be great to show that HPD needs to do more bed bug seminars in more neighborhoods? What better way of showing this than packing the rafters of the first “by public demand” HPD bed bug seminar?

Finally, Crawledon rightly reminds Bedbuggers in the same thread that you can bring your questions about bed bugs to the event, and ask the speakers, and that New York vs. Bed Bugs will have a presence at the Greenpoint event.

New York vs. Bed Bugs is the first and only organization that we know of which is working to pressure NYC to do more to help stop the spread of bed bugs, and get help to those who need it.

Find out some simple ways you can help with that by going to the New York vs. Bed Bugs website, or talking to some of the founders at this event! Similar Posts:

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I know the NYC Housing and Preservation Department’s bed bug seminars are not perfect.  But wouldn’t you rather your neighbors had access to one, rather than not?

I say yes, especially if you live in Greenpoint.  Greenpointers and their Williamsburg neighbors are seriously bedbugged.

So, Miss Heather of newyorkshitty.com and her friend Ann Kansfield (the Co-Pastor of the Greenpoint Reformed Church) worked together and got HPD to agree to come to Greenpoint.  So far, this is the second HPD bed bug seminar to be announced in Brooklyn.  (The first to happen will be on 3/12, next Wednesday, in Bushwick.)

The Greenpoint bed bug seminar will be on May 6th from 6-8pm.  This announcement comes from Ann Kansfield, via Miss Heather’s blog, so I would not call HPD to sign up just yet.

But just so you know, the location will be:

Greenpoint Reform Church
136 Milton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11222
(718) 383-5941

And if you want to thank Miss Heather for helping rid her ‘hood of crazy bed bugs, visit her blog and leave a comment.  There’s a request for people to put up flyers for the event in the neighborhood too, so if anyone local wants to vounteer, go and let Miss Heather know.

To thank Pastor Ann Kansfield for making this possible, Miss Heather says you can email her at pastor (at) greenpointchurch (dot) org.

I hope that others will consider lobbying for bed bug seminars in their neighborhoods, and help publicize those that are happening.   Thanks to Miss Heather and Ann Kansfield for their hard work!Similar Posts:

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I am delighted to report this news item from Patrick Meighan of the Nashua Telegraph in Nashua, New Hampshire. It’s a story about how Nashua city Health Officer Nelson Ortega and Deputy Health Officer Heidi Peek spent 4 and a half hours inspecting all 117 rooms in a rooming house in Nashua, and found 16 of them infested with bed bugs.

The inspection was prompted by tenants’ complaints to the health department. However, Ortega expected to–and found–that many more units were infested than the number of people who complained.

Complaints about bugs at 23-25 Temple St. prompted the inspection, Ortega said.

Given the tenant complaints his office received, Ortega said he expected the infestation to be even more widespread than what inspectors found.

“Sixteen is still a significant number,” Ortega said. “If they don’t hurry up and deal with it, it’s going to keep growing.”

He added, “the minute we left, they should be calling the pest companies.”

The building’s owner, 23-25 Temple Street Realty LLC, is expected to have exterminators come in as soon as possible, Ortega said. They’re required to spray not only the infected rooms, but also the adjacent rooms and the rooms directly above and below, he said.

Because the 16 rooms were scattered throughout, most of the building will have to be treated, Ortega said.

The owners also have 35 days to correct general maintenance violations, which range from the illegal use of extension cords and hotplates to unsanitary toilets and covers missing on wall outlets, Ortega said.

Health officials will do a follow-up inspection after the building owner has had time to spray for pests and correct the violations, he said.

I wish that all health officials were as wise to bed bugs, and as proactive as these.

I also wish every building owner (whether it’s a hotel, apartment building, rooming house, or whatever) would read this. All too often, people try to get away with treating only the units of people who notice and complain about bed bugs. And in such cases, they will often find bed bugs popping up again and again.

I am also glad to see this because it shows a case where people with bed bugs called a health department and got some action. Readers often tell us their landlords are not dealing with bed bugs, and they don’t know what to do. Or if their landlord is helping them, the problem is still hard to treat.

Well, even though your city health officer may not be as clued in about bed bugs as Nelson Ortega is, why not give them a call?

Cities and counties do not realize how many people have bed bugs unless you tell them. So please, consider googling your city or county health department and giving them a buzz.

And a reminder to tenants, landlords, and government officials alike, anywhere: take a hint from Nashua Deputy Health Officer Heidi Peek, who is quoted in the article as saying:

“The reason I really wanted to get in there, I had a hunch there were people who weren’t reporting (bedbugs) – which we found to be true.”

At least 50% of people bitten by bed bugs do not react to the bites, according to Michael Potter.

Many of these will have no idea they have them.

Many more will know they have them but fear being blamed and not report it.

Still others will simply put up with the situation (unbelieveable, yes, but we hear it time and again).

Do not assume people are bed bug-free simply because they say they are.

And certainly do not assume they are bed bug-free simply because they do not call a city information hotline.

Especially if calling a city information hotline is the least intuitive thing for them to do, as in the case of NYC tenants with bed bugs. Do you hear that, New York City HPD? If you want people in NYC to call a number to tell you they have bed bugs. You have to tell them to do it.Similar Posts:

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Tomorrow the Bed Bug Seminar comes to Astoria. This is where it is located (travel directions included).

Tuesday, February 5 from 8PM to 9PM at Ricardo’s Catering Hall, 21-01 24^th Avenue in Astoria, Queens.

Remember to RSVP, per the city’s request:

Anyone interested in attending any of these seminars is encouraged to call (212) 863-8830 to reserve a space. Translation services will be provided for Spanish-speaking members of the public.

Word from attendees of the first event in Washington Heights was that the presentation was pretty basic.

Hopefully they will spend more time on questions and answers than they did last time, and you can ask some of your questions then.Similar Posts:

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The first of three bed bug seminars planned by the city of New York happened last night. NBC Channel 4 did a brief recap on the 11 o’clock news, but video is not available from wnbc.com as of this writing.

Bedbugger was not on the scene, unfortunately, but we did get some eyewitness reports.

Our source noted that there was useful information shared, but questioned whether the audience wouldn’t be better served if the presenters had a more intimate and extensive knowledge of bed bugs. (The program was scheduled to be led by Elise Shin and Henny Calle. We understand Calle has done previous presentations on lead and other building safety issues.)

This is New York, home to many bed bug experts–people I’ve found to be very helpful and approachable. Why were none of them involved in these proceedings? From what I can gather, they weren’t asked.

It sounds like there could have been more scientific data in evidence, particularly in regard to what was said about pesticides.

Apparently they also showed slides of bites and tried to advise people on identifying them–something that is not possible. Was this made clear? Perhaps someone can report on that.

Rather than lasting the scheduled two hours from 6-8pm, our source said it started at 6:40 and ended by 7:30–thus using 50 out of a scheduled 120 minutes. Perhaps if some experts with more bed bug knowledge were involved, the program would be richer. People expected to come for two hours, so why not use the time well?

A second report came via crawledon, a Bedbugger on the forums. crawledon reports:

I was extremely disappointed with the meeting last night. During the first part, the “educator” basically read information that had been handed out and added a tiny bit of commentary making it quite clear that she never lived through an infestation and also didn’t really know much about the subject. I think I remember her stating that bb’s can live for almost a year without a blood meal. Someone called out, “18 months!” Our educator quipped, “let’s be optimistic.” First she was inaccurate, then joked about it without correcting herself. The Q&A portion was even more ridiculous because she couldn’t really answer the questions. It was frustrating because I recognized many experts in the audience and frankly, they should have been running the show. At the very least, I wished they would have answered the questions.

The main focus was on being able to identify a [bed bug] and where to look for them. Then she talked about integrated pest management where she went on to read that tenants need to declutter, should use a stiff brush to scrape eggs off of mattresses, etc., and how we can caulk holes in walls and floors. The literature that had been passed out said the tenants can find these supplies in the hardware store. This made me very, very angry because quite frankly, it is not our job to go and buy supplies so that we, the tenants can seal up harborages, although we often wind up doing it so it gets done.

crawledon reports that at its close, the event became commercial: “like a convention hall:”

There were many businesses represented, PCOs, PCOs with dogs, salespeople from PCO companies, people wanting to come and ozone your home. . . they all descended upon the tenants, handing out business cards trying to sell their wares. We need these people and appreciate their presence but I wish more [landlords] had been present. They’re the ones that should buy these wares, not the tenants.

Finally, Channel 4 covered the seminar. They stated on their newscast that although it’s not recommended, one can do their own pest control, and listed some of the things our “educator” listed in the “integrated pest control” portion of her talk. If NBC came away thinking we can do this, what did the public come away with?

Finally, crawledon suggests that

The only good this seminar provided was now tenants can better identify a [bed bug]. But ultimately, this seminar and the newscast that followed it might have done more harm than good.

You can read the rest of crawledon’s comments here.

Thanks to our anonymous witness and crawledon for their reports. This is, unfortunately, kind of what I expected, knowing that local experts were not involved in the presentation.

The city needs to smarten up before their next bed bug seminar. Many of the people attending are people with bed bugs, or with neighbors who have them. Others are landlords or social workers or others whose jobs involve getting rid of bed bugs. They may (in many cases) know more about bed bugs than the presenters, and they need more than an introduction to the problem, they need help.

The city needs to do much more than offer a few 50-minute beginner’s bed bug identification classes. We should recall the words of Michael Potter, one of the foremost bed bug experts, at a Pest Control Technology event last August, a true “bed bug seminar”:

“If there is a classic example of why you don’t eliminate entire classes of pesticides,” Potter said, “bed bugs are it. We’re in a heap of trouble in terms of the products we have available to fight this pest,” citing several classes of chemistry that are no longer available (e.g., organophosphates, carbamates, etc.) and the growing threat of pyrethroid resistance. As a result, he said, “I don’t see how this problem is going to get better. I think it’s going to get chaotic. This is the most challenging pest I’ve encountered in my career. We’re in big trouble.”

If this pest has presented the biggest challenge of his career, to a leading entomologist, then perhaps the City of New York needs to consider going further than the albeit important step of showing a few New Yorkers what bed bugs look like.

Bed bug experts have told us that some of those classes of pesticides might be used, cautiously and with restrictions, to more efficiently eradicate a bed bug infestation, and city officials should be lobbying for this.

The city does need an education campaign, but it should be designed with the assistance of the best bed bug experts available to us. And it should be disseminated through television specials, newspaper ads, and bus shelter and subway ads. Not through a 50-minute program you have to RSVP for.

And any education campaign is just the beginning.

If you attended the seminar, or have feedback on the above, please comment below!

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