An exterminator for All-Rite says it is ok for her to return to her home.

“Really and truly there is not a lot of reason to move out to tell you the truth,” Charlie Asberry of All-Rite Pest Control explained.

“You run the risk of moving a problem from here to another unit,” Asberry said.

Demus has thrown out two couches and a mattress and plans to get rid of their clothes as a result of the infestation.

“Yes, he said I could come back in here, but honestly would you want to come back?” Demus said.

While the PCO is correct, it is hard not to empathize with the tenant. Who wouldn’t want to escape? In fact, if she leaves, without a human acting as “bait” to draw them across the poison to their deaths, the bed bugs are likely to hide out waiting for another source of food to move in, or to flee to neighboring units in search of food (or both).

Interestingly, these articles rarely mention the need for follow-up treatments spaced around two weeks apart–and necessary until no bed bug bites, bed bugs, or signs of bed bugs are found. They also almost never mention that all adjoining units (above, below, and all sides) must be carefully inspected by the PCO.

This article is no exception, leading one to hope All-Rite did inspect all the neighbors, and that they will be back in two weeks for more. Perhaps that part of the story does not make for interesting journalism, but it is important that the public become aware of these concerns, should they one day find themselves on the other end of a bed bug’s proboscis.

But the most interesting part of this article was that the local health department is asking people to call to report bed bugs:

If you live in an apartment complex and suspect there are bed bugs. You are urged to call the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department at (859) 231-9791

That, my bedbugged friends, is very good news, but not particularly new news. Lest we forget, Lexington-Fayette County Health Department was one of the first in the US, if not the first, to declare bed bugs a problem, over a year ago. There is probably more that the health department could do, however. For example, their brochure (available here) recommends washing bedding and clothing or throwing it away. Why suggest throwing away washable clothes and sheets? It also does not state clearly enough that mattresses and other furniture can usually be treated, and usually do not need to be thrown out. Or that throwing them out may lead to further spread in your building. (Perhaps we should say, here at Bedbugger.com,“Caveat dumpster”?)

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According to the Lexington Herald-Leader of 10/14/2006, Lexington, KY had a huge increase in reported cases of bed bugs in the last few years:

Complaints about bedbugs in Lexington have almost tripled since 2005, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department said yesterday, and it warned residents to take precautions against a problem that is growing here and nationwide.

Public health officials said they’ve investigated 19 complaints about bedbugs in various areas of Lexington so far this year, compared to seven complaints in all of 2005. In response, the health department has formed a task force, in cooperation with the Urban County Government, to start distributing educational pamphlets, spokeswoman Jessica Cobb said.

Meanwhile, much larger New York, NY also had a huge increase in reported cases of bed bugs in the last few years:

In the last fiscal year, the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development received 4,638 complaints about bedbugs in rental housing – nearly five times as many in the previous year.

Lexington: 19 complaints last year; NYC: 4,638 complaints last year. In New York, it is notable that these 4,638 cases only represent tenants who reported cases to the city. Homeowners with infestations would not call 311 to report bed bugs. And most tenants wouldn’t either; the normal course of action when a tenant has a pest, is for the tenant to call the landlord or superintendent. I would never think of calling 311 unless my landlord did not respond to a complaint. In short, 4,638 is the tip of the iceberg. I’d be surprised if there were not 10 times as many tenants with infestations who did not call 311. And many more homeowners, who would never have call to report their home’s infestation to a city agency.

Lexington 2000 (human) population: 260512; NYC 2000 (human) population: 8008278.

There are almost 31 times as many people in NYC as in Lexington.

There were 244 times as many reports of bed bug infestations in the last year in NYC compared to Lexington.

New York’s reported infestations are up five times in one year.

Lexington’s are up three times in one year.

And yet the New York City government, after 4,638 reported cases, is not doing anything; our short-sighted city officials recently claimed poor people should have the right to save money by purchasing used mattresses, a known cause of the spread of bed bugs.

And the government in Lexington, after 19 reported cases, is spearheading a leafleting campaign, to educate the populace.

Discuss.

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• Roger Smith Hotel on Lexington in NYC: latest bed bug lawsuit
• How bad are bed bugs in Toronto? Nobody knows for sure.

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