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Access-a-Ride office workers claim bed bugs persist

nobugsonme — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:42:03 +0000

The Daily News reports that Access-a-Ride dispatchers on Northern Boulevard in Long Island City claim their offices still have bed bugs (here’s our post on this story from back in November, when the problem was first treated). The Daily News reports,

NYC Transit hired exterminators in November to steam clean parts of the facility, remove cubicle panels and office chairs that bug-sniffing dogs found to be overrun with the insects, and fumigated the furniture off site.

“The exterminators acknowledged that we have done more than most organizations,” NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said, adding that some “isolated cases” does not mean the critters are still living in the work area.

[Emphasis added.]

Actually, if people are getting bed bug bites at work, as they claim, it does suggest bed bugs are still living in the work area.

The problem started in the summer of 2008 and the article suggests the premises were treated with steam cleaning, “fumigation” (by this I assume they mean sprays?), and Cryonite.

Unfortunately, with bed bugs, it’s not just a matter of how much you’ve done; you have to keep treating until they are entirely gone.

People who’ve used the above methods in their homes report they’ve needed multiple treatments — it isn’t clear how many times the Access-a-Ride offices were treated, but it’s certainly possible they need more treatments. Busy offices with lots of people coming and going are certainly a difficult treatment situation.

The Daily News spoke to one worker who claimed she had taken bed bugs home from work, had to throw out all her belongings and was taking a leave of absence due to the continuing problem at work.Similar Posts:

NYC Department of Health revamps its bed bug information

nobugsonme — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:26:43 +0000

The big news this week is that New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has now produced a new guide Preventing and Getting Rid of Bed Bugs Safely (PDF in English, Spanish, and Chinese).

While not perfect, it is miles better than previous literature available from the city, and is presented much more prominently, on the home page of the NYC DOHMH website.

It emphasizes many things which should be emphasized: that good, knowledgeable, professional help is usually needed to get rid of bed bugs, that some people do not react to bed bug bites, and that bed bugs can infest many parts of the home, as shown in the photo on the cover of the pamphlet:

The pamphlet also has a lot of good suggestions on avoiding bed bugs, on supporting treatment (e.g. caulking and sealing crevices), and on avoiding foggers and bombs which make problems worse.

I was not thrilled with the emphasis on using a hair dryer on low to kill bed bugs — the pamphlet notes:

The heat from blow-dryers will kill bed bugs after 30 seconds of continuous contact.

This is not my area of expertise. However, it seems improbable that bed bugs would hang out in a spot for 30 seconds if a hair dryer is fixed upon them; it also sounds quite exhausting from the human point of view. (Using one to scare bed bugs out of a crevice, and the pamphlet also suggests, seems more useful, especially if you see signs which suggest a harborage in a particular region).

Steamers are more of a specialty item, but they do not need to be pointed at one spot for 30 seconds straight (Stephen Doggett’s Bed Bug Code of Practice 2nd Edn. suggests moving 30 cm in 15 seconds), making them infinitely more useful in killing bed bugs.

I found the pictures less helpful than photos might be, and not entirely accurate: the spider beetle and carpet beetle pictures are quite different from those we frequently see submitted by readers (suggesting other varieties or life stages are more common); the first instar bed bug nymph is pictured in the same color as the older bed bug life stages, when in fact even a fed first instar looks very different from its older brothers and sisters, and the unfed first instar is another thing entirely.

Finally, the HPD pamphlet suggests

Bed bug infestations usually require the services of well-trained, licensed pest management professionals, also called exterminators. Tenants whose landlords do not promptly respond to bed bug complaints can call 311 and file a complaint with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and may also hire their own professionals.

[Emphasis added.]

One problem with this: we have heard that NYC HPD inspectors will not respond to every complaint with an inspection, and that if they do come, they will record a violation only if they find live bed bugs walking around once they visit.

A few pages before, the pamphlet described how to do a careful inspection, and told readers,

If live bugs do come out, crush them with a paper towel and throw them away outside your building.

(I am not sure of the reasoning behind the idea that even crushed bed bugs should be disposed of outside the building.)

From what I gather, you should not try and clean up or kill your bed bugs before having HPD inspect your home, because if you do so, the inspector may then not see any evidence, and if so, will not force your landlord to treat for bed bugs which will still, very likely, be present.

This puts residents in an icky situation: waiting until the HPD inspector (or PCO, for that matter) sees and registers the existence of the problem, before beginning to solve it. It’s not something most of us can stomach.

However, for tenants on a moderate budget who can’t afford to just hire their own pest management professional, it may be their only way of getting help.

We hope the city will be able to address that kind of conundrum in future — perhaps by (a) not telling tenants to do their own inspections and kill their own bed bugs once discovered, and (b) sending HPD inspectors very swiftly to all tenants complaining of bed bugs.

For now, we’re really glad the city has improved its educational efforts around bed bugs. And we hope they will bring a bed bug educational campaign to the subway platforms, bus shelters, newspaper advertisements, and public service announcements sometime soon.

We hope the NYC Bed Bug Advisory Board will soon be making its report to the city. I fear that in this economic climate, it may be hard for the city to make the changes it needs to make, but I’m still optimistic.Similar Posts:

Report on the recent New York Entomological Society meeting on bed bugs

nobugsonme — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:46:11 +0000

There’s a report by Renee Corea here on the recent New York Entomological Society meeting on bed bugs, which Lou invited all of us to a few weeks ago.

It’s a nice run-down on the event, which featured host Lou Sorkin and some experts on issues around tenants and bed bugs.

Renee provides photos of Lou and attendees, and the not-to-be-missed, simply wonderful bed bug public education poster from WoodGreen Community Services in Toronto (it’s on page five of their tenant manual PDF, if — like me — you simply must have your own copy).

I wish I could have been there (I had to work), and I know it was a fabulous event.Similar Posts:

WBAI’s Housing Notebook with advice for tenants living with bed bugs in New York

nobugsonme — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 04:58:15 +0000

Tonight’s Housing Notebook on New York public radio station WBAI featured bed bugs.

The program description reads:

Vajra Kilgour interviewed American Museum of Natural History entomologist Lou Sorkin and tenant lawyer Catharine Grad in a discussion of New York City’s nightmare scourge – bedbugs – and what tenants can do to get rid of them.

Click here to listen to or download the mp3 file of the program directly. (You can also find it in the archives by looking for Housing Notebook program from 1/4/2010; this interface shows the time of the segment, which may be helpful.)

Housing Notebook is sponsored by the wonderful Met Council on Housing, whose hotline is a fabulous resource for tenants with questions about their rights.

Lou Sorkin, the American Museum of Natural History entomologist, needs no introduction around here! Catherine Grad is a tenant lawyer.

Lou’s segment begins at about 13:36 if you want to skip ahead to it. Lou covers a lot of ground including problems with detection, people’s misconceptions about bed bugs, options for and issues surrounding bed bug treatment. Much of this is familiar to the die-hard bedbugger, since Lou has already schooled us so well in the basics. But his segment is very valuable for those not as familiar with bed bugs, their detection and treatment.

After a brief musical break (Bessie Smith’s version of “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues”), Cathy Grad joins Lou at approximately 40:25, to talk about issues relevant to tenants with bed bugs in NYC.

Grad emphasizes the New York City tenant’s responsibility to tell the landlord s/he has bed bugs as soon as s/he notices or suspects the problem, to complete needed prep work, and to allow the pest control firm to treat, and that it’s the landlord’s responsibility to hire a pest control firm to get rid of them.

We agree with Grad that the city needs to do something to help low income tenants to pay for bed bug prep. (And we acknowledge some landlords may need assistance with treatment costs as well!)

Grad reminds tenants to create a paper trail when communicating with landlords, and to send a letter to follow up on verbal complaints made to the landlord about bed bugs. She suggests tenants should let neighbors know there’s a bed bug problem so they will know to look out for it, and emphasizes the need for neighbors to work together to eradicate a building’s bed bug problem.

If tenants have notified the landlord about the problem, and landlords have not done anything, Grad says tenants can save receipts from extermination bills which they end up paying, and deduct it from the rent (this is called a “Repair and Deduct”). Grad cautions that tenants must have a paper trail; the landlord may take them to housing court over this, and tenants need to be able to show that they notified the landlord and the landlord did nothing. In order to establish you were allowed to deduct sums from your rent, you need a paper trail. (Note: host Vajra Kilgour then refers to the landlord blacklist which identifies people who have been taken to housing court. It does exist and you should consider carefully the ramifications of being listed on it to your future renting options in NYC.)

As Grad notes, if you attempt a “Repair and Deduct,” you need to consider the risks that the court will rule in the landlord’s favor; you do not know what the judge will decide. You may end up having to pay that rent money you originally withheld; and you may thus be out the cost of extermination and the rent as well, on top of being blacklisted from future housing. Given the risks, if you want to attempt this, you might want to listen to the recording carefully (if you haven’t yet) to hear Grad’s advice in full, read the Met Council Fact Sheets (“How to Get Repairs” parts 1 and 2 available here), call the Met Council hotline for further advice, or consult a housing lawyer. (Note: we are not lawyers and can’t give legal advice.) Remember also, this information applies in New York City only.

If a landlord’s pest control firm does a poor job or does not complete the job or uses methods like bombs which do not get rid of bed bugs (and can in fact make your bed bug problems worse), then you need to persist with the landlord to get them to solve the problem (which may involve hiring a different firm or having the firm come back until the problem is solved). Calling 311 to file a housing complaint is an option available at any time (after you notify the landlord, or instead of doing so), but we understand the inspectors (if they come) will need to see live, crawling bed bugs in your home. It may antagonize the landlord less if you notify him/her and allow him/her to try and fix the problem first. It may also be more efficient.

Thanks to Vajra Kilgour and Met Council on Housing, Catherine Grad, and Lou Sorkin for an informative broadcast!Similar Posts:

Access-A-Ride offices in Long Island City infested with bed bugs

nobugsonme — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:50:38 +0000

Access-a-Ride dispatchers in Long Island City say their Northern Blvd. bed bugs have been found in their office since the summer of 2008, and NYC Transit is only now taking action, The New York Daily News reports today. (Access-a-Ride is a transportation van service for the disabled.)

A bed bug sniffing dog team found bed bugs on the 7th and 8th floors of the building on Friday.

“I hope it will force some pressure for them to do something,” said John Wau, 48, who showed pinprick-sized scars along his right arm that he said came from numerous bedbug bites.”They keep telling us not to worry, that everything is okay,” said Wau, a customer service representative. “But they’re not doing anything about it.”

Since the bedbugs were detected Friday on the seventh and eighth floors of the facility – where more than 700 dispatchers work for the firm – sections have been taped off to keep employees away from the infested areas and several items were removed, workers said.

Officials from NYC Transit, which operates Access-A-Ride, said the problem is being addressed.

“One of the recommendations to be implemented within the next two days will be the steam-cleaning of carpets, cubicles and office chairs of the call centers,” said spokesman Charles Seaton.

Note: taping off specific areas will keep employees from an area, but will not keep bed bugs from coming to the employees.

The article features an interview with one worker, Idalia Perez, who says she brought bed bugs from work home to her Bronx apartment in August 2008; she says she lost thousands of dollars of furniture due to the infestation, and received no support from her employer.

When hundreds of workers may have been exposed to bed bugs over more than a year’s time, you have to wonder how many people in New York may have gotten their bed bugs from this one prolonged bed bug infestation.Similar Posts:

NYC Department of Education advertises for bed bug killer

nobugsonme — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:41:52 +0000

The New York City DOE is hiring someone to identify and kill bed bugs in NYC schools:

From today’s New York Post:

The Department of Education is advertising for a killer — soliciting bids for the “identification and extermination of bedbugs within the schools citywide.”

A listing in yesterday’s City Record said a contract with a pest-control professional would last up to three years and cost the department less than $100,000.

A department spokeswoman said the listing was a contingency measure, not a response to an increase in bugs.

Though, to be honest, as bed bugs increase outside the schools, we can only assume they’re increasing inside schools as well.

And that City Record listing? (You can search here, for keywords “bed bugs):

BEDBUG IDENTIFICATION AND EXTERMINATION - Competitive Sealed Bids – PIN# Z1325040 – Due 12-7-2009 AT 5:00 PM

This is An Open Market Agreement and is intended to cover, during the period of the contract, the requirements for Identification and Extermination of bed bugs within the schools citywide under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education of the City of New York City as outlined in the OMA Document. The contract resulting from this OMA will be for the period commencing with the execution of the contract by the Department of Education and will expire on December 31, 2012 or with the expenditures of $99,999.99, whichever comes first. Provided that $99,999.99 has not been expended prior to June 30, 2011, the Department of Education, at its sole option may further extend this agreement for a final period of up to one hundred eighty (180) days.
Bid Opening: Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 11:00 AM.

And as every New York City pest pro will know, and this post discusses in more detail, there are limits on the kinds of pesticides which can be used in city-owned buildings, under Local Law 37 (PDF), including pyrethrins.

Yes, pyrethrins are no miracle cure for bed bugs, but they are often still an integral part of bed bug treatment plans.

Is $33K a year really going to get this job done?Similar Posts:

Air America Offices being inspected for bed bugs?

nobugsonme — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:04:20 +0000

FishbowlNY reports it received multiple tips that Air America New York employees were working at home today as their office gets searched for bed bugs.

. . . it’s no joke that the nasty critters have infected more than one media company in New York, including publishers, ad agencies and Fox News.

But just in case you thought the biting beasts had any political affiliation, we assure you they are equal opportunity insects, now setting their sites on progressive radio and Web news outlet Air America. We’ve heard from a few tipsters that employees from the company’s New York offices are working from home today as the space gets thoroughly checked for a possible infestation. We’re hearing that the source of the scare was one suspicious bug found in a tenant’s space that shares a floor with Air America.

You may recall that Marc Maron, an Air America personality, recounted his horror stories about a bed bug outbreak at home on his Breakroom Live show back in March. (Breakroom Live and the Marc Maron show were both cancelled in July 2009.)

In the Breakroom Live video below, from March 2009, Maron and a second Air America employee (“Dorsey the video guy” according to the YouTube description) discussed their respective bed bug infestations at home.

Similar Posts:

NYC Department of Health tells press about movie theater bed bug complaint

nobugsonme — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 05:28:12 +0000

The New York City Health Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) apparently received an anonymous tip last week that the UA Theater Sheepshead Bay 14 on Shore Parkway, in Brooklyn had bed bugs.

Fox 5 News reports that

A manager on site did not want to speak with Fox 5’s Ti-Hua Chang about the reported problem, but a spokesperson for Regal Cinemas, the chain that runs the theater, issued a statement saying, in part, that “there exists no current health or safety risk for our guests or staff.”

Fox 5 found out about this because Celina De Leon (of the NYC Department of Health) emailed someone at Fox with the following message:

“The Health Department received an anonymous report last week about bed bugs at this theater. The Health Department worked with the theater manager … who indicated that they hired a pest control professional who responded to the problem.”

(Note, that memo is reproduced in the video segment below, but not in the short article accompanying it.)

It isn’t clear when Fox was contacted by De Leon, but obviously, this report was not made public until the theater had had a pest control firm in to “respond.” And, of course, we’re also not exactly sure what they responded to or how.

Now, the interesting thing here is not that an anonymous tipster told the NYC DOHMH that a movie theater had bed bugs.

Nor is it the fact that the theater then hired an environmental services firm to “respond to the problem.”

The real news here is that a New York City agency is passing along news about reported bed bug infestations in public to the news media.

Wow. That is new!

What’s next?

An official NYC-sponsored version of the Bed Bug Registry, warning others of infestations around businesses in the city?

Okay, don’t hold your breath on that one, but I do think this is a very interesting development.

It certainly puts the pressure on other businesses to respond to potential bed bug issues — so they can avoid such publicity, or at least show they responded quickly and appropriately.

It suggests that others who positively identify bed bugs in public places in New York City — whoever else they notify, such as the business owner — should also call the Department of Health.

Now, can New York City get a bed bug public education campaign?
An overhaul of the bed bug inspection process for tenants?
Some help for homeowners, landlords and business owners who are suffering both financially and from bed bugs, so they don’t cut corners with treatment?
Help with those difficult cases, where no one seems to be responsible for helping with prep?

I can’t wait to see what the New York City Bed Bug Advisory Board is working on.
Similar Posts:

AgencySpy reports “there may be bed bugs at MediaVest”

nobugsonme — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:47:37 +0000

Media Bistro’s AgencySpy blog says that there may be bed bugs at MediaVest (whose New York City office is at 1675 Broadway).

AgencySpy shared a memo which said that employees on two floors were being evacuated for Thursday and Friday of this week, until bed bug treatments could occur on the weekend:

Unfortunately I’ve been told that all employees on the 7th and 13th floor are being asked to work from home tomorrow and Friday — in advance of treatments this Saturday. No live bugs have been found — however for a building this size, this is standard procedure.

[Emphasis mine.]

The memo also clarified,

This is not an emergency — just a smart precaution.

Similar Posts:

Who pays for bed bug treatment in a rented NYC Condo?

nobugsonme — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 07:58:45 +0000

On Friday, the New York Times Real Estate Q&A clarified the issue of who pays for bed bug treatment in rented condo units:

“The condominium owner would have the primary responsibility,” said Robin LoGuidice, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. The respective responsibilities between the owner and the board are governed by the condo’s bylaws. But if the building has three or more residential units, the registered managing agent may have some responsibility as well, she said.

Ms. LoGuidice said that the tenant should write to the owner and request immediate remediation and send a copy of the request to the board of managers and the registered managing agent.

[Emphasis mine.]

See: Dealing With Bedbugs in a Rented Condo – Real Estate Q&A Blog – NYTimes.com.Similar Posts: