There’s a nice recap of Tuesday’s National Pest Management Association 2009 Bed Bug Symposium in Newark, NJ on the M&M Buzz, PCO M&M Environmental’s blog.

Another NPMA Bed Bug Symposium today (8/27) in Seattle.  Anyone attending?

We welcome your comments on the Newark or Seattle NPMA Bed Bug Symposiums below!

The bed bug war?  It’s all about education, you know.Similar Posts:

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PolicickerNJ reports A-3203 is coming up for consideration Thursday.

Also to be considered is legislation (A-3203) Assembly members Joan M. Quigley (D-Hudson), L. Grace Spencer (D-Essex), L. Harvey Smith (D-Hudson), Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex) and Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-Camden) sponsored to hold landlords responsible for keeping multi-unit apartment complexes free of bedbug infestations.

The sponsors crafted the legislation after news reports detailed severe outbreaks of bedbugs in apartment complexes across Hudson County. In these instances, the tenants, some of whom had nothing to do with the initial infestation, were being charged for extermination.

“It is disgusting to think that there are places in New Jersey where renters are being forced to cohabitate with vermin, simply because they cannot afford a proper extermination,” Quigley said. “Tenants should not have to pay extra simply to live in a clean and safe environment.”

New Jerseyites, email or call your Assembly members!

More on A-3203 here.Similar Posts:

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The Jersey Journal reports that the Starlite Motel on Tonnelle Avenue near Fifth Street in Jersey City was closed by Jersey City inspectors yesterday “due to bedbug infestation and fire code violations.”

“In this case, the motel in question had numerous fire violations and was infested with bedbugs, which placed their guests at a great risk,” [Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy] said.

Inspectors found bedbugs in five hotel rooms, including one in which a family of two adults and three children were living as long-term residents, Chief Health Inspector H. James Boor said.

Smoke detectors in 75 percent or the motel’s rooms did not work, said Mark Redfield, chair of the task force.

About 35 additional violations were found, Redfield added, noting the motel was operating without a license since the Fire Department hadn’t completed its inspection process.

It is not clear to me that the city would be shutting down a motel which only had bed bug issues, but it will be interesting to see if that comes up in the future.

I note that, given the new city ordinance which makes Jersey City landlords responsible only for treating their tenants’ units for bed bugs twice (as opposed to being responsible for eradicating bed bugs), long-term hotel residents such as those mentioned here may have more rights to bed bug-free accommodation than those with rental leases.

That doesn’t seem quite fair.

If Mayor Healy doesn’t want Jersey City residents to live with bed bugs, he and his city council should perhaps reconsider the recent ordinance in light of the fact that experts tell us most bed bug cases take three or more traditional treatments, not one or two, before bed bugs are gone.

Aggressive, coordinated treatment of all infested units (and those adjacent to the infested units) make it more likely that bed bugs will be gone more quickly. When it’s left up to landlords to decide, this is often not the type of response they choose to provide.

Unfortunately, the residents of this hotel were forced to evacuate. I hope they have somewhere safe and bed bug-free to go to, and that the city helped them ensure they were not taking bed bugs with them.

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• Bed bugs in Philadelphia’s Art Museum area high-rises
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New Jersey Assembly members Joan M. Quigley, L. Grace Spencer, and L. Harvey Smith introduced legislation (A-3203) on Monday which would make New Jersey landlords wholly responsible for eliminating bed bugs from rented accommodation.

The bill has been referred to the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee for a hearing.

Here’s a video of Joan M. Quigley, Major Conference Leader, New Jersey General Assembly (D-Hudson) talking about the proposed legislation.

We first heard about this proposal back in July.

Although landlords in New Jersey are currently charged with treating for bed bugs, the law does not prohibit them passing on the costs to tenants, which many do. This system is a bad idea: if tenants know they will have to pay for treatment, they are less likely to report bed bugs to the landlord. This helps the problem spread to others.

And the legislation has teeth:

(6.) Any owner of a multiple dwelling whose negligence or failure to act results in action by the local health officer … shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than $300 for each affected dwelling unit and not more than $1000 for each affected common area in the multiple dwelling. Such penalty shall be recoverable by and in the name of the local board of health.

And the proposed legislation also calls for a modest educational campaign.

According to PolitickerNJ:

The measure also would require the state Department of Health and Senior Services to create and distribute an informational pamphlet to educate the public about bedbugs.

“Making sure that renters are able to live pest free is only one part of the equation,” said Smith (D-Hudson). “We also must work to educate the public about bedbugs to prevent future infestations from reaching epidemic proportions.”

Last week we heard city council members in Jersey City are pushing to make landlords pay for one bed bug treatment and one follow-up per year; however, this is a bad idea, since bed bugs often take multiple treatments. Such a system is bound to help the spread of the problem.

And to head off the usual “you’re anti-landlord!” sentiment: you’re barking up the wrong tree. I think landlords and other homeowners need to demand assistance from the government to help them pay for bed bug treatment. Bed bugs are not termites, ants, or cockroaches.

No one who bought a home or building ten years ago had even heard of them. They’re more like a tornado, hurricane, or other natural disaster touching down (lightly, but repeatedly and destructively). And they’re contagious, in that you can catch them on a bus, or from a friend. You don’t have to do anything negligent to get them.

So no, I am not anti-landlord. But I know what tenants who can’t afford treatment will do if they are left with the choice of paying for treatment or putting up with bed bugs / trying to self-treat / moving away from the problem. And none of those alternative actions help landlords or fellow tenants.

You can read the proposed legislation here, or download a PDF here.
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I really don’t know what to make of this article in Tuesday’s Jersey Journal.

Some Hudson County Sheriff’s officers were answering a domestic violence call in Jersey City, and encountered bed bugs in the home. (The article claims the officers were bitten by bed bugs upon entering the home.)

What happens next is quite astonishing:

Ten residents of the building – at Wilkinson and Ocean avenues – as well as five sheriff’s officers were quarantined in the two-and-a-half story building while fire officials brought people out to scrub them down in a special shower set up at the scene.

Two men were taken out of the building in handcuffs shortly before noon, even as officers dressed in full hazmat gear with oxygen masks went into the home.

Bed bugs will bite people who enter the home, and may hitch rides out. Donning protective clothing is not a bad idea for avoiding bed bug bites and hitchhiking bugs, if officers are entering a home with an infestation.

Bed bugs do spread.

However, I really do not understand why a “special shower” was necessary, or why the photo accompanying this article show a fully-clothed woman and child being sprayed by something. (Click here to see the photo enlarged.) They are obviously in distress. And I do not see how this is necessary.

If it is necessary to ensure someone’s body is bed bug-free, they could be asked to remove clothing and take a shower– a simple shower with soap and water, and a clean change of clothing, is all that should be needed. (It will, of course, last only until the person re-enters the infested home.)

But spraying them down like they’ve been exposed to toxic chemicals is extreme and inhumane. And probably pointless.

If someone has a bed bug inside his or her pants, I don’t think spraying someone with their clothes on is the best way to kill it.

So the whole experience was pointlessly humiliating. There’s no need to up the stigma of having bed bugs.

I hope officials in Jersey City will do everything they can to make sure people don’t have to live with bed bugs.

Although the officers may have been spared the trouble of bringing bed bugs home, the families in this building were presumably sent back home to live with bed bugs that night. I really hope they’re getting the help they need to get rid of this problem.Similar Posts:

• More on bed bugs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: again with the HAZMAT showers?!?
• Woman says she suffered bed bug bites at Bally’s in Atlantic City
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• Bed bugs biting in Reading, Pennsylvania

As we’ve noted recently, New Jersey’s Warranty of Habitability laws currently state that landlords of buildings with three or more apartments have to pay for their tenants’ bed bug treatment. But the laws don’t prohibit landlords from passing on the costs to tenants.

The real problem with this is that it means some folks may not get the bed bug treatment they need, when they need it. And if your neighbor passes up bed bug treatment, it can mean you get bed bugs.

A recent infestation at the Grandview Terrace, a moderate-income building for seniors and those with disabilities in Jersey City, drove this point home: when tenants are asked to pay the costs of bed bug treatment, and can’t afford it, or feel they can’t afford it, they go without. And the bed bugs continue to multiply and spread. And that isn’t good for tenants or landlords.

Some Grandview Terrace residents have had bed bugs for three years. Imagine if that was your grandmother, your disabled brother, or you yourself suffering from bed bug bites for three years straight.

According to the Jersey Journal, some local legislators are determined to change this legal loophole:

Hudson County Democratic Assembly members Joan Quigley and L. Harvey Smith, along with state Sens. Brian Stack and L. Grace Spencer, D-Newark, announced last week that they are preparing legislation for the fall that would make the bedbug buck stop with landlords.

Apparently, at least one Grandview Terrace resident was lobbying lawmakers for such a change:

“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” said Grandview Terrace resident William Dorrity, who began lobbying state and local officials for the legislation after paying $300 for an exterminator. “The only reason (landlords) are getting away with it is because they’re exploiting a loophole in the law.”

On the other hand, I am also sympathetic to landlords who feel they also cannot afford to pay for bed bug treatment. This epidemic hits landlords hard, as well as tenants and homeowners.

The Jersey Journal suggests landlords just want those who are “responsible” for the introduction of bed bugs, or for not cooperating with treatment, to be charged:

Building owners would like to retain the right to charge tenants in certain cases, such as those who reintroduce an infestation or are uncooperative during the extermination process, he said.

This may not sound entirely unreasonable to those who don’t know bed bugs well, but it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of a building’s infestation. (It’s part of what we call “the bed bug blame game”.) It isn’t easy to say who introduced or reintroduced bed bugs. But one thing’s for certain: blaming (and charging) the first person to complain about bed bugs means that tenants simply won’t mention the problem, for fear of being the one blamed.

The bottom line is that prompt, thorough treatment is going to cost less than delayed treatment, or treatment which misses some units. Everyone with bed bugs must get swift treatment. Ultimately, if those legally burdened with paying for treatment are unable to pay (whether they’re tenants, landlords, or homeowners), they may need to lobby the government for assistance.

That statement will send our libertarian friends up in arms! However, if as many were afflicted with floods or tornadoes causing costly damage as are currently hit by the bed bug “natural disaster,” surely we’d see some government assistance flooding in.

The Grandview’s William Dorrity and New York vs. Bed Bugs have the right idea: if you need help, tell your elected officials.

If you’re in the States, find your US Senator, US Representatives, Governor, State Senators, and State Representatives with one single click here! Google your mayor and city council. Wherever you are, chances are you can google your way to an email form or phone number for your city, state or provincial, and national lawmakers.
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• Status of New Jersey bed bug extermination bill A3203: so far so good
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MSNBC reports that an Eatontown, NJ man blew his apartment up while trying to get rid of insects with bug spray in his apartment:

The accident occurred as [Isias Vidal] Maceda was spraying for pests in his kitchen. Somehow the bug spray ignited a blast that blew out the apartment’s front windows and triggered a fire that quickly spread, the newspaper said.

Eighty percent of the apartment was destroyed and the neighboring apartment suffered smoke damage.

There’s no indication of whether the problem was bed bugs, though it would not surprise me, as this is one pest people often try and self treat, rather than admit to their landlords that they need help.

I think this is more true with bed bugs than with other pests because people often feel embarrassed about having bed bugs, especially if they normally keep their homes pest-free. Since this is one pest that is not attracted to messy or dirty homes, it’s impossible to prevent.

Bedbugger doesn’t recommend self-treatment of bed bugs for a variety of reasons, one of which is that they can be dangerous if misused.

An even more tragic story featuring an attempt at self-treating for bed bugs is here.

If you’re still tempted to do it yourself, read this, and remember: if you must use pesticides, always use them carefully and as labeled.
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Diep Huynh and Oanh Nguyen, a Pennsauken, NJ couple who claim they got bed bugs from a new bedroom furniture set, won $49,000 in a jury trial.

Today a jury awarded the Pennsauken, N.J. couple $49,000 finding that the bedroom furniture they purchased at J.C. Penney in Cherry Hill was infested with bed bugs. “For months, they didn’t know what was causing all their problems and the itching. When they found out that it was the bed bugs, it’s kind of like, it freaks you out a little bit,” said Kevin Siegel, an attorney for the family.

The family bought the furniture back in May of 2006. It was delivered 3 months later in June. It included a chest, dresser and bed-frame with a headboard, costing about $1600.

The family says they were given no choice but to sue after the company agreed to pay to remove the furniture, and to exterminate their room.

But that apparently never happened.

Their lawyer was Kevin Siegel.

You can read the full article or watch the video of Jessica Borg’s news report from WPVI Philadelphia here.Similar Posts:

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Marsha Stoltz provided a typical regional bed bug news story in The Record Sunday:

Creepy crawly creatures have always been a predictable, if dreaded, part of multi-housing life because of the ease with which they move from unit to unit along shared pipes, wires and cable lines.

Landlords and buildings managers typically address these concerns with monthly inspections and treatments while urging tenants to adopt neater lifestyles and garbage disposal methods.

Now, say area pest control companies, bedbugs have replaced cockroaches and mice at the top of the creature list, and none of these treatments help.

“In New Jersey we’re seeing bedbugs in epidemic proportions,” says Tony Yochum, commercial sales manager for Viking Pest Control with offices in Saddle Brook and throughout northern New Jersey. “They are the cockroach of the new millennium.”

It seems obvious to us Bedbuggers that the problem is spreading rapidly and also that it can be difficult to get rid of bed bugs. But sometimes news articles are more reserved about saying so outright. Sometimes they even seem to state the opposite.

They also often do not mention how easily bed bugs can be transported from place to place:

“You can pick them up at college, a movie theater, in furniture,” [Abarb Pest Service's George] Forst said. “They spread like wildfire.”

For the general public, it is helpful to consider that bed bugs can come from a wide variety of sources, and travel in all directions.

That kind of talk can make some people paranoid, of course. It is not true that you will encounter bed bugs everywhere you go, nor is it true–having had bed bugs–that you will likely reinfest yourself again and again from random locations once your bed bugs are gone.

It is worth taking precautions against spreading them if you have them, and it’s worth being alert wherever you go, since picking up bed bugs is always a possibility.

Jim McCale, owner of J.P. McCale Pest Management in Boonton is quoted as saying

We also recommend inspecting the units above, below and diagonal to the infected unit, but this can be hard. Residents don’t want other tenants to know.

What I hear from Bedbugger readers is most often that the landlord does not want to inspect all adjacent units (because, after all, they may then have to pay to treat them). Another common complaint is that the landlord will inspect, but some tenants will refuse either inspection or treatment.

We almost never hear of tenants who themselves do not want the landlord to have neighbors’ units inspected. (And anyway, if all adjacent units are being inspected, why would the other tenants need to know which tenant made the original complaint, if the landlord is the one calling for inspections?)

It is true, however, that our readers are self-selecting–they’re the information-seekers and proactive ones. Often this comes of necessity–when people have a bad allergic response to bed bugs, they not only come looking for solutions, they also are willing to do almost anything to get rid of the problem. So I guess many of us Bedbuggers might not be typical clients.Similar Posts:

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• Tropicana struggles to rebuild public image (note: allegations of bed bugs = bad for business)

  Travel agent elucidates how bed bugs are bad for hotel business: “One of my customers requested Tropicana. Knowing what I knew, I felt I must tell them. God forbid if they got there and there were bedbugs,” (Sis Butler, sales rep., Suncoast Tours).

  (tags: badforbusiness bedbugs travel tourism casino atlanticcity newjersey nj tropicana dec2007 2007 hotels)

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