David Saunders from Paramount Pest Control tells CFRA News the [bed bug] problem is rampant in rooming houses and hostels.

But Saunders adds it’s just as bad in homes and hotels across the capital.

“Even a year ago from right now I would get maybe a call a month or something. I’m receiving three to five calls a day for bed bugs now, ” Saunders says.

This kind of statistic, from individual PCOs, is very compelling.  In the absence of government tracking of bed bug infestations, it is also all we have sometimes.

There was also some advice for travelers about avoiding bed bugs:

Saunders suggests, if you’re staying in a hotel, you can leave your luggage in your vehicle and wash your clothes at an off-site facility.

We don’t usually suggest leaving items in the car or doing laundry regardless of known exposure to bed bugs, but they are not bad ideas, not at all.  Certainly easier than worrying about how to get rid of bed bugs once you have them.

Saunders suggests that

a lack of awareness about bed bugs, and areas not being treated properly have contributed to the boom over the last year.

Although these factors are obvious contributors to the spread of bed bugs, they actually aren’t articulated very often, especially in news articles which seem to gravitate towards other, hoarier chestnuts (DTT, global travel, etc.).

You can read the article here.

• FAQ: How can I avoid bedbugs while traveling?
• Family of five “run out of their home” by bed bugs in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia
• Burned by bed bugs? A cool vacation idea…
• Company reports bed bug bite photos their most searched-for medical image in 2007

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• Bed bugs under discussion at university housing officers’ conference
• Spring break bed bug warnings!
• Stanford still fighting bed bugs
• FAQ: How can I avoid bedbugs while traveling?

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First, Donna Freydkin published twin articles in USA Today on Tuesday: one about her personal experiences with bed bugs, and one about others’ experiences. There was also a sidebar alerting people to the dangers of curbside mattresses, the problems of foggers, and other important stuff. Especially interesting, since USA Today is distributed free in hotels around the USA, is this warning to travelers:

Be careful where you put your suitcase when you travel. “These guys are fantastic hitchhikers,” says the University of Maryland’s Michael Raupp. “If you have a luggage rack with metal racks, put your suitcase on that.”

Check behind a hotel headboard. That’s one of their favorite spots, Raupp says. Pull back the comforter and sheets and look for the fecal stains on the mattress seams and ticking. Shine a penlight behind the headboard and look for dark fecal stains.

There are some points in the article that are not fully explained and might mislead people (for example, drying for ten minutes on hot will not be enough if the item being dried is wet, an important bit of information if anyone is actually going to treat their clothing based on such a recommendation). Also, many pros recommend not getting rid of your mattress or box springs. Doing so when unnecessary is a good way to give your neighbors bed bugs; a good mattress encasement will usually be enough. However, despite these details, Ms. Freydkin did speak with Dr. Michael Potter, whose unofficial fan club is right here. And bed bug news in such a popular paper is always good.

Meanwhile, in other news, the Minnesota Star Tribune asks, “How safe are your kids at college?” and among the many other concerns addressed, bed bugs:

Look for evidence of bedbugs — fecal staining that resembles an accumulation or a scattering of pepper — around baseboards, along cracks and crevices and furniture in rooms where people rest, such as bedrooms or TV rooms.

Prevent infestation: Resist the temptation to scavenge mattresses, sofas or other furniture set out by curbs or behind stores, said [University of Minnesota Assistant Professor of Entomology Stephen Kells]. They can harbor bedbugs. Don’t encourage cockroaches. Keep counters clean and remove garbage regularly. Wipe surfaces and sweep floors frequently. Pick up papers, boxes and other clutter that gives cockroaches places to hide.

Ask about infestation: Ask the landlord the last time the place was evaluated for infestations and if the building is on a regular control and prevention program, said Kells. Remember, treating just one apartment for infestation is ineffective. The whole building needs treatment, combined with prevention tactics.

Good advice.

Finally, from the good-blog capital of Brooklyn, Greenpointers has posted an image of an ad that appeared on Craigslist Monday, in which current or former tenants of the Astral put up a bed bug warning to potential tenants.

The ad (NYC ad #469469878) reads:

This is a warning: two former tenants of the astral (the large beautiful building in greenpoint on the corner of java and franklin) have moved out due to a BEDBUG infestation, and it is rumored that the entire floor is moving out because of the same problem.

Make sure that you discuss this with your realtor/potential roomate before moving in!

This is a serious posting, not a prank–I thought it was something people should know before moving in, to protect themselves! I would want to know.

You can go to Greenpointers to see an image of the actual ad. (Clever bloggers: Craigslist usually removes these kinds of ads tout de suite.)

We’re not breaking the news on the Astral-bed bugs allegation. But Curbed, NewYorkShitty, and the BedBugBlog commenters have that covered. The building also has two entries on the Bed Bug Registry. Rumor has it Mae West once lived in the Astral.

• Bed bugs in homeless shelters, casinos, hotels, apartments: Waynesboro, Atlantic City, Greenpoint, Toronto
• Sunday, Buggy Sunday
• When I say the title of the blog, it makes me feel like Sean Connery
• Forget black mattress stains, bed bugs, shells, and eggs: NMPA press release tells consumers to look for “blood spots”

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As the clocks fall back, smoke detector batteries get changed, and the multi-colored leaves gracefully fall in their autumnal farewell, it means that a great American traditional holiday is almost upon us. So with pilgrim’s pride we search for that Alice’s Restaurant album or video and e-vite Thanksgiving guests, or work on better excuses than last year.

T’is the season of turkeys, tofurkeys and pumpkin pie but unfortunately it also has become a time for a seasonal redistribution of bed bugs. Whether it’s coming home from school, staying at a motel on the road or that quaint little cottage by the in-laws (if you’re lucky), you may not be traveling home alone. As a professional bed bug slayer, I as well as others have noticed an increase in nocturnal activity in the weeks following Thanksgiving. Now, with some time ahead of us, is the time to prepare to either sally forth or give some thought on how to protect your castle.

If you are traveling, try to avoid a late night stop at the only vacancy along the highway. Either plan not to stop, or select a place to stay and get there with enough time and energy to inspect your room and change it if necessary. Try to bring a minimum of things into the room, but remember not to leave too much in plain sight, or other things may get redistributed, like your luggage. If you do stay over consider keeping your suitcases in large plastic bags, and your clothes as well, and if you are traveling with a loved one, enjoy! If you are traveling with some else’s loved one, you may want to consider pajamas, but put them in a plastic bag when finished and put them in the dryer ASAP. Hey– what the heck? Wash ‘em too, it’s Thanksgiving!

If you are hosting folks who may have a bed bug issue the dryer is your best friend. Be diplomatic and polite with your guest because they are going through hell. But don’t let them infest your home.

If you are planning to visit and you have bed bugs, now is the time to plan ahead. Start by putting your clothes in the dryer to kill any bed bugs on them and then isolate them in a plastic ziploc bag or at a friend’s home. Get a new suitcase and isolate it as well. If you suspect something may contain bed bugs, don’t bring it. When you are ready to travel, shower, put on your prepared and protected clothes, and go pick up your stuff from your friend’s house. All this may sound a bit extreme or paranoid but you don’t want to be remembered for infesting the family.

Obviously a bunch of suggestions and comments will follow this post, and that’s the point of it: read the positive ones and give yourself enough time to plan and prepare for a Happy Thanksgiving.

And while we are giving thanks let’s give some to nobugs for working hard to help others sleep well.

Winston O’Buggy (not his real name) is a Pest Control Operator and Entomologist.

Editor’s note:

Thanks, Winston! Readers may also be interested in these travel-related FAQs:

How can I avoid spreading bed bugs to others when I visit their homes?

How can I avoid bed bugs while traveling?

How to report and check up on hotel bed bug infestations

• FAQ: How can I avoid spreading bedbugs to others when I visit their homes?
• Spring break bed bug warnings!
• Charlotte, NC Salvation Army Women’s Shelter has bed bugs again
• Salt Lake City Tribune on bed bugs: they don’t quite get it yet

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Some Souvenirs Have Legs

Hotels are a haven for bedbugs. Pest-control companies say hotels account for more than 37 percent of their bedbug business, according to Pest Control Technology magazine.

I don’t think I’ve seen that statistic before.

The solution: Search for your hotel on bedbugregistry.com. Scan mattress and couch creases for the reddish brown bloodsuckers and their black droppings, says Jason Rasgon, Ph.D., a public-health professor at Johns Hopkins. At home, dry your clothes on high for 45 minutes to kill stowaways.

Note: many dryers would take longer than 45 minutes to get wet clothes really hot and dry (I’d say “bone dry plus 20 minutes, on hot”. Dry clothes, on the other hand, can do with much less time.

More tips on avoiding bed bugs when you travel here.

It’s always good to see bed bugs in the media. Especially when it’s a warning, and not someone’s Tale of Bed Bug Woe.

• FAQ: How can I avoid spreading bedbugs to others when I visit their homes?
• Allegations of bed bugs affect tourism, according to travel agent
• FAQ: How can I avoid bedbugs while traveling?
• Lavender oil won’t do it: do any “natural remedies” work for bed bugs?

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Last summer, I visited friends at their chateau in France – good company, excellent food, but a lumpy mattress full of bedbugs. Badly bitten, I said nothing, but I know I’ll be invited back. How can I politely tell them about their infestation? Or more politely, must I remain silent and simply decline the invitation? –Joan Shore, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Cohen’s response:

You’re waiting until now to tell them that their house is infested? What would you do if the chateau were on fire, mention it demurely in a few months? If this situation involved only your own comfort, you could keep silent, but because other people are at risk, you must speak up. Here’s how you tell them: You tell them – on the telephone, using a fake accent and a false name. No, no – openly, honestly, calmly. I can understand your desire not to embarrass your friends or imperil your relationship, but I hope they will value your candor and realize that having bedbugs is not a moral failing.

Joan Shore is lucky she did not take bed bugs home with her. Perhaps, bitten last summer, she did not know what they were. There’s been a lot more press since then. Anyway, good for Cohen for reminding readers that bed bugs are “not a moral failing.”

Oh, to be someone to whom the lumpiness of a mattress would be seen as being as notable as its infestation with bed bugs…

• NYC Bed Bug Seminar: did anyone get a letter inviting them?
• The UFT (NYC teachers’ union): how do we get the city to be proactive about bed bugs?
• Apartmenttherapy.com: Amanda update (#7)
• bed bugs on the campaign trail

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The exterminator, when he arrived, had just come from East 81st Street.  “From East 57th Street and up it’s plagued by bedbugs,” he said.  “And they’re all over the Upper West Side, too. People expect them in another neighborhood. But it’s not about hygiene. It’s about who has the money to travel.”

Jeff Eisenberg, the president of Pest Away Exterminating, said:  “Most calls come from Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue   from people of means. I get tons of calls from Park Slope and Cobble Hill.”

Many of us know that bedbugs are a problem in the city, but we’re in denial. It just seems too horrible, too outlandish to think we could actually have them. I live on a pretty street in a well-maintained brownstone. My husband is a senior manager in a corporation; I teach at a university. I really believed that my neighborhood was somehow exempt.

Bonnie Friedman demonstrates that when well-known people, like writers, get bed bugs, they have a chance to share the story more widely. Nice work, Bonnie! I have not seen Maya Rudolph talking about this, nor many other people. (When you have a court case, you can’t really talk about it, I know.) But I hope they’ll start to, because we need that. It does wonders for getting people to take this seriously.

I am tagging this article as a “Tipping Point”, because I think Bonnie Friedman’s Od Ed may set off a torrent of people talking about their bed bugs. Bonnie isn’t a celebrity, but she is a writer and professor. And writing this article in the Times reaches a lot of people. I hope they will follow her lead. And I hope that when celebrities get bed bugs, assuming they’re not on a lawyer-imposed gag order, they will speak publicly. Bonnie knows bed bugs are not a sign of shame, or evidence you’re dirty. That director in Malibu cited in last week’s LA Times article isn’t talking. Why not?

Oddly enough, the lamp I had put out on the curb, wrapped and marked “Do not take – infested with bedbugs,” vanished in minutes, probably to be sold at a flea market. Black garbage bags filled with clothes and stuffed animals were slashed, their contents removed.

And after all my work, I couldn’t discount tales of apartments being treated four, five, six times.  “This is a much different bedbug than even 10 years ago,” Mr. Eisenberg explained, noting that bedbugs have become resistant to the pesticides that are normally used to eradicate them.  “Ten years ago, it was easier for me to get rid of them.”

It really is worth the extra work of destroying stuff on the street so others can’t use it. But sometimes this is impractical. We need education campaigns so that people will know not to pick things up when marked. And we need those darned orange bed bug warning stickers.

It’s clear to me that the city needs to educate people about this plague and make prevention a priority. This problem isn’t confined to homeless shelters; it’s everywhere. Travelers need to be told how to prevent bringing bedbugs into their homes. New York should follow Boston’s example in issuing stickers to place on discarded pieces of infested furniture to discourage others from picking them up.

As we’ve been saying for ages…

• NYC Bed Bug Task Force / City Council Update
• Another Jersey building goes whole hog for Vikane; but will they follow up with the necessary preventative education?
• NYC schools closer to having bed bug legislation
• Comment dites-vous le bed bugs en français?

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