There is a certain trio of dusky-colored high-rise apartment buildings in Halifax that are, and have always been, swarming with bedbugs.

Since these infested buildings have been gentrified and rented out to the oft-mobile university student population, what we have is a spread of bedbugs to other homes and buildings throughout Halifax.

Current legislation places the responsibility of bedbug control on the person who brought them into the building. Since extermination is expensive, tenants stay mum about it until the infestation spreads like wildfire to their neighbors.

The law regarding who pays for bed bug treatment in Nova Scotia rentals is a bit murky.

The CBC tells us, in their round-up of Canadian laws pertaining to this problem,

In Nova Scotia, Halifax doesn’t have clear-cut legislation for dealing with bedbugs. Responsibility for extermination falls upon the tenant if a landlord can prove a tenant brought the bugs in. The Halifax agency has found that landlords often foot the bill as it’s difficult to prove there were no bugs before a tenant moves in. Tenants are advised to write a letter to a landlord asking to deal with the problem within a reasonable timeframe. If the landlord refuses, a hearing can be conducted in front of the officer of residential tenancies.

Here’s my concern: “Responsibility for extermination falls upon the tenant if a landlord can prove a tenant brought the bugs in.”

What Bugged by Bedbugs highlights is that this motivates many tenants to not seek help — as long as they resist treatment, and bed bugs spread everywhere, individual tenants can no longer be assumed to be the “source.”

Of course, tenants who may be making such a choice, consciously, or by default (because they simply cannot pay for treatment) assume they are the “source” of their building’s problem.

Many Bedbugger Forum participants also assume they are the first in their building to have bed bugs. Why? Because landlords and neighboring tenants are not under any obligation to disclose their bed bug problem.

The reasoning seems to be that if I admit to having bed bugs, I will be seen as the source. Unfortunately, tenants have good reason for worrying about this — landlords and neighbors will likely assume the first person to find bed bugs is the “source,” even though it turns out, in so many cases, others have them too and either (a) don’t know about them, (b) know about them and are unsure what to do, or (c) know about them and — for whatever reason — just don’t care.

We have to remember that a great many people fall into category (a) and have no idea they have bed bugs. So your neighbor may be bitten badly and for a long time, but have no bite marks, no itching, and not see any bed bugs, until the problem becomes quite bad and they are crawling on the walls in daylight.

The bed bug blame game — in this case, blaming the “canary” who first notices and announces the presence of bed bugs in a building — isn’t fair. And it’s often not accurate that this person is the “source” of the building’s bed bugs.

And, let’s face it, the way bed bugs are spreading, I don’t think it’s fair to blame people for unknowingly bringing bed bugs into their building — even if they did so — if they did not have the awareness they were doing so. If you got bed bugs riding on a city bus or sitting in a library, who is to blame? Collectively, everyone needs to deal with the problem.

Bugged by Bedbugs suggests Halifax residents write to their Halifax Municipal Councillors:

I say anyone who has experienced the anxiety and disgust of a bedbug infestation, and anyone who does not want to live through the former, should write to your local Halifax councillor and demand legislation that places the responsibility of bedbug control on the landlord. Such a law would force landlords to keep buildings bug-free by regular maintenance, since an infestation would cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The problem with laws that force the “tenant who brought bed bugs in” to pay for treatment, is both that pinpointing such a “source” is more difficult than people think, and also that infestations quickly spread and get out of control.

On the other hand, I would not simply stop with passing the buck to landlords Here in NYC landlords are responsible in most cases, but buildings still become badly infested, tenants still fear reporting the problem will lead to blame, and negative repercussions. The inspection system (where people call 311 to report bed bugs) does not work well, since inspectors apparently will not file a violation unless tenants can show them a live bed bug scurrying around in the home, in daytime. And landlords don’t necessarily get rid of the problem even though the laws say they have to.

I think Bugged by Bedbugs has the right idea about the problem here, but I would argue for a more complex solution.

We need to remember that tenants do have some responsibility to help keep buildings bed bug-free. I am also mindful on the terrible impact bed bugs can have, financially, on landlords. Bed bugs are not good for anyone involved.

Therefore, rather than simply push for laws which place the financial obligations on landlords, we need to also push for local government assistance to help landlords get rid of bed bugs in their buildings and keep them bed bug-free. Such assistance might include guidance on the best practices for bed bug treatment and prevention, financial assistance where needed in properly eliminating bed bugs from a building, and educational programs for landlords, staff, and tenants, to prevent future outbreaks. Ideally it would probably also include city-wide programs for dealing with infested refuse, educating everyone in the city about bed bugs, and taking reports of bed bugs and keeping track of where infestations occur.

Bugged by Bedbugs also has the right idea about contacting politicians and demanding help. Wherever you live, contacting your local political representatives is a good idea. Tell them about your bed bug experience and the impact it has had on your life, and why they need to take action to help residents fight bed bugs.

Halifax residents, you can find your Councillor here, and send them an email here.

• Halifax: where the bed bug “blame game” is the law
• More on Canada’s laws re: bed bugs and tenants: province by province
• New York City: Who’s responsible for paying for bed bug treatment? Complicated, in some cases.
• Bedbugs called “a new kind of roach”; building managment lies

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College students move often, sometimes from semester to semester.

They also tend to travel a lot, going back and forth to one another’s dorm rooms and apartments, visiting parents’ homes, friends’ parents’ homes, and vacationing at frat houses in Madison, Wisconsin, hostels in Amsterdam or cheap resorts in Ft. Lauderdale.

Many students shop in secondhand stores and accept gifts of secondhand furniture from parents, friends, or even off the street.

All in all, they can be helpful in moving bed bugs around.

Now the Contra Costa Times tells us that college officials have been talking about how to deal with bed bugs in college housing at a recent conference.

Universities and colleges nationwide are trying to figure out how to keep the biting insects out of dormitories — no easy task when it comes to creatures that can survive pesticides.

At this weekend’s conference of university and college housing officers in Florida, two sessions deal with the pesky bugs, which also have boomed at hotels and major cities around the world. UC Berkeley residence halls had to be treated for bedbugs at least six times during the recently ended school year — up from no incidents the year before.

I am glad that university housing officers are spending time on learning about how to deal with this problem. I hope that Stanford was there to represent; the reports we’ve seen suggest the Stanford officials have a good protocol and are getting good advice from professionals about how to get rid of bed bugs when they rear their ugly heads.

• Bed bugs at the University of Vermont
• Comment dites-vous le bed bugs en français?
• Stanford U bed bugs: being fought with enthusiasm and wisdom
• Bed bugs at Stanford again

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. . . a housing complex under construction in Vancouver will include what’s been dubbed the “bedbug sauna,” a room where furniture, clothing and other belongings can be heated to a point that kills Cimex lectularius, the common bedbug enjoying a worldwide resurgence.

The idea was born of frustration with the rising cost of treating bedbug infestations and the desire to find some way to get rid of them that wouldn’t force people to throw away their belongings, says George Simpson, operations manager for RainCity Housing, the non-profit group that has ordered the bug room for a 92-unit complex now under construction.

“Inevitably, belongings had to be disposed of that couldn’t be treated or laundered,” says Mr. Simpson, for whom bedbugs have become a major headache in recent years.

The room will be big enough to hold mattresses and other bulky furniture, and equipped with technology that allows contents to be heated to a point that cooks bugs and their eggs.

It’s not a bad idea.

Parakeets fantasized about her idea of an apartment with attached sauna for decontamination purposes repeatedly on the Bedbugger yahoo group. And along similar lines, I spoke about getting items decontaminated (”sauna’d”) here and elsewhere.

I think it’s a great idea that people are thinking about ways to help people get rid of bed bugs in the future, even while constructing new developments.

The planners got advice from pest control firm Steritech:

The concept is sound, says Judy Black, technical director with Steritech Group Inc., a U.S. pest-control company that last year briefed Vancouver hoteliers on the pests.

“Bedbugs are relatively insusceptible to cold, but they are very sensitive to heat,” says Ms. Black, adding that Steritech is investigating heat as a control method.

A blast of sufficient heat - about 55 degrees [editor’s note: 55 C = 131 degrees F], Ms. Black estimates, applied for a matter of minutes, not hours - would kill bugs without using pesticides that can leave rooms uninhabitable for days.

A room to heat large items may be advisable, so long as it meets applicable regulations, says the bedbug-prevention design guidelines from BC Housing. Currently, there are no standard heating units on the market.

The room could help rein in the cost of bedbug control - including compensation for staff members who pick up bedbugs on the job, which can amount to $800 or more. If the room proves effective, RainCity hopes it will become a model for other housing complexes in the city.

I am curious about some of the logistics about how the room will be used in bed bug treatment.

First, the management and tenants need to know how to safely get items to the room. They need to be sealed carefully in order to prevent infesting hallways, elevators, and other apartments en route.

Furthermore, the building needs to educate tenants about avoiding bed bugs in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure, where bed bugs are concerned.

Finally, I am wondering about the logistics of decontaminating furniture while treating the apartment. Let’s say I have bed bugs in my apartment. My furniture could be removed and baked, but not all at once (the hot room is not that big). Will it then be placed somewhere else until the room is bed bug free and all the contents are as well?

It’s essential to remember that rooms, as well as furniture and other “stuff,” are infested with bed bugs. Returning uninfested items to an apartment where the structure or other remaining furniture or other items still contain bed bugs would simply mean those decontaminated items can be reinfested.

However, RainCity seems to be on top of their game, and so I assume all of this has been worked out by those doing the planning. It is a great idea to provide this kind of service, and with some forethought and education of tenants, this building is has the potential to deal with bed bugs more efficiently than many others.

I am especially excited that RainCity Housing is leading the way by being the first we know of to install a decontamination room in an apartment building. According to their website, they provide housing to people who are homeless, in transition, have mental health or drug issues, and other challenges. They believe everyone should have a home, and clearly, they believe everyone deserves a home without bed bugs. Bravo, RainCity!

As a side note, kudos are also due to the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which is taking steps to help stop the spread of bed bugs. The article reminds us that:

The agency also educates landlords, outreach workers and housing agencies about bedbug control and provides some health care workers with “bedbug kits” that include an oversized Ziploc-type bag to hold briefcases and laptops to prevent bedbugs from hitching a ride from an infested site.

These are the kinds of small steps that can make a huge difference: a little knowledge and a cheap, reclosable ziploc. How expensive or hard is that?

I hope agencies in other cities (hello, New York!) will follow suit.

• Toronto Councillor Paula Fletcher has some progressive ideas about bed bugs
• Vancouver public education forum on bed bugs is a start, but probably not enough
• More from Edmonton bed bug evictions case
• Vancouver community activists urge city to pay for bed bug eradication

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Teresa Bayliss, who has lived in her third-floor apartment for nine years, said the residents have been battling with the insects for more than a year. “Basically, this apartment building, since last May, has had problems with bedbugs,” she said. “I would say since like Easter, things are getting worse.”

That’s far too long to suffer with bed bugs.

One resident took a dangerous and extreme measure:

The problem at the apartment building was so bad that a resident recently decided to take matters into his own hands. Following the advice of a friend, he burned charcoal in his third-floor apartment. But because of the fumes, the building had to be evacuated.

“We were upset, but if you saw the bites on that man, who could blame him?” said Bayliss.

The man got bad advice and did something very unsafe. Looking back, what would have been a safe and rational reaction, instead, is if someone from the building had notified city officials.

According to the article, Warren Blunt, director of environmental health for the city’s Health Department, said,

The department was not aware of the bedbug problem at Ellsworth before last week’s incident, he said.

When the agency does receive complaints, Blunt said, an inspector goes out to confirm that there are bedbugs in the building. “The owner is basically responsible for the establishment. The owner is responsible for hiring an exterminator,” Blunt said. “We allow them up to two weeks. But in this case, we would make a recommendation that they begin immediately,” he said. Criminal penalties may be pursued if a landlord does not act to remedy the problem, Blunt said.

So one lesson here is that residents of Bridgeport with bed bugs should call the Health Department to notify them of the problem, so they can inspect and order treatment. It’s unlikely that residents were aware of this recourse, or someone probably would have called. I hope the Health Department will attempt to advertise this more widely.

Some treatments have already occurred. So far,

Bayliss said the treatments do not appear to be helping. “They had Orkin [pest control company] coming in spurts. I’ve had Orkin come to my apartment once. Other people aren’t getting treated at all,” she said.

But the article says the management is currently ripping out everyone’s carpet and the building supervisor seems to be saying the whole building will have to be treated at least twice. (I would not be surprised if it took more than two treatments spaced no more than two weeks apart.) I hope this treatment is aggressive and thorough and comes swiftly for the tenants, who have suffered for such a long time.

Officials quoted in the article remind us that tenants have to cooperate with preparation and treatment:

The problem is more challenging when tenants are not able, or refuse, to keep their apartments clean and orderly. Bedbugs can travel on people’s clothing or find their way into the apartment next door.

“There are agencies that will offer to come out, that will do the cleaning,” said Blunt. But if people don’t cooperate with the pest eradication efforts, “that’s what makes this compounded, makes this complex.”

As odd as it may sound, we often hear of badly infested buildings where one or more tenants simply don’t want to be inspected. In cases such as this, where the whole building is being inspected, it would not be surprising if the same tenants were not cooperative with preparations or treatment.

This hurts everyone else — both fellow tenants and management.

Those with physical or financial limitations absolutely need help and support in preparing for and undergoing bed bug treatment. But refusing or being non-cooperative is a serious problem: keeping your bed bugs is not an option.

• Still more from Nashua, New Hampshire: fewer bed bugs at 23-25 Temple St.
• More from Edmonton bed bug evictions case
• Vikane Fumigation Successful in New Jersey
• Bed bug notice: East Village, NYC, January 2008

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Stern stresses the need for a residual placed down after Cryonite in order to deal with bed bugs not knocked down by the process; one person in the forums has claimed to have had multiple Cryonite treatments and a persistent infestation.

Some additional non-pesticide options not mentioned are Vikane gas and the careful and diligent use of a steamer (preferably a dry steamer, to avoid mold and fungus growth). Steam is a lot of work, and most effective in experienced hands, but can seriously reduce your bed bug population. Coupled with dusts and pesticides, it is a viable option.

Thanks to the anonymous Bedbugger who pointed us to this video.

Click here to watch the film.

• The iceman cometh.
• The Wall Street Journal on “new” bed bug-fighting tactics
• bed bugs on NPR again: “Bed bugs spiralling out of control all over” according to Richard Cooper
• Cooper Pest evaluates ozone treatments for bed bugs, finds current methods ineffective

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Miss Heather and Renee of New York vs. Bed bugs both blogged about that terrifying (but as to be expected) situation.

Now Pete Donoghue of the Daily News has picked up the story via Miss Heather:

Brownbear cited three stations where he believed bedbugs had, at least temporarily, bedded down: Hoyt-Schermerhorn, Union Square in Manhattan and Fordham Road in the Bronx.

A housing preservation and development spokesman cautioned that Brownbear, while more knowledgeable about bedbugs than the average person, is not a trained scientist or inspector.

NYC Transit spokesman Charles Seaton said the agency would check out the three hubs.

Brownbear may not be a trained inspector, but he had bed bugs in his home for five months. He is probably more qualified than many in the HPD to identify a scurrying bed bug.

I am concerned that they are only going to look at those three hubs. NYC Transit employees should be taught to search for bed bugs, and doing so should be a routine occurrence in all trains and at all stations.

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign quipped: “Bedbugs on subway benches! Yet another reason not to fall asleep waiting for a train.”

The New York Post declares understatedly that “Bed Bugs Lurk Under Subway.” If they were under the subway, however, we would not have to worry. The problem is, they are in the subway:

Sharis Lugo, 20, of Brooklyn leaped off a bench at the Union Square station when she heard the news, saying, “Ewww! That’s nasty . . . They’ve got to take these benches out of here!”

Now that’s throwing the baby out with the bathwater! Why not get rid of the bed bugs instead?

It is possible, you know. But the first step is admitting we have a problem.

And Fox News shares videos of grossed out subway passengers (though Fox claims this footage represents passengers’ response to this news, this footage could have been stock “the subway is dirty” soundbites– bed bugs were not mentioned).

Perhaps in all the hysteria, New Yorkers will be reminded that we have politicians, we can demand they take action, and right now, the best way to channel that desire is to throw in your lot with New York vs. Bed Bugs. It only takes two minutes to make a difference.

The New York Post asks people on NYC subway benches about bed bugs in NYC subway benches:

Update: More from Gawker.

The U.S. News Health column also picked this up: Bed Bug Infestations Continue.

So did United Press International, the AMNY Subway Tracker, Subway Blogger (imagne a whole blog about the NYC subways! How bizarre! Just kidding, folks), Wall Street Journal blog Buzzwatch, and Gadling.

• Abbey the Bed Bug Dog: news report
• Thai trains play the bed bug blame game: blame backpackers for bed bug infestation
• Mr. K, a North Carolina bed bug dog, in action
• Toronto Star: Within five years, bedbugs “will be more common than mice, roaches, carpenter ants”

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Three apartment units at the Smyth-Fernwald Complex near Clark Kerr Campus could have been infested with bedbugs as early as March, according to Jeff Urdahl, campus director for housing operations, maintenance and environment.

Yadda, yadda… it happens, and is probably happening on every campus now to some degree. But wait, you know there’s more to this story:

Urdahl said a combination of manure pesticides and heat and cold treatments will be used in the infested apartment units.

Hot and cold, I get.

But manure pesticides?!?

Perhaps above I should instead have said @#it happens.

Pest Control Professionals, please tell us more.

• an honest PCO, a clever move
• FAQ: Leaving stuff out to freeze, walk-in freezers, etc: how cold and how long?
• Bed bugs in Ventura County (Thousand Oaks, California)
• The Wall Street Journal on “new” bed bug-fighting tactics

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Students in a suite of Living/Learning’s B-building were displaced last week after it was discovered that one of the inhabitants had been bitten by a bed bug, UVM’s Director of Communications Enrique Corredera said.

On Thursday, April 17, it was confirmed that the bites on the leg of a female resident of one of the “German House” suites were from a bed bug, and all of the students living in the suite were moved to other housing by the next day.

The residents of L/L B-220 are permanently relocated to other areas in L/L for the rest of the semester as the suite goes through a three-week treatment process to eliminate any possibility of a bed bug infestation, Corredera said.

Evacuations must be done extremely carefully. Here, the students laundered all clothing and “bagged all belongings” (though what happens after belongings are bagged is unstated, and is of major interest, since bed bugs can apparently live for a year or even 18 months, unfed).

Evacuation of all residents and treatment of the rooms were carried out after one student received bed bug bites on her leg. It is not clear from the article whether any signs of bed bugs were found in the room (in fact, in the absence of such evidence, the student could have been bitten at a restaurant, in a library, or on a city bus).

• bedbugs at Stanford University dorms (again)
• bed bugs at University of Bridgeport
• Bed bugs at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec
• 80% of Single Room Occupancy units in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside are infested with bed bugs; also Rensselaer Polytechnic’s dorms

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Student Aaryn Secker finally moved out after battling bed bugs in Solin Hall for months:

Secker notified Howard Zinman, Services Coordinator for Solin Hall, after discovering tiny red bites all over her body in September. Residence Services was initially responsive to her concerns, replacing her mattress and couch, paying for dry cleaning, and spraying her room with chemicals to kill the bugs.

But despite the intensive cleaning, Secker said that the bedbugs returned.

“They kept coming back. McGill [Residence Services] replaced my bed about twice. By the end of it they ended up taking out my bed and my fridge,” she said.

When the problem persisted, Secker moved out for good and sought rent compensation from the Student Housing Office for the entire academic year.

McGill’s refusal to reimburse Secker for rent or to terminate her lease has caused Secker to threaten bringing her case to the Régie du Logement, Quebec’s housing office.

Zinman refused to comment on Secker’s case, citing confidentiality reasons. He said the process of treating bedbug infestations has not changed since last year’s incidents in MORE Houses and New Residence, where bedbugs were found in several rooms.

It is not easy to treat for bed bugs, let alone in student housing. But replacing a bed twice does not seem like the most well-considered protocol, since beds can be treated, and moving infested furniture is tricky.

Perhaps McGill and their pest control operator should talk to Stanford and their pest control operator (who we believe is Crane Pest, San Francisco). Stanford has had its share of bed bugs, but the reports of their responses so far have been the best we have heard of on college campuses. And let’s face it, there will be bed bugs on college campuses, you can’t stop that from happening, though you can try to implement policies to help prevent it. And you can educate students and staff about the problem.

What matters most, though, is the response when bed bugs are discovered.

• Comment dites-vous le bed bugs en français?
• Ryerson University: a study in unenthusiastic bed bug control practices
• Bed bugs at the University of Vermont
• Bed bugs under discussion at university housing officers’ conference

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At Rose Pest Solutions in Troy [Michigan], where Sheperdigian reigns as vice president for technical services, the number of bedbug jobs has risen from one or two in 2001 to about 160 last year, with continued rapid growth expected in 2008.

The article goes beyond the standard “bed bugs are in our area now” articles which are popping up weekly, delving into the origins of the problem, as well as various ways to get rid of bed bugs.

Interestingly, Rubin cites Sheperdigian as challenging the theory that bed bugs came back due to increased travel:

One theory says that bedbugs have reemerged because Americans are traveling more to countries where they never quite went away. The problem is, Sheperdigian says, his research shows we were traveling more in the ’80s and ’90s.

“This isn’t a matter of reintroduction,” he says. “There’s something deeper happening that we don’t understand.”

Rubin also cites Sheperdigian’s opinion on Cryonite:

. . . Sheperdigian’s opinion of one of the trendy new methods of bedbug-whacking, an icy carbon dioxide spray that’s supposed to freeze them in their creepy little tracks. He says it mostly blows them around.

As far as I am concerned, the jury is still out on Cryonite, but I have not personally seen any effectiveness studies yet.

For good measure, the article also notes that, as far as treatment is concerned,

Rose Pest Solutions uses a combination of vacuums, steam and insecticides. Others favor bedbug-sniffing dogs or the equivalent of gigantic hair dryers.

None are foolproof.

• The iceman cometh.
• Ellen’s theory as to how bed bugs came back
• The Wall Street Journal on “new” bed bug-fighting tactics
• Given that they spread like wildfire, why did bed bugs take 30 years to come back?

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