NYCDOE to hire PMP for bed bug treatment... « Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums

Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » General Topics

NYCDOE to hire PMP for bed bug treatment...

(7 posts)

Tags:

Nobugsonme

your host
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 13,710
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Tue Nov 17 2009 12:48:37
#

Login to Send PM

More here.

Please comment on the blog post if you have input on this one.
bugfreebed

junior member
Joined: Sep '09
Posts: 61
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Tue Nov 17 2009 16:24:47
#

Login to Send PM

How many schools are we talking about I just can't see 33 thousand a year covering it . Is NY like CT where the work goes to the lowest bidder .... What makes a company Qualified for this very difficult task . I just really hope that the people putting this together have done their homework .
cilecto

oldtimer
Joined: Aug '08
Posts: 3,851
offline

Posted 3 years ago
Wed Nov 18 2009 0:15:42
#

Login to Send PM

Would chalk dust have similar effect on BB as DE? Is the BB surge the result of whiteboards?
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

member
Joined: Mar '11
Posts: 247
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 31 2011 0:36:11
#

Login to Send PM

cilecto - 1 year ago »
Would chalk dust have similar effect on BB as DE?

I was just wondering that. I googled it and got ... your year-old post.

Now I started wondering about baking soda, maybe combining the mechanical action of dust with some effect from the mild alkalinity. I could test baking soda on my one captive bug. But the idea is to make the bugs more susceptible to drying out, and I can't very well try to dry it out while I'm keeping it sealed in a plastic bag.

Maybe I'll dust the whole place with chalk dust: very safe, absolutely free (since I have some remnant pieces of chalk I can crush), and -- unlikely to have much effect.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

member
Joined: Mar '11
Posts: 247
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 31 2011 18:09:02
#

Login to Send PM

I don't know how hard insect cuticle is, in terms of scratch resistance (which is what Mohs scale compares). Wikipedia says fingernails have a hardness of 2.2 - 2.5, but that's only a very weak indication since chitin and keratin are completely different. This page says sodium bicarbonate is 2.5, chalk is 3, and alumina is 3.4.
bugbuster

junior member
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 108
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Thu Mar 31 2011 18:42:22
#

Login to Send PM

My Upper West Side elementary school has been battling bed bugs, on and off, since November 2008, and we are not alone. When this started, a teacher would capture a bug, send it in to the DoE, the DoE would confirm it, and then send someone to treat that classroom - but only that room.

Somewhere in there that changed. Now, when they confirm a bug, they will send an inspector to that classroom to inspect - and only treat if the inspector hits the jackpot and finds a second bug.

Our school has pretty much given up on the DoE. We focus on education and prevention, and we have had a decrease in bug sitings since we started mandating that every child put his/her coat, backpack etc. in a XXL Ziploc bag. We also think/hope our community has become more proactive about recognizing and combating the problem at home.

This advertisement for a DoE PCO is a repeat of an earlier one offering the same low low salary. The person they got last time was, I believe, responsible for this charming debacle:

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/128468/brooklyn-school-tormented-by-bed-bugs-seeks-to-replenish-lost-supplies
bugbuster

junior member
Joined: Feb '09
Posts: 108
offline

Posted 2 years ago
Fri Apr 1 2011 16:43:37
#

Login to Send PM

Yeah, well, I spoke too soon. Found out today that there have been complaints of bugs in several classrooms that I hadn't heard about. Again, not much we can do except educate, prevent and check. Grrrr....