Bed Bugs Just Won't Co-op Erate!

I’m always happy to write about bed bug-related info that’s relevant to New York City as opposed to writing about bed bugs in general. I came across an article this afternoon in The Cooperator, a New York City-based trade publication for “the co-op and condo community” (not exactly sure if that refers to building management, individual owners, or both) about bed bugs, aptly referring to them as “domestic terrorists”.

I was pleased to found some myths dispelled that have previously flourished among the general public, a sign that as time has passed, our knowledge of bed bugs and how to deal with them have been better researched and documented, resulting in a higher quality of information concerning the subject. I found the article to contain some very interesting facts, such as:

According to the National Pest Management Association, complaints of bed bug infestation increased by 71 percent between 2000 and 2005, and the city's exterminators are reporting record numbers of calls about the problem.

...and..

Bed bugs get the signal to forage when they taste the scent of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the dark. Nighttime typically means increased production of CO2 while we sleep, and that's when the pests emerge to sip drops of blood from their host.

...and even tips on hiring exterminators that I’ve never read before…

"If [an exterminator's] pre-treatment checklist is detail-oriented, you probably have a good exterminator," says Pearlman. "If he doesn't have a checklist, don't hire him. If the bugs aren't exterminated, you will be bitten again within three or four days."

My only complaint about this particular piece is that one exterminator interviewed in the article claims that bed bug bites do not itch. Anybody out there think bed bug bites don’t itch? I sure think they do.

The article is an interesting read, so feel free to check it out if the above excerpts seem interesting. And if you find any helpful information out there about bed bugs, please, share it with the rest of the class, okay?

School Daze

Finally, the NYC Department of Education (DOE) has adopted a policy to curb the spread of bed bugs in city schools. According to Fox 5, principals must notify parents in writing if bed bugs have been found in their school.

Check out this scary statistic:

Last January and February, there were 72 reports of bugs at 43 schools, according to the Department of Education.

Schools are a great place for bed bugs to spread especially elementary and junior high schools, where students have to keep their coats together in a large closet all day long, the perfect place for bed bugs to jump from one garment to another. The only question I have is what the principal or the more appropriately, the DOE plans to do when once bed bugs have been found in one of their schools.

Success!!

To those of you who followed the instructions I offered in a previous post for a non-chemical approach to killing roaches in your home, I hope you were as successful as I was! The majority of the roaches in my apartment have died as a result of the recipe I used (mushed up hardboiled egg sprinkled with boric acid).

This method was far more effective than the roach fogger, especially since I did not need to vacate my home for several hours for my own safety, as I would have with the fogger. Also, roach fogger has the negative side effect of irritating, not killing bed bugs, and causing them to scatter throughout the home and laying eggs in multiple, sometimes far-flung areas of your home as a result.

Although bed bugs are far more bothersome than roaches, nobody likes to have roaches in their home. And I'm glad I found a more effective and safer roach killing alternative to any spray fogger out there on the market.

To those of you who haven't tried the aforementioned recipe to kill roaches, I seriously suggest you do so and share the results on Bugged Out.

Good luck!