I came across this old CBS story from New York City in which a woman living in a Brooklyn slum complains to her super of, among other things, a bed bug infestation. Check this out:
As for her complaint to the super about the bedbugs? "What you can do with the bed bugs is put them in a tortilla and feed them to your family and then get rid of the bedbugs," she said the super told her.Yikes. Seems like bed bugs are just one more complaint for slumlords to ignore.
In other news, PCT Online had a very interesting article exhibiting just what it took to destroy a full-scale bed bug infestation in one New Jersey apartment building. People often drop comments on Bugged Out asking how to effectively get rid of bed bugs from their apartments or apartment buildings, and the answer is never a simple one. Because apartments are attached to each other, simply fumigating the affected apartment doesn't help, as bed bugs can escape to adjacent apartments and return when the coast is clear.
Royal Fumigation, however, has devised a fumigation strategy even more comprehensive than President Bush's invasion of Iraq. Keeping constant communication with local police precincts, fire departments and New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, Royal had the property manager evacuate all tenants from the building for the duration of the bed bug fumigation, arranging temporary housing for the displaced tenants. Royal then spent the next 12 hours sealing off, I presume, every nook and cranny in the building.
After that, a pesticide called Vikane was sprayed in the building for about 24 hours. A consultant from Dow Agrosciences, the manufacturer of Vikane, was on hand to help Royal with the proper application of the pesticide. The actual fumigation period was followed by a nine-hour aeration of the entire building using fans. Though the aeration was over by 9 pm, Royal didn't want anyone re-entering the building until the next morning. The next day the property manager brought in a cleaning crew to make the building ready for the tenants to move back in.
I found this to be the most coordinated and thorough bed bug fumigation I've ever heard of. I can't even imagine how much this all cost. The article itself leaves out several facts that I and others would love to know, including:
- How many people were actually involved in the fumigation?
- How much did this all cost, and was the cost covered by the landlord or by the tenants?
- How many apartment units were in the building?
- How much time did Royal spend preparing this very thorough operation?
- What logistical issues, if any, did the crew face while planning this operation?
- Were the apartments unlocked in order for Royal to properly fumigate them?
Have a good weekend.
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2 comments:
We live in NYC and my wife was complaining of red spots and itching on her body, we also had a friend stay over too and complain of the same thing. So I looked up the red spots and possible causes of it on google, i figured mayb eit was bed mites, turned out to be bed bugs. I got on the internet and looked up bed bug exterminators online and found http://www.pestcontrolnewyorkcity.com and called them up, they had us put all the clothes in our house out of the drawers, into plastic bags, take them to a laundry place, and bleach and practically boil the sheets, we did this twice, we washed all our clothes too, they came in sprayed everywhere, furniture, in draws, under moldings on the mattresses and in the light sockets, electrical sockets, the bugs started coming out in colonies, she was hysterical. Well the Pestcontrolnewyorkcity.com guys wrapped the mattresses in zipper plastic, and I havent and nor has she had any issues since, thank god!
You can always control those insects or pest living in your home, you can do it your own way or you can have assistance with professionals that are willing to help you with your pest problems.
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