nobugsonme's Profile

will we ever find out what happened to Amanda???

I think most of the retailers do that Mrs. S.

Moxie is right--the city needs to take bed bugs seriously, and they might if they were to stop counting only people who call 311 when they're infested as the ONLY bed bug cases, when we all know that most people with bed bugs call (a) their landlord, or (b) a pest control operator, when they have bed bugs.

And yes--bed bugs can take more than two treatments. We've heard that most take three or more, especially with a seriously infested neighbor (and who knows what kind of treatment he's getting?) PCOs need to come every 10-14 days without fail until bed bugs are long gone. And you should not unpack your stuff until they are gone for over a month, maybe even two, for precisely this reason.

http://bedbugger.com/faqs/

aesargent,
You should be concerned. It all hinges on how very cautious he was, and how very infested he was, but he can definitely spread them.

RuthyE,
I don't know about keeping clothes out of the apartment. On http://bedbugger.com we tell people to wash and dry on hot, bag in XL ziplocs, and keep those ziplocs IN the apartment. But don't return stuff to closets and drawers.

I am not sure where Amanda sent her stuff for three weeks, and I'd be really interested to know. People should be aware that washed clothing should stay bagged and out of closets and drawers until bed bugs are LONG gone. Many people require more than two treatments, so be warned. Needing 3-4 is not uncommon. And the stuff should be bagged until there are no further signs of bed bugs, bites, fecal specks, etc.

Richard Cooper, a pest control expert in NJ, says not to put clothing back for 55 days. It sounds extreme, yes, but I think three weeks from the beginning of treatment is foolhardy.

One of those apartments in About Last Night was filmed inside and outside my highschool classmate's apartment.

Ahh, the 80s.

This article,
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/realestate/15cov.html?ex=1182657600&en=90b570a01e2c8bac&ei=5070
which Maxwell blogged, came out 9 months ago in October, rather than two years ago.

On the same page, you can find this link to a related article "What to Do Once You've Been Bitten":
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/realestate/15bside.html?ex=1182657600&en=b83968d77dd2e8e8&ei=5070

It outlines the real estate issues for renters, co-op owners, and such. It's pretty clear that landlords have to deal with tenants' bed bugs, and it might be another resource for Amanda's landlord to see.

Hi Jessica--
Yes--what I meant was "the process cannot be done legally in NYC" was regarding the fuel. And I do hope that is legalized soon, or alternatives found. Good luck with that!

Harley, Lynn, and others: in the first of the "Amanda" series of posts, Maxwell expressed apparent surprise that bed bugs were found in an apartment that was "chic, beautiful and CLEAN." That, and the fact that readers were able to tell Amanda her home should not be "bombed," among other things, tells me that AT does not already have enough information about bed bugs.

I respect your point of view, but I am among those who thing AT readers need to know this can happen to them, and what to do when it does. MrGreen is right that AT readers need, if nothing else, a pest-free home.

MrGreen, one thing: it does not take months or hundreds and hundreds of dollars to get rid of lice. A few days and a doctor visit should do you, though I have not had the pleasure, personally.

Is Amanda reading our comments on previous threads? Did she get that the landlord is liable to pay for the PCO?

Deborah,

It's a house problem too. It's just that they're so much more of a nightmare when your neighbors are attached to you and may be sending the things over. Also, most homeowners are simply going to get help, whereas tenants and co-op owners have to wonder about who is to blame and who should pay.

The CDC website has an article which describes a study done in Toronto in 2003. Most of the cases (as you will see below) were in single family homes. This is really interesting, because you can assume those folks did not get them from neighbors (unless their houses were attached).

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol11no04/04-1126.htm

"Toronto Public Health documented complaints of bed bug infestations from 46 locations in 2003, most commonly apartments (63%), shelters (15%), and rooming houses (11%). Pest control operators in Toronto (N = 34) reported treating bed bug infestations at 847 locations in 2003, most commonly single-family dwellings (70%), apartments (18%), and shelters (8%). Bed bug infestations were reported at 20 (31%) of 65 homeless shelters."

Note the enormous discrepancy between what the city's public health dept hears as complaints (46) vs. how many homes and shelters pest control companies treated (847).

I would venture that the numbers of official complaints in NYC are similarly way off (NYC reported around 1100 official cases last year, but these were only the seriously desperate people who called 311 to report a violation to HPD, and not the majority, who called their landlord, or a pest control firm.

Finally, a lot of people just don't talk about this. That no one has mentioned it is not surprising.

MrGreen--beware, a recent report by Michael Potter clarified that laundry must be dried for 5 minutes once it is totally dry. 30 minutes on a wet load is not enough. Depending on the machine, it might be 80, or more. (I recommend people dry things until they are bone dry, and then add 5 minutes more.)

Amanda does need to launder everything, and she did find bed bugs (plural) and she does need a PCO that knows how to get rid of them. And she needs them to come every two weeks until there are no more bites or signs of bed bugs. (One statistic was that 94% of cases needed more than one treatment, and most need 3 or more, so she should count on multiple PCO/PMP visits.)

MrGreen is a wise man and he is right that sending the laundry out is not a good idea. Some of us may have gotten our bed bugs from folks who sent their infested laundry to our wash and fold places.

What's more, you do not have to get rid of everything you own. PCOs can treat most furniture. But they will know what needs to be tossed, and how to get rid of it without infesting others either as it goes out the door or sits on the curb.

Does Amanda own or rent her apartment? If she owns, she needs to talk to the coop or condo board. The bugs may have come from neighbors and treating one unit will not suffice if more than one is infested. What's more, some neighbors may have bed bugs and not feel the bites or see the bugs. They need to be educated about just how stealthy these monsters are. Many people do not react to bites. Imagine one is your neighbor--the bugs will keep coming.

Also, if Amanda is a renter, she must notify her landlord (who is obliged to pay for treatment and should have the PCO inspect all adjacent units: the one on the top, bottom, and on every side). Again, they may be coming from a neighbor who has not reported them or who hasn't even seen one or felt it. And they will keep coming if the other units are not treated.

I know it all sounds scary, but if people treat bed bugs swiftly and do what they need to, they can be gotten rid of.

http://bedbugger.com/faqs/