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Bed Bugs found in New York City stores

Rosie — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:55:13 +0000

I keep finding more information on bedbugs, but hearing this story on CNN prompted me to check it out further. It would seem someone brought the dreaded pests in to the store. We need to find better ways of keeping bedbugs out of places they have recently invaded. This is becoming more and more of an epidemic in the U.S.

By Jesse Solomon, CNN

July 2, 2010 6:35 p.m. EDT

Hollister in New York City’s Soho neighborhood remained closed Friday after a bedbug infestation was found.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Bedbug infestation shuts down 2 stores in upscale Manhattan areas
The critters have become a growing problem in recent years
Emphasis so far has been on residences, but the bugs can hitch a ride to work
Despite the name, bedbugs need not live in beds

New York (CNN) — A bedbug outbreak at two trendy New York retail shops has sounded the alarm among city residents and businesses, prompting calls for the city to examine how it deals with the prickly pests.

Hollister, a popular clothing store owned by Abercrombie & Fitch in the fashionable Soho neighborhood, remained closed Friday after a bedbug infestation was found earlier in the week, according to company spokeswoman Iska Hain. And an Abercrombie & Fitch store in South Street Seaport also has been closed by an infestation.

Abercrombie and Fitch said Friday afternoon the problem in the SoHo Hollister store had been taken care of and the shop will reopen Saturday morning.

“The company has requested guidance from the mayor’s office on how businesses in Manhattan should deal with this issue,” the company said in a news release. “In the meantime, the company’s first priority continues to be its customers and associates.”

The incidents mirror a sharp overall spike in bedbugs in recent years, yet efforts to combat the problem have mostly focused on residential buildings, leaving the issue of contamination in commercial spaces largely ignored.

“We’ve had them in banks, grocery stores, movie theaters, judge’s chambers, schools, dentists’ offices — everywhere,” said Jeff Eisenberg of PestAway, an exterminating company in Manhattan.

The problem, according to Eisenberg, is that bedbugs carry a stigma, which causes many cases to go unreported. “It’s like a don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” he said. “People don’t tell their employers that they have bedbugs in their house” — bedbugs that can hitch a ride to the workplace.

According to the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, it issued 4,811 violation notices to residential landlords for bedbug infestations in 2009, compared with 82 in the 2003-2004 fiscal year. For the first half of 2010, 1,976 bedbug violation notices have already been written.

However, such statistics represent only a fraction of bedbug cases in the city, as they come almost exclusively from buildings in the rental market. Owners of bedbug-infested residences are less likely to call 311, the city’s non-emergency hotline, which then notifies the Housing Preservation Department.

Further, landlords of commercial structures are currently not obligated to report bedbug infestation.

State Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal, who recently sponsored legislation to require landlords of apartment buildings to disclose information about an apartment’s bedbug history to potential tenants, plans to address the matter of bedbugs in businesses, though she admits doing so will be tricky.

“People buy a shirt, leave it hanging in their apartment, a bug gets on it, and then they go to work.” Rosenthal told CNN. “If you buy a piece of clothing you should assume it’s bug free, but it’s hard on the retailer to assure that it is, because how would they know.”

Treating bedbugs can be extremely expensive, and no insurance policies cover them. “It would be cost prohibitive on both sides,” Rosenthal said.

The rise in bedbug cases is not exclusive to New York. Last year, the federal Environmental Protection Agency sponsored a bedbug conference in Arlington, Virginia. Speaking to a crowd of 230 academics, agency employees and exterminators, Dale Kemery, an agency spokesman, said the incidence of infestation in the United States has tripled since 2005.

Despite their name, bedbugs need not live in beds. They generally live within 10 to 20 feet of their hosts and avoid light, preferring the dark security of spaces behind headboards, under baseboards and behind hanging pictures.

Termite or Ant?

Rosie — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:47:47 +0000

?Is it an ant or a termite you just found in your home? There are some ways to tell.

Ants have 1 pair of wings, bent antennae, a pinched waist and you can see their eyes. Termites have 1 pair of wings, straight antennae, a broad waist, and you cannot see their eyes. Both can swarm, follow the one in front. can cause wood damage, and colonies can be active around the clock all year. Proper identification is necessary for successful treatment. Ants have a distinct waistline while termites do not. It’s like ants having a belt in the middle of their bodies. While there are different varieties of each pest, ants are less costly to treat. When in doubt, call a professional pest control company.

Bed Bugs- an update

Rosie — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 22:32:17 +0000

Studies have recently shown that dismissing bedbugs as not being a public health pest is wrong. People can suffer not only bites, but also pain, suffering, emotional distress and a fear of never being rid of these pests. Government agencies still have not concluded that bedbugs may need to be listed as a public health pest in order to combat these pests so they do not become an epidemic as they have been in the past.

Bedbug infestations can occur in no time without the victim knowing he has them in his residence. Sensitivity to bites can be influenced by previous exposure as with other allergens. Reactions can be delayed a week of longer making it hard to narrow down the spot where the victim actually got the bedbugs. Elderly residents seem to be not as affected as others when it comes to recognizing bedbug infestations. It’s important that any nursing homes or even caretakers of the elderly be on the alert for any bedbugs present in the home. Bedbugs cannot bite through clothing, but will bite wherever there is exposed skin.

Welts and itching from bedbug bites are the body’s immune system reacting to the allergens in the pest’s saliva. Many residents will report sleeplessness, emotional distress, anxiety and stress from knowing they have bedbugs in their homes. Lately it has been reported bedbugs have been found in various places such as subways, waiting rooms, trains, buses, and movie theaters. You never know when you might bring these pests into your home.Unfortunately bedbugs can “hitchhike” and spread rapidly from room to room so they can find a human to feed on.

There is a lot of misinformation everywhere. If you are not sure you have a case of bedbugs your best bet is to call in the pest control professionals. Most companies will do a free inspection and alert you to the fact that there is an infestation. Just taking your mattress and box spring and putting them in the sun won’t get rid of all the bedbugs. Nor will wrapping the mattress and box spring in black plastic and having the sun beat down on them get rid of bedbugs. These pests need to have professionals get rid of them.

There are mattress and box spring covers that can be ordered to help with any bedbug fears. These covers are made of high quality, durable materials that have been tested to be bed bug proof. Bedbugs still in the mattress or box spring would then die of starvation over time.There are manufacturers and insecticide companies trying to find other solutions for the bed bug problem that seems to be infesting the world.

Bed Bug

Bee season

Rosie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:27:52 +0000

As I work for a nationally known pest control company I know for sure we have been bombarded with phone calls about bees and wasps. Most customers want the technician to come out and spray for these insects, little realizing that unless bees and wasps have built a nest we cannot treat free flying insects.

Just picture a technician running around your yard spraying each bee. Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But that’s what some customers seem to want the technicians to do. Yes, there is a preventative treatment we can do around the home, but then customers will complain about stains on the siding. It’s not always an easy profession, but when there is a nest or a potential building of one it’s better to be treated. You will see a congregation of many bees or wasps coming and going out of one particular spot. That’s when you know there is a nest. Since it’s just April now, nests are small as bees and wasps have just emerged from their wintering places.

Please understand when you call your pest control company that it may not be possible for someone to come out the same day. It’s what we call busy season when the bugs, bees, and wasps all come out at one time. We can’t have the technicians working 12 hours a day. They need to have time to rest, too. Bear in mind we will do what we can to get someone to your home as soon as possible, but understand that we are not magicians and cannot make the bad bugs disappear immediately or even overnight. Talk to your technician, learn about the pests that inhabit your area and your home, and please have patience with the pest control company. We will help you.

Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2009

Rosie — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:37:42 +0000

That’s right. There is an act in Congress that would require public housing agencies to submit bedbug inspection plans to the federal government. This would add bedbugs to the rodent and cockroach program in the Department of Health and Human Services. Research would be required of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a valid need to research bedbugs’ impact on the public mental health. People have been having anxiety, insomnia, feeling shamed because bedbugs have invaded their homes even though they are “clean” freaks, and the incessant annoyance of itchy red welts on the skin should bedbugs come in contact with their bodies.

Democratic Representative G.K. Butterfield of North Carolina just introduced legislation that would authorize $50 million that’s already in the budget of the Department of Commerce to train health inspectors how to recognize the signs of these nasty pests. His co-sponsors include Reps. Don Young, Republican from Alaska, Ben Chandler, Democrat from Kentucky, Bobby L. Rush, Democrat from Illinois, Betty McCollum, Democrat from Minnesota, Corrine Brown, Democrat from Florida, Steven Cohen, Democrat from Tennessee, Brad Miller, Democrat from North Carolina, and Eddie Bernice Johnson, Democrat from Texas. Butterfield has also gotten support from the National Pest Management Association. The NPMA stated that bedbug calls to pest control companies are up 70% in the past 5 years. Pesticides from years ago were able to kill off the bedbugs, but the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) discontinued certain pesticides because they were felt to be too hazardous. Bedbugs have built up a tolerance to the pesticides used today by most exterminators. More research needs to be done to have a better plan of attack to keep the bedbugs from becoming a worldwide infestation.

Birds pecking at your windows?

Rosie — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:41:18 +0000

There’s a reason they do this. They see a reflection of another bird in your window and since they have already “claimed” this area as their own, they are trying to attack this bird. It doesn’t matter how often they fly into your window or peck at it, they will continue doing so until you do something about it. There are some options: put wet newspapers on the outside of the window so they can’t see a reflection. Tie helium balloons near your window to scare away the birds. You can pull down the shades or close the drapes. Some people put tin foil pie pans near the windows to chase away the birds. You can buy these pans at the local dollar store. Or you can use some tin foil strips and dangle them at the windows. While the birds are nesting they are protective of their area, so once the eggs have hatched this pecking should stop. It can be very annoying since the noise can give you a headache. Most species of birds are protected, so you do need to be careful what you do. One other thing: pest control exterminators do not have a spray to get rid of the birds. There is nothing they can do beyond tell you what I have mentioned above.

Bedbug Summit – More information on these pests

Rosie — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:25:14 +0000

Just this past week there was a National Bed Bug Summit held just outside of Washington, D.C. The EPA is looking into educating the public about the outbreak of a bed bug infestation not seen since W.W.II. Press coverage of this nasty pest escalated within the past few days. More will be reported by the end of April. There have been some discussions of perhaps having the EPA bring back some of the chemicals that have been banned for years. Those chemicals seemed to be able to annihilate bedbugs.

Bedbugs are hitchhikers, coming into your home from clothing, bedding, luggage or furniture. An infestation does not mean you have a filthy home. The fact is bedbugs like to hide and are seldom seen unless you know what you are looking for. Bedbugs are about 1/4 inch long, small, brown, oval, and flat. They feed on human and animal blood. Secretive, they will hide in mattresses, on frames, box springs, in electrical outlets, alarm clocks, phones, clothing, behind pictures, behind curtains and drapes, and other furniture. Check the linens on bed for telltale reddish or dark brown spots. You will also need to check your body as there will be some bite marks mostly on your waist, but also your arms and legs. Bedbugs do not fly, but they can quickly scurry around. They prefer to stay close to the host- YOU!

Prevention measures to take include inspecting of all furniture before it enters your home, especially anything bought second hand. Reduce clutter to minimize hiding spaces. Wash all clothing in hot soapy water immediately after traveling. Suitcases must be vacuumed and scrubbed after traveling. You can leave your suitcase in a closed up car on a hot summer day or wrap it in plastic in the freezer to kill any bedbugs. Shoes and other items that cannot be washed can also be treated this way.

Bedbugs can be treated, but you cannot take this lightly. A treatment must be very thorough. You should have a trained exterminator do the treatment. Call a reliable pest control company to do a free inspection if you do suspect bedbugs.

Cockroaches

Rosie — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:05:27 +0000

Oh, how that word seems to make people cringe! Cockroaches in your kitchen? Does that mean you are a “dirty” housekeeper? No, not necessarily so! You can bring roaches into your home from outside sources. Think you are getting that “bargain” at this out of the ordinary little store on the corner? You may bring roaches into your home. You need to check the bottoms and seams of any packages of food for any debree. If you see any evidence of little specks of what might look like dirt, don’t buy that package and by all means get out of that store!

Roaches have been on this planet for eons. They are actually prehistoric, relics of the past. One of the few survivors from the dinosaur era. We need to control roaches because they carry nasty microbes that can cause food poisoning, plague, dysentery, tapeworms, roundworms, pinwomrs, polio, and lung and eye infections. Roaches like warm, moist areas, dark, and they will eat anything!

The most common roaches in the U.S. are the German cockroach, oriental cockroach, and American cockroach. The German roaches are only found indoors with man or man made structures. They are the most common roaches found. They do not fly, but they glide around the home. They have been known to even eat glue, soap and toothpaste. 75% of their life is spent in cracks and crevices in dark areas of a building. Checking under the sink, under cabinets, in baseboard cracks and crevices would be the first place to start.

The American cockroach is the largest house infesting roach. Reddish brown in color with yellow borders around the pronotum they are weak fliers. They prefer sewers and steam tunnels and they love beer! Brownbanded roaches have a black bell shape on their body with brownish-yellow stripes on their abdomens. The males of this species can fly. They prefer starchy foods and warm, dry conditions. You need to check areas such as furniture, appliances, high locations such as ceilings, cabinets and electrical outlets for any signs of them.

Oriental roaches are sometimes called water bugs or black beetles. They are dark brown or black and look “greasy”. The males have wings, but they can’t fly. They prefer cool, damp areas with decaying organic matter for food sources. They can tolerate cooler temperatures and may over-winter in protected landscaping in leaf litter and mulch. Inside a building they prefer floor drains, utility pipes, air ducts and damp basements. The Smokybrown cockroaches are a Southern species, but have been seen in the North as well. They are mahogany to dark brown in color. They normally feed on plants, but will also eat other things. The roost on the sides of trees or in tree holes. They can also be found in leaf litter and mulch along with the organic debris found in gutters. Leaky pipes are a favorite place to hang out.

Sanitation is the best way to prevent these roaches from invading your home or business. Grease and other buildups in homes and restaurants needs to be kept at a minimum as these things attract roaches. Keeping food contained, debris cleaned up, and equipment checked periodically for any signs of roaches will help deter them. They have pepper like feces so are easily detected. Sealing cracks and crevices around the interior perimeters will help keep roaches out. The use of glueboards or sticky traps to monitor any signs of roaches might be a wise idea.

Vacuuming roaches, whether dead or alive, is a good idea. Also baiting roaches will help. You need to determine where the roaches are living to make sure the placement of baits will work to your advantage. Spread the bait around. A little placed in more places is sure to get the most roaches than placing a large amount in just 3 or 4 spots. And don’t forget to check the rear and underside of the refridgerator. That’s a great place for roaches to hide as it’s cool, dark and damp. The perfect spot to raise a roach family. When in doubt, call an exterminator to eliminate your roach problems. Most companies will give a free inspection and estimate if you think you may have a roach problem.

BEES AND WASPS

Rosie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 23:16:29 +0000

There are precautions to take around bees and wasps. First of all, you must remain calm even it the situation gets tense. Avoid any perfumes, after shaves, colognes and scented soaps. Don’t dress like a flower! Bright colored or dark clothing is not good. White or light tan clothing is best. A bee suit is the best outfit to wear. You need to cover your entire body when you are ready to treat a nest. Coveralls are a second choice, along with gloves and a bee veil. Note the location of any overhead power lines if you are using a ladder or a bee pole. Make sure you plan an escape route if you have to make a quick getaway. Move quietly, slowly, avoid making noise, don’t vibrate the nest by walking heavily, and don’t use a flashlight or cast a shadow on the nest. Be extremely careful if you have to use a ladder since the only way to get away is straight down. If you do get stung, brush off the bee or wasp, and quickly but calmly get away from the area.

First Aid for stings: Wash the sting area to remove the attractant of pheromones that were left on you by the stinging bee or wasp. This attracts other bees or wasps to you. That’s why some people get stung many times at once. Honeybees leave the stinger behind with the venom sac attached. The stinger can then continue to pump venom into the wound. Get the stinger out by either pinching it or scraping the stinger off. The longer it stays in you the more venom is released, leaving a larger welt. Yellow jackets and other wasps don’t leave the stinger in your skin, so they can sting you again and again.

For all stings: Wash the area with soap and water to remove any venom on the skin surface. Put ice on the area to reduce the initial pain and minimize swelling. To reduce pain and itch you can use products such as an analgesic, antihistamine, Benadryl, or cortisone creams. If you notice any signs of allergic reactions consult a doctor. Allergic reactions could appear within 30 minutes of the stings depending on the number of stings a person gets. Reactions can inculde redness, hives, and loss of breath.

Caution around any bees nest is first and foremost. If you don’t feel you can handle bee or wasps nests, call a professional exterminator. As for nest inside walls of the home, it’s best to have a professional handle that since it may be a lot bigger than you think it is.

Stink Bugs

Rosie — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:22:02 +0000

Yes, that is their name. And they do smell if you squish them! Accidentally brought into the United States through the Eastern part of Pennsylvania in a shipment of products from overseas, these bugs are becoming very plentiful. They get into our homes, fly in our faces, and are just highly annoying. Yet, there isn’t much that can be done to eliminate them. Exterminators tell us they can “control” stink bugs from getting into your home, but the shells on the stink bugs will not permit any poisons from killing them quickly.

What can we do to keep them out of our homes? Cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes, air conditioning units, behind chimneys (and inside them) and underneath the wooden fascia and other openings need to be sealed with silicone or caulk. Torn screens on doors and windows need to be replaced or repaired. An exterior treatment of pesticides might help keep some of the stink bugs from coming inside the home. However, this kind of treatment should be done by a licensed pest control exterminator. Once stink bugs do get inside the home you might find them crawling out from cracks in the walls, floors, baseboards, around windows, around fans and lights in the ceiling. Using a vacuum cleaner to “catch” the bugs is ok, but once you get a lot of them in the vacuum cleaner bag you will get a terrible odor emitting from the bag. Also, some bugs may find their way back out of the vacuum cleaner. If there aren’t too many stink bugs inside your home, catch each one in a tissue and then flush the bugs down the sink or the toilet. Using an insecticide inside the home for stink bugs is not advisable. If you have too many stink bugs around, call a professional exterminator.