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You like a little nibble in bed don't you? Sure you do. You dirty little bird. So you must just love our fair city nowadays as the bed bugs are back! The Times reports that a rise in used furniture sales, international travel (when in doubt, always blame dark, dark foreigners), and a ban on powerful pesticides have let the pests run wild in New York. Last year, the city's housing department received over 4,600 complaints about the little nasties, almost 5 times as many as in 2004.
The cure? Manhattan Councilwoman Brewer suggests banning the sale of used mattresses and creating an overpaid task force to study the issue and to make recommendations WITHIN ONE YEAR. Sounds reasonable to us. What does the powerful mattress lobby have to say? Well, the International Sleep Products Association is all for a ban on reselling used mattresses and would rather you buy a bed-bug free (new) mattress. Shocking.
The piece also mentions that a lack of published standards on how to sanitize used mattresses has kept resellers from appropriately cleaning and debugging old beds. But since no hard evidence exists to prove that sanitizing mattresses or preventing the sale of used ones would really lead to a decrease in the bed-bug population, the City has no intention of creating such unifying standards. Because you know, good old common sense (clean mattress = no bugs) can't trump a pricey government study, or lack thereof.
So what should you do if you find yourself with some unwanted bunkmates of your own? Gothamist Health has garnered this sage advice from the article: Do not soak your mattress in gasoline in an effort to get rid of bed bugs. Because while the itching can be unbearable, you always risk setting things on fire when you douse them with gasoline.
What do you really need to know about bed-bugs? Read on.
You should know that:
+ Bedbugs are about 5-7 mm in length and are oval and reddish-brown. They can even have little wings (gross).
+ Infestation in the U.S. is pretty common but not as common as in rural parts of Gambia where up to 38% of children's beds can be infested.
+ Bedbugs, despite feeding on human blood, usually do not spread disease. Despite the Times article, there have been sporadic reports of transmission of hepatitis B and a weird tropical disease in South America. A few people have even died from allergic reactions.
+ Bedbug bites are painless but itch like crazy. Bites on the face are common.
+ If the bite appears raised or looks like a fluid-filled bubble, it might be secondarily infected.
+ Bites often occur in lines of 3. The so-called, "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" configuration. We think that's cool.
+ If examining a bed before lying down, carefully inspect the corners - for some reason they like to cluster there.
+ Treatment: Usually no treatment is necessary but an anti-histamine pill or cream (something with Benadryl (diphenhydramine) will do nicely) should help with the itching. More severe itching may require a steroid cream.
+ To prevent infestations or to clean infested beds, sprays made with permethrin work like a charm. A real problem may require an exterminator.
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Buying someone's old mattress, bed bugs or no, is pretty disgusting when you think about how much dead skin we all shed and what people do in their beds.
in the "best of" section at craigslist someone documents their battle w/the bed bugs in an open letter. It took them 3 months to deal with the problem. it's kind of funny/horrifying. - An Open Letter To My Bedbugs
ummmm you mean as oppose to sleeping in some motel/hotel beds where hundreds or so people have slept on it before you did and did G-d knows what on them. Not that I'm advocating buying used mattresses, but sometimes people over think certain things and getting themselves all worked up over nothing.
More race baiting!
Of course, Gothamist likely has no explanation as to why bedbugs are exceedingly rare in cities entirely populated by Europeans.
The problem is not the race per se, usually, but the culture. White people after all, are only 7% of the world's population. As 93% of the world's population is technically a "dark, dark, foreigner" in the words of Gothamist, it does make sense this is a problem.
There are 5 billion non-white people out there who come from societies that are less civilized than Rome of 2,000 years ago. Why should we be surprised they have unsanitary habits?
You would not believe the big red welts all over my belly, I cant decide if it centipedes that have crawled into my bed (big one fell on me from the roof the other night) or whether it is spiders from a cave that I was in last week. I never felt any bite but one of the welts has two very definite puncture marks a couple of millimeters apart - giant bedbugs, centipedes or spiders?
The City Council has its head up its ass. People without bedbugs consistently underestimate what it takes to get rid of them.
Banning the sale of used mattresses isn't going to have one iota of an effect. The bugs are perfectly capable of walking into your apartment.
Sadly, the only real solution to this rapidly growing problem is going to be a chemical and toxic one.
DEET should be made legal, at least for licensed exterminators to use on bedbugs.
Bedbugs were eradicated by the use of DDT. The only way bedbugs are going to be eradicated again is through the use of DDT.
It doesn't make a differenece how 'sanitary' your house is, you can get bedbugs regardless. The only thing a mess provides is more hiding locations for bedbugs.
"Bites often occur in lines of 3. The so-called, "breakfast, lunch, and dinner" configuration. We think that's cool."
-These bugs are almost impossible to get rid of and are quite disgusting. Nothing cool about getting bitten. Stopping the reconditioning of mattresses is not going to do anything to control them. Chemical pesticides are the only way to go.
Speaking of centipedes - there is a really loathesome looking giant centipede found fairly commonly in NY apartments, that you might be inclined to kill on sight... be aware, this "house centipede" is a voracious eater of bedbugs, spiders and cockroaches, and has been seen by people who study such things holding two bedbugs in its claws while chewing on a third one. Just to consider next time you roll up a newspaper to swat one. We've named ours George.
Having dealth with my own infestation this summer, I am well aware of how horrible these creatures are, how it takes a toll on you not only physically but mentally as well. Mattresses are not the only problem; someone needs to put more stringent laws into effect for SLUMLORDS. I live on the UES in a nice apartment with new furniture and new mattresses. Our bugs came from a gaping hole in the ceililng that our landlord neglected for fix for about six weeks.
I second Commenter No. 10. There is NOTHING "cool" about bedbugs.
Making studies and legislation won't help. As the gentleman in the story in AM New York said, "Insects don't read proclamations."
The gov't needs to bring back DDT for use inside homes.
I hope that city council members and state and federal legislators get bedbugs so that they know how serious a problem it is and take their heads out of their asses.
These bugs are terrorists and need to be dealt with just as harshly.
Seriously. I third comment #10. Bedbug bites are terribly itchy and the bugs are awful to get rid of. Not cool at ALL, as Gothamist would know if they had to deal with them, or had any friends that did. After dealing with bedbugs, I would've bathed in DDT if I thought it would help, and I'm someone who steers clear of chemicals whenever possible.
I also second comment #12--landlords need to be made much more responsible for dealing with the problem. The process is very, very expensive, time consuming, and difficult, and it's a lot worse with an uncooperative landlord like mine.
DDT must be legalized for indoor usage. It will eliminate this problem overnight. It's 100% safe for humans, and the environmental risk when used indoors is minimal.
Say NO to crazy ecofreak legislation!
I'm usually not one to dish out "they deserved it", but anyone buying a used matress deserves bed bugs.
treatments: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug#Treatment_2
We cannot be expected to live primitively...since my infestation I have been doing lots of research on DDT...BRING IT BACK !!!! Used responsibly, indoors, it will kill them in 2 hours !!! Please someone listen...we cannot continue throwing mattresses and furniture away....we deserve better from our government...This is SERIOUS...we need help..they are spreading at alarming rates HELP.
You can pick them up at a movie theatre..you can bring them home with you in your backpack..they can go for a bedbug vacation from your neighbor through the seams of your floorboards..
I agree with the "SLUMLORDS" comment...they don't give a crap about anyone..maybe one day their house will collapse on their head for once. Just put a bedbug in your rent check so he can bring them home too..
I have seen that centipede..its fast as lightening..swoosh..
One-two-three, DDT! I haven't encountered bedbugs, but if I did I'd want to pull out all the stops. It didn't seem to harm the baby-boomers, so I'd have no problem using it on my bed before turning to the gasoline. I'll promise to keep nesting falcons and eagles out of my room. If I can't get my DDT, I'll head to my local botanica to get that super-duper smuggled Mexian bug (and dog) killing dust, whatever that may be.
Suffering from Bed bugs? Need advice or support?
Or, got a survivor story?
Check out the Bed Bug Support Group on yahoo (open to all):
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/bedbugger/
my boyfriend's building had bedbugs. if yr not allergic to them, you don't even notice them. he's not, i am. holy shit those fuckers bite a lot. had to stop sleeping over 'cause i couldn't sleep, i was so itchy.
turns out the apartment on the other side of the building was infested. they walked all the way to his. the landlord promptly called an exterminator. they fumigated for two days and now there's no more bugs. i wish those assholes had called the landlord sooner. the bugs are NOT that hard to get rid of. people just let them get out of control 'cause they're ignorant, lazy jerks.
Fumagating an apartment will not get rid of bed bugs because if they are in your apartment, they are in every nook and cranny of the building you live in (or soon will be). There seem to be some knowledgable people in this comments section and I wish Gothamist would pool their smart readers together and publish something worth reading. (If the city is infested, why not speak with a few people who have ACTUALLY dealt with the problem?) Same goes for those buffoons at the city council. There ARE people in this city who know a lot about this problem, and they learned from experience. (OR they are experts at our glorious city museum, the American Museum of Natural History. Listen to Lou Sorkin!) It's like having been to war and survived. MINUS ALL YOUR FURNITURE!
And I second the notion to bring back DDT. It's about friggin' time.
JESUS this topic get's me fired up. Wake up everyone! If we ignore this problem it's ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!
The true terrorists are tiny bugs infesting our houses and attempting to ruin our lives. The axis of evil is composed of crappy landlords, people who don't label infected furniture when they put it on the street, and the city which wants to stay in the dark instead of addressing a growing infestation that more resembles the plague than the west nile misquitos, and is sucking the blood of its citizens.
I don't care where they came from, or the racism and classism that surrounds them, I want them erradicated from this city.
This is month two and fumigation number three for me. I've thrown away more furniture than I care to think about, cleaned everything I own - sealed it in bags full of poision and put in long term storage. I'm moving out of my apartment and the few things I have left exist entirely in vaccum-pac bags and sealed plastic containers.
If there was a way to vote DDT back, I would be totally for it.
As I recall from the great Greenpoint/Williamsburg bedbug outbreak of 2004, bedbugs spread like disease. Maybe someone picked up a nasty used matress and maybe he/she is staying with the guy you're seeing. He sleeps over at your house and, boom, you're infested.
I had a mild encounter with bedbugs after staying at a clean-seeming hostel in Arizona. Flew back home a day later and realized I had several dozen bites. Not fun. Those fuckers get into EVERYTHING. A friend of mine had to fumigate her apartment, and throw out her matress and many of her clothes. And you can carry them around on your clothes, so if you don't know you have them and you sit on your couch, you may infest that, too.
Here's what I've learned: #5... you have bedbugs. The bites are small, red and come in pairs, usually on your extremities and lower back, any bare skin that touches your bed. Pay close attention to where your bites are located. New bites in morning=positive confirmation. If you don't want to use an exterminator, extreme temperature works, too. Since it's to warm to freeze your mattress outside, take a hair dryer on high to it for as long as you can stand to run it. Wash any clothes, bedding, pillows, teddy bears you think may have come anywhere near your bed in HOT water several times. Then chance it for another couple of nights, each time packing the clothes you wear to bed in plastic. If that doesn't work, try chemicals, or get a new mattress.
People, Just invest in about a months worth of Lysol if you buy a used mattress. If it's new then keep it that way, I spray my mattress everytime I change the sheets. I know that there are no bedbugs in there but it's the practice that counts! Make sure to spray throughly under the mattress as well and the pillow and cases . Check for any blood stains on the mattress or the sheets. You might have a problem .
My parents are suffering through this horrible plague. Please see blog for their story:
http://nobedbugsformyparents.blogspot.com/
Hi we live in Toronto, we had them recently, to our surprise the building had them for the last 2 years and we did not know about it. one day my 3 years old daughter wake up with a nasty bits. That night she and her father slEPT in the living room floor. we could not believe it. We checked around and we found some of those nasty things in our couch. we knew it was them. because I have seen it in the news one time. Oh we were very depressed. We had it spread the apartment twice. We washed and cleaned the whole place. Well we still have some. Me and my husband have nigh mares about them. We are starting to hate our apartment. me I can't get them out of my mind, it is pretty depressing. The worst thing is we are planning to move out, but still we have a felling that some how they are going to follow us. I have ordered a spray of the internet called thwartbugbed repellent I hope it is going the work for us. Other wise I will soon loose my mind. This problem is rising rapidly and the sprays the city is using is not effective at all.
I am for DEDDT please this is not certain peoples problem. It is depressing especially when U have young children being affected by this nastiness.
PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP. THE ONLY THING THAT WILL KILL THEM IS THE USE OF DEDDT.
Hello,
I am a former pest control technician and current Quality Assurance Manager & Technical Advisor for one of North America’s largest pest control companies.
I have created a bed bug website dedicated to providing resources to the general public.
The Bed Bug Resource can be found at www.thebedbugresource.com . At this site there is also a message board (forum) available with some of the world’s leading bed bug researchers and professionals. If you or anyone you know would like to ask questions, get information, or offer assistance to others in need please drop on by.
Sincerely,
Sean.
Entomologist / Pest Professional
www.thebedbugresource.com
Um, for those of you screaming for your DDT--bedbugs have developed resistence to it. They did this back in the 1940s. DDT wasn't used for bedbugs well before it was banned.
Need bed bug support, advice, news, information?
We've had bed bugs, we know.
Read the Bedbugger Blog:
http://bedbugger.wordpress.com
There gone! yeah...We started to see these suckers when we moved in our house in may. But after finding out what they were 2 months and may bites later...there gone! I was like a crack addict on a mission. We sprayed, sprayed, did i mention sprayed? we did not throw out anything. Cleaned it realy well. sprayed the funk out of our mattress, pulled the bed away from the wall.(oh yeah i seen one, walked up the wall and over the ceiling and dropped right onto my bed) So i painted the walls with a latex paint they were not able to climb the walls. By the time my landlord had gotten an exterminator here they were gone. He told me that they generally do not liked to be bothered? imagine that... And if you put up a fuss with them they leave pretty much on there own. .(next door were a house full of immigrants)But if your persistant they will go away and you can win this battle. The exterminitor put down a growth retardent. But for the first time in months I'm sleeping like a rock! so good luck there is hope. budbug free..
"A real problem may require an exterminator."
Bedbugs ARE a real problem and will always require an exterminator. We have a second home in Alabama (a very beautiful place, btw) After reading this, I think the place has bedbugs. My husband stays there when he travels for business, and has bites on his legs. I wonder, if they love biting people so much, what they eat when no-ones there? Or .. how often do the little bastards need to eat? Also .. how long does the itching last?
The link to 'permethrin' describes only a topical prescription cream ... not a spray. Is there a spray and if so, is it commercially available to people other than exterminators?
Call the exterminator! I have been through all of the above and spent so much money, I don't even want to think about it! Then I was told about this guy from Pest Away who was voted THE BEST IN NEW YORK, by New York Magazine! Well, I should read more because this Extermination Company has saved my sanity! It isn't the mattress, and no amount of spray will kill these terrorists. Bedbugs can live for months without us to suck the life out of, then when you think you are safe, "there B-a-c-k!" Read the New York Magazine for March 22, 2004 on Pest Away Exterminating and do not suffer, as I did, pay the experts to tell you all you need to know and do to protect you and your family. Pest Away gives you a warranty and answered questions I didn't even know to ask.. I need my sleep!!