Bed bug overcrowding is a serious problem in NYC, where bed bugs have packed thousands of apartments and spilled over into retail outlets, libraries, and prosecutors' offices. Luckily, one area man has a solution to the bed bug housing crisis. Artist Hunter Fine has erected a number of bed bug hotels around town, placing them outside buildings that have shown up on the National Bed Bug Registry. Finally, somewhere your bloodsucking relatives can stay next time they visit town!
Fine tells us he was inspired to build the mini motels after one of his friends got bed bugs and had to get rid of "all of their stuff." According to Fine, "They were pretty upset and their slumlord management company in the East Village did very little to help, and blamed it on them. They later found out several other people in the building had the same problem. It was a WTF moment for me, I couldn't believe there was no warning. So I thought I'd help people out, and put up some bed bug hotels in places that had been infested."
All the hotels are placed outside places where bed bugs have been reported within the past year. So far Fine, who was also behind the clever Hipster Trap street art installation back in March, has so far put up ten hotels, and he's got several more shovel ready. Asked if he's considering building any hotels outside retail outlets with bed bug problems, Fine told us, "I don't want to give away my future plans... (cough Hollister, cough)."
