What's Eating You? Seven Terrible Parasites, From Tapeworms to Bedbugs
Some Common Blood Sucking Bugs Can Cause Infections Abroad, Or At Home
The holidays are over, and for those of us sighing at the cold, dreary, vacationless months ahead it is important to remember some blessings.
For instance, that winter means fewer bugs.
That's precisely why Tara Dairman, 30, was confused by a painful itching on her scalp this December after returning from months abroad in Central and South America.
"I thought the bite was really weird when we got home because we were in Indiana and it was cold," said Dairman.
Dairman quickly found she had been infested with not one, but two painful parasites in her scalp. Her run-in with a blood-sucking bug happened in the jungle of Belize, but there are plenty of parasites one can catch in the United States.
Below is a list of some of the more common parasites to avoid at home and around the world, along with some expert advice on how to rid yourself of the worms.
1) The Human Bot Fly
"We're pretty sure that they came from the jungle in Belize," Dairman said of the two bot fly larva that embedded themselves in her scalp.
Dairman and her husband, Andrew Cahill, 30, already had plenty of bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) bites from the trip. But little did the couple know the bot fly lays its eggs in a more insidious way.
"They actually capture a mosquito or a tick and they lay their eggs on their stomachs," said Dairman. The bot fly then releases the mosquito or tick and hopes it will find a good host -- like Dairman -- to bite.
The warmth of the blood the mosquito sucks from the body prompt the bot-fly eggs to hatch. The larvae then embed themselves in the skin either through the new insect bite or a hair follicle, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
As if that's not bad enough, the larvae start to grow spikes on its body to keep hosts like Tara from pulling them out as they feed on her flesh.
"They have these little barbs in them so either when they move or when they're feeding it feels like this hot needle stabbing into you," said Dairman.
Days after the first symptoms, Dairman discovered she had a second itchy, painful spot on her head that caused a lot of pain.
But Cahill couldn't see what Dairman was talking about. With some Internet searches the couple matched Dairman's symptoms to the notorious bot fly. They also read the best way to find the larvae is to try and deprive them of oxygen.
Put on some form of grease, in this case Vaseline, and the larvae will burrow upwards and fight for air.
The couple would have visited a dermatologist, but wanted to see if they could do it without paying hundreds of dollars for a visit.
"Since we quit our jobs to go traveling we don't have health insurance to cover us in the United States, we only have insurance for emergencies," said Dairman.
If you're fast enough you can grab them with tweezers and (painfully) pull them out. Cahill however, found it was better to suffocate them first.
"We covered them with New-Skin for the night to cut off their air supply," Cahill wrote on their blog, "Andy and Tara's World." "New-Skin is basically fingernail polish that is meant to go on small cuts and scrapes for protection. This morning when we got up, we peeled the New-Skin off one of them and the dead worm was visible."
Dairman said she'd go back to Belize, even after her experience with the bot fly.
"Belize is terrific. So I'd certainly recommend it to anyone," said Dairman. "I think this is really rare."
2) Fish Tapeworms
For a spare few aficionados of raw fish, the delicacy they love can lead to a very unwelcome visitor -- the kind that takes up residence in your intestines.
Anthony Franz was one such case. In the summer of 2006, he went to a Chicago area hospital carrying a 9-foot tapeworm that had come from his digestive tract.
Franz, who was not available for comment, filed a lawsuit against an Illinois seafood restaurant for $100,000 last spring.
Basically we discovered that this particular tapeworm was caused from uncooked seafood, particularly salmon," said Franz's attorney, Gregory Leiter. "That's what he brought into the hospital."
Franz is one of the small but growing number of tapeworm victims in cities across the world who are discovering (or rediscovering) that some of the most popular fish can host parasites.
Fortunately, the number of people who have a story similar to Franz's is still relatively low; a recent study in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases pegged the number at just 1 per 100,000 people in Kyoto, Japan in 2008.
But as sashimi and other raw fish dishes grow in popularity, experts say such cases could become more common.
"Usually, with this particular warm it produces discomfort, some pain, and it can produce anemia," Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, told ABCNews.com.
The worm rarely poses an imminent danger to health, Cabello said. But he added that its presence can leave its host drained.
"The parasite sucks the vitamin B12, and the person with the parasite does not have enough," said Cabello. "This is a worm that can reach 25 feet and it might take months, a year to grow."
"Usually, with this particular warm it produces discomfort, some pain, and it can produce anemia," Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, told ABCNews.com.
The worm rarely poses an imminent danger to health, Cabello said. But he added that its presence can leave its host drained.
"The parasite sucks the vitamin B12, and the person with the parasite does not have enough," said Cabello. "This is a worm that can reach 25 feet and it might take months, a year to grow."
"Usually, with this particular warm it produces discomfort, some pain, and it can produce anemia," Dr. Felipe C. Cabello, professor of Microbiology and Immunology at New York Medical College in Valhalla, told ABCNews.com.
The worm rarely poses an imminent danger to health, Cabello said. But he added that its presence can leave its host drained.
"The parasite sucks the vitamin B12, and the person with the parasite does not have enough," said Cabello. "This is a worm that can reach 25 feet and it might take months, a year to grow."
3) Taenia Solium
For Rosemary Alvarez, it was a diagnosis that brought both relief and revulsion.
The relief came when Alvarez, a 37-year-old Phoenix resident, learned from her surgeon that her neurological symptoms had not been caused by a brain tumor, as her doctors had initially suspected.
But the revulsion soon followed -- when the surgeon said her balance problems, her difficulty swallowing and the numbness in her left arm had been caused by a worm he had just pulled out of her brain.
"She was deteriorating rather quickly, so she needed it out," Dr. Peter Nakaji, a neurosurgeon at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, told ABC News.
But when Nakaji cut into Alvarez's brain to extract what he thought was a tumor, he instead found a parasite living in her brain -- a tapeworm called Taenia solium, to be precise.
"I was actually quite pleased," said Nakaji. "As neurosurgeons, we see a lot of bad things and have to deliver a lot of bad news."
Unfortunately, it is difficult to avoid the worm, which usually only infects pigs. Nakaji said Alvarez's hygiene habits were probably not to blame. It was more likely that someone, somewhere, had served her food tainted with the feces of a person infected with the pork tapeworm parasite.
Parasitologists say that while brushes with the pork tapeworms remain relatively rare, they endure in certain areas of the country.
"We've got a lot more of cases of this in the United States now," said Raymond Kuhn, professor of biology and an expert on parasites at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. "Upwards of 20 percent of neurology offices in California have seen it."
And the eggs of the worm are nothing if not resilient.
"These eggs can live for three months in formaldehyde," said Kuhn. "You got to think, sometimes, a person is slapping lettuce on your sandwich with a few extra add-ons there."
4) Lice and Bedbugs
"Don't let the bedbugs bite."
What once might have been a facetious nighttime saying became pretty good advice for New York City commuters in 2008, as an official with the city's Department of Housing, Preservation and Development told an audience that the city's subway trains and stations may have been infested with the insects.
The New York City Transit Authority immediately defended itself. But Edward Brownbear, lead education instructor for the housing department and the city's top bedbug authority, reportedly said that he himself had seen the bugs on the wooden benches of Manhattan's Union Square station and The Bronx's Fordham Road station -- as well as on the clothing of a passenger on a train.
At least one Manhattan pest control professional agreed at the time that bedbug infestation had been a growing problem in the city's subway system.
"I've been talking about it for five years," said Jeffrey Eisenberg, president of Pest Away Exterminating, adding that he had personally reported bedbug sightings to subway administrators seven to eight years before.
Efforts to track the critters have revealed that, after a long decline, bedbugs have rebounded in the United States in recent years. This is partly because of increased international travel. The tiny, nocturnal insects are able to live in both fibers and wood. They are also known for their bites, which cause itchy bumps on the skin.
But the bite can lead to more than an itch. According to reports from the U.S. Public Health Service, bedbugs are known to carry dozens of infectious diseases, from smallpox to the flu.
And where people are, the bugs are sure to follow, said Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for the National Pest Management Association.
"If you think about large groups of people, in many cases this is how bedbugs are transported," Mannes said at the time. "I know they've been found in movie theaters and other strange places."
5) Guinea Worm
The horrific nature of a Guinea worm infection is perhaps best captured in its Latin name -- Dracunculus medinensis. Roughly translated, the term means "little dragon of the Mediterranean."
Despite its small size, the Guinea worm can cause excruciating pain. The pest infects a human host through contaminated drinking water. The larvae of the worm mature in one's stomach and reproduce in the intestines. The mature female worms migrate to the surface of the skin. There, the worms embed themselves, growing up to three feet in length.
Primarily found in the Middle East and many African countries, the Guinea worm enjoys a colorful history shared by few other parasites. It has been found during the dissection of Egyptian mummies and is well documented in ancient texts. There are even possible references to it in the Old Testament.
Some even believe that the Guinea worm was the inspiration for the design of the caduceus -- the serpent-entwined staff that is now the symbol of the medical profession. The theory springs from the fact that in the ancient world, the proper removal of the worm involved grabbing the exposed tail and gradually winding the body of the worm around a stick -- as pulling too hard would cause the worm to break, resulting in infection and inflammation. Thus, some believe, the symbol of the parasite twisted around a stick became synonymous with the healing arts.
Fortunately, public health efforts appear to have largely turned the tide against Guinea worm infections. According to statistics compiled by The Carter Center http://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea-worm/index.html -- the disease-fighting nonprofit organization founded by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter -- eradication efforts have reduced the number of cases reported in 20 African nations from 3.5 million in 1986 to just a few thousand last year. And some hope that the disease will be completely eradicated within the next few years.
6) Malaria
Arguably the deadliest parasite ever known to man, a microscopic organism known as Plasmodium is responsible for the disease known as malaria. The disease is spread by mosquitoes, and each year between 350 million and 500 million people worldwide fall ill from it, according to statistics from the CDC. Of those stricken, more than a million die.
Those infected with malaria generally have fever, headache, and vomiting, starting 10 to 15 days after contracting the disease from a mosquito bite. The deadliest form of the parasite, called Plasmodium falciparum, can rapidly threaten the lives of its victims by disrupting blood supply to vital organs.
The deadly nature malaria has put it in the crosshairs of global health organizations and charitable institutions alike.
"Malaria still kills more than 1 million people every year," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon during a speech on World Malaria Day in April 2008. "The toll it is taking is unacceptable -- all the more so because malaria is preventable and treatable."
And the solutions for this devastating disease are simple ones. Bednets, insecticides and inexpensive antimalarial drugs all go a long way in the areas where it still threatens humans, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa.
7) Chagas Disease
For many, infection with Chagas disease takes place in the dead of night.
When the lights go out in many of the adobe and mud homes inhabited by the rural poor in Central and South America, the triatomine beetle -- also known as the "kissing bug" -- creeps out from the crevices in walls and ceilings, seeking out warm, sleeping bodies.
The bug got its seemingly-romantic nickname because it is attracted to its victims' faces. At night one's face is generally uncovered and gives off body heat. The insect sucks one's blood through a long proboscis. As it feeds, it defecates -- and spreads the disease.
Within the fecal matter of the bug lives an organism known as Trypanosoma cruzi. And if this parasite enters the bloodstream -- perhaps when a sleeping victim wakes up and inadvertently rubs it into the new, itchy wound left by the beetle -- it can lead to Chagas disease, an infection that is both lifelong and life-threatening.
While early symptoms of the illness include nonspecific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, body aches and headache, the chronic phase of the disease can be deadly. At its worst, the disease can lead to heart failure and sudden death.
While most of the 8 to 11 million victims of Chagas live in Mexico and Central America, it is also seen in poor Hispanic households in southern states and along the Mexican border. Exactly how many in the country are infected is a matter of contention; estimates range from a few thousand to up to a million.
Chagas is just one of an array of diseases that disproportionately affect the poor -- and it was one of the diseases highlighted in a recent report titled "Neglected Infections of Poverty in the United States of America."
"The fact that these neglected infections of poverty represent some of the greatest health disparities in the United States, but they remain at the bottom of the public health agenda, is a national disgrace," said Dr. Peter Hotez, author of the analysis and executive director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases in a press release.
Source By: Reports from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Bedbugs can find their way into all sorts of furnishings, not just bedding.
That’s when Derby residents William and Connie Steeves and their trained Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Gracie, will come to the rescue. The couple takes Gracie to discreetly visit hotels, assisted-living facilities, apartment buildings, college dormitories, shelters, residences and anywhere she is needed to search for infestations of the tiny pests.
The work is confidential, and they don’t use uniforms or marked cars. “People aren’t going to tell other people that they have bedbugs,” William Steeves said.
The Steeveses recently established Canine Bed Bug Locators LLC.
Dr. Gale E. Ridge, an entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said there are about 10 teams of bedbug-sniffing dogs and handlers in Connecticut. “The handlers go for some intense training,” she said. “There’s an element of talent” among the dogs who sniff for bedbugs.
Ridge said there has been a huge increase in the bedbug population in Connecticut in recent years.
“It’s an underreported, serious public nuisance issue,” she said. “There’s a social stigma, and culturally we’re not prepared to deal with them.”
The growth in the numbers of bedbugs is due in part to increased international travel, use of less powerful pesticides than in the past, and a lack of awareness, Ridge said.
Bedbugs are nocturnal pests that feed on human blood, William Steeves said, and they find people in their beds at night. But they often live in desks or dressers or couches, and lay eggs in furniture.
An adult bedbug is no more than a quarter-inch in size. When they suck a person’s blood, bedbugs get enough nourishment for at least six months, William Steeves said.
Gracie graduated from the Florida Canine Academy in Tampa, Steeves said. Dogs have been trained for many years to detect bombs, drugs, mold and more, and bedbugs are now added to the list of things dogs can find with their keen sense of smell.
Gracie was there for 2 1/2 months earlier this year. The last five days, the Steeveses joined her for the training.
Gracie has joined a select group of canines with her new skills. William Steeves said there are less than 150 dogs nationwide that are trained to find bedbugs.
“We train her every day,” Steeves said. “When she hits on a bedbug she’ll sit,” he said, and he gives her a treat as a reward.
“She loves to go to work. When I say, ‘Let’s go to work,’ she gets excited,” Steeves said. “I give her a (15- to 20-minute) break every 45 minutes” when on a bedbug search.
“Hotels use exterminators, but a lot of these bedbugs learn to hide from the exterminator,” Steeves said. They can smell the chemicals, Steeves said, and burrow deeper into furniture. They can’t fly, but will use a building’s ventilation system to travel.
Connie Steeves said, “If you can locate it, you can treat it.” She said an infestation can happen in the cleanest of buildings. The couple said they could not divulge any of the locations where they have worked.
Businesses such as hotels can save money by having bedbug locations pinpointed by a trained dog. Only the infested areas need to be treated with pesticides, the couple said.
William Steeves demonstrated Gracie’s bedbug-finding capabilities inside his house this week.
He put Gracie on a leash and told her they were going to work. “Seek,” he said.
He walked her around a wooden board with six spokes coming from it. Each spoke had a plastic container at the end of it, and one of the containers held a glass salt shaker with bedbugs inside.
When Gracie reached the container, she sat down, pointed her nose at it and looked up at Steeves, to alert him of the pests. He rewarded her with a few treats and positive feedback.
Steeves said he purchased the bedbugs to use in training Gracie from an entomologist who breeds them.
“A dog’s sense of smell is a thousand times stronger than a human’s,” Steeves said. And a dog trained to locate bedbugs will be accurate 97 percent of the time, he said.
Steeves demonstrated in three other areas of his home where he had hidden glass salt shakers with bedbugs inside. Gracie had no problem finding them all.
Ridge said entomologists would like to see the public become more proactive when it comes to finding bedbugs, because the bedbug population has gotten “out of control.”
She said the Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs was recently established to address the infestation.
Ridge urged people to visit http://www.ct.gov/caes, and click on “bedbugs.” She called it an informational and educational site with no agenda.
Ridge is available to talk to people about their concerns, and many residents bring samples of the pests to her for identification. People often “confuse carpet beetles with bedbugs,” Ridge said. “We’re very busy. It’s the top insect inquiry.”
In 2009, the agency held two forums about bedbugs for housing authority officials, pest control operators, lawyers and others, Ridge said, and plans are under way to hold a forum for the public in the spring.
Sorced By: Patricia Villers Register Staff
That’s when Derby residents William and Connie Steeves and their trained Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Gracie, will come to the rescue. The couple takes Gracie to discreetly visit hotels, assisted-living facilities, apartment buildings, college dormitories, shelters, residences and anywhere she is needed to search for infestations of the tiny pests.
The work is confidential, and they don’t use uniforms or marked cars. “People aren’t going to tell other people that they have bedbugs,” William Steeves said.
The Steeveses recently established Canine Bed Bug Locators LLC.
Dr. Gale E. Ridge, an entomologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, said there are about 10 teams of bedbug-sniffing dogs and handlers in Connecticut. “The handlers go for some intense training,” she said. “There’s an element of talent” among the dogs who sniff for bedbugs.
Ridge said there has been a huge increase in the bedbug population in Connecticut in recent years.
“It’s an underreported, serious public nuisance issue,” she said. “There’s a social stigma, and culturally we’re not prepared to deal with them.”
The growth in the numbers of bedbugs is due in part to increased international travel, use of less powerful pesticides than in the past, and a lack of awareness, Ridge said.
Bedbugs are nocturnal pests that feed on human blood, William Steeves said, and they find people in their beds at night. But they often live in desks or dressers or couches, and lay eggs in furniture.
An adult bedbug is no more than a quarter-inch in size. When they suck a person’s blood, bedbugs get enough nourishment for at least six months, William Steeves said.
Gracie graduated from the Florida Canine Academy in Tampa, Steeves said. Dogs have been trained for many years to detect bombs, drugs, mold and more, and bedbugs are now added to the list of things dogs can find with their keen sense of smell.
Gracie was there for 2 1/2 months earlier this year. The last five days, the Steeveses joined her for the training.
Gracie has joined a select group of canines with her new skills. William Steeves said there are less than 150 dogs nationwide that are trained to find bedbugs.
“We train her every day,” Steeves said. “When she hits on a bedbug she’ll sit,” he said, and he gives her a treat as a reward.
“She loves to go to work. When I say, ‘Let’s go to work,’ she gets excited,” Steeves said. “I give her a (15- to 20-minute) break every 45 minutes” when on a bedbug search.
“Hotels use exterminators, but a lot of these bedbugs learn to hide from the exterminator,” Steeves said. They can smell the chemicals, Steeves said, and burrow deeper into furniture. They can’t fly, but will use a building’s ventilation system to travel.
Connie Steeves said, “If you can locate it, you can treat it.” She said an infestation can happen in the cleanest of buildings. The couple said they could not divulge any of the locations where they have worked.
Businesses such as hotels can save money by having bedbug locations pinpointed by a trained dog. Only the infested areas need to be treated with pesticides, the couple said.
William Steeves demonstrated Gracie’s bedbug-finding capabilities inside his house this week.
He put Gracie on a leash and told her they were going to work. “Seek,” he said.
He walked her around a wooden board with six spokes coming from it. Each spoke had a plastic container at the end of it, and one of the containers held a glass salt shaker with bedbugs inside.
When Gracie reached the container, she sat down, pointed her nose at it and looked up at Steeves, to alert him of the pests. He rewarded her with a few treats and positive feedback.
Steeves said he purchased the bedbugs to use in training Gracie from an entomologist who breeds them.
“A dog’s sense of smell is a thousand times stronger than a human’s,” Steeves said. And a dog trained to locate bedbugs will be accurate 97 percent of the time, he said.
Steeves demonstrated in three other areas of his home where he had hidden glass salt shakers with bedbugs inside. Gracie had no problem finding them all.
Ridge said entomologists would like to see the public become more proactive when it comes to finding bedbugs, because the bedbug population has gotten “out of control.”
She said the Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs was recently established to address the infestation.
Ridge urged people to visit http://www.ct.gov/caes, and click on “bedbugs.” She called it an informational and educational site with no agenda.
Ridge is available to talk to people about their concerns, and many residents bring samples of the pests to her for identification. People often “confuse carpet beetles with bedbugs,” Ridge said. “We’re very busy. It’s the top insect inquiry.”
In 2009, the agency held two forums about bedbugs for housing authority officials, pest control operators, lawyers and others, Ridge said, and plans are under way to hold a forum for the public in the spring.
Sorced By: Patricia Villers Register Staff
ST. GEORGE - While Dixie Care and Share is open to the homeless, bedbugs have also made themselves right at home.
Kara Coop, executive director of care and share, said she's paid thousands and thousands of dollars in treatments to exterminate the pests.
"They're just not something you can get rid of," she said. "It's a nationwide epidemic right now."
Coop said bedbugs are in motels and shelters. It's just a matter of one person coming from a place that has bedbugs to start the cycle all over again.
"We've been fighting them for a long time - we've had the whole place tented, that was a year ago," she said. "We've bought new mattresses four or five times - we do treatments continuously. The only cure is going to be a new facility."
Since they can't eliminate the bedbugs, they just keep treating the problem as it arises.
"We need a new Dixie Care and Share - once you have a new facility you can take different precautions to keep them out," Coop said.
She added a lot of clients get bit and a lot of clients don't. Jon Patteson from Denver, Colo., was one client who was bitten by the bedbugs.
Patteson said he lost his job and was working his way down to Reno, Nevada.
The week before Christmas Patteson stayed at the Care and Share as he was passing through.
"I was there two days and have been eaten alive by bedbugs," he said. "I'm afraid to go back. Talk about kicking a man when he's down."
Patteson said the attitude toward the bedbugs at the shelter is callous.
"They (shelter management) say there's nothing they can do about it, they say they spray and (they) come back," he said.
While at the shelter, Patteson said around the breakfast table people would joke about the bedbugs.
"They would joke 'how were the bugs for you last night,'" he said.
Chau Ly, new customer specialist at Orkin Inc., said typically people get bedbugs from traveling from different hotels, airplanes or homeless shelters.
He added they're not like ants or cockroaches that travel.
"They (bedbugs) stay where a food source is at so infestations can get really nasty," Ly said. "They're there mainly to feed off of human blood."
He added bedbugs can be found in mattresses, behind headboards and sometimes hide behind picture frames.
"Majority of cases come from hotels and apartments because it's a constant food source," Ly said.
He said people can also bring bedbugs in off their clothes.
Ly said the best way to treat a bedbug infestation is professional pest care.
"The hardest thing is getting rid of the eggs as well," he said.
A lot of times people don't know they've been bitten by a bedbug because the bites are similar to mosquito bites.
Ly described bed bugs as the size of a watermelon seed. They are flat and grayish color, after they feed they're red.
Sorce: BY TIFFANY DE MASTERS
Kara Coop, executive director of care and share, said she's paid thousands and thousands of dollars in treatments to exterminate the pests.
"They're just not something you can get rid of," she said. "It's a nationwide epidemic right now."
Coop said bedbugs are in motels and shelters. It's just a matter of one person coming from a place that has bedbugs to start the cycle all over again.
"We've been fighting them for a long time - we've had the whole place tented, that was a year ago," she said. "We've bought new mattresses four or five times - we do treatments continuously. The only cure is going to be a new facility."
Since they can't eliminate the bedbugs, they just keep treating the problem as it arises.
"We need a new Dixie Care and Share - once you have a new facility you can take different precautions to keep them out," Coop said.
She added a lot of clients get bit and a lot of clients don't. Jon Patteson from Denver, Colo., was one client who was bitten by the bedbugs.
Patteson said he lost his job and was working his way down to Reno, Nevada.
The week before Christmas Patteson stayed at the Care and Share as he was passing through.
"I was there two days and have been eaten alive by bedbugs," he said. "I'm afraid to go back. Talk about kicking a man when he's down."
Patteson said the attitude toward the bedbugs at the shelter is callous.
"They (shelter management) say there's nothing they can do about it, they say they spray and (they) come back," he said.
While at the shelter, Patteson said around the breakfast table people would joke about the bedbugs.
"They would joke 'how were the bugs for you last night,'" he said.
Chau Ly, new customer specialist at Orkin Inc., said typically people get bedbugs from traveling from different hotels, airplanes or homeless shelters.
He added they're not like ants or cockroaches that travel.
"They (bedbugs) stay where a food source is at so infestations can get really nasty," Ly said. "They're there mainly to feed off of human blood."
He added bedbugs can be found in mattresses, behind headboards and sometimes hide behind picture frames.
"Majority of cases come from hotels and apartments because it's a constant food source," Ly said.
He said people can also bring bedbugs in off their clothes.
Ly said the best way to treat a bedbug infestation is professional pest care.
"The hardest thing is getting rid of the eggs as well," he said.
A lot of times people don't know they've been bitten by a bedbug because the bites are similar to mosquito bites.
Ly described bed bugs as the size of a watermelon seed. They are flat and grayish color, after they feed they're red.
Sorce: BY TIFFANY DE MASTERS
Its not always bed bugs!The holidays are over, and for those of us sighing at the cold, dreary, vacationless months ahead it is important to remember some blessings.
For instance, that winter means fewer bugs.
That's precisely why Tara Dairman, 30, was confused by a painful itching on her scalp this December after returning from months abroad in Central and South America.
"I thought the bite was really weird when we got home because we were in Indiana and it was cold," said Dairman.
Dairman quickly found she had been infested with not one, but two painful parasites in her scalp. Her run-in with a blood-sucking bug happened in the jungle of Belize, but there are plenty of parasites one can catch in the United States.
Below is a list of some of the more common parasites to avoid at home and around the world, along with some expert advice on how to rid yourself of the worms.
1) The Human Bot Fly
"We're pretty sure that they came from the jungle in Belize," Dairman said of the two bot fly larva that embedded themselves in her scalp.
Dairman and her husband, Andrew Cahill, 30, already had plenty of bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) bites from the trip. But little did the couple know the bot fly lays its eggs in a more insidious way.
"They actually capture a mosquito or a tick and they lay their eggs on their stomachs," said Dairman. The bot fly then releases the mosquito or tick and hopes it will find a good host -- like Dairman -- to bite.
The warmth of the blood the mosquito sucks from the body prompt the bot-fly eggs to hatch. The larvae then embed themselves in the skin either through the new insect bite or a hair follicle, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
As if that's not bad enough, the larvae start to grow spikes on its body to keep hosts like Tara from pulling them out as they feed on her flesh.
"They have these little barbs in them so either when they move or when they're feeding it feels like this hot needle stabbing into you," said Dairman.
Days after the first symptoms, Dairman discovered she had a second itchy, painful spot on her head that caused a lot of pain.
But Cahill couldn't see what Dairman was talking about. With some Internet searches the couple matched Dairman's symptoms to the notorious bot fly. They also read the best way to find the larvae is to try and deprive them of oxygen.
Put on some form of grease, in this case Vaseline, and the larvae will burrow upwards and fight for air.
The couple would have visited a dermatologist, but wanted to see if they could do it without paying hundreds of dollars for a visit.
"Since we quit our jobs to go traveling we don't have health insurance to cover us in the United States, we only have insurance for emergencies," said Dairman.
If you're fast enough you can grab them with tweezers and (painfully) pull them out. Cahill however, found it was better to suffocate them first.
"We covered them with New-Skin for the night to cut off their air supply," Cahill wrote on their blog, "Andy and Tara's World." "New-Skin is basically fingernail polish that is meant to go on small cuts and scrapes for protection. This morning when we got up, we peeled the New-Skin off one of them and the dead worm was visible."
Dairman said she'd go back to Belize, even after her experience with the bot fly.
"Belize is terrific. So I'd certainly recommend it to anyone," said Dairman. "I think this is really rare."
Sorced By:By DAN CHILDS and LAUREN COX
For instance, that winter means fewer bugs.
That's precisely why Tara Dairman, 30, was confused by a painful itching on her scalp this December after returning from months abroad in Central and South America.
"I thought the bite was really weird when we got home because we were in Indiana and it was cold," said Dairman.
Dairman quickly found she had been infested with not one, but two painful parasites in her scalp. Her run-in with a blood-sucking bug happened in the jungle of Belize, but there are plenty of parasites one can catch in the United States.
Below is a list of some of the more common parasites to avoid at home and around the world, along with some expert advice on how to rid yourself of the worms.
1) The Human Bot Fly
"We're pretty sure that they came from the jungle in Belize," Dairman said of the two bot fly larva that embedded themselves in her scalp.
Dairman and her husband, Andrew Cahill, 30, already had plenty of bot fly (Dermatobia hominis) bites from the trip. But little did the couple know the bot fly lays its eggs in a more insidious way.
"They actually capture a mosquito or a tick and they lay their eggs on their stomachs," said Dairman. The bot fly then releases the mosquito or tick and hopes it will find a good host -- like Dairman -- to bite.
The warmth of the blood the mosquito sucks from the body prompt the bot-fly eggs to hatch. The larvae then embed themselves in the skin either through the new insect bite or a hair follicle, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
As if that's not bad enough, the larvae start to grow spikes on its body to keep hosts like Tara from pulling them out as they feed on her flesh.
"They have these little barbs in them so either when they move or when they're feeding it feels like this hot needle stabbing into you," said Dairman.
Days after the first symptoms, Dairman discovered she had a second itchy, painful spot on her head that caused a lot of pain.
But Cahill couldn't see what Dairman was talking about. With some Internet searches the couple matched Dairman's symptoms to the notorious bot fly. They also read the best way to find the larvae is to try and deprive them of oxygen.
Put on some form of grease, in this case Vaseline, and the larvae will burrow upwards and fight for air.
The couple would have visited a dermatologist, but wanted to see if they could do it without paying hundreds of dollars for a visit.
"Since we quit our jobs to go traveling we don't have health insurance to cover us in the United States, we only have insurance for emergencies," said Dairman.
If you're fast enough you can grab them with tweezers and (painfully) pull them out. Cahill however, found it was better to suffocate them first.
"We covered them with New-Skin for the night to cut off their air supply," Cahill wrote on their blog, "Andy and Tara's World." "New-Skin is basically fingernail polish that is meant to go on small cuts and scrapes for protection. This morning when we got up, we peeled the New-Skin off one of them and the dead worm was visible."
Dairman said she'd go back to Belize, even after her experience with the bot fly.
"Belize is terrific. So I'd certainly recommend it to anyone," said Dairman. "I think this is really rare."
Sorced By:By DAN CHILDS and LAUREN COX
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Bed Bugs at FOX NEWS
While grappling with MSNBC and CNN for viewers, Fox News has also been battling a smaller, more insidious enemy closer to home: bed bugs in its Midtown Manhattan newsroom. In an interview on Monday, Warren Vandeveer, senior vice president for operations and engineering at Fox News, said the cable channel had realized it had a problem a few weeks ago, when an employee “caught a bug and showed it to us.” An exterminator determined that the incursion was limited to a “very small area in the newsroom.” But the source of the bugs was not determined until the exterminator inspected the homes of about 20 employees. Mr. Vandeveer said the exterminator later described one employee’s home as having “the worst infestation he had seen in 25 years in the business.” After making large bags available for employees to stash their belongings, and replacing a number of fabric-covered desk chairs, Mr. Vandeveer said that the treatments had ended about a week ago, and that the problem had been contained. “It’s totally eradicated,” he said.
Source By: JACQUES STEINBERG
Source By: JACQUES STEINBERG
Friday, December 18, 2009
Lewiston Housing Authority: catch a bed bug and then we’ll help you
The Sun Journal reports that tenant Misti Oliviera had bed bugs, but the Lewiston, Maine Housing Authority would not help her until she showed them a bed bug body (dead or alive):
“I was told there is nothing they can do until I physically catch one,” she said. “I can’t catch one. I’ve been looking and trying to catch one because I want these gone; it even says online that these suckers are so hard to catch sometimes you need a professional just to even catch one.”
Bed bugs are indeed difficult to catch. You may be bitten for a while before ever seeing one.
It’s true that an infestation needs to be confirmed before treatment occurs. But are tenants the best ones to search for a sample?
It wasn’t until a building maintenance worker, who was in her apartment about a week and a half ago for a different reason, saw evidence of the bugs, that the Lewiston Housing Authority scheduled an extermination appointment for her apartment.
(This is similar to the NYC Department of Education policy discussed here and here, which requires teachers to bag and send in a bed bug sample before any action is taken in their classrooms.)
Olivieri has two children; her 1 1/2 year old had a “serious infection from picking a scab left from a bed bug bite,” and had been taken to the doctor.
Jim Dowling, executive director of the Lewiston Housing Authority, confirmed that the working policy for bed bug treatment is to ask the tenant to show a bed bug body first.
“If someone reports bed bugs, but doesn’t catch one or have anything to show us, it’s very hard to know whether there are bed bugs there or not,” he said. “It saves (us) from tearing a unit apart looking for bed bugs, which can sometimes be hard to spot.”
It’s true bed bugs are hard to spot. And it can be expensive to have someone follow up on all suspected infestations.
However, not getting a professional in to search for signs of bed bugs means many tenants may go months, even years, living with bed bugs.
This is a terrible situation, and in the end, I suspect it will cost the Housing Authority or other landlords more money than they would spend if they promptly responded to suspected cases of bed bugs. Because during that waiting period, bed bugs will spread further — both within the building, and outside it.
It’s well known that bed bugs are difficult to find; experienced PCOs tell us they take hours to locate samples.
Other housing authorities (in Milwaukee and Seattle) have invested in bed bug sniffing canines. A well-trained dog in the hands of an experienced and talented handler can be an effective tool for locating bed bugs.
Another option for the Lewiston Housing Authority would be a set of active bed bug monitors (such as the Nightwatch), which could be deployed to apartments where bed bugs are suspected.
Bed bug inspections and active monitors are not cheap, but detecting bed bug infestations before they get out of control and spread makes it easier to get rid of bed bugs and prevent them spreading further — and this saves a lot of time, energy, and money, both for tenants and their landlords.
Sourced By: Nobugsonme
“I was told there is nothing they can do until I physically catch one,” she said. “I can’t catch one. I’ve been looking and trying to catch one because I want these gone; it even says online that these suckers are so hard to catch sometimes you need a professional just to even catch one.”
Bed bugs are indeed difficult to catch. You may be bitten for a while before ever seeing one.
It’s true that an infestation needs to be confirmed before treatment occurs. But are tenants the best ones to search for a sample?
It wasn’t until a building maintenance worker, who was in her apartment about a week and a half ago for a different reason, saw evidence of the bugs, that the Lewiston Housing Authority scheduled an extermination appointment for her apartment.
(This is similar to the NYC Department of Education policy discussed here and here, which requires teachers to bag and send in a bed bug sample before any action is taken in their classrooms.)
Olivieri has two children; her 1 1/2 year old had a “serious infection from picking a scab left from a bed bug bite,” and had been taken to the doctor.
Jim Dowling, executive director of the Lewiston Housing Authority, confirmed that the working policy for bed bug treatment is to ask the tenant to show a bed bug body first.
“If someone reports bed bugs, but doesn’t catch one or have anything to show us, it’s very hard to know whether there are bed bugs there or not,” he said. “It saves (us) from tearing a unit apart looking for bed bugs, which can sometimes be hard to spot.”
It’s true bed bugs are hard to spot. And it can be expensive to have someone follow up on all suspected infestations.
However, not getting a professional in to search for signs of bed bugs means many tenants may go months, even years, living with bed bugs.
This is a terrible situation, and in the end, I suspect it will cost the Housing Authority or other landlords more money than they would spend if they promptly responded to suspected cases of bed bugs. Because during that waiting period, bed bugs will spread further — both within the building, and outside it.
It’s well known that bed bugs are difficult to find; experienced PCOs tell us they take hours to locate samples.
Other housing authorities (in Milwaukee and Seattle) have invested in bed bug sniffing canines. A well-trained dog in the hands of an experienced and talented handler can be an effective tool for locating bed bugs.
Another option for the Lewiston Housing Authority would be a set of active bed bug monitors (such as the Nightwatch), which could be deployed to apartments where bed bugs are suspected.
Bed bug inspections and active monitors are not cheap, but detecting bed bug infestations before they get out of control and spread makes it easier to get rid of bed bugs and prevent them spreading further — and this saves a lot of time, energy, and money, both for tenants and their landlords.
Sourced By: Nobugsonme
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Clermont hotel shut down, strippers unaffected
An infamous Atlanta hotel known for its campy lounge with baby boomer strip dancers has been shut down.
The AJC was the first to report the Clermont Motor Hotel was ordered to close by Dec. 31 after a visit by Fulton County health inspectors uncovered a laundry list of violations, starting with, uh, the laundry.
"There are several issues that would have to be addressed," said Kevin Jones, a manager with the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Dirty linen, old bedding and bed bug stains were among them, he said. Inspectors also found mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets and broken toilet fixtures.
An employee at the front desk refused comment Wednesday night and would not give a reporter the manager's contact information. A sign on the door said the hotel closed Dec. 12, but residents have until Dec. 31 to find new lodgings.
The basement Clermont Lounge, and its aging troupe of strippers, is unaffected by the hotel's closing.
Chuck Jeffress, 39, a security guard at the lounge, lived at the hotel and said it was easy to find another place to call home. He said he had no problems in his 1-bedroom unit, which cost him $185 a week. He said the plumbing worked and he did not know of any mold problems. Bed bugs were not a problem because he used his own bed and bedding.
"I think it sucks that the health department has issued their holy edict just because the water is brown," said Jeffress.
He enjoyed his time at the Clermont, but won't miss living above the loud parking lot or paying $10 to have visitors after 11 p.m.
"My friend says it's the only hotel in America that hookers can't get into,"Jeffress said Wednesday night as a group of women watched a lone stripper.
The hotel inspection was triggered by a change in ownership. Prior owner Inman Park Properties was trying to sell the Clermont but couldn't dump it fast enough. The lender, Fairway Capital Partners of New York, foreclosed.
Matt Shulman, a partner with Fairway Capital, said his firm took over the property after Inman Park Properties failed to make payments. "Obligations were not met," he said. "We tried to defer payments."
Inman Park Properties could not be reached for comment. The real estate agent who tried to sell the property said a deal nearly closed, but he said Fairway Capital wouldn't approve it.
"It was under contract," said the agent, Gene Kansas. There were plans for a renovation, and Kansas helped select an architect who proposed slick upgrades like luminous polycarbonate walls. "It was going to be great, but I guess Fairway had other plans," he said.
Kansas said the collapsing market for commercial real estate, and the foreclosure, would cut the value of the property in half. Less than half a year ago, Inman Park Properties was asking $6.5 million. The Clermont had potential because of its location on Ponce de Leon Avenue and its oddball history, he said.
The Clermont was built in 1924 as an apartment building. It was converted to a hotel in 1940. Decades ago it earned its reputation as a hip spot for a younger crowd to watch overweight, older dancers. Last year, writers from the famous comedy outfit Second City visited the lounge for a skit about Atlanta. One of them mused that it seemed to hire dancers based on their "internal" beauty.
Fulton's Jones said Fairway submitted a remediation plan that his department deemed "inadequate." He said the county was working to help relocate the hotel's 38 long-term tenants. The lounge wasn't inspected because it remains under the permit of the operator, who is leasing it.
Shulman said the health code violations predated his company's ownership. He said the deteriorating condition was one reason his firm decided to foreclose. "We were concerned about the safety of the underlying collateral," he said. "I was worried that the roof might cave in."
Shulman said Fairway would do all it could in the short term to "stabilize" the property and to keep the lounge open. Long term plans include everthing from selling the property to redeveloping it and bringing in new management, he said. " We don't want to be seen as the big bad investment house that shut the Clermont down."
By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC was the first to report the Clermont Motor Hotel was ordered to close by Dec. 31 after a visit by Fulton County health inspectors uncovered a laundry list of violations, starting with, uh, the laundry.
"There are several issues that would have to be addressed," said Kevin Jones, a manager with the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Dirty linen, old bedding and bed bug stains were among them, he said. Inspectors also found mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets and broken toilet fixtures.
An employee at the front desk refused comment Wednesday night and would not give a reporter the manager's contact information. A sign on the door said the hotel closed Dec. 12, but residents have until Dec. 31 to find new lodgings.
The basement Clermont Lounge, and its aging troupe of strippers, is unaffected by the hotel's closing.
Chuck Jeffress, 39, a security guard at the lounge, lived at the hotel and said it was easy to find another place to call home. He said he had no problems in his 1-bedroom unit, which cost him $185 a week. He said the plumbing worked and he did not know of any mold problems. Bed bugs were not a problem because he used his own bed and bedding.
"I think it sucks that the health department has issued their holy edict just because the water is brown," said Jeffress.
He enjoyed his time at the Clermont, but won't miss living above the loud parking lot or paying $10 to have visitors after 11 p.m.
"My friend says it's the only hotel in America that hookers can't get into,"Jeffress said Wednesday night as a group of women watched a lone stripper.
The hotel inspection was triggered by a change in ownership. Prior owner Inman Park Properties was trying to sell the Clermont but couldn't dump it fast enough. The lender, Fairway Capital Partners of New York, foreclosed.
Matt Shulman, a partner with Fairway Capital, said his firm took over the property after Inman Park Properties failed to make payments. "Obligations were not met," he said. "We tried to defer payments."
Inman Park Properties could not be reached for comment. The real estate agent who tried to sell the property said a deal nearly closed, but he said Fairway Capital wouldn't approve it.
"It was under contract," said the agent, Gene Kansas. There were plans for a renovation, and Kansas helped select an architect who proposed slick upgrades like luminous polycarbonate walls. "It was going to be great, but I guess Fairway had other plans," he said.
Kansas said the collapsing market for commercial real estate, and the foreclosure, would cut the value of the property in half. Less than half a year ago, Inman Park Properties was asking $6.5 million. The Clermont had potential because of its location on Ponce de Leon Avenue and its oddball history, he said.
The Clermont was built in 1924 as an apartment building. It was converted to a hotel in 1940. Decades ago it earned its reputation as a hip spot for a younger crowd to watch overweight, older dancers. Last year, writers from the famous comedy outfit Second City visited the lounge for a skit about Atlanta. One of them mused that it seemed to hire dancers based on their "internal" beauty.
Fulton's Jones said Fairway submitted a remediation plan that his department deemed "inadequate." He said the county was working to help relocate the hotel's 38 long-term tenants. The lounge wasn't inspected because it remains under the permit of the operator, who is leasing it.
Shulman said the health code violations predated his company's ownership. He said the deteriorating condition was one reason his firm decided to foreclose. "We were concerned about the safety of the underlying collateral," he said. "I was worried that the roof might cave in."
Shulman said Fairway would do all it could in the short term to "stabilize" the property and to keep the lounge open. Long term plans include everthing from selling the property to redeveloping it and bringing in new management, he said. " We don't want to be seen as the big bad investment house that shut the Clermont down."
By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Clermont hotel shut down
An infamous Atlanta hotel known for its campy lounge with baby boomer strip dancers has been shut down.
The AJC was the first to report the Clermont Motor Hotel was ordered to close by Dec. 31 after a visit by Fulton County health inspectors uncovered a laundry list of violations, starting with, uh, the laundry.
"There are several issues that would have to be addressed," said Kevin Jones, a manager with the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Dirty linen, old bedding and bed bug stains were among them, he said. Inspectors also found mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets and broken toilet fixtures.
An employee at the front desk refused comment Wednesday night and would not give a reporter the manager's contact information. A sign on the door said the hotel closed Dec. 12, but residents have until Dec. 31 to find new lodgings.
The basement Clermont Lounge, and its aging troupe of strippers, is unaffected by the hotel's closing.
Chuck Jeffress, 39, a security guard at the lounge, lived at the hotel and said it was easy to find another place to call home. He said he had no problems in his 1-bedroom unit, which cost him $185 a week. He said the plumbing worked and he did not know of any mold problems. Bed bugs were not a problem because he used his own bed and bedding.
"I think it sucks that the health department has issued their holy edict just because the water is brown," said Jeffress.
He enjoyed his time at the Clermont, but won't miss living above the loud parking lot or paying $10 to have visitors after 11 p.m.
"My friend says it's the only hotel in America that hookers can't get into,"Jeffress said Wednesday night as a group of women watched a lone stripper.
The hotel inspection was triggered by a change in ownership. Prior owner Inman Park Properties was trying to sell the Clermont but couldn't dump it fast enough. The lender, Fairway Capital Partners of New York, foreclosed.
Matt Shulman, a partner with Fairway Capital, said his firm took over the property after Inman Park Properties failed to make payments. "Obligations were not met," he said. "We tried to defer payments."
Inman Park Properties could not be reached for comment. The real estate agent who tried to sell the property said a deal nearly closed, but he said Fairway Capital wouldn't approve it.
"It was under contract," said the agent, Gene Kansas. There were plans for a renovation, and Kansas helped select an architect who proposed slick upgrades like luminous polycarbonate walls. "It was going to be great, but I guess Fairway had other plans," he said.
Kansas said the collapsing market for commercial real estate, and the foreclosure, would cut the value of the property in half. Less than half a year ago, Inman Park Properties was asking $6.5 million. The Clermont had potential because of its location on Ponce de Leon Avenue and its oddball history, he said.
The Clermont was built in 1924 as an apartment building. It was converted to a hotel in 1940. Decades ago it earned its reputation as a hip spot for a younger crowd to watch overweight, older dancers. Last year, writers from the famous comedy outfit Second City visited the lounge for a skit about Atlanta. One of them mused that it seemed to hire dancers based on their "internal" beauty.
Fulton's Jones said Fairway submitted a remediation plan that his department deemed "inadequate." He said the county was working to help relocate the hotel's 38 long-term tenants. The lounge wasn't inspected because it remains under the permit of the operator, who is leasing it.
Shulman said the health code violations predated his company's ownership. He said the deteriorating condition was one reason his firm decided to foreclose. "We were concerned about the safety of the underlying collateral," he said. "I was worried that the roof might cave in."
Shulman said Fairway would do all it could in the short term to "stabilize" the property and to keep the lounge open. Long term plans include everthing from selling the property to redeveloping it and bringing in new management, he said. " We don't want to be seen as the big bad investment house that shut the Clermont down."
Sourced By: By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC was the first to report the Clermont Motor Hotel was ordered to close by Dec. 31 after a visit by Fulton County health inspectors uncovered a laundry list of violations, starting with, uh, the laundry.
"There are several issues that would have to be addressed," said Kevin Jones, a manager with the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. Dirty linen, old bedding and bed bug stains were among them, he said. Inspectors also found mold growing on the walls, black water spilling from faucets and broken toilet fixtures.
An employee at the front desk refused comment Wednesday night and would not give a reporter the manager's contact information. A sign on the door said the hotel closed Dec. 12, but residents have until Dec. 31 to find new lodgings.
The basement Clermont Lounge, and its aging troupe of strippers, is unaffected by the hotel's closing.
Chuck Jeffress, 39, a security guard at the lounge, lived at the hotel and said it was easy to find another place to call home. He said he had no problems in his 1-bedroom unit, which cost him $185 a week. He said the plumbing worked and he did not know of any mold problems. Bed bugs were not a problem because he used his own bed and bedding.
"I think it sucks that the health department has issued their holy edict just because the water is brown," said Jeffress.
He enjoyed his time at the Clermont, but won't miss living above the loud parking lot or paying $10 to have visitors after 11 p.m.
"My friend says it's the only hotel in America that hookers can't get into,"Jeffress said Wednesday night as a group of women watched a lone stripper.
The hotel inspection was triggered by a change in ownership. Prior owner Inman Park Properties was trying to sell the Clermont but couldn't dump it fast enough. The lender, Fairway Capital Partners of New York, foreclosed.
Matt Shulman, a partner with Fairway Capital, said his firm took over the property after Inman Park Properties failed to make payments. "Obligations were not met," he said. "We tried to defer payments."
Inman Park Properties could not be reached for comment. The real estate agent who tried to sell the property said a deal nearly closed, but he said Fairway Capital wouldn't approve it.
"It was under contract," said the agent, Gene Kansas. There were plans for a renovation, and Kansas helped select an architect who proposed slick upgrades like luminous polycarbonate walls. "It was going to be great, but I guess Fairway had other plans," he said.
Kansas said the collapsing market for commercial real estate, and the foreclosure, would cut the value of the property in half. Less than half a year ago, Inman Park Properties was asking $6.5 million. The Clermont had potential because of its location on Ponce de Leon Avenue and its oddball history, he said.
The Clermont was built in 1924 as an apartment building. It was converted to a hotel in 1940. Decades ago it earned its reputation as a hip spot for a younger crowd to watch overweight, older dancers. Last year, writers from the famous comedy outfit Second City visited the lounge for a skit about Atlanta. One of them mused that it seemed to hire dancers based on their "internal" beauty.
Fulton's Jones said Fairway submitted a remediation plan that his department deemed "inadequate." He said the county was working to help relocate the hotel's 38 long-term tenants. The lounge wasn't inspected because it remains under the permit of the operator, who is leasing it.
Shulman said the health code violations predated his company's ownership. He said the deteriorating condition was one reason his firm decided to foreclose. "We were concerned about the safety of the underlying collateral," he said. "I was worried that the roof might cave in."
Shulman said Fairway would do all it could in the short term to "stabilize" the property and to keep the lounge open. Long term plans include everthing from selling the property to redeveloping it and bringing in new management, he said. " We don't want to be seen as the big bad investment house that shut the Clermont down."
Sourced By: By Ty Tagami
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Bed Bug Control
The city has put its pest infestation statistics online, allowing New Yorkers to see just how vermin-ridden our neighborhoods really are. The new Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal allows visitors to create maps depicting the percentages of households infested by roaches as well as rats and mice.
According to Brick Underground, Manhattan's least buggy community is the Upper East Side, where only 9.5 percent of households spotted a roach every day for a month. In Greenwich Village, the Financial District, StuyTown, and Turtle Bay, 12.7 percent of residents polled spotted roaches daily, compared to 19.1 percent of in the Upper West Side. Statistics show that 23 percent of Chelsea, Clinton, and Midtown homes had roach problems — but those numbers were greatly eclipsed by the Lower East Side and Chinatown's 42 percent and East Harlem's 51 percent.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, 26 percent of Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents spotted roaches in their homes daily, edging out Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's 25.4, and Park Slope's 18.6.
Borough-wide statistics reveal that Staten Island had the lowest percentage of infestations, with just 7 percent of residents recording roach sightings and 8.7 percent recording mouse sightings. In both cases, Staten Island was followed by Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and finally the Bronx, where a whopping 46.3 percent of residents spotted roaches in their homes in the past month, and 49.8 percent saw mice or signs of mice in the past 90 days. The stats are well and good (and rather disgusting), but the folks at Bedbugger.com are angry that the city isn't tracking the most horrific of infestations — bed bugs.
Sourced By: Ben Muessig
According to Brick Underground, Manhattan's least buggy community is the Upper East Side, where only 9.5 percent of households spotted a roach every day for a month. In Greenwich Village, the Financial District, StuyTown, and Turtle Bay, 12.7 percent of residents polled spotted roaches daily, compared to 19.1 percent of in the Upper West Side. Statistics show that 23 percent of Chelsea, Clinton, and Midtown homes had roach problems — but those numbers were greatly eclipsed by the Lower East Side and Chinatown's 42 percent and East Harlem's 51 percent.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, 26 percent of Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents spotted roaches in their homes daily, edging out Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's 25.4, and Park Slope's 18.6.
Borough-wide statistics reveal that Staten Island had the lowest percentage of infestations, with just 7 percent of residents recording roach sightings and 8.7 percent recording mouse sightings. In both cases, Staten Island was followed by Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and finally the Bronx, where a whopping 46.3 percent of residents spotted roaches in their homes in the past month, and 49.8 percent saw mice or signs of mice in the past 90 days. The stats are well and good (and rather disgusting), but the folks at Bedbugger.com are angry that the city isn't tracking the most horrific of infestations — bed bugs.
Sourced By: Ben Muessig
Monday, December 14, 2009
Firm kills bed bugs with heat
The latest technique to eliminate a stubborn pest has bedbugs feeling the heat - and dying.
A Michigan-based pest control company with Cincinnati roots used heat to treat a Westwood apartment infested with bedbugs Friday.
As it turns out, bedbugs are fairly resistant to cold temperatures. Unlike many insects, they don't like it hot, said Mark "Shep" Sheperdigian, an urban entomologist and vice president of technical services for Rose Pest Solutions of Troy, Mich.
Temperatures of 113 degrees will kill bedbugs, but it can take hours Sheperdigian said.
Crank the thermostat up to 120 degrees or higher, and the little bloodsuckers dry up and die "in minutes," he said.
Kevin Stacy, special service manager for Rose, and two co-workers set up four large electric heaters in the three-bedroom apartment, then set up fans around the apartment to help circulate the heat.
The setup, powered by a diesel generator, will kill bedbugs in an apartment, hotel room or dorm room measuring up to a 1,000 square feet or so, Stacy said. In bigger spaces, the crew just sets up more heaters and fans.
Sensors are set up throughout the space being treated to make sure an even temperature is achieved.
At about 9:30 Friday morning, temperatures in the apartment hovered around 120 degrees, and bedbugs on a headboard and nightstand could be seen scurrying for cooler climes.
Also visible were dusty white-ish areas that were actually bedbug eggs and rusty brown stains on walls around the bed and behind a set of stereo speakers that had been infested.
High heat can damage some items, including oil paintings and some antique furniture, Stacy said. Those items are treated separately.
Homeowners prepare for the treatment by bringing bedding, clothes and other items out of closets and setting it up in baskets. The crew comes in and shuffles items up to the top of the basket to make sure the heat reaches everything.
Chemical pesticides kill bedbugs, but not their eggs, which means homes might have to be treated several times. It's also hard for exterminators to tell where exactly the bedbugs are located, so spot treatment is difficult.
Heat treatment kills the eggs as well, so unless the bedbugs are somehow re-introduced to a home, one treatment is all it takes, Sheperdigian said.
But it's not cheap: Treating a single apartment, motel room or dorm room costs about $1,000 to $1,500, which is more expensive than conventional treatments, he said.
Bedbugs, which had largely vanished from the United States by the 1950s, thanks to the pesticide DDT, began re-emerging in early 2000s.
Rose got its first bedbug call in 2002, Sheperdigian said.
"Now we're up to hundreds of calls every year. It is growing geometrically," he said.
The Cincinnati Health Department received 352 bedbug complaints about bedbugs in the first nine months of 2009.
Bedbugs are widespread enough that State Rep. Dale Mallory, D-West End, and State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-North Avondale, are introducing resolutions to the Ohio General Assembly that ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow a special exemption approving the chemical pesticide Propoxur for household use against bedbugs.
Rose Pest Services started offering heat treatment against bedbugs in July with a single four-heater system, Stacy said.
They've added two more units since then, and have ordered still more. They're one of a handful of companies nationally offering the service.
Sourced By Peggy O'Farrell
A Michigan-based pest control company with Cincinnati roots used heat to treat a Westwood apartment infested with bedbugs Friday.
As it turns out, bedbugs are fairly resistant to cold temperatures. Unlike many insects, they don't like it hot, said Mark "Shep" Sheperdigian, an urban entomologist and vice president of technical services for Rose Pest Solutions of Troy, Mich.
Temperatures of 113 degrees will kill bedbugs, but it can take hours Sheperdigian said.
Crank the thermostat up to 120 degrees or higher, and the little bloodsuckers dry up and die "in minutes," he said.
Kevin Stacy, special service manager for Rose, and two co-workers set up four large electric heaters in the three-bedroom apartment, then set up fans around the apartment to help circulate the heat.
The setup, powered by a diesel generator, will kill bedbugs in an apartment, hotel room or dorm room measuring up to a 1,000 square feet or so, Stacy said. In bigger spaces, the crew just sets up more heaters and fans.
Sensors are set up throughout the space being treated to make sure an even temperature is achieved.
At about 9:30 Friday morning, temperatures in the apartment hovered around 120 degrees, and bedbugs on a headboard and nightstand could be seen scurrying for cooler climes.
Also visible were dusty white-ish areas that were actually bedbug eggs and rusty brown stains on walls around the bed and behind a set of stereo speakers that had been infested.
High heat can damage some items, including oil paintings and some antique furniture, Stacy said. Those items are treated separately.
Homeowners prepare for the treatment by bringing bedding, clothes and other items out of closets and setting it up in baskets. The crew comes in and shuffles items up to the top of the basket to make sure the heat reaches everything.
Chemical pesticides kill bedbugs, but not their eggs, which means homes might have to be treated several times. It's also hard for exterminators to tell where exactly the bedbugs are located, so spot treatment is difficult.
Heat treatment kills the eggs as well, so unless the bedbugs are somehow re-introduced to a home, one treatment is all it takes, Sheperdigian said.
But it's not cheap: Treating a single apartment, motel room or dorm room costs about $1,000 to $1,500, which is more expensive than conventional treatments, he said.
Bedbugs, which had largely vanished from the United States by the 1950s, thanks to the pesticide DDT, began re-emerging in early 2000s.
Rose got its first bedbug call in 2002, Sheperdigian said.
"Now we're up to hundreds of calls every year. It is growing geometrically," he said.
The Cincinnati Health Department received 352 bedbug complaints about bedbugs in the first nine months of 2009.
Bedbugs are widespread enough that State Rep. Dale Mallory, D-West End, and State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-North Avondale, are introducing resolutions to the Ohio General Assembly that ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow a special exemption approving the chemical pesticide Propoxur for household use against bedbugs.
Rose Pest Services started offering heat treatment against bedbugs in July with a single four-heater system, Stacy said.
They've added two more units since then, and have ordered still more. They're one of a handful of companies nationally offering the service.
Sourced By Peggy O'Farrell
Friday, December 11, 2009
Suits seek receiver for apt. complexes
Complaints of bed bugs infestations, faulty plumbing and numerous notices threatening utility service disconnection have led hundreds of residents at three area apartment communities to ask a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge to appoint a receiver to take over the management of their complexes.
Tenants at Park Valley Apartments in Mount Airy, Williamsburg of Cincinnati in Hartwell and Woodbridge on the Lake Apartments in West Chester have filed separate lawsuits claiming that Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Karam Managed Properties has failed pay utility bills on time and isn't keeping up with critical maintenance jobs.
Earlier this year, gas and electric services were cut off at each of the complexes for up to two weeks, because Karam had failed to pay its bills, according to the lawsuits. Park Valley and Williamsburg residents were also left without water, and trash collection services were stopped - leaving dumpsters overflowing, according to court documents papers.
Tenants also say Karam failed to properly exterminate apartments that had contained bed bugs and roaches, allowing the infestations to spread.
"We've been stating that there has been a problem with these properties since August, and since then nothing has changed substantially," said Susanna M. Meyer, a lawyer with Westwood-based Hyle & Mecklenborg, which represents tenants at each of the complexes.
"Karam has continued to say that the problems have been fixed, but clearly they have not," she said. "Building violations still exist and there are substantial balances" as of Wednesday due to the Cincinnati water works and Duke Energy.
Karam has denied many of the allegations in court filings, and opposes the assignment of a receiver at any of its properties, said the firm's lawyer, William Ellis of downtown-based Roetzel & Andress
Ellis said tenants are not in jeopardy of losing utility services and haven't been since the cut off earlier this year.
"By the time they filed the lawsuits, it was already taken care of," Ellis said. "Karam is doing everything they can do to make this work for the tenants and the only impediment to this are the plaintiff's filing the lawsuits - trying to reduce their rents and give (Karam) bad publicity."
Court documents state that Karam has invested more than $10 million in its properties since their purchase more than two years ago.
Meanwhile, the tenant's motions have been joined by an additional request for a receiver by Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding. The lender claims Williamsburg Acquisitions LLC, has defaulted on several provisions of its $52.5 million loan for the more than 1,000-unit Williamsburg complex, which was built in 1968.
Among other issues, Prudential claims the Williamsburg loan fell into default after several mechanics liens were filed by contractors who say they haven't been paid for work at the complex.
Separate lawsuits from vendors and contractors claim that more than $1.2 million in mechanics liens have been filed for work the Williamsburg property, more than $424,000 in liens for work at Park Valley (which was built in 1973) and 11 mechanics liens with an unknown total for jobs at Woodbridge.
In addition to the three communities engaged in the receivership battle, Karam manages the Ferncrest and Renata Apartments in Westwood and Bavarian Woods Apartments in Middletown.
Ellis said he was not engaged in negotiations involving Prudential.
"Karam has worked diligently to correct everything," he said. "They bought these properties and put a lot of their own money it and they have continued to do so throughout the course of all of this."
Tenants at Park Valley Apartments in Mount Airy, Williamsburg of Cincinnati in Hartwell and Woodbridge on the Lake Apartments in West Chester have filed separate lawsuits claiming that Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio-based Karam Managed Properties has failed pay utility bills on time and isn't keeping up with critical maintenance jobs.
Earlier this year, gas and electric services were cut off at each of the complexes for up to two weeks, because Karam had failed to pay its bills, according to the lawsuits. Park Valley and Williamsburg residents were also left without water, and trash collection services were stopped - leaving dumpsters overflowing, according to court documents papers.
Tenants also say Karam failed to properly exterminate apartments that had contained bed bugs and roaches, allowing the infestations to spread.
"We've been stating that there has been a problem with these properties since August, and since then nothing has changed substantially," said Susanna M. Meyer, a lawyer with Westwood-based Hyle & Mecklenborg, which represents tenants at each of the complexes.
"Karam has continued to say that the problems have been fixed, but clearly they have not," she said. "Building violations still exist and there are substantial balances" as of Wednesday due to the Cincinnati water works and Duke Energy.
Karam has denied many of the allegations in court filings, and opposes the assignment of a receiver at any of its properties, said the firm's lawyer, William Ellis of downtown-based Roetzel & Andress
Ellis said tenants are not in jeopardy of losing utility services and haven't been since the cut off earlier this year.
"By the time they filed the lawsuits, it was already taken care of," Ellis said. "Karam is doing everything they can do to make this work for the tenants and the only impediment to this are the plaintiff's filing the lawsuits - trying to reduce their rents and give (Karam) bad publicity."
Court documents state that Karam has invested more than $10 million in its properties since their purchase more than two years ago.
Meanwhile, the tenant's motions have been joined by an additional request for a receiver by Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding. The lender claims Williamsburg Acquisitions LLC, has defaulted on several provisions of its $52.5 million loan for the more than 1,000-unit Williamsburg complex, which was built in 1968.
Among other issues, Prudential claims the Williamsburg loan fell into default after several mechanics liens were filed by contractors who say they haven't been paid for work at the complex.
Separate lawsuits from vendors and contractors claim that more than $1.2 million in mechanics liens have been filed for work the Williamsburg property, more than $424,000 in liens for work at Park Valley (which was built in 1973) and 11 mechanics liens with an unknown total for jobs at Woodbridge.
In addition to the three communities engaged in the receivership battle, Karam manages the Ferncrest and Renata Apartments in Westwood and Bavarian Woods Apartments in Middletown.
Ellis said he was not engaged in negotiations involving Prudential.
"Karam has worked diligently to correct everything," he said. "They bought these properties and put a lot of their own money it and they have continued to do so throughout the course of all of this."
Most people when they travel
Most people when they travel on holidays or vacations who stay at hotels and resorts never think of it, but they may have some uninvited guests. Bed bugs definitely don’t make good hotel or resort roommates when you’re on a vacation or holiday. Once thoughts to be eradicated from North America, the legendary little pests known as bed bugs have been making an unwelcome comeback in hotels and homes. Bed bugs are easy to transport in luggage and very hard to get rid of. For this reason they have become an especial nuisance for hotels, who are not eager to publicize their infestations. Until a reliable, safe pesticide becomes available, the credit in avoiding bedbug encounters will be the only reliable way to ensure they don't spread into your own home.
Sourcer by: by Raphael
Sourcer by: by Raphael
Hey bed bugs, now's your chance
Kansas will no longer conduct safety and health inspections of hotels thanks to cuts to the state budget.
According to the Associated Press, Kansas Agriculture Secretary Josh Svaty made the call after his agency lost $303,000 in another round of spending cuts announced last week.
The Ag Department licenses and inspects hotels throughout the state to ensure they're safe and clean.
All currently licensed hotels have been inspected; but new inspections will have to wait until the funding is restored.
Source: Submitted by David Klepper
According to the Associated Press, Kansas Agriculture Secretary Josh Svaty made the call after his agency lost $303,000 in another round of spending cuts announced last week.
The Ag Department licenses and inspects hotels throughout the state to ensure they're safe and clean.
All currently licensed hotels have been inspected; but new inspections will have to wait until the funding is restored.
Source: Submitted by David Klepper
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Bedbug attacks New York City
A bedbug epidemic has exploded in every corner of New York City - striking even upper East Side luxury apartments owned by Gov. Spitzer's father, the Daily News has learned.
The blood-sucking nocturnal creatures have infested a Park Ave. penthouse, an artist's colony in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a $25 million Central Park West duplex and a theater on Broadway, according to victims, exterminators and elected officials.
Once linked to flophouses and fleabags, bedbug outbreaks victimize the rich and poor alike and are spreading panic in some of the city's hottest neighborhoods.
"In the last six months, I've treated maternity wards, five-star hotels, movie theaters, taxi garages, investment banks, private schools, white-shoe law firms, Brooklyn apartments in Greenpoint, DUMBO and Cobble Hill, even the chambers of a federal judge," said Jeff Eisenberg, owner of Pest Away Exterminating on the upper West Side.
The numbers are off the charts: In 2004, New Yorkers placed 537 calls to 311 about bedbugs in their homes; the city slapped 82 landlords with bedbug violations, data show.
In the fiscal year that ended in June, 6,889 infestation complaints were logged and 2,008 building owners were hit with summonses.
They must get rid of the pests within 30 days or face possible action in Housing Court, the city Department of Housing, Preservation & Development says.
The scourge has left no section of the city untouched: Complaints and enforcement actions soared in 57 of the 59 community boards.
In the most bedbug-riddled district, Bushwick in Brooklyn, HPD issued 172 violations this year, up from four in 2004; it responded to 476 complaints, up from 47.
Central Harlem chalked up 269 complaints, up from nine. Williamsburg and Greenpoint, home to the city's hippest galleries, racked up 148, up from 11 in 2004. Astoria and Long Island City saw the tally climb to 345 from 41.
Bedbugs come out of the woodwork at night to feed on human blood, biting people in their sleep and leaving large, itchy skin welts that can be painful. They are not believed to carry or transmit diseases.
A surge in global travel and mobility in all socioeconomic classes, combined with less toxic urban pesticides and the banning of DDT created a perfect storm for reviving the critters, which had been virtually dormant since World War II, experts say.
Prolific reproducers and hardy survivors, they can thrive in penthouses, flophouses or any environment where they can locate warm-blooded hosts, said Louis Sorkin, an entomologist at the Museum of Natural History who keeps a colony of 1,000 bedbugs in his office and lets them feed on his arm.
BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
The blood-sucking nocturnal creatures have infested a Park Ave. penthouse, an artist's colony in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a $25 million Central Park West duplex and a theater on Broadway, according to victims, exterminators and elected officials.
Once linked to flophouses and fleabags, bedbug outbreaks victimize the rich and poor alike and are spreading panic in some of the city's hottest neighborhoods.
"In the last six months, I've treated maternity wards, five-star hotels, movie theaters, taxi garages, investment banks, private schools, white-shoe law firms, Brooklyn apartments in Greenpoint, DUMBO and Cobble Hill, even the chambers of a federal judge," said Jeff Eisenberg, owner of Pest Away Exterminating on the upper West Side.
The numbers are off the charts: In 2004, New Yorkers placed 537 calls to 311 about bedbugs in their homes; the city slapped 82 landlords with bedbug violations, data show.
In the fiscal year that ended in June, 6,889 infestation complaints were logged and 2,008 building owners were hit with summonses.
They must get rid of the pests within 30 days or face possible action in Housing Court, the city Department of Housing, Preservation & Development says.
The scourge has left no section of the city untouched: Complaints and enforcement actions soared in 57 of the 59 community boards.
In the most bedbug-riddled district, Bushwick in Brooklyn, HPD issued 172 violations this year, up from four in 2004; it responded to 476 complaints, up from 47.
Central Harlem chalked up 269 complaints, up from nine. Williamsburg and Greenpoint, home to the city's hippest galleries, racked up 148, up from 11 in 2004. Astoria and Long Island City saw the tally climb to 345 from 41.
Bedbugs come out of the woodwork at night to feed on human blood, biting people in their sleep and leaving large, itchy skin welts that can be painful. They are not believed to carry or transmit diseases.
A surge in global travel and mobility in all socioeconomic classes, combined with less toxic urban pesticides and the banning of DDT created a perfect storm for reviving the critters, which had been virtually dormant since World War II, experts say.
Prolific reproducers and hardy survivors, they can thrive in penthouses, flophouses or any environment where they can locate warm-blooded hosts, said Louis Sorkin, an entomologist at the Museum of Natural History who keeps a colony of 1,000 bedbugs in his office and lets them feed on his arm.
BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Beagle sniffs out bed bug
STAMFORD -- To fight an ongoing pest problem, St. Luke's LifeWorks turned to a 3-year-old expert last week.
The organization, which provides housing and education to those in need, hired Ellie, a beagle, and her handler through Bliss Exterminators to determine which offices and residences in the Franklin Street headquarters have been besieged by bed bugs.
After discovering bugs in the first-floor city health clinic earlier this month, St. Luke's was forced to halt clothing donations until protocols could be put into place to prevent the spread or reintroduction of the bloodsucking parasites, which reappeared in many communities in the past few years.
"Our priority is our people," said Johnnie Malloy, St. Luke's chief learning officer. "We're hoping to resume the clothing donation soon, but for now, people should consider other places, like Person to Person, the Salvation Army and Goodwill."
Ellie, an energetic brown-and-white dog, strained at her leash Friday as her owner, Charlie Mastroberti, calmly led her around the perimeters of the lobby in the large downtown complex searching for a live bed bug he had hidden in a prescription pill bottle.
When Ellie sniffed a recycling bin, she scratched at the box and looked expectantly at her owner.
"Good girl," Mastroberti said, giving the a dog treat. "It helps her get on track, and the reward system gets her psyched."
Using beagles or other dogs to find bed bugs is becoming standard in the pest detection and control industry.John Pascarelli, a regional account manager for Bliss Exterminators, said the company, which serves Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, has six dogs trained to find bed bugs that are no bigger than an apple seed.
Ellie has a 98 percent bed bug detection rate compared with human detection, which can be as low as 30 percent, Pascarelli said.
"We could spend a week here and not be nearly as successful as a dog in a couple of hours," he said.
Ellie was trained at J&K Canine Academy in Florida and is certified by the National Entomology Canine Scent Detection Association, Mastroberti said.
Pascarelli said he met with building residents before the inspection last week to explain to procedures and treatment, and relieve any anxieties.
"They were thrilled to get the dog inspection," he said.
After the two-hour inspection, Bliss found four areas in the building that showed bed bug activity: three residential areas and one office space.
Pascarelli said it was "minor activity" for a building that size.
Treatment will begin this week, he said.
Malloy said that in the meantime, the organization is in need of new twin bed sheets.
It's not connected to the bed bugs, she said, but when you serve 250 people, you always need new sheets.
Source:
By Devon Lash
STAFF WRITER
The organization, which provides housing and education to those in need, hired Ellie, a beagle, and her handler through Bliss Exterminators to determine which offices and residences in the Franklin Street headquarters have been besieged by bed bugs.
After discovering bugs in the first-floor city health clinic earlier this month, St. Luke's was forced to halt clothing donations until protocols could be put into place to prevent the spread or reintroduction of the bloodsucking parasites, which reappeared in many communities in the past few years.
"Our priority is our people," said Johnnie Malloy, St. Luke's chief learning officer. "We're hoping to resume the clothing donation soon, but for now, people should consider other places, like Person to Person, the Salvation Army and Goodwill."
Ellie, an energetic brown-and-white dog, strained at her leash Friday as her owner, Charlie Mastroberti, calmly led her around the perimeters of the lobby in the large downtown complex searching for a live bed bug he had hidden in a prescription pill bottle.
When Ellie sniffed a recycling bin, she scratched at the box and looked expectantly at her owner.
"Good girl," Mastroberti said, giving the a dog treat. "It helps her get on track, and the reward system gets her psyched."
Using beagles or other dogs to find bed bugs is becoming standard in the pest detection and control industry.John Pascarelli, a regional account manager for Bliss Exterminators, said the company, which serves Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, has six dogs trained to find bed bugs that are no bigger than an apple seed.
Ellie has a 98 percent bed bug detection rate compared with human detection, which can be as low as 30 percent, Pascarelli said.
"We could spend a week here and not be nearly as successful as a dog in a couple of hours," he said.
Ellie was trained at J&K Canine Academy in Florida and is certified by the National Entomology Canine Scent Detection Association, Mastroberti said.
Pascarelli said he met with building residents before the inspection last week to explain to procedures and treatment, and relieve any anxieties.
"They were thrilled to get the dog inspection," he said.
After the two-hour inspection, Bliss found four areas in the building that showed bed bug activity: three residential areas and one office space.
Pascarelli said it was "minor activity" for a building that size.
Treatment will begin this week, he said.
Malloy said that in the meantime, the organization is in need of new twin bed sheets.
It's not connected to the bed bugs, she said, but when you serve 250 people, you always need new sheets.
Source:
By Devon Lash
STAFF WRITER
Tenants fight bed bugs
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- For almost a year, tenants in a public housing facility have been fighting a bed bug problem. Operators of Green Gardens said they have tried to get rid of the pests, but many residents want tougher action.
"I have one that I just caught," tenant Patricia Flores said Wednesday morning. She had the small bug in a paper coffee cup.
Flores has lived in the facility since January, and she's battled the bugs the whole time.
Green Gardens is a 114-room facility on South Union Avenue that houses Kern County Mental Health clients. The small units are what director Randy Coats calls "single room occupancy."
"This has become a real issue," he said, referring to the on-going bed bug problem. Coats is executive director of Golden Empire Affordable Housing, the nonprofit agency that runs Green Gardens.
He said the bed bugs have been extremely tough to get rid of. "Out of the 15 or 20 residences that ended up with the problem, we still have four or five that are in their fourth of fifth spraying."
Flores lives in one of the units where there's been repeated spraying, but the bugs still come back. The last pesticide treatment was about ten days ago, and she says the insects were back in a couple days. She's convinced the treatments so far aren't good enough.
But Coats said their efforts to get rid of the bugs have been complicated by some residents not exactly following the instructions for handling their belongings that may have become infested with the bugs.
"They have issues," Coats said of some of the tenants. "Sometimes it's hard for them to understand the instructions and to follow the instructions to the letter."
Residents have to bag up things like clothes, and then wash them to remove any bugs. Coats said some tenants put the clean clothes back in the same plastic bags -- and those bags could still have had bugs hiding inside. But, they're trying to deal with that problem.
"We have in the last two weeks taken a more aggressive position with the residents and asking for the old bags, so we can throw them away," he said.
Coats said some tenants also removed furniture when the rooms were going to be sprayed, but then took that furniture back inside later. Again, bed bugs could have been hiding in the furniture -- and got back into the rooms that way.
Coats said the staff is personally helping some residents prepare their belongings before spray treatment is done of their rooms. He said maintenance staff is also caulking around areas like baseboards to keep the bugs from moving between rooms.
The staff will also wash down bed frames outside the rooms, to make sure bed bugs don't somehow hide in those areas.
Joy Webb is on the tenant council, she thinks the facility operators didn't take the problem seriously enough at the beginning. "I think at first, yes," she said -- asked if the situation had been neglected. "I don't think that now, the staff is really trying to do what they can do."
Bed bugs are making a come-back across the U.S. Experts say the insects feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, that's why they will often come out at night, bite a victim, and then hide again during the day.
It's thought bed bugs spread by hitch-hiking to different places on things like suitcases, coats, purses and furniture. It may be we're seeing more bed bugs now because people are traveling more, and experts think some products that were used to treat them are not available now.
Kern County director of public health nursing Cindy Wasson said bed bugs can leave a rash, especially if someone is sensitive, but they do not spread disease.
Patricia Flores has been bitten repeatedly over the past months. On Wednesday, she pointed to red marks on one knee -- bites from the pests. And she had photos of other bites in the past on her arms and feet. Some of those were red and swollen.
Randy Coats said his agency has already switched to a different pesticide company, hoping to get rid of the bed bugs. And he's heard the pests are very difficult to kill off with each repeated pesticide treatment.
"Every time you try, it's harder to eradicate them the second time," he said. "They build up a resistance to the chemicals."
A batch of rooms will be sprayed again next Monday. Coats said if that doesn't do the job, they'll meet with the exterminators to see if something stronger could be used. Some experts now recommend very high heat or strong vacuums to kill the bugs.
Flores is convinced more than just a few rooms need to be treated. Tenant council member Donna Van Harreveld agrees with that. "When you spray one room, then they travel on to the next room," she said.
As for treating the entire facility, Coats said that could be considered, too. "If this doesn't work, maybe it's time to just treat the unit completely. Even if it has to be painted, and whatever else it takes, to put everything up, and then bring items back into the unit on a single item basis."
Patricia Flores says something more -- and stronger -- has to be done. "I'm asking them to literally take this thing and do it the right way," she said. "You can't live like this."
Source: By Carol Ferguson, Eyewitness News
"I have one that I just caught," tenant Patricia Flores said Wednesday morning. She had the small bug in a paper coffee cup.
Flores has lived in the facility since January, and she's battled the bugs the whole time.
Green Gardens is a 114-room facility on South Union Avenue that houses Kern County Mental Health clients. The small units are what director Randy Coats calls "single room occupancy."
"This has become a real issue," he said, referring to the on-going bed bug problem. Coats is executive director of Golden Empire Affordable Housing, the nonprofit agency that runs Green Gardens.
He said the bed bugs have been extremely tough to get rid of. "Out of the 15 or 20 residences that ended up with the problem, we still have four or five that are in their fourth of fifth spraying."
Flores lives in one of the units where there's been repeated spraying, but the bugs still come back. The last pesticide treatment was about ten days ago, and she says the insects were back in a couple days. She's convinced the treatments so far aren't good enough.
But Coats said their efforts to get rid of the bugs have been complicated by some residents not exactly following the instructions for handling their belongings that may have become infested with the bugs.
"They have issues," Coats said of some of the tenants. "Sometimes it's hard for them to understand the instructions and to follow the instructions to the letter."
Residents have to bag up things like clothes, and then wash them to remove any bugs. Coats said some tenants put the clean clothes back in the same plastic bags -- and those bags could still have had bugs hiding inside. But, they're trying to deal with that problem.
"We have in the last two weeks taken a more aggressive position with the residents and asking for the old bags, so we can throw them away," he said.
Coats said some tenants also removed furniture when the rooms were going to be sprayed, but then took that furniture back inside later. Again, bed bugs could have been hiding in the furniture -- and got back into the rooms that way.
Coats said the staff is personally helping some residents prepare their belongings before spray treatment is done of their rooms. He said maintenance staff is also caulking around areas like baseboards to keep the bugs from moving between rooms.
The staff will also wash down bed frames outside the rooms, to make sure bed bugs don't somehow hide in those areas.
Joy Webb is on the tenant council, she thinks the facility operators didn't take the problem seriously enough at the beginning. "I think at first, yes," she said -- asked if the situation had been neglected. "I don't think that now, the staff is really trying to do what they can do."
Bed bugs are making a come-back across the U.S. Experts say the insects feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, that's why they will often come out at night, bite a victim, and then hide again during the day.
It's thought bed bugs spread by hitch-hiking to different places on things like suitcases, coats, purses and furniture. It may be we're seeing more bed bugs now because people are traveling more, and experts think some products that were used to treat them are not available now.
Kern County director of public health nursing Cindy Wasson said bed bugs can leave a rash, especially if someone is sensitive, but they do not spread disease.
Patricia Flores has been bitten repeatedly over the past months. On Wednesday, she pointed to red marks on one knee -- bites from the pests. And she had photos of other bites in the past on her arms and feet. Some of those were red and swollen.
Randy Coats said his agency has already switched to a different pesticide company, hoping to get rid of the bed bugs. And he's heard the pests are very difficult to kill off with each repeated pesticide treatment.
"Every time you try, it's harder to eradicate them the second time," he said. "They build up a resistance to the chemicals."
A batch of rooms will be sprayed again next Monday. Coats said if that doesn't do the job, they'll meet with the exterminators to see if something stronger could be used. Some experts now recommend very high heat or strong vacuums to kill the bugs.
Flores is convinced more than just a few rooms need to be treated. Tenant council member Donna Van Harreveld agrees with that. "When you spray one room, then they travel on to the next room," she said.
As for treating the entire facility, Coats said that could be considered, too. "If this doesn't work, maybe it's time to just treat the unit completely. Even if it has to be painted, and whatever else it takes, to put everything up, and then bring items back into the unit on a single item basis."
Patricia Flores says something more -- and stronger -- has to be done. "I'm asking them to literally take this thing and do it the right way," she said. "You can't live like this."
Source: By Carol Ferguson, Eyewitness News
WASHINGTON - The federal government is waking up to what has become a growing nightmare in many parts of the country — a bedbug outbreak.
The tiny reddish-brown insects, last seen in great numbers before World War II, are on the rebound. They have infested college dormitories, hospital wings, homeless shelters and swanky hotels from New York City to Chicago to Washington.
They live in the crevices and folds of mattresses, sofas and sheets. Then, most often before dawn, they emerge to feed on human blood.
Faced with rising numbers of complaints to city information lines and increasingly frustrated landlords, hotel chains and housing authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency hosted its first-ever bedbug summit Tuesday.
Put on by an EPA's federal advisory committee, the two-day conference which drew about 300 participants to the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Va., will provide the agency with advice and recommendations.
The Sheraton has had no reported bedbug problems, according to a popular online registry, so at least conference participants will be sleeping tight.
"The problem seems to be increasing and it could definitely be worse in densely populated areas like cities, although it can be a problem for anyone," said Lois Rossi, director of the registration division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
And the EPA is not alone in trying to deal with the problem. An aide to Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., says he plans to reintroduce legislation next week to expand grant programs to help public housing authorities deal with infestations
Many of the programs cover cockroaches and rodents, but not bedbugs. The bill will be called the Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act.
"It was clear something needed to be done," said Saul Hernandez, Butterfield's legislative assistant.
In 2002, EPA classified bedbugs as a public health pest.
But there are few chemicals on the market approved for use on mattresses that are effective at controlling bedbug infestations. The appleseed-sized critters have also developed a resistance to some of the chemicals on the market.
Few chemicals to stop them
The EPA, out of concern for the environment and the effects on public health, has pulled many of the chemicals that were most effective in eradicating the bugs from the U.S. over the last 50 years — such as DDT — off of shelves.
Increasing international travel has also increased the chances for the bugs to hitchhike from developing countries which never eradicated them completely.
"This is a worldwide resurgence," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and bedbug expert at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, who until 2001 only saw bedbugs on microscope slides dating from the 1950s. Now she gets calls several times a day from people who are often at their wits end dealing with the problem.
"I can't tell you how many people have spent the night in their bath tubs because they are so freaked out by bedbugs," Miller said. "I get these people over the phone that have lost their marbles."
Allergic reactions. Bedbugs are not known to transmit any diseases. But their bites can cause infections and allergic reactions in some people. The insects release an anticoagulant to get blood flowing, and they also excrete a numbing agent so their bites don't often stir a victim's slumber.
Those often hardest hit are the urban poor, Miller said. These are people who cannot afford to throw out all their belongings or take the sanitation measures necessary to rid them of the problem. Extermination can cost between $400-$900.
Because the registration of new pesticides takes so long, one thing the EPA could do is to approve some pesticides for emergency use, Miller said.
Another tactic would be to test pesticides that are allowed to be used by farmers to control bedbugs to see if they are safe in household settings.
The pesticide management industry will be pushing for federal funding for research into alternative solutions, such as heating, freezing or steaming the bugs out of bedrooms.
Source: Associated Press
The tiny reddish-brown insects, last seen in great numbers before World War II, are on the rebound. They have infested college dormitories, hospital wings, homeless shelters and swanky hotels from New York City to Chicago to Washington.
They live in the crevices and folds of mattresses, sofas and sheets. Then, most often before dawn, they emerge to feed on human blood.
Faced with rising numbers of complaints to city information lines and increasingly frustrated landlords, hotel chains and housing authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency hosted its first-ever bedbug summit Tuesday.
Put on by an EPA's federal advisory committee, the two-day conference which drew about 300 participants to the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, Va., will provide the agency with advice and recommendations.
The Sheraton has had no reported bedbug problems, according to a popular online registry, so at least conference participants will be sleeping tight.
"The problem seems to be increasing and it could definitely be worse in densely populated areas like cities, although it can be a problem for anyone," said Lois Rossi, director of the registration division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
And the EPA is not alone in trying to deal with the problem. An aide to Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., says he plans to reintroduce legislation next week to expand grant programs to help public housing authorities deal with infestations
Many of the programs cover cockroaches and rodents, but not bedbugs. The bill will be called the Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act.
"It was clear something needed to be done," said Saul Hernandez, Butterfield's legislative assistant.
In 2002, EPA classified bedbugs as a public health pest.
But there are few chemicals on the market approved for use on mattresses that are effective at controlling bedbug infestations. The appleseed-sized critters have also developed a resistance to some of the chemicals on the market.
Few chemicals to stop them
The EPA, out of concern for the environment and the effects on public health, has pulled many of the chemicals that were most effective in eradicating the bugs from the U.S. over the last 50 years — such as DDT — off of shelves.
Increasing international travel has also increased the chances for the bugs to hitchhike from developing countries which never eradicated them completely.
"This is a worldwide resurgence," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and bedbug expert at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, who until 2001 only saw bedbugs on microscope slides dating from the 1950s. Now she gets calls several times a day from people who are often at their wits end dealing with the problem.
"I can't tell you how many people have spent the night in their bath tubs because they are so freaked out by bedbugs," Miller said. "I get these people over the phone that have lost their marbles."
Allergic reactions. Bedbugs are not known to transmit any diseases. But their bites can cause infections and allergic reactions in some people. The insects release an anticoagulant to get blood flowing, and they also excrete a numbing agent so their bites don't often stir a victim's slumber.
Those often hardest hit are the urban poor, Miller said. These are people who cannot afford to throw out all their belongings or take the sanitation measures necessary to rid them of the problem. Extermination can cost between $400-$900.
Because the registration of new pesticides takes so long, one thing the EPA could do is to approve some pesticides for emergency use, Miller said.
Another tactic would be to test pesticides that are allowed to be used by farmers to control bedbugs to see if they are safe in household settings.
The pesticide management industry will be pushing for federal funding for research into alternative solutions, such as heating, freezing or steaming the bugs out of bedrooms.
Source: Associated Press
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Bed bugs halt Stamford non-profit's clothing collection
STAMFORD -- St. Luke's LifeWorks has stopped accepting clothing donations, because the organization suspects this has been bringing unwanted visitors into its residences.
St. Luke's is the fifth Stamford address this month to show evidence of bed bugs, said city health inspector Amy Lehaney. This year, the city has seen an average of four bed bug infestations each month, according to city data.
The organization, which houses 400 people annually, provides education as well as emergency, transitional and permanent housing to families and individuals, including those living with mental illness and HIV/AIDS.
In early October, clothing for babies, children and career-wear was accepted only by appointment.
Bob Rimmer, St. Luke's LifeWorks chief residential officer said because of ongoing struggles with infestations, St. Luke's had to shut down its in-house clothing exchange. The organization halted the furniture collection some time ago, Rimmer said, after a donated couch caused an infestation in the South End campus.
According to data from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the nocturnal bloodsuckers, which measure about 5 to 8 millimeters, reemerged in the past few years after almost two decades.
No one knows what caused the resurgence, but some experts believe it coincides with the banning of powerful chemicals such as DDT, which killed the insects but were harmful for the environment.
New York City received roughly 900 complaints in 2005, and 9,000 complaints last year, according to the EPA.
There are no precise numbers of reported complaints or confirmed bed bug infestations in Connecticut, said Dr. Gale Ridge, an entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
"It's a pandemic worldwide," Ridge said. "New England is having issues, because of old construction. There are more nooks and crannies for these to hide in."
Ridge attended the EPA's first "bed bug summit" in April, which discussed spreading awareness of the problem and creating a reporting system to document cases.
"Primarily we hope to educate the public to eliminate the social stigma, which if we did start a reporting program, would never be accurate because people would never admit they had bed bugs."
Anyone can get bed bugs -- "we're all lunch," she said.
It's more of a concern in a place where residents frequently come and go, Rimmer said, like the residential program, or the city' STD clinic on the first floor of LifeWorks' Franklin Street headquarters.
That's where bed bugs were discovered two weeks ago, when one was seen crawling on the clinic wall, city nursing director Olga Brown said.
"We took it very seriously, because they can multiply so easily," Brown said.
St. Luke's immediately hired an exterminating company and the first round of treatment occurred last week, Lehaney said.
The organization, which sees annual foot traffic of roughly 40,000, has taken further precautions, paying for each new resident to launder all their belongings in hot water before moving in. For a family, this can cost upwards of $60, he said.
Even though the precautions exist to protect their clients, Lynne Menon, the director of communications, said long-time clothing donors are upset about not being able to gift clothing to the program.
Dana Low, the chairman of the organization's board, said unfortunately, in this infestation, St. Luke's is "not all that unique."
"We don't think this is going to keep from doing what we need to do," he said.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash
St. Luke's is the fifth Stamford address this month to show evidence of bed bugs, said city health inspector Amy Lehaney. This year, the city has seen an average of four bed bug infestations each month, according to city data.
The organization, which houses 400 people annually, provides education as well as emergency, transitional and permanent housing to families and individuals, including those living with mental illness and HIV/AIDS.
In early October, clothing for babies, children and career-wear was accepted only by appointment.
Bob Rimmer, St. Luke's LifeWorks chief residential officer said because of ongoing struggles with infestations, St. Luke's had to shut down its in-house clothing exchange. The organization halted the furniture collection some time ago, Rimmer said, after a donated couch caused an infestation in the South End campus.
According to data from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the nocturnal bloodsuckers, which measure about 5 to 8 millimeters, reemerged in the past few years after almost two decades.
No one knows what caused the resurgence, but some experts believe it coincides with the banning of powerful chemicals such as DDT, which killed the insects but were harmful for the environment.
New York City received roughly 900 complaints in 2005, and 9,000 complaints last year, according to the EPA.
There are no precise numbers of reported complaints or confirmed bed bug infestations in Connecticut, said Dr. Gale Ridge, an entomologist with the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven.
"It's a pandemic worldwide," Ridge said. "New England is having issues, because of old construction. There are more nooks and crannies for these to hide in."
Ridge attended the EPA's first "bed bug summit" in April, which discussed spreading awareness of the problem and creating a reporting system to document cases.
"Primarily we hope to educate the public to eliminate the social stigma, which if we did start a reporting program, would never be accurate because people would never admit they had bed bugs."
Anyone can get bed bugs -- "we're all lunch," she said.
It's more of a concern in a place where residents frequently come and go, Rimmer said, like the residential program, or the city' STD clinic on the first floor of LifeWorks' Franklin Street headquarters.
That's where bed bugs were discovered two weeks ago, when one was seen crawling on the clinic wall, city nursing director Olga Brown said.
"We took it very seriously, because they can multiply so easily," Brown said.
St. Luke's immediately hired an exterminating company and the first round of treatment occurred last week, Lehaney said.
The organization, which sees annual foot traffic of roughly 40,000, has taken further precautions, paying for each new resident to launder all their belongings in hot water before moving in. For a family, this can cost upwards of $60, he said.
Even though the precautions exist to protect their clients, Lynne Menon, the director of communications, said long-time clothing donors are upset about not being able to gift clothing to the program.
Dana Low, the chairman of the organization's board, said unfortunately, in this infestation, St. Luke's is "not all that unique."
"We don't think this is going to keep from doing what we need to do," he said.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash
Residents say bed bugs return to senior housing in Stamford
STAMFORD -- Bed bugs have again infested a downtown senior housing complex where officials last year thought they had won a long-fought battle with the blood-sucking insects, residents said.
Charter Oak Communities, the city housing authority, declared victory over the vermin at Stamford Manor last November after dozens of complaints prompted the quasi-public agency to systematically exterminate every floor of the Main Street building. The problem first became rampant in summer 2007, residents have said.
After a lull, some Stamford Manor residents now say the problem is reemerging at the building housing seniors and people with disabilities.
"That's the main conversation here is about the bugs," Stamford manor resident Darge Harris, 54, said. "It seemed like everything was OK, but they're back."
Harris, who still has blackened scars from the widespread bed bug scourge last year, said he started noticing bites again about four months ago. Several attempts to notify the management at the building have been thwarted, he said.
The woman in charge of taking maintenance requests has ignored his complaints, Harris said.
"She keeps telling me that I should clean my apartment," he said. "That was insulting to me, because it's like they're saying I'm dirty."
Nothing is out of place in Harris's fourth-floor apartment as he shows the studio where he said the insects are keeping him up at night. The floor is swept, the stove is a spotless white, and teacups sit in a perfect row on a kitchen counter. A white cushion drapes over the sofa, so that insects will be more visible, Harris said.
Harris points to blood stains on the bed spread. The stains are proof that the parasitic insects are in the apartment, he said.
"Someone should be able to do something about this," Harris said. "I'm saying, as a human being, I cannot continue living with bugs."
Harris, who is HIV positive, said his doctor wrote a letter last year stating that the insect problem was detrimental to his health because of the stress it was causing him.
Charter Oak Executive Director Vin Tufo said the authority has received "sporadic" bed bug complaints from Stamford Manor residents, but the problem does not appear as widespread as last year.
"The problem last year looks like it pretty well abated," Tufo said. "It seems to be under control."
Tufo said there have been about "half a dozen" bed bug reports in the last few months. Charter Oak has sent an exterminator -- Knock Out Exterminating -- about once every two months to treat apartments where residents reported problems, Tufo said.
Harris and other Stamford Manor residents said they believe neighbors are introducing bugs into the building by bringing in used furniture and trash. Residents sometimes discard items in the corridors and stairwells, and they remain there for days, Harris said.
"People bring stuff from the streets," said one resident, who did not wish to be named. "That's the major problem we're having, people just leave junk out in the hallways."
The resident, who did not want to reveal his identity because he feared it would cause trouble with building management, said maintenance often does not respond to such problems, even when residents report them.
Tufo said he had not heard of any residents discarding items in the building, but said Charter Oak would investigate if officials knew of such a case, especially if it contributed to bringing bed bugs into the building.
"If it was causing an exacerbation of the problem, we absolutely would step in," Tufo said.
Amy Lehaney, a city health inspector, said the last confirmed case of bed bugs at Stamford Manor was verified on June 3, when a resident brought in a bed bug. Charter Oak sent confirmation of extermination on July 3. Not all bed bug complaints reach the Health Department, as Charter Oak asks residents to make reports to the housing authority first.
The city received a sample from a resident at Stamford Manor on Nov. 13, but laboratory tests found it was a squash beetle, not a bed bug. Squash beetles are a type of lady bugs.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash contributed to this article
Sourced By: Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer
Charter Oak Communities, the city housing authority, declared victory over the vermin at Stamford Manor last November after dozens of complaints prompted the quasi-public agency to systematically exterminate every floor of the Main Street building. The problem first became rampant in summer 2007, residents have said.
After a lull, some Stamford Manor residents now say the problem is reemerging at the building housing seniors and people with disabilities.
"That's the main conversation here is about the bugs," Stamford manor resident Darge Harris, 54, said. "It seemed like everything was OK, but they're back."
Harris, who still has blackened scars from the widespread bed bug scourge last year, said he started noticing bites again about four months ago. Several attempts to notify the management at the building have been thwarted, he said.
The woman in charge of taking maintenance requests has ignored his complaints, Harris said.
"She keeps telling me that I should clean my apartment," he said. "That was insulting to me, because it's like they're saying I'm dirty."
Nothing is out of place in Harris's fourth-floor apartment as he shows the studio where he said the insects are keeping him up at night. The floor is swept, the stove is a spotless white, and teacups sit in a perfect row on a kitchen counter. A white cushion drapes over the sofa, so that insects will be more visible, Harris said.
Harris points to blood stains on the bed spread. The stains are proof that the parasitic insects are in the apartment, he said.
"Someone should be able to do something about this," Harris said. "I'm saying, as a human being, I cannot continue living with bugs."
Harris, who is HIV positive, said his doctor wrote a letter last year stating that the insect problem was detrimental to his health because of the stress it was causing him.
Charter Oak Executive Director Vin Tufo said the authority has received "sporadic" bed bug complaints from Stamford Manor residents, but the problem does not appear as widespread as last year.
"The problem last year looks like it pretty well abated," Tufo said. "It seems to be under control."
Tufo said there have been about "half a dozen" bed bug reports in the last few months. Charter Oak has sent an exterminator -- Knock Out Exterminating -- about once every two months to treat apartments where residents reported problems, Tufo said.
Harris and other Stamford Manor residents said they believe neighbors are introducing bugs into the building by bringing in used furniture and trash. Residents sometimes discard items in the corridors and stairwells, and they remain there for days, Harris said.
"People bring stuff from the streets," said one resident, who did not wish to be named. "That's the major problem we're having, people just leave junk out in the hallways."
The resident, who did not want to reveal his identity because he feared it would cause trouble with building management, said maintenance often does not respond to such problems, even when residents report them.
Tufo said he had not heard of any residents discarding items in the building, but said Charter Oak would investigate if officials knew of such a case, especially if it contributed to bringing bed bugs into the building.
"If it was causing an exacerbation of the problem, we absolutely would step in," Tufo said.
Amy Lehaney, a city health inspector, said the last confirmed case of bed bugs at Stamford Manor was verified on June 3, when a resident brought in a bed bug. Charter Oak sent confirmation of extermination on July 3. Not all bed bug complaints reach the Health Department, as Charter Oak asks residents to make reports to the housing authority first.
The city received a sample from a resident at Stamford Manor on Nov. 13, but laboratory tests found it was a squash beetle, not a bed bug. Squash beetles are a type of lady bugs.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash contributed to this article
Sourced By: Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer
Schools Report Rise In Bed Bug Cases
School officials say the number of bed bugs in city classrooms are on the rise despite efforts to contain them. NY1's Lindsey Christ filed the following report
Last week, PS 163 had bed bugs, again. Several times in the past year, the school has found the pesky critters on students, faculty and in classrooms. A growing number of city schools are dealing with the bugs. Parents, teachers and students say it's a nuisance, a distraction and a worry.
"I just hope they combat it because it really interrupts the children’s learning and it interrupts our teaching and it interrupts everyone's lives," said PS 163 teacher Patricia Cardenas.
The Department of Education says bed bugs come into schools on clothing, bags or backpacks. Although the department couldn't give any data on the number of incidents, officials say the problem has gotten worse.
The DOE won't send exterminators to a school until a dead bed bug is mailed to a lab. But adults at PS 163 say the key is to think ahead.
"We had a plan in place right away, so we are further ahead I think than a lot of schools but it isn't good for anybody," said PS 163 PTA Co-president Carrie Reynolds
A few blocks south from PS 163, at the American Museum of Natural History, bed bugs feed by biting entomologist Lou Sorkin's hands. The bites don't spread disease, but in three quarters of people they cause an itchy rash. Sorkin says the problem has gotten worse across the city and schools need to take action.
"They should be proactive. Maybe give the students large ziplocked bags in which they can place their clothing and book bags. And if children have infestations, they should be told about it and then their parents can do something about it," Sorkin said.
The DOE doesn't provide sealed plastic bags, but the PTA and teachers at PS 163 say they have bought enough for everyone. Now three times a day, students and teachers seal up their belongings. The bags weren't cheap and the procedure is time consuming but the alternative is worse.
Parents and educators say they are very concerned about the bugs being carried from the schools into homes, forcing families to hire expensive exterminators and even throw out some furniture.
The DOE says it can't completely solve the problem since every time it clears a school, a brand new bug can ride someone's coattail right back in.
Source By: By: Lindsey Christ
Last week, PS 163 had bed bugs, again. Several times in the past year, the school has found the pesky critters on students, faculty and in classrooms. A growing number of city schools are dealing with the bugs. Parents, teachers and students say it's a nuisance, a distraction and a worry.
"I just hope they combat it because it really interrupts the children’s learning and it interrupts our teaching and it interrupts everyone's lives," said PS 163 teacher Patricia Cardenas.
The Department of Education says bed bugs come into schools on clothing, bags or backpacks. Although the department couldn't give any data on the number of incidents, officials say the problem has gotten worse.
The DOE won't send exterminators to a school until a dead bed bug is mailed to a lab. But adults at PS 163 say the key is to think ahead.
"We had a plan in place right away, so we are further ahead I think than a lot of schools but it isn't good for anybody," said PS 163 PTA Co-president Carrie Reynolds
A few blocks south from PS 163, at the American Museum of Natural History, bed bugs feed by biting entomologist Lou Sorkin's hands. The bites don't spread disease, but in three quarters of people they cause an itchy rash. Sorkin says the problem has gotten worse across the city and schools need to take action.
"They should be proactive. Maybe give the students large ziplocked bags in which they can place their clothing and book bags. And if children have infestations, they should be told about it and then their parents can do something about it," Sorkin said.
The DOE doesn't provide sealed plastic bags, but the PTA and teachers at PS 163 say they have bought enough for everyone. Now three times a day, students and teachers seal up their belongings. The bags weren't cheap and the procedure is time consuming but the alternative is worse.
Parents and educators say they are very concerned about the bugs being carried from the schools into homes, forcing families to hire expensive exterminators and even throw out some furniture.
The DOE says it can't completely solve the problem since every time it clears a school, a brand new bug can ride someone's coattail right back in.
Source By: By: Lindsey Christ
Friday, November 20, 2009
Bed Bug Symptoms
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Bedbug bites
Signs and symptoms of bedbug bites will usually affect only the surface of your skin, revealing themselves as small itchy red bumps known as papules or wheals. You might find the lesions in a linear or clustered fashion, indicative of repeated feedings by a single bedbug.
Some people may develop allergic reactions or larger skin reactions such as:
Large, itchy wheals up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) across
Blister-like skin inflammations
Groups of small, swollen sacs of pus
Skin rashes similar to hives
By Mayo Clinic staff
Bedbug bites
Signs and symptoms of bedbug bites will usually affect only the surface of your skin, revealing themselves as small itchy red bumps known as papules or wheals. You might find the lesions in a linear or clustered fashion, indicative of repeated feedings by a single bedbug.
Some people may develop allergic reactions or larger skin reactions such as:
Large, itchy wheals up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) across
Blister-like skin inflammations
Groups of small, swollen sacs of pus
Skin rashes similar to hives
Access-A-Ride workers say Long Island City location is infested with bedbugs
Sourced By: BY Joe Kemp
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Dozens of irate workers rallied outside a city contractor's office building in Long Island City Wednesday, demanding that management fumigate their workplace after a year-long bedbug infestation.
The bugs have been found in the offices for Access-A-Ride dispatchers on Northern Blvd. since the summer of 2008, but management ignored the problem until a pest-sniffing dog confirmed the cubicles were overrun with the insects, workers charged.
"I hope it will force some pressure for them to do something," said John Wau, 48, who showed pinprick-sized scars along his right arm that he said came from numerous bedbug bites.
"They keep telling us not to worry, that everything is okay," said Wau, a customer service representative. "But they're not doing anything about it."
Since the bedbugs were detected Friday on the seventh and eighth floors of the facility - where more than 700 dispatchers work for the firm - sections have been taped off to keep employees away from the infested areas and several items were removed, workers said.
Officials from NYC Transit, which operates Access-A-Ride, said the problem is being addressed.
"One of the recommendations to be implemented within the next two days will be the steam-cleaning of carpets, cubicles and office chairs of the call centers," said spokesman Charles Seaton.
Workers said they're itching to be rid of the tiny pests soon.
"They really need to clean this place," said Idalia Perez, 33, who works in customer service. "This is not a joke."
Perez, a mother of two children, said she had to live with her sister for more than three weeks when she inadvertently brought the bedbugs back to her Bronx apartment in August 2008.
Her landlord paid to fumigate her home, but Perez said she had to toss out all of her bedroom and living room furniture, costing thousands of dollars to replace.
"I'm still paying for it," she said. "They [Access-A-Ride] never offered to help with any of it."
Access-A-Ride provides van service for the disabled who cannot use subways, buses or commuter railroads.
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Dozens of irate workers rallied outside a city contractor's office building in Long Island City Wednesday, demanding that management fumigate their workplace after a year-long bedbug infestation.
The bugs have been found in the offices for Access-A-Ride dispatchers on Northern Blvd. since the summer of 2008, but management ignored the problem until a pest-sniffing dog confirmed the cubicles were overrun with the insects, workers charged.
"I hope it will force some pressure for them to do something," said John Wau, 48, who showed pinprick-sized scars along his right arm that he said came from numerous bedbug bites.
"They keep telling us not to worry, that everything is okay," said Wau, a customer service representative. "But they're not doing anything about it."
Since the bedbugs were detected Friday on the seventh and eighth floors of the facility - where more than 700 dispatchers work for the firm - sections have been taped off to keep employees away from the infested areas and several items were removed, workers said.
Officials from NYC Transit, which operates Access-A-Ride, said the problem is being addressed.
"One of the recommendations to be implemented within the next two days will be the steam-cleaning of carpets, cubicles and office chairs of the call centers," said spokesman Charles Seaton.
Workers said they're itching to be rid of the tiny pests soon.
"They really need to clean this place," said Idalia Perez, 33, who works in customer service. "This is not a joke."
Perez, a mother of two children, said she had to live with her sister for more than three weeks when she inadvertently brought the bedbugs back to her Bronx apartment in August 2008.
Her landlord paid to fumigate her home, but Perez said she had to toss out all of her bedroom and living room furniture, costing thousands of dollars to replace.
"I'm still paying for it," she said. "They [Access-A-Ride] never offered to help with any of it."
Access-A-Ride provides van service for the disabled who cannot use subways, buses or commuter railroads.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Weapon Uses Bed Bug's Own Juice
Researchers have enlisted a new weapon against bed bugs: their own chemical signals. It's first time scientists have used any insect's alarm pheromones as a method of control.
While the new technique probably won't single-handedly solve anyone's bed bug woes, experts say, the research may add to our arsenal of tools for fighting what has become a disturbing nuisance for a growing number of people.
"To control bed bugs, there's not going to be one easy solution," said Joshua Benoit, an entomologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. "We are trying to encourage people to find new and creative ways to kill bed bugs."
Bed-bug infestations have been on the rise in recent years, Benoit said, probably because people travel so much. All it takes is one pregnant female hopping a ride in a suitcase for a new crop of insects to invade homes and apartment buildings.
The tiny critters don't spread diseases, but a single person can easily get a few hundred bites in one night. Those chomps cause intense itching and even scarring in some people.
So far, there is no ideal way to get rid of bed bugs. Pesticide treatments can be expensive, invasive, toxic, and often ineffective. Already, the insects have developed resistance to some of the most common chemicals used to fight them.
In an effort to get the upper hand, Benoit experimented with alarm pheromones -- the chemicals that bed bugs release when they're disturbed or in danger. In turn, their comrades get excited and start scurrying around.
Benoit and colleagues mixed synthetic versions of bed-bug alarm pheromones with desiccant dust, a pesticide that works by drying insects out. In order to work, the bugs need to run directly through the dust.
The researchers placed varying concentrations of these mixtures in Petri dishes and in small enclosures that contained hiding places for the insects. Then they added bed bugs.
Their results, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, showed that mixtures of alarm pheromones and desiccant dust killed up to 50 percent more bed bugs than did desiccant dust alone. The idea is that the pheromones get the bugs to move around more, making them more likely to run through the dust, which is relatively non-toxic and inexpensive.
"This is the first study of its kind to use alarm pheromones in this manner," Benoit said, "for any insect."
It's still way too soon to recommend that people run out and buy alarm pheromones (which are synthesized for other purposes, including as food preservatives). Outside the confines of a plastic dish, getting bed bugs to run around like crazy is not necessarily a good thing, said Michael Potter, an urban entomologist at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. Bed bugs are notoriously good at getting behind baseboards, inside walls, and into other cracks and crevices.
"Some might run into the apartment next door," Potter said. "Some might run into inaccessible areas."
In one recent incident in Columbus, Benoit said, bed bugs had infested 23 out of 24 units in an apartment building. Residents had to leave their homes for a week while the building was fumigated. Even then, there was no guarantee that the treatment killed all the bugs.
The incident illustrates how important it is to continue learning more about the inner workings of these pests.
"Any new work on bed bugs," Potter said, "is interesting work."
Source By: Emily Sohn, Discovery News
While the new technique probably won't single-handedly solve anyone's bed bug woes, experts say, the research may add to our arsenal of tools for fighting what has become a disturbing nuisance for a growing number of people.
"To control bed bugs, there's not going to be one easy solution," said Joshua Benoit, an entomologist at Ohio State University in Columbus. "We are trying to encourage people to find new and creative ways to kill bed bugs."
Bed-bug infestations have been on the rise in recent years, Benoit said, probably because people travel so much. All it takes is one pregnant female hopping a ride in a suitcase for a new crop of insects to invade homes and apartment buildings.
The tiny critters don't spread diseases, but a single person can easily get a few hundred bites in one night. Those chomps cause intense itching and even scarring in some people.
So far, there is no ideal way to get rid of bed bugs. Pesticide treatments can be expensive, invasive, toxic, and often ineffective. Already, the insects have developed resistance to some of the most common chemicals used to fight them.
In an effort to get the upper hand, Benoit experimented with alarm pheromones -- the chemicals that bed bugs release when they're disturbed or in danger. In turn, their comrades get excited and start scurrying around.
Benoit and colleagues mixed synthetic versions of bed-bug alarm pheromones with desiccant dust, a pesticide that works by drying insects out. In order to work, the bugs need to run directly through the dust.
The researchers placed varying concentrations of these mixtures in Petri dishes and in small enclosures that contained hiding places for the insects. Then they added bed bugs.
Their results, published in the Journal of Medical Entomology, showed that mixtures of alarm pheromones and desiccant dust killed up to 50 percent more bed bugs than did desiccant dust alone. The idea is that the pheromones get the bugs to move around more, making them more likely to run through the dust, which is relatively non-toxic and inexpensive.
"This is the first study of its kind to use alarm pheromones in this manner," Benoit said, "for any insect."
It's still way too soon to recommend that people run out and buy alarm pheromones (which are synthesized for other purposes, including as food preservatives). Outside the confines of a plastic dish, getting bed bugs to run around like crazy is not necessarily a good thing, said Michael Potter, an urban entomologist at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. Bed bugs are notoriously good at getting behind baseboards, inside walls, and into other cracks and crevices.
"Some might run into the apartment next door," Potter said. "Some might run into inaccessible areas."
In one recent incident in Columbus, Benoit said, bed bugs had infested 23 out of 24 units in an apartment building. Residents had to leave their homes for a week while the building was fumigated. Even then, there was no guarantee that the treatment killed all the bugs.
The incident illustrates how important it is to continue learning more about the inner workings of these pests.
"Any new work on bed bugs," Potter said, "is interesting work."
Source By: Emily Sohn, Discovery News
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Bed Bugs Becoming Problem in Ohio
There are more reports of bed bugs surfacing in Ohio, and hotel rooms seem to be their breeding grounds.
65 to 70 percent of hotel rooms have reported infestations at one time.
"Most likely it's because of our mobile society. People do a lot of traveling and they're picking those insects up either in another state or even in anouther country, bringing them back to Ohio, " says OSU Extension Program's Mark Mechling.
The bed bugs have also developed a resistance to the conventional insecticides being used to kill them. So, the Ohio Department of Agriculture is looking to other means to help control the problem.
"They're proposing to use another insecticide that hasn't been used for a number of years. They're petitioning the epa to allow this insecticide to be used by commercial applicators to control the bed bugs, " says Mechling.
Mechling says the EPA is in the process of measuring the risks or benefits of this particular insecticide.
Source By: Emily Baird
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 - 5:56pm
65 to 70 percent of hotel rooms have reported infestations at one time.
"Most likely it's because of our mobile society. People do a lot of traveling and they're picking those insects up either in another state or even in anouther country, bringing them back to Ohio, " says OSU Extension Program's Mark Mechling.
The bed bugs have also developed a resistance to the conventional insecticides being used to kill them. So, the Ohio Department of Agriculture is looking to other means to help control the problem.
"They're proposing to use another insecticide that hasn't been used for a number of years. They're petitioning the epa to allow this insecticide to be used by commercial applicators to control the bed bugs, " says Mechling.
Mechling says the EPA is in the process of measuring the risks or benefits of this particular insecticide.
Source By: Emily Baird
Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 - 5:56pm
Friday, November 13, 2009
Researcher hunts for safe solution to creeping bed bug population
By Kayla Duran
Contributing Writer
Source: Daily Targum University
Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Updated: Friday, November 13, 2009
Residents can sleep a little better tonight knowing that University Assistant Extension Specialist Changlu Wang is conducting research on bedbug prevention. This comes on the heels of rising numbers of bed bug cases in New Brunswick and the Northeast.Wang is conducting entomology research on different ways people can prevent the start and spread of bed bugs in an affordable manner, especially considering the high demand for new ways to combat bed bug infestation.“[The Northeast] is probably one of the most infested areas in our country. I have to respond. I receive a lot of questions because I have that extension [position]. … So naturally I have to do research on this so I can have the information,” Wang said.Bed bugs live in furniture and come out only to feed on their host. Humans are commonly victims because bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide and blood.“They are attracted by heat and carbon dioxide. They are attracted to your breath,” said Wang in a Rutgers FOCUS article.But bed bugs were not always so prevalent in this area. Due to the now-banned pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as DDT, bed bugs were nearly extinct, according to the article.“[DDT] was very strong, very effective, but of course, in modern standards they are too strong, too dangerous,” Wang said.Wang said since DDT was so potent, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to ban it being used at homes because the residue can stay in a house for more than 50 years.Now with the increasing numbers of people traveling to foreign countries and bringing back the insects, as well as filthiness in urban areas, the bed bug has made a comeback, he said.Wang uses different contraptions in his experiments to determine infestation, such as a cat feeder-like mechanism used as boundary at the leg of a piece of furniture. The first circle of the device measures how many bed bugs are in the room and prevents them from getting to the furniture, he said.The second circle determines how many bed bugs come from the furniture itself and prevents them from infiltrating the rest of the room. “The compound that attracts bedbugs also kills them at high doses. Wang and his assistant, [Vincenzo] Averello, will test the lethality of various carbon dioxide concentrations and exposure times,” according to the article.Averello, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences sophomore double majoring in genetics and ecology, was attracted to the research because it involved both of his interests. “It has a bit of an ecology element to it, with a sense of [what] a whole population is doing. … Because effectively all studies are populations, [and that’s] what it comes down to here,” Averello said. “So that’s part of why I came here. … I’ve always had a thing for bugs since I was a little kid.”Maria Camacho, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, is fearful of the recent bed bug infestation in the area and would like to see effective change in prevention.“I feel like someone has to get the job done. So at least he’s doing something about it,” Camacho said. “And hopefully it’ll be something productive that has results.” For the meantime, Wang suggests that everyone be careful when they go to other homes and check to see if there are any brown spots on the sofa that might seem like bed bug infestation. He also suggests regularly checking furniture and rooms for any possible signs of infestation.
Source: Daily Targum University
By Kayla Duran
Contributing Writer
Source: Daily Targum University
Published: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Updated: Friday, November 13, 2009
Residents can sleep a little better tonight knowing that University Assistant Extension Specialist Changlu Wang is conducting research on bedbug prevention. This comes on the heels of rising numbers of bed bug cases in New Brunswick and the Northeast.Wang is conducting entomology research on different ways people can prevent the start and spread of bed bugs in an affordable manner, especially considering the high demand for new ways to combat bed bug infestation.“[The Northeast] is probably one of the most infested areas in our country. I have to respond. I receive a lot of questions because I have that extension [position]. … So naturally I have to do research on this so I can have the information,” Wang said.Bed bugs live in furniture and come out only to feed on their host. Humans are commonly victims because bed bugs are attracted to carbon dioxide and blood.“They are attracted by heat and carbon dioxide. They are attracted to your breath,” said Wang in a Rutgers FOCUS article.But bed bugs were not always so prevalent in this area. Due to the now-banned pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as DDT, bed bugs were nearly extinct, according to the article.“[DDT] was very strong, very effective, but of course, in modern standards they are too strong, too dangerous,” Wang said.Wang said since DDT was so potent, the Environmental Protection Agency decided to ban it being used at homes because the residue can stay in a house for more than 50 years.Now with the increasing numbers of people traveling to foreign countries and bringing back the insects, as well as filthiness in urban areas, the bed bug has made a comeback, he said.Wang uses different contraptions in his experiments to determine infestation, such as a cat feeder-like mechanism used as boundary at the leg of a piece of furniture. The first circle of the device measures how many bed bugs are in the room and prevents them from getting to the furniture, he said.The second circle determines how many bed bugs come from the furniture itself and prevents them from infiltrating the rest of the room. “The compound that attracts bedbugs also kills them at high doses. Wang and his assistant, [Vincenzo] Averello, will test the lethality of various carbon dioxide concentrations and exposure times,” according to the article.Averello, a School of Environmental and Biological Sciences sophomore double majoring in genetics and ecology, was attracted to the research because it involved both of his interests. “It has a bit of an ecology element to it, with a sense of [what] a whole population is doing. … Because effectively all studies are populations, [and that’s] what it comes down to here,” Averello said. “So that’s part of why I came here. … I’ve always had a thing for bugs since I was a little kid.”Maria Camacho, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, is fearful of the recent bed bug infestation in the area and would like to see effective change in prevention.“I feel like someone has to get the job done. So at least he’s doing something about it,” Camacho said. “And hopefully it’ll be something productive that has results.” For the meantime, Wang suggests that everyone be careful when they go to other homes and check to see if there are any brown spots on the sofa that might seem like bed bug infestation. He also suggests regularly checking furniture and rooms for any possible signs of infestation.
Source: Daily Targum University
School district sprays for bedbugs
By KENT JACKSON (Staff Writer) Published: November 12, 2009
The discovery of a child with a bedbug bite at the Valley Elementary Middle School on Tuesday led exterminators to search five schools on Veterans Day to make sure there was no infestation before classes resumed Thursday.
School administrators checked with the family of the student who was bitten and found that she had attended a sleepover. Her family and the family that hosted the sleepover have a total of six children who attend five schools: Valley, Hazleton Area High School, the Ninth Grade Center, the Hazleton Area Career Center and Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School.
Administrators spent the holiday with technicians from the district's exterminator, All 'Bout Critters Pest Control Co., searching those schools and checking the school schedules of the six students.
"The simplest method is to follow the student through the day," Ken Temborski of ABC Pest Control said.
So technicians checked the classrooms, lockers and buses of the six students.
"We found nothing," Temborski said.
As a precaution, technicians sprayed a mix of five chemicals in the areas where the students traveled. Temborski said the chemicals don't harm people and dry in two to four hours, so the closing of school for Veterans Day provided an ideal time to work.
"It was a coordinated effort. It was swift, very efficient," Sam Marolo, the district's superintendent, said.
The two families hired ABC Pest Control to exterminate the bedbugs in their homes, and their children won't return to school until the work is done. Temborski said treating bedbugs takes at least two treatments given two days apart.
Bedbugs are on the rise nationally, hard to see and live in crevices of furniture and bedding, he said. Impervious to household cleansers like bleach, they feed at night, but the bites don't erupt until one to three days later.
Bedbugs are attracted to body heat and not spread by dirt and filth, Temborski said.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," he said.
Source: standardspeaker.com
Source: Citizen's Voice
The discovery of a child with a bedbug bite at the Valley Elementary Middle School on Tuesday led exterminators to search five schools on Veterans Day to make sure there was no infestation before classes resumed Thursday.
School administrators checked with the family of the student who was bitten and found that she had attended a sleepover. Her family and the family that hosted the sleepover have a total of six children who attend five schools: Valley, Hazleton Area High School, the Ninth Grade Center, the Hazleton Area Career Center and Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School.
Administrators spent the holiday with technicians from the district's exterminator, All 'Bout Critters Pest Control Co., searching those schools and checking the school schedules of the six students.
"The simplest method is to follow the student through the day," Ken Temborski of ABC Pest Control said.
So technicians checked the classrooms, lockers and buses of the six students.
"We found nothing," Temborski said.
As a precaution, technicians sprayed a mix of five chemicals in the areas where the students traveled. Temborski said the chemicals don't harm people and dry in two to four hours, so the closing of school for Veterans Day provided an ideal time to work.
"It was a coordinated effort. It was swift, very efficient," Sam Marolo, the district's superintendent, said.
The two families hired ABC Pest Control to exterminate the bedbugs in their homes, and their children won't return to school until the work is done. Temborski said treating bedbugs takes at least two treatments given two days apart.
Bedbugs are on the rise nationally, hard to see and live in crevices of furniture and bedding, he said. Impervious to household cleansers like bleach, they feed at night, but the bites don't erupt until one to three days later.
Bedbugs are attracted to body heat and not spread by dirt and filth, Temborski said.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about," he said.
Source: standardspeaker.com
Source: Citizen's Voice
Thursday, November 12, 2009
EPA Special Request
The Department of Agriculture for many states have requested that the EPA make an emergency exemption for the use of Propoxur in residential application. The pesticide is currently used agriculture crops and restricted from residential use.
Bed Bug Study
Hey everyone, The city of Toronto released a new study out on bed bugs. Click on the link for the PDF http://www.woodgreen.org
Friday, November 6, 2009
By Adam Voiland
Posted 7/8/07
For Kyle Anderson, 19, the battle began with a row of welts on his stomach. Soon the Arizona State University student, who was living in a private apartment complex in Tempe, was waking up repeatedly at night to smash anything that moved.
His prey? Cimex lectularius, those notorious nocturnal, lentil-size bedbugs that feed on human blood, can travel on anything from luggage to a used sofa and are now popping up everywhere across America—from homes to hotels to summer camps—in surprisingly large numbers. "History is repeating itself," says Michael Potter, an entomologist from the University of Kentucky and a leading bedbug expert, who notes that most American homes were crawling with the bugs prior to World War II. The widespread use of potent insecticides such as DDT nearly wiped them out. Experts aren't sure what's spurring a comeback now, but they theorize it's a combination of international travel and the move away from strong pesticides.
"If bedbugs transmitted disease, what's happening would be considered a huge epidemic," says Dini Miller, an entomologist at Virginia Tech who, like Potter, is one of only a handful of researchers studying live bedbugs in the lab. Though bedbugs have been shown to harbor 28 pathogens temporarily—including HIV and hepatitis B—numerous studies have shown the pathogens fail to thrive in the host enough to spread disease to people.
Psychological pest. There's no doubt, however, that the wingless bugs, which inject an anesthetic to mask their feeding, make some people itch and spread the willies. "They come in the dark; they feed on you; they scurry away when you turn the light on," says Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California-Davis. And they are indeed tough to beat. Their waxy cuticle resists desiccation, and they can live for more than a year without a blood meal. Unlike head lice, which tend to die once they drop away from the scalp, they scatter into the cracks and crevices of a room, so exterminators have to track down and kill bugs individually. The eggs are tiny and easy to miss; overlook a few, and the bugs bounce back.
Moreover, says Potter, many have grown resistant to the chemicals used to fight them, mainly a class of insecticides known as pyrethroids. Potter and University of Kentucky researchers showed that bedbugs collected randomly around the country were up to thousands of times more resistant to the chemicals than a nonresistant laboratory strain of bug.
"We make no guarantees," says Matt Nixon, CEO of American Pest Management, an extermination company that serves the Washington, D.C., area. Exterminators say eradicating bedbugs usually requires a multipronged approach (for example, the use of chemical agents, targeted vacuuming and steaming, and possible disposal of infested furniture) and a number of follow-up visits to confirm that no stragglers remain. The entire process can easily run more than $500.
Business is booming. Nixon's company treated nine homes and hundreds of apartments for bedbugs in May alone—up from zero jobs during May of 2002. The National Pest Management Association, the trade group of more than 5,000 companies, reports a 71 percent increase in bedbug calls between 2000 and 2005. Entomologists say their phones are ringing off the hook with pleas for guidance. Stephen Kells, an entomologist from the University of Minnesota, estimates that as many as 1 in 6,000 single-family homes is now infested.
You May Not Be Alone
Here's how you can keep those bedbugs from biting
By Adam Voiland
Posted 7/8/07
Page 2 of 2
Some people take bedbugs in stride; for others, killing them becomes almost an obsession. Exterminators, entomologists, and Internet forums are full of war stories: a girl from New York who dumped 5 gallons of insecticide on her mattress; people who have claimed multimillion-dollar damages in court; a photographer from New York who started microwaving her books; and a woman from West Virginia who sprays herself with pesticides before climbing into her bed.
Such stories of misery cause some experts to argue that the problem has been blown completely out of proportion. "Some people in the industry are grandstanding," says Richard Pollack, an entomologist at Harvard University, who notes that mosquitoes, which spread a number of deadly diseases, are a greater health threat. "People have to make sure they don't fall prey to stories that are more alarming than they are factual," says George Rambo, former technical director of the National Pest Control Association and a consultant who points out that even with rising rates of bedbug infestations, the overall number remains relatively low. People who are alarmed should keep in mind that most don't react to the bites—which not that long ago were a fact of life.
Anyway, Pollack says, with time and patience, most infestations can be eliminated. "I have people who call me in tears. They're in hysterics," he says. "My response is to put things in perspective. This is not a terminal illness. Being upset is not going to kill any bedbugs."
Occasionally the critters win. Kyle Anderson tried bug bombs, obsessive vacuuming and laundering, and pleading with his landlord to get the pests under control, but nothing worked. After more than seven months of waking up with bites, he surrendered and moved.
Do Bed Bugs transmit diseases
Bradley Skierkowski asked do bed bugs trasmit diseases?
Bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases of any kind. But people have had an allergic reaction to their bites. (AP / CBS)
Bed bugs are not known to transmit diseases of any kind. But people have had an allergic reaction to their bites. (AP / CBS)
Feds Waking Up To Nightmare Of Bedbugs
(CBS/ AP) The federal government is waking up to what has become a growing nightmare in many parts of the country - a bed bug outbreak.
The tiny reddish-brown insects, last seen in great numbers prior to World War II, are on the rebound. They have infested college dormitories, hospital wings, homeless shelters and swanky hotels from New York City to Chicago to Washington.
They live in the crevices and folds of mattresses, sofas and sheets. Then, most often before dawn, they emerge to feed on human blood.
Faced with rising numbers of complaints to city information lines and increasingly frustrated landlords, hotel chains and housing authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency is hosting its first-ever bed bug summit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The venue - the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington - has had no reported bed bug problems, according to a popular online registry, so at least conference participants will be sleeping tight.
"The problem seems to be increasing and it could definitely be worse in densely populated areas like cities, although it can be a problem for anyone," said Lois Rossi, director of the registration division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
One of the problems, according to researchers and the pesticide industry, is that there are few chemicals on the market approved for use on mattresses that are effective at reducing bed bug numbers.
The EPA, out of concern for the environment and the effects on public health, has pulled many of the chemicals that were most effective in eradicating the bugs from the U.S. over the last 50 years - such as DDT - off of shelves.
Increasing international travel has also increased the chances for the bugs to hitchhike from developing countries which never eradicated them completely.
"This is a worldwide resurgence," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and bed bug expert at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, who until 2001 only saw bed bugs on microscope slides dating from the 1950s. Now she gets calls several times a day from people who are often at their wits end dealing with the problem.
"I can't tell you how many people have spent the night in their bath tubs because they are so freaked out by bed bugs," Miller said. "I get these people over the phone that have lost their marbles."
Bed bugs are not known to transmit any diseases. But people have had an allergic reaction to their bites. The insects release an anticoagulant to get blood flowing, and they also excrete a numbing agent so their bites don't often stir a victim's slumber.
In a recent review of research on the pesky critters, researchers reviewed 53 recent studies on bedbugs and their health and medical effects. The results showed that although bedbugs have been blamed for the spread of up to 40 different human diseases, there is little evidence to suggest they are carriers of human disease.
Those often hardest hit are the urban poor, Miller said. These are people who cannot afford to throw out all their belongings or take the sanitation measures necessary to rid them of the problem.
Because the registration of new pesticides takes so long, one thing the EPA could do is to approve some pesticides for emergency use, Miller said.
The pesticide industry will be pushing for federal funding for research into alternative solutions, such as heating, freezing or steaming the bugs out of bedrooms.
"We need to have better tools," said Greg Baumann, a senior scientist at the National Pest Management Association. "We need EPA to consider all the options for us."
Source: (CBS / AP)
The tiny reddish-brown insects, last seen in great numbers prior to World War II, are on the rebound. They have infested college dormitories, hospital wings, homeless shelters and swanky hotels from New York City to Chicago to Washington.
They live in the crevices and folds of mattresses, sofas and sheets. Then, most often before dawn, they emerge to feed on human blood.
Faced with rising numbers of complaints to city information lines and increasingly frustrated landlords, hotel chains and housing authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency is hosting its first-ever bed bug summit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The venue - the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington - has had no reported bed bug problems, according to a popular online registry, so at least conference participants will be sleeping tight.
"The problem seems to be increasing and it could definitely be worse in densely populated areas like cities, although it can be a problem for anyone," said Lois Rossi, director of the registration division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs.
One of the problems, according to researchers and the pesticide industry, is that there are few chemicals on the market approved for use on mattresses that are effective at reducing bed bug numbers.
The EPA, out of concern for the environment and the effects on public health, has pulled many of the chemicals that were most effective in eradicating the bugs from the U.S. over the last 50 years - such as DDT - off of shelves.
Increasing international travel has also increased the chances for the bugs to hitchhike from developing countries which never eradicated them completely.
"This is a worldwide resurgence," said Dini Miller, an entomologist and bed bug expert at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, who until 2001 only saw bed bugs on microscope slides dating from the 1950s. Now she gets calls several times a day from people who are often at their wits end dealing with the problem.
"I can't tell you how many people have spent the night in their bath tubs because they are so freaked out by bed bugs," Miller said. "I get these people over the phone that have lost their marbles."
Bed bugs are not known to transmit any diseases. But people have had an allergic reaction to their bites. The insects release an anticoagulant to get blood flowing, and they also excrete a numbing agent so their bites don't often stir a victim's slumber.
In a recent review of research on the pesky critters, researchers reviewed 53 recent studies on bedbugs and their health and medical effects. The results showed that although bedbugs have been blamed for the spread of up to 40 different human diseases, there is little evidence to suggest they are carriers of human disease.
Those often hardest hit are the urban poor, Miller said. These are people who cannot afford to throw out all their belongings or take the sanitation measures necessary to rid them of the problem.
Because the registration of new pesticides takes so long, one thing the EPA could do is to approve some pesticides for emergency use, Miller said.
The pesticide industry will be pushing for federal funding for research into alternative solutions, such as heating, freezing or steaming the bugs out of bedrooms.
"We need to have better tools," said Greg Baumann, a senior scientist at the National Pest Management Association. "We need EPA to consider all the options for us."
Source: (CBS / AP)
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