F.Y.I on Bedbug Infestations

[queensborough]

After speaking to a very good friend who is in the exterminating business for 30+ years, I asked him how the city stores are getting bedbugs.

He told me that since so many of our clothes come into the country by ship from places like India, China, Indonesia, etc. and the containers and ships are no longer sprayed with any insecticides, specifically DDT, like they were years ago, they are coming in this way, as well as by air. DDT has a very long term residual effect, so it was extremely effective in preventing bedbugs. Today's sprays do not last long, so they are much less effective.

He also said that bedbugs are excellent travelers, so places like hotels, hospitals, schools, movie theaters, restaurants, and places where there are large numbers of people, are the perfect places for them to hide out and then travel with the host person to another location.

Bedbugs also have a long life, so once they have a blood meal, they can live up to 24 months, and without a blood meal they can live 12 months. This is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to treat this problem.

Best advice given to me was, if you don't have them, 1) vacuum as much as possible. If you know they are in your building do it every day, especially baseboard areas. Also, wash (or dry clean) all new clothing, or linens you bring into your apartment or home.

2) Reduce clutter in your apartment or home. It just gives them more places to hide, and they hide everywhere including books, newspapers, magazines, you can pretty much name an item and they will hide there.

I realize it's not a pleasant subject, but since the city (and this is happening all over the country) is having a serious problem, I just thought I would pass on this information.

Our apartment and another one in our building had them for almost two years, even after several treatments, so I can personally testify to the long life they have. While there are effective treatments available, it can take quite a long time to get rid of them.