Garbage bag with rat chew marks.

Some pest experts predict that this winter will be “rodent season” in New York City.  Since rats won’t stand still long enough to get a good head count and because they are basically everywhere; it’s hard to tell how many are actually residing in New York City. 

Their populations are estimated to be from between one and twelve rats for every single person living in the City.  Now that’s a lot of rats! 

A study just released last week shows that NYC still tops the list as the number one hang out for the beastly creatures that burrow beneath, and roam the streets of New York at night.  Lucky for Atlanta, they have now jumped into the number two spot.

Rats usually begin their never ending hunt for food at dusk and feed for about an hour and a half.  They then typically rest up for another early morning gorge session to fill their ugly bellies at about 4 am.  They are clever gatherers and if they find food that is too large to be eaten quickly, they will drag it off to a safe hiding place for consumption.  When food is scarce, they will travel a good distance, but in New York City, this is usually not a problem.  Rats to do not need to resort to the measly morsels dropped by passerby’s on the street; they can easily feast on the overwhelming amount of discarded trash left uncovered in the City.

Check out the picture of a recent trip that Douglas Stern took into New York City at night with rat Czar Bobby Corrigan of the City’s Health Department to see what the rats have been up to.  This is just one of the many bags of trash that a rat had decided to tear into and make a good dinner of.  Quite disturbing when you consider all of the diseases that can easily be spread by these creatures!

All this week our bloggers will be telling about Douglas’ travels in this special night “rat safari” so make sure to come back Tuesday for more on his interesting trip to some of the most high profile alleys in New York City that are infested with rats.

If you have a rat infestation problem in New York or New Jersey, it’s time to call out a pest control expert!

Bed bug infestations are increasing all over the nation which is increasing the number of bed bug lawsuits. There is a bed bug lawsuit against a motel in Staten Island. There is a possibility the plaintiff unknowingly brought the bed bugs to the motel. Oh my.

Besides hotels and motels bed bugs lawsuits have been brought against furniture rental centers. A woman who had an allergic reaction to bed bug bites and ended up in the hospital is suing a furniture rental center for $500,000. How does she know for sure that the bed bugs came with the furniture? Even if she found them in the furniture perhaps they climbed out of a crack in her walls and climbed on the furniture.

NJ, NYC hotels, motels, furniture rental companies and other businesses may want to use the services of a NJ, NYC bed bug detection dog in order to decrease the chance of a bed bug lawsuit.

If you have a bed bug infestation in NJ, NYC, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn or Manhattan ask a NJ, NYC pest control expert to destroy the awful insects.

Stern Environmental Group would like to take this opportunity to apologize to our faithful customers and readers.  We were recently notified by some of our customers that they had received some very strange email messages which initially looked like they were coming from our company.  Once investigated, we realized that our Stern Twitter account had been hacked by some unscrupulous people on November 4th and November 9th!  Hacking into someone’s online business sources is completely shameful and unethical!

We would like all of our customers and readers to know that Stern never participates in spaming or phishing schemes.  We will never contact you to ask you for any password or credit card information either. Stern strives to provide our readers with the most updated information about bed bugs, bed bug products, bed bug services, and other important pest and urban wildlife information.  Through our extensive research and experience, we are able to bring you interesting and sometimes even funny stories that are directly linked to the industry that we are so passionate about.

If you ever receive any communication from Stern Environmental Group that seems to be out of the ordinary or meets any of the above criteria; we ask that you please contact us immediately so that we can take measures to stop this deceitful practice of others.

We do encourage you all to stop by our Twitter page and view some of our interesting topics and links.

If a hotel in NJ, NYC, has a sign stating that the hotel is closed down for remodeling, that may be the real reason. However, based on what happened in Iowa there is a possibility the NJ, NYC hotel has been shut down due to NJ, NYC bed bugs.

A former employee of an Iowa hotel claims that the manager said the hotel was actually shut down due to a bed bugs infestation even though the sign said remodeling. A local news station discovered that an Iowa inspector shut down the hotel after finding bed bugs in one of the rooms.

Well, perhaps some people can sympathize with the hotel owner. He is taking care of the bed bug problem but would rather keep the bed bug infestation quiet. A bed bug infestation can ruin the reputation of a hotel and keep customers away for a long time.

If you think you might have NJ, NYC, Queens, the Bronx, Brooklyn or Manhattan bed bugs ask a NJ, NYC bed bugs pest control professional to get rid of the horrible insects.

Sometimes real life drama plays out on television and it is just plain hilarious.  For the fans of 30 Rock, they were in for a treat last week if they viewed the episode called “Audition Day”, which should have been called “Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite”, in my humble opinion.  In the episode, Jack had a bad case of bed bugs which caused him to be shunned by everyone he knows. These “chew daddies”, as the show called them, were so bad that not only would nobody touch Jack for fear of catching bed bugs; but he was also banned from using the company car and forced to use the subway (oh no), itching all the while.

Many real life people have also experienced the same sort of discriminations that Jack encountered when they have a bed bug infestation.  If you ever browse through the internet and read bed bug victim’s blogs you can read first hand how people are ostracized by family, friends and co-workers once they find out that someone has bed bugs.  You can’t really blame non-bed bug victims however, because who wants those blood suckers in their home or business?

It’s important to remember that you are not alone in the fight against bed bugs.  Bed bug infestations can now be found in all 50 states.  They have plagued the finest hotels, cleanest office buildings and homes, and even a past President’s office.

If bed bugs are making you feel like a pariah in New York or New Jersey, it’s time to call in the pest control experts who knows how to get rid of the buggers once and for all!