If you listen carefully, you can probably hear the renters of New York rejoicing!  On Monday, a monumental hurdle was overcome when New York’s Governor David Paterson signed a new bed bug bill into law.  The legislation was sponsored by State Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal of Manhattan.  The new law would require landlords to reveal to potential tenants what the bed bug history is, and has been, for any rental property.

The residents of New York have been waiting on pins and needles for Governor Paterson’s okay on this bill.  Just recently, he rejected another bed but related bill that would have required that used mattresses, which would later be resold, be sanitized before being stored with new mattresses.  As it stands now, new mattresses can easily be infested with bed bugs.

Some skeptics of the new legislation think that the new bill might just be too little, too late, to make a difference with New York’s bed bug infestation problem.

New York is the second state to implement such a law to protect potential renters, and Maine was the first.  New Jersey has had similar legislation pending for quite some time.  Some experts think that now that New York’s bill has passed, that there will be many other states that will also follow suit to protect their residents.

Bed bugs are a huge problem in New York City and new protocols are being set in place to help combat the nocturnal nibblers that are terrorizing the city.  These blood suckers have also found their way throughout the entire state.  If you think that New York City is the only state that is dealing with the pests on a large scale, you would be very wrong.  Terminix just released a list of their top 15 most infested cities based on call volume and confirmed bed bug cases. Here are the cities from 1 – 15:  NYC, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, Denver, Columbus, Dayton, Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Indianapolis, Louisville, Cleveland, and Minneapolis.

The simple fact is…bed bugs are now everywhere.  All states need better legislation on the books and residents need to contact a licensed pest control specialist if they think they have bed bugs!