Continuing from Wednesday…

Out of complete desperation to get rid of the bed bugs, Fox News hired an entomologist that was employed with the American Museum of Natural History.  The entomologist was able to determine that the treatments were working, but the office was continuously being re-infested by another staff member.  This was only confirmed after the entomologist visited each of the employee’s homes, and second homes, in an effort to pin-point the exact location of the bed bug infestation so that the re-infestation within the office building could stop.

Ms. Clark claims to have sustained physical and mental injuries because of the bed bug bites that she received, resulting in her resigning from her job in 2008.  Ms. Clark soon became the first worker to sue a commercial landlord, and its agents, over a New York City bed bug infestation.  Fox News was not named in the lawsuit.

New York Supreme Court Judge Carol Robinson Edmead dismissed the negligence lawsuit in mid-April.

The judge said that the Fox worker had “no contractual relationship” with the property defendants in the case and that “Fox News took extraordinary measures to combat the bed bug infestation.”  Quite frankly…she’s correct!

Judge Edmead said…

“Movants posit that since there are no effective prophylactic measures against bed bugs, the only thing they could do to prevent bed bugs would be to subject all persons entering the building and their possessions to a thorough search by specially trained dogs and human inspectors which would be much more intrusive than the searches conducted at airports — a practical impossibility since more than 6,000 people a day go into the building.”

The former Fox News employee has announced that she does intend on appealing the ruling in this case.

Businesses can avoid potential lawsuits by employees if they hire a licensed pest control professional with experience in eradicating New York City bed bug infestations!  For expert bed bug removal service, contact Stern Environmental Group.

Just the mention of bed bugs to many New York City residents can send shivers down their spines.  Since the pesky bloodsuckers made their way into the spotlight a few years back, New York City has been dubbed our nations “bed bug capitol”.  Typically nocturnal, these hitchhiking parasites have made their way into daytime venues too.  NYC retail stores, courtroom, hospitals, and offices have all reported trouble with NYC bed bug infestations.

It’s a high profile bed bug lawsuit that many people around the United States have been itching…pardon the pun…to learn the verdict of….

According to the much publicized reports, in October of 2007 Jane Clark claims that she was repeatedly bitten bybloodsucking bed bugs while working at the offices of Fox News in New York City.  According to court documents, she claims that the daytime munching continued even after Fox News relocated its office to another floor in the building in the early part of 2008.

Fox New was quick to react to the bed bug infestation and hired a pest control expert in October of 2007.  Pest control began chemical treatments of the office building on December 1, 2007.  It should be noted that the delay in providing immediate pest control treatment could have helped contribute to the spreading and multiplication of the bed bugs within the office.  The eradication services continued at Fox News even after the company moved to their new location within the building.

Despite the chemical treatments that ensued, the bed bug infestation persisted at Fox News.  Extensive efforts were made to get rid of the NYC bed bug infestation.  Fox News installed insect monitors, hired bed bug sniffing dogs, Cryonite was used to freeze the bed bugs and their eggs…and yet the bugs still remained.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion. 

As promised a few months ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun to issue grant money to help combat bed bugs in the United States.  To date, the EPA had awarded $550,000 in grants to five recipients in various areas of the country where bed bug infestations are high, but resources to fight the bloodsuckers are limited.  According to the EPA, the main goal of the grant money is to provide education about combating the critters that are plaguing so many low income residents.

New Jersey pest control experts agree that education and awareness about bed bug detection, lifecycle, avoidance, and treatment preparation and procedures are key components in fighting these pests.  In New Jersey as well as many other parts of the United States, bed bug infestations have caused serious economic burdens for many lower income communities.  NJ pest control experts think that New Jersey bed bug infestations are even more challenging because New Jersey has the highest population density in the United States.

Over the next nineteen months, the Environmental Protection Agency will provide Rutgers University with $99,688 so that it can implement a bed bug educational outreach program in New Jersey.  The beneficial program will benefit at least 50 low income communities within the state.  In addition, the grant money will be used to set up a model Integrated Pest Management program at an affordable housing community in Jersey City, NJ.  The model will focus on a variety of safe and effective bed bug alternatives.  The program will include the use of low-toxicity insecticides, non-chemical control practices, and early detection education to help end the spread of bed bug infestations within the state. 

NJ pest control professionals agree that educating yourself on how to avoid a NJ bed bug infestation is absolutely crucial, but because of their sneaky behavior and ability to hitchhike from anyplace humans frequent, you may still find yourself infested at some point in time.  You can eliminate a bed bug infestation during its early stages by hiring a NJ pest control professional at the first sign of the bugs!

Long gone are the days of living in New York City without the threat of having a bed bug infestation.  Since the resurgence of the pesky bloodsucking creepers a few years ago, Manhattan has seen more than a 2,000 percent increase in bed bug complaints, according to DNAInfo reports.  2011 has been a good year for NYC bed bugs!  From January to March of this year there has been 2, 141 complaints called into 311 and violations have been issued to 689 landlords.

It should be noted that the numbers of bed bug infestations reported to NYC’s 311 number are likely a bit misleading though.  The majority of the calls reported are for rental properties in the city.  In many cases, the calls are made when landlords or owners have refused to treat or provided inadequate treatment for a bed bug infested property.

NYC pest control experts have found that some bed bug sufferers never report their bed bug infestation to 311 at all.  In wealthier neighborhoods in the city, many tenants call their landlords, who provide prompt bed bug extermination services.  In other instances, the stigma of having a bed bug infestation prompts the tenant, with the ability to pay for eradication services themselves, to contact a NYC pest control professional directly.

Sometimes NYC pest control experts are finding that people are not making the call to the 311 line because landlords and building owners have learned that it is best to hire a pest control professional quickly to address the infestation instead of ignoring the bugs and allowing them to rage out –of-control.

It stands to reason that apartment owners, condos and co-ops are not calling the 311 complaint line as they are responsible for handling their own bed bug infestation problems.  Being such, it is very likely the New York City bed bug infestation numbers are far more widespread than the numbers that are released in any survey.

Bed bugs infestations are certainly a problem throughout the United States.  Their recent resurgence over the past few years has many American’s on high alert as the bloodsuckers have been spotted in homes, offices, movie theaters, airplanes, and retail stores.

Two eagle-eyed women in a Trenton, New Jersey courtroom spotted a man this week whose clothing was infested with bed bugs.  According to reports, there were so many bed bugs on the gentleman that the creepy crawlers were literally dropping off of the gent!  The ladies informed courtroom staff, but the bed bug infested visitor was allowed to remain in the courtroom until he was escorted out of the building around noon on Monday.

Reports are that many courtroom attendees requested that the gentleman be removed earlier, but he was not initially asked to leave.  After he was asked to leave, the entire courtroom was evacuated, and a courthouse employee vacuumed up the bloodsuckers from the courtroom floor.  In addition, a NJ pest control professional was called to the scene to inspect for any signs of bed bugs.  After the courtroom inspection, City Health Officer Joseph Rubino said that they “found no visible signs of bed bugs”.

Bed bugs are excellent at hiding in any crack or crevice.  The bed bug infested man was allowed to remain in the courtroom for three long hours, with visible signs of bed bugs dropping off of his person.  It is not unthinkable to believe that bed bugs were able to creep away during that three hour period of time.  Hopefully the courtroom does not have a bed bug infestation, but it would be wise to have a bed bug sniffing dog run through the building to make certain that there are no bloodsuckers lurking about!

An inspection of the gentleman’s home by Health and Human Services revealed that he is suffering from a serious bed bug infestation problem as well.  Hopefully he will quickly seek the help from a licensed NJ pest control expert who is trained in bed bug eradication services.