If bed bugs are found, treatment must be completed to the unit and all of the surrounding units as well.  PHAs may offer special services to tenants such as inspecting furniture, non-chemical treatment of furniture prior to moving into a unit, the use of bed bug detection devices or mattress encasements, but tenants are not required to use the services.  All special services must be incurred at the expense of the PHA.

Public Housing Agencies cannot deny residency to tenants who have had previous bed bug experiences.  Preferential treatment may not be provided to tenants based upon their response to the question regarding exposure to bed bugs.  Any person who lives in a HUD owned Public Housing Unit cannot be charged for bed bug eradication services.  All costs for bed bug eradication must be covered by the PHA.

Recognizing that tenants have some responsibility in controlling bed bugs, tenants must also take an active role in avoiding and eliminating the pests.

In the regulation, “tenants are strongly encouraged to immediately report the suspicion of possible bed bugs in a housing unit or other areas of the property.”  This should be a REQUIREMENT, not an encouragement!  Bed bugs spread very quickly.  It is imperative that pest control professionals be called at the first sign of a bed bug infestation.

Tenants will not be reimbursed for bed bug infested items so it is important for them to cooperate and aid in the eradication process.  When bed bugs are concerned, tenants, PHAs and pest control professionals must all work together for full eradication.

Public Housing Agencies and Pest Control Professionals are encouraged to keep abreast of the new HUD guidelines by reading Notice: PIH-2012-17 provided by HUD.

It has been recommended that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plans be implemented to help control bed bugs as well as other types of household pests and HUD is strongly encouraging Pubic Housing Agencies (PHAs) to incorporate a good IPM plan.  According to HUD, the procedures include:

“Raising awareness through education on the prevention of bed bugs.

Inspecting infested area, plus surrounding living spaces.

Checking for bed bugs in luggage and clothes when returning home from a trip.

Looking for bed bugs or signs of an infestation on secondhand items before bringing the items home.

Correctly identifying the pest. Keeping records indicating dates and locations where pests are found.

Cleaning all items within a bed bug infested living area.

Reducing clutter where bed bugs can hide.

Eliminating bed bug habitats.

Physically removing bed bugs through cleaning.

Using pesticides carefully according to the label directions.

Following up on inspections and possible treatments.”

In the new guidelines, PHA must respond to complaints of bed bugs within 24 hours and discuss what measures will be taken to get rid of the pests with tenants.  Inspection of the unit in question, as well as the units above, below, and on the sides must also be performed within three business days.  If bed bugs are not found, re-inspection must be completed periodically over the next several months.

Please check back on Friday for the conclusion.

Bed bugs are masters at hitchhiking from place to place on any person that they encounter.  Because of their tiny size and elusive behavior, they can and will hide anyplace that they have hitchhiked to.  It would not be uncommon to find bed bugs lurking within the confines of the sheets, blankets, or pillows on a bed.  It would also not be uncommon to find these bloodsuckers hiding among clothing in drawers, closets, and laundry baskets.

One of the dilemmas that bed bug exterminators and consumers face when bed bugs are present is what should be done with fabric items (ie…clothing and bedding etc.) that are crawling with bed bugs.  Dr. Mike Merchant, author of “Insects in the City” at Texas A & M AgriLIFE Extension shared important information about research that was conducted by two scientists at the University of Sheffield in England.  Their research about how to kill bed bugs and their eggs via laundering will help both consumers and bed bug exterminators stop bed bugs from spreading so that they won’t be moved from place to place via fabric items at the onset of the eradication procedure.

Please check back on Wednesday for Part 2.

• If a unit is suspected to have bed bugs, but no bugs are found, O/As should continue to re-inspect the unit/s for several months.

• When bed bugs are found in a unit, that unit, as well as the units surrounding it, must receive treatment for the pests.  Treatment can be in the form of heat, freezing, using mattress encasements, vacuuming, steaming, and interception devices.

• O/As may ask for financial help from HUD to treat bed bug infestations in a dwelling.  O/A’s should submit a request via the “Reserve for Replacement” or “Residual Receipts” accounts at HUD.

• O/A’s can help keep the incidents of bed bug infestations low by offering tenants bed bug mattress covers, monitoring devices, or other detection tools.  The O/As may not charge a tenant for the use of any of these products.

• To protect the building, O/As may voluntarily offer to inspect a tenant’s furniture before they move in and inspections of luggage when a tenant returns from a trip out-of- town, and inspection of any used furniture before it is brought into a building. The O/As may not charge a tenant nor can they require a tenant to be subjected to any of these services.

• Tenants that have had a bed bug problem at a previous residence cannot be denied residency based upon that history.

• The cost of bed bug eradication cannot be passed along to the tenant.  The O/As must incur the costs associated with the bed bug infestation or ask for financial assistance from the “Reserve for Replacement” or “Residual Receipts” accounts at HUD if necessary.

• Tenants should immediately report any bed bug sightings to the O/As so that treatment can commence before the infestation spreads throughout the building.

• Tenants should expect the O/As to perform treatment within 5 days of calling to report the bloodsuckers.  If not possible, tenants should be kept aware of when the pest control professional will provide treatment.

• Tenants must cooperate with all bed bug treatment efforts and OA’s can offer assistance free of charge if needed.

Despite the fact that bed bugs are not known to spread disease, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) consider bed bugs to be a “pest of significant public health importance.”

Three new notices that must now be followed have been released by HUD.  Here are some of the interesting highlights from Notice H 2011-20.

• Owners and Management Agents (O/As) are encouraged to develop and follow an Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM).  The goal is to prevent bed bug infestations as well as have a program in place when there is a bed bug infestation occurrence.

• O/As should consider a tenants complaint of bed bugs to be an urgent matter.  Tenants should be contacted within 24 hours by the O/As and an inspection of the property should occur within a reasonable time period.

• O/As should inspect a dwelling to determine if bed bugs are present using a variety of detection tools such as bed bug sniffing dogs and visual inspections.

• The O/As should have the affected unit inspected within three calendar days by a licensed pest control operator, or keep documentation as to why those services could not be completed within the recommended time frame.

• At the minimum, any unit above, below, and on both sides of the suspected bed bug infested unit must also be inspected for bed bugs.

Please check back on Wednesday for the conclusion.

This video shows a new product soon to be released called Bed Bug Blue.

To verify the presence of bed bugs you take a fecal stain or spot, swab it with the special solution on the special paper. If the paper turns blue, then blood is present in the fecal matter proving that the stain is from a bed bug and not a cockroach or other insect. This test can be used to verify that a stain has been left by a blood eating insect.

This product will be helpful for hotel managers, lawyers, and even consumers.

Updated 2/21/12
The manufacturer tells us that professional kits will be available in about one week. The kits will contain a dispenser roll of 100 test strips and the solution needed to test on them.

The consumer version of this test kit will be available in several weeks and will contain nine test strips and solution.

Read David Cain’s review of the Bed Bug Blue product. (PDF)

The new survey from the NPMA reveals that 99% of the pest control professionals that were surveyed confirmed that they have treated bed bug infestations during the past 12 months.  Of those who responded, 73% believe that bed bugs are they most difficult pest to treat.  Infestations are occurring in homes as well as public arenas such as college dorms, hotels, schools, retail stores, day care centers hospitals, movie theaters, airplanes, taxis, buses, and apartment buildings.

Nationwide, the increase in reports of bed bug infestations is staggering in comparison to information collected just one year prior.  According to the NPMA, examples of bed bugs increasing include:

• College dorms:  Current: 54% – Previous 35%
• Hotels/Motels:  Current:  80% – Previous 67%
• Nursing Homes:  Current:  46% – Previous 25%
• Office Buildings:  Current:  38% – Previous 18%
• Schools/Day Care Centers:  Current:  36% – Previous 10%
• Hospitals:  Current:  31% – Previous 12%
• Transportation (train, bus, taxi):  Current: 18% – Previous 9%
• Movie Theaters:  Current:  17% – Previous 5%

You may read these and more bed bug statistics from the National Pest Management here.

A NYC pest control expert like Stern Environmental Group can help you pin-point the exact location of your bed bug infestation problem.  We have multiple treatment options available and state-of-the art equipment to kill bloodsucking bed bugs with the greatest of ease.

Many libraries in the United States and Canada have suffered from bed bug infestations.  Libraries are particularly susceptible to bed bugs because people often read books in their bed and place the book on the bed, nightstand, dresser or other nearby furniture piece.  If a home has an ongoing bed bug infestation, it is very easy for tiny bed bugs to crawl into the book binding area or between the pages of the books.  These books are then transported back to the library where they have infested books, pictures, tables, chairs, and upholstered furniture.  Additionally, females could easily lay eggs within the book that would not be detected by untrained personnel.  Those eggs would have the opportunity to be delivered back to the library, hatch, and then venture out to bite other library patrons, or even hitch a ride home with another host thereby spreading the infestation.

A Library System in Canada, which shares books and other materials among 18 libraries, spent several months battling bed bugs that were inadvertently transported from one library location to several other library locations.  In an effort to avoid that bed bug nightmare from occurring again, they have decided to use the NightWatch Bed Bug Monitor reported The Globe and Mail on December 12, 2011.  The monitors/traps will be used in the trucks that transport library books and materials between the different libraries within the system, but are not designed to work in a space as large as the libraries.  In addition to using the NightWatch Bed Bug Monitor, bed bug sniffing dogs will be called to root out the bloodsuckers if there are any bed bugs that the NightWatch captures.

Stern Environmental Group offers the NightWatch Bed Bug Monitor in our online Marketplace as well as many other fantastic bed bug products for both home and business owners.

Clothing, books, electronics, bedding, appliances, upholstered furniture, wood furniture, pictures, mirrors, and curtains all create the perfect nesting spots for bloodsucking bed bugs.  The challenge for NJ pest control experts is to root out and kill the bugs without harming any belongings in the process.

New York City continues to top the nation as a problem spot for bed bug infestations.  PRWeb showcased on December 8, 2011, Stern Environmental Group’s new mobile bed bug heat treatment trailer in their online magazine.  Thermal heat treatment has proven to be extremely effective at killing adult, nymphs, and bed bug eggs.

Stern Environmental Group offers their custom built, state-of-the-art trailer to both retail and residential customers who are suffering from bed bug infestations.  The innovative design of the mobile heat treatment trailer kills all stages of bed bugs through an advanced computerized monitoring system.  Once items are placed inside of the 22-foot long trailer, the baking process begins.  The exquisite seals on the trailer prevent any bed bugs from escaping and the extreme heat is able to penetrate deep into all surfaces to efficiently kill bloodsucking bed bugs and their eggs.

Retailers and residential customers will find that using our mobile bed bug heat treatment trailer for bed bug eradication on their goods and belongings is an efficient and cost saving alternative for New York and New Jersey bed bug infestations.

One new product that will soon be available is the “Bed Bug Plug”.  Discreetly disguised as a typical looking electrical outlet, this interesting bed bug device is actually a bed bug monitor and trap.

Bed bugs are small in stature and are notorious for their bite and hide activity.  Additionally, it is estimated that approximately 50% of people have the allergic reaction to the bite of bed bugs that result in painful itching, swelling, and redness.  Absence of the irritation and the lack of seeing the bloodsuckers typically will allow the infestation to grow unnoticed for a good period of time.

The Bed Bug Plug attracts bed bugs by the low level heat and moisture that it emits.  This innovative device not only attracts cowardly bloodsucking bed bugs that like to slurp, run, and hide, it also serves as a trap to keep bed bugs away from you!  Once bed bugs enter the “electrical outlet”, bed bugs are trapped on the sticky glue traps that are on the inside.  You even have the option of purchasing this unit with a real operational electrical outlet, making it even more versatile.  The Bed Bug Plus is economical because each glue trap remains effective for 3 months before a replacement trap is needed.

These new monitor/traps are economical and are perfect for college dorms, homes and hotel rooms too.  They are perfect for travelers who are concerned about picking up bed bugs while they travel and homeowners concerned about guests bringing bed bugs into their abode.

Watch for this new item in Stern Environmental Group’s Marketplace soon!