New York City has been touted by some pest control experts in other parts of the world as being the bed bug capital of the United States.  Nearly wiped off of our radar screen in the 1950’s, bed bugs have certainly made a comeback on America’s landscape.  They have now reportedly been found in all 50 states.  Larger U.S. cities, with more dense populations, understandably have had more trouble with the bloodsuckers, but bed bugs are indiscriminate blood thirsty characters.  They do not care where you live or what your economic status is.  They are after one thing…blood…preferably from a human host.

Scientists in the United States have previously reported that bed bug infestations have become more difficult to kill from coast to coast.  Modern day bed bugs have been able to transform themselves so that they can withstand current pesticide treatments that are available to New York, New Jersey, and other pest control professionals across the United States.  Bed bugs that are found today have mutated and now have a stronger exoskeleton which is able to withstand pesticides that are used by pest control experts.  In additions, this new breed of bed bug has also changed its genetic makeup which has further enhanced its ability to survive.

JunkScience.com reported on April 16, 2012, that “mutant bed bugs” have now been discovered in Scotland.  Pest control experts are finding that Scottish bed bugs are now twice as difficult to kill in comparison to years past.  According to reports, policy makers and scientists in Scotland are looking at new ways to try to combat the bloodsuckers before they become more of a problem than they already are.  Their discovery of “mutant bed bugs” appears to be the same troubles that we are experiencing here in the United States.  You may read the article here.

Trying to kill NY or NJ bed bugs on your own will prove to be an uphill battle as they are masters at hiding in odd places.  Their tiny size and their ability to multiply quickly make them one of the most frustrating and most difficult household pests to eliminate.  Store bought chemicals have proven to be ineffective on bed bug infestations.  Your best bet for treating NY or NJ bed bug infestations is to contact a licensed pest control expert with extensive experience in bed bug eradication services.

NJ pest control experts report that all stages of bed bugs reach certain death when they are subjected to temperatures over 113 degrees.  Stern Environmental Group offers the perfect solution to killing bed bugs on personal property.  The PackTite Portable Bed Bug Killing Heat Chamber is available in small and large sizes.  Use the small one for killing bed bugs and their eggs in backpacks, luggage, blankets, coats, toys, or other sensitive items.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln recently underwent a massive bed bug infestation problem in many of their student dorm facilities.  It has been reported that they spent over $300,000 ridding the campus of the bloodsucking pests by utilizing several bed bug sniffing dogs and heat treatment.  Not wanting to have bed bugs plague the facilities again, the University bought eight PackTite units that will be used to treat luggage, backpacks, and other small items that are brought in by students who have gone home for weekends and holidays as well as incoming students.

The PackTite Portable Bed Bug Killing Heat Chamber is an invaluable tool in helping curtail bed bug infestations.  Hotels will benefit from having a unit on site.  If a guest happens to find bed bugs in their room, the hotel can kill any bed bugs that have hitched a ride in their luggage or personal belongings in a matter of hours, causing minimal disruption to the guest.  The PackTite Closet is a perfect solution for hotels as its larger size allows for more air and heat circulation.  Any bed bugs or their eggs will not stand a chance in this unit when the temperature reaches 120 to 140 degrees.  It has been proven to kill all bed bugs, in all life stages, in just two hours!

You can find both the large and small size PackTite Portable Bed Bug Killing Heat Chamber at Stern Environmental Group.

Often times, people who are living on a limited income may turn to picking up second hand furniture as a means of furnishing their homes.  Many people are finding out that this is not often a good choice as they have unwittingly introduced bed bugs into their home.

Bakersfieldnow.com reported on April 13, 2012 that a woman claims that she rented a bed and two couches from a national furniture rental store.  She claims that her son began receiving strange welts in October of 2011, but she did not know what the marks were.  After several months, she eventually went into her son’s room late at night and turned on the light only to find bed bugs crawling all over his mattress, pillow, body and face.  She called the furniture company and had the bed removed. The son then slept on a couch and began receiving bed bug bites.  A Pest control expert flipped the couches over and found bed bugs continuously crawling in and out of the underside of the sofas.  Bed bug eggs were also in abundance.  The couches were completely infested.  A call to the rental company met with their speedy removal, but no admission of guilt for causing the bed bugs.

You may read the article here and be sure to check out the video link showing the massive amount of bed bugs popping out of the couch and their eggs surrounding them.  Gross!

Bed bugs can be costly to eradicate.  When dealing with rental furniture, many companies are quick to blame the renter for causing the infestation, even when the bed bugs are discovered immediately.  When a renter does not discover the infestation until months down the line, it opens up the possibility that bed bugs were caused by the multi-unit housing complex and a battle usually ensues as to who is legally responsible for the bed bug eradication procedures.

For fast NJ and NYC bed bug removal services, contact Stern Environmental Group.

A good bed bug exterminator with experience in bed bug eradication utilizes a multitude of different control tactics when called to the scene of a bed bug infested home, hotel, motel, apartment, or business.  The particular level of infestation, location of the bed bugs, or other factors, will prompt the use of heat treatment, Cryonite (freezing), monitoring, trapping, pesticide use, bed bug sniffing dogs, etc.  At times, a combination of tactics will be used to rid a location of the blood thirsty pests.

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.

Continuing from Monday…

• 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.