New York's Bedbug Bill

On June 8, The Wall Street Journal reported in their Metropolis blog (link) that there was a bedbug bill in Albany, sposored by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, that was soon to become law. According to the report, the bill would force landlord to disclose if there were bedbugs in an apartment (and the building it is in) for the last year, before a new tenant moves in.

An explanation from a Facebook page about the legislation (link) states that the bill is "intended to combat the growing epidemic of bedbugs in New York, which have caused tremendous anguish, anxiety and financial hardship for residents across the socio-economic spectrum." There's a great quote there, about bedbugs, from the Assemblywoman: "“As the scourge of bedbugs continues in New York, I am committed to giving my constituents the tools to protect themselves both epidemiologically and financially from this plague.”

Yesterday, the bedblug blog, bedbugger.com reported that a different bedbug bill, S7316b (link), was passed by the NY State Senate on June 15th. This bill, sponsored by Senator José Peralta (D-Queens) (originally sponsored by Assembly Member Nelson Castro (District 86)) is dubbed the "mattress bill." It deals with resellers and wholesalers of mattresses and how they should sanitize them before selling them to the public.

The blogger states his problems with the bill, stating:

"My problem with this bill is that I lack confidence in the department of health: will they really require mattress refurbishers to use a treatment method that will absolutely and without a doubt kill all bed bugs and eggs present?"

Critics of the bill think it let's the resellers off too easy by letting them "sanitize" the mattresses or just put slips on them, but don't do enough to destroy the blood-sucking critters. Here's hoping Assemblywoman Rosenthal's bill has less holes in it.

Bedbugs Around the World

It seems that one of the most under-appreciated and unfortunate realities of the bedbugs issue is how easily they can go from one place to another such as from your hotel room to your home (and visa versa). Imagine, if you will, that you unknowingly have bedbugs in your home. Maybe a housekeeper brought them in, or they have found their way into your apartment from another's. You go on vacation or a business trip, and some of the little critters tag along in your suitcase. They hop off in your hotel room and cause an infestation there. The next person to occupy the room brings some to their home, and on and on it goes. Now imagine this occurring world-wide.

Let's look at a few bedbug articles from around the world:

Just this week it was reported that Goldman Sachs, the beleaguered investment bank, was found to have a bedbugs infestation in one of its offices in Jersey City, NJ. Click Here to read about it and view a video clip. The video clip also references major infestations in an apartment in Fort Worth, TX, in Seattle, WA, and New York City, where, ABC News reports, there were nearly 11,000 bedbug complaints last year.

In Canada, the Toronto Star reported June 18th, "Dogs sniff out bedbugs from G20 delegates’ rooms" and there's a hospital infestation there as well, reports Toronto's Metro News (link)

The bedbug blog bedbugger.com has links to BBC reports on infestations in a hospital in Fermanagh, Northern Ireland (link) as well as student residence halls at the University of Exeter (link)

The ABC News report says that since the use of DDT was stopped due to its dangers to people and nature, it's surmised that the bedbug population continued to grow and grow until it's become the big problem it is today.

Reaction to USA Today Report

In its TravelTips section, USA Today recently published an article titled "How to Check a Room for Bed Bugs". While it was generally well-written, I want to discuss what I believe to be factually inaccurate as well as the main point that is completely missed by this article.

Firstly, the overview states, "You can identify bedbug infestations by noting reactions to bedbug bites." The fact is that sometimes bedbug bites are very noticeable, and sometimes they are not. Bedbug bites often don't show up for weeks or months. The real problem is not only the concern of getting bitten, but of actually bringing them home, where they can also cause an infestation. Use of an early detection product like Catchmaster BBEDS is key.