Category Archives: Bed Bugs New Hampshire

A bedbug was reported at the school on May 23 and another was found two days later in another part of the school, said city Health Director Tim Soucy. Officials ordered thorough cleanings and a limited pesticide application in an attempt to eliminate the bugs, he said.

He believes the bugs were brought to school from the outside.

There are certainly still issues with bedbugs in the community, Soucy said. This is not unique to Manchester by any stretch of the imagination.

On Friday, Principal Polly Golden announced that the plastic bags would be distributed to the 450 Wilson students on Tuesday morning. She stressed that the Health Department made no recommendations to close the elementary school.

Soucy said a bug was reported in a second floor area of the school on May 23. The following evening, the citys cleaning service Aramark cleaned the area with hepa-filtered vacuum cleaners.

A contractor applied pesticide and set traps in the area.

But an adult bug was found on the first floor on Thursday, which prompted plans for a top to bottom hepa vacuuming of the school and pesticide applications at both locations. That took place on Friday after the close of school, said Philip Alexakos, Manchester chief of environmental health.

In her letter, Golden said the school is following a best-practices plan that has been in place since 2011 and is modeled after New York City guidelines.

She said the situation is being monitored, and the plan will be adjusted as needed.

Soucy referred to bedbugs as hitchhikers, likely to be transported in something like a backpack or pants cuff, but not on a persons skin.

They only feed at night, and they dont like light, he said. They prefer carpeting, upholstery and clothing to hard surfaces such as concrete floors or wooden cabinets, he said

These bugs like to hide. They really dont want to be in a school. They hitch a ride, Soucy said.

Bedbugs hiding in clothing or other material can be killed if exposed to heat, Alexakos said. They would die instantly if exposed to temperatures of 120 degrees or higher. Twenty to 30 minutes in a medium or high-temperature dryer will also kill them.

Soucy said his department does not compile the number of bedbug reports associated with city schools, but the city Facilities Division receives reports of all maintenance-related problems, including insect infestations, in city buildings.

mhayward@unionleader.com

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Manchester battles bedbugs at Wilson School - The Union Leader

NewHampshire.com

Man who claimed he set fire to Candia home to kill bed bugs must pay $180k restitution NewHampshire.com According to an affidavit written by an investigator from the state Fire Marshal's Office filed after the fire, Gracyalny confessed and told authorities that he and his wife had been dealing with the bed bug infestation for about two weeks before he ... and more »

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Man who claimed he set fire to Candia home to kill bed bugs must pay $180k restitution - NewHampshire.com

Should the landlord or the tenant deal with bed bugs found on the property?

Id like to apologizein advance if reading this makes you itchy, but this topic is one that frequently comes up for landlords.

Theres been a bed bug renaissance of sorts across the country because these disgusting critters have become resistant to pesticides.

The cities with the worst bed bug infestations in 2014, according to the number of Terminix service calls (source), were the following:

Even if you dontown property in one of the top 15 cities, your rental property could still get bed bugs in various ways. One common way is your tenant bringing them in after traveling. (Note: travelers can check the Bed Bug Registry before choosing a hotel.)

Bed bugs can attach to your tenants clothing, luggage and backpacks and can be transported back to your rentalproperty that way. Because it can be difficult to determine how the bed bugs arrived, especially in an apartment building, you shouldnt concern yourself too much with that question.

Ring Ring I think wehave bed bugs!

If your tenant calls you in a panic, stating that there are bed bugs, keep calm.The problem might not be bed bugs; itcouldbe fleas or roaches.

Call an exterminator to diagnose the problem. The exterminator should look at all mattresses and bedding in the rental property. He should also look in couches, drawers, closets and shelves.

The first step is to treat the problem before it gets worse. You can always figure out the responsibility later.

Related: How to Kill Roaches in a Rental Property

Responsibility should fall on whomever brought them in the house.

An exterminator might be able to tell you how the bed bugs arrived. For example, if a swarm of bed bugs is found in the tenants luggage and he just got back from a business trip, then you certainly could hold the tenant responsible.

But generally speaking, faultis difficult to prove, particularly in an apartment building. In this case, a resident of another unit could have brought in the bed bugs, and those bed bugs could have then traveled from the infested apartment to your rental through floorboards or small cracks in the walls.

The question of who brought in the bed bugs is easier to determine if the rental in question is a single-family house. Buteven then, a maintenance person, not the tenant, could have brought in the bed bugs.

If the bed bugs were present before your tenant moved in, you need to pay for an exterminator.

If you do nothing about the bed bug infestation, your tenant can take actions against you, such as paying for an exterminator and deducting that amount from the rent or even breaking the lease or suing you for not providing a livable dwelling under the implied warranty of habitability doctrine.

If the tenant brought in the bed bugs, the question of who pays for an exterminator might depend on the state in which you live. As of April 2014, 22states and one territory have laws addressing bed bugs, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

If your state has no regulations and you can prove the tenant brought in the bed bugs, you can charge your tenant for the cost to remove them.

Getting rid of bed bugs is a time-consuming process that your tenant must be on board with.Once your tenant notifies you of the bed bug problem, you need to act immediately. The longer you wait, the worse the problem becomes.

Here are steps to have your tenant take:

Heres what the exterminator should do:

Once the bed bugs are gone, your property can become infested again. Make sure your tenant knows not to bring in mattresses and other furniture found on the street.

You might also wish to share with your tenant some best practices when traveling:

This useful video shows you how professionals get rid of bed bugs.

Your tenant might be able to break the lease if he or she told you about the bed bug problem and you did nothing about it.

Your tenant needs to giveyou proper notice (which varies by state) of his or her intention to break the lease and time to fix the problem.

You should never knowingly rent property infested with bed bugs. You could be sued for doing that. If your tenant can prove you knew, you might be ordered to pay damages.

Laura Agadoni is a landlord and journalist whose articles appear in various publications such as Trulia, The Houston Chronicle, The Motley Fool, SFGate, Zacks, The Penny Hoarder and azcentral. Visit her website at http://www.lauraagadoni.com.

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How to Deal with Bed Bugs at Your Rental Property

New Hampshire Passes Landlord Bed Bug Law By Chris Williams on September 5, 2013.

As a result of legislation passed in June, New Hampshire residents who live in rental housing will soon have some direction and some recourse when it comes to living with bed bugs.

The new law takes effect January 1, 2014 and addresses the ongoing debate of who pays for bed bug treatment in a rental apartment. Presently, there is no specific law and no guidelines as to who is responsible when a bed bug infestation occurs. Landlords say that the tenants brought the bed bugs into the apartment, so they should pay for treatment. Tenants say they moved into an apartment that already had bed bugs, or the bed bugs came from next door, and the landlord has to fix the problem. They argue that their rental agreement provides for pest control and entitles them to a habitable dwelling. Landlords balk at having to provide control for bed bugs because bed bug control is more complicated and more expensive than control for other standard apartment pests. While the two sides argue, bed bugs move into other units in the building and soon, everyone has a problem.

The new law makes it clear that the landlord is responsible for resolving a bed bug problem, no matter who is responsible for causing it. Landlords will have a 7-day window to investigate a bed bug complaint and take reasonable measures to remediate the infestation. If landlords fail to address the situation, tenants can file court action to force their landlord to act. The landlord must pay for bed bug treatment, but the new law gives the landlord the right to bill the tenant for his costs if it is determined that the tenant is ultimately the one responsible for the infestation.

Seems like that takes us right back to square onehe said, she said. However, if the parties involved dont agree on responsibility, a court will decide by looking at which units first had bed bugs, whether bed bugs are in other areas of the building, whether the landlord attempted any control prior, and whether the tenant had bed bugs in their previous home, among other things.

For their part, tenants must allow landlords into their apartments to evaluate, inspect, and treat for bed bugs. They must follow instructions to prepare their apartment for treatment. If the bed bugs are deemed to be their responsibility, they must pay for the remediation. Failure to do any of these things can result in eviction.

The new law is not a perfect solution but it is a compromise agreed upon by a working group made up of landlords and tenants. The new law avoids the situation where the landlord is always the one paying for treatment, while assuring that treatment gets done before bed bugs spread throughout a building.

photo credit: Armed Forces Pest Management Board via photopin cc

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New Hampshire Passes Landlord Bed Bug Law - Colonial Pest ...

How Long Does It Take For A Bed Bug Infestation To Develop? By Chris Williams on February 6, 2012.

I was recently sent to a job to inspect for Bed Bugs. Previous tenants had been treated for bed bugs and have moved out. Management wanted to know two things: How long has the unit been infested, and were there any live beg bugs. Inspection for bed bugs can be difficult as most units are full of furniture and belongings, this unit was vacant and empty. With full access to all areas of the unit the extent of the infestation was more clearly defined.

Bed bugs, the scourge of the rental industry, are small insects that feed exclusively on human blood. Long lived and easily spread, bed bugs secretive lifestyle makes detection difficult. Relatively few bed bugs start an infestation. In fact, if a male bed bug is the only hitchhiker, no infestation will develop. Only female bed bugs are able to lay eggs. A mated female can lay around 3 eggs a day if feeding is available, laying more than 300 eggs in her lifetime. Small white eggs are cemented to discrete surfaces, near a host, and hatch in about 10 days. Nymphs resemble adults but are much smaller. In order to grow, or molt, nymphs must acquire a blood meal. Depending on the temperature, it takes nymphs about 100 days for the five molts to occur before mating can take place. Roughly 1.5-2 months are required for a complete cycle from egg to mated adult bed bug. Adult bed bugs live about 10 months, although without a host, bed bugs may live over a year.

Bed bug infestations develop slowly. At first very few insects are present, feeding intermittently on the host and may not be noticed. Bites are sometimes overlooked or blamed on some other pest species like spiders. Secretive adults may not be noticed as they feed on sleeping hosts. Over time though, evidence builds up. Bed bugs are gregarious, and can be found living side by side in harborage sites. Great numbers of nymphs and adults can be found together. As these sites become more active, females will migrate to areas of less activity to lay eggs. Male bed bugs want to mate constantly with females, driving them away. This behavior is believed to be what makes bed bugs spread out into new areas. Large populations also use up more and more of the hiding spaces near the host, and are forced to seek shelter farther from the feeding site. All the while the bed bugs are pooping. Bed bug feces is little more that partially digested human blood. Fecal spots form as the bed bugs move about and accumulate in and around the harborage sites. Fecal spots are usually clustered, and may have a small smear at one side, indicating the direction of the bed bugs travel. In heavy infestations there may even be a discernable, almost sweet odor, due to large amounts of feces and aggregation secretions. As bed bugs molt during the growth process, the smaller old skin is shed and a new larger skin forms. These skins are also left where they fall and may accumulate over time. In heavy infestations, there may be considerable numbers of these cast skins.

Now, back in the unit to be inspected, I am looking for evidence. I begin with a cursory look around. With a bright flashlight, pliers, and a screwdriver in hand I start with the ceiling edges and walls. As harborage sites become full, bed bugs will end up in corners and on walls. Right away I begin to notice some fecal spots on door frames and at lower closet edges. No activity behind outlet covers, or under carpet in the 2 bedrooms, 12-25 dead bed bugs noted on the bed room floors, some fecal spots on lower closet door and door frames, no live activity. Bases of all 3 hall closet door frames also had fecal spots, dead bed bugs, no live activity. As I began to examine the living room, there seemed to be more and more dead bed bugs, and fecal spotting, increasing as I got over to the baseboard radiator. Fecal spotting all over the metal housing and adjacent molding told me I was getting warm. When I dismantled the housing and pulled the carpet out from under it I hit pay dirt. 1000s of cast skins, large pockets of blood stained carpet(major harborage site), and hundreds of dead bed bugs were deposited under the carpet and heating unit. There must have been a couch or bed right there. As the infestation grew, the bed bugs spread out along the floor edge and eventually found the bed rooms, where there was much less fecal spotting etc. In my opinion, the focal point of the infestation was the living room. As far as a time table is concerned, based on the life cycle, amount of fecal spotting, and the number of cast skins noted, the infestation was more than a year old, maybe older. 2 live bed bugs were found, although upside down, on the kitchen floor. This indicates that the treatment was working, and that bed bug control is almost complete. My recommendation was to re-treat the unit prior to new tenants moving in to ensure that the infestation is gone completely. If you suspect bed bug activity in your home, contact Colonial Pest for a free quote, or call us right now at 1-800-525-8084!

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How Long Does It Take For A Bed Bug Infestation To Develop ...