Category Archives: Bed Bugs North Carolina

Burlington, NC (PRWEB) April 03, 2014

Bed bugs were biting the students of a Pitt County Elementary School in North Carolina. And according to a report from witn.com, they were further spreading. In response to it, My Cleaning Products suggested a bed bug spray to help the county residents safely and effectively counter the pesky critters.

The report, dated March 31, 2014, said that two months after the start of the school year, a few students of Ayden Elementary School were found to have bed bug bites. And according to Pitt County Schools spokesman Brock Letchworth, their number rose to ten recently.

However, Letchworth clarified in the post that the school was not infected. The crawlies, according to him, were brought to the campus by children whose houses were infested. And to fight those pesky creatures, he stated that they were taking proactive measures and even bought a washer and a dryer to clear clothes of the critters.

In addition to that, the post relayed that the town of Ayden also plans to hold a meeting to educate the residents about the bed bug spread.

Here is an excerpt from the post Pitt County Elementary School Battles Bed Bugs by My Cleaning Products.

One of the worst things about bed bugs is that they don't spare any place. However, with their prevalence these days, reports of them infesting a house, apartment or even school is not that shocking anymore. But, definitely, it is troubling just as an elementary school in Pitt County in North Carolina has been troubled by them.

After two months since the start of the school year, a number of students of Ayden Elementary School were said seen with red bite marks. Those marks were believed to be bed bug bites.

According to My Cleaning Products, one of the things that makes bed bugs difficult to eliminate is their ability to spread fast. And as it stated, it's also because of that one must be quick to respond to any bed bug sign.

To do so, said MCP, would stop a few of those critters from causing a major infestation. It added that it would prevent a widespread of them as well.

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Bed Bugs Trouble Pitt County Elementary, My Cleaning Products Suggest a Bed Bug Spray to Help Counter the Critters

January 9, 2014

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Two studies published in the Journal of Medical Entomology this month have revealed new insights into the behavior of bed bugs and possibly shown new ways to deal with these tenacious pests.

One four-year study, from epidemiologists at the University of Pennsylvanias School of Medicine, found that bed bug infestations around the city of Philadelphia tended to be at their highest in August and lowest in February.

There is surprisingly very little known about seasonal trends among bed bug populations, said study author Michael Z. Levy, assistant professor of epidemiology in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) at Penn. We found a steep and significant seasonal cycle in bed bug reporting, and suspect that bed bugs have different levels of mobility depending on the season, and that their population size may fluctuate throughout the year.

He speculated that warm weather could encourage the bugs migration and breeding behaviors.

We may be able to exploit this cycle: These seasonal trends could guide control programs to help reduce a citys growing bug population, he added.

In the study, researchers mapped phone calls reporting infestations to get the spatial and temporal patterns of the bugs. While bed bug reports came from all across Philadelphia, the south side of the city appeared to be the most affected.

Bed bug reports in Philadelphia gradually rose by 4.5 percent per month from 2008 to 2011, a nearly 70 percent increase from year to year. Almost half of all pest infestations reported over the studys time period were for bed bugs, a total of 382. Reports peaked in August and bottomed out in February. The team said the bugs probably move and proliferate more often during warmer weather.

We know the bug reports fluctuate over the yearwhat we need to figure out now is whether to treat when they are at their worst, in the summer months, or whether to wait until their numbers are down in the winter. Levy said. Seasonality, we noticed, is just one attribute that can eventually aid control measures, but it is one of many attributes we hope to uncover.

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Tracking Bed Bug Infestations

Jan. 9, 2014 Researchers have previously observed that certain insects -- especially crickets, cockroaches and grasshoppers -- tend to grow faster when they live in groups. However, no research has ever been done on group living among bed bugs until now.

A new study published in the January 2014 issue of the Journal of Medical Entomology called "Group Living Accelerates Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Development" is the first ever to document the effects of aggregation on bed bug development. Researchers from North Carolina State University found that bed bug nymphs developed 2.2 days faster than solitary nymphs -- a signifcant 7.3% difference.

"Now that we found this social facilitation of growth and development, we can start asking what sensory cues are involved and how they contribute to faster growth," said corresponding author Dr. Coby Schal. "This should lead to some interesting experimental research on what sensory cues bed bugs use to grow faster in groups."

In addition, the researchers found that the effects of grouping are the same regardless of the age of the individuals in the group. The results of the study suggest that newly hatched bed bugs do not require interaction with older bed bugs to achieve maximal developmental rates.

"The observations that adults do not appear to contribute to nymph development suggests that eggs can survive and found new infestations without any adults," Dr. Schal said.

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The above story is based on materials provided by Entomological Society of America.

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Bed bugs grow faster in groups

The following is a call to action sent out by the Triangle Apartment Association today requesting that all landlords act to support the Bed Bug Bill. Here it is:

House Bill 721 is being heard in the House Commerce & Job Development Committee (tomorrow) Wednesday, June 1 at 10:00AM.

HB 721 attempts to clarify North Carolina public policy by articulating certain duties and safe harbors for the respective parties:

Landlords shall not knowingly lease apartments with Bed Bug problems;

Tenants have a duty to report any Bed Bug infestation within 5 days of suspecting it;

Landlords may obtain an inspection from a licensed pest control company that a dwelling unit is Bed Bug-free; such inspection is conclusive evidence for Landlord compliance with the law;

When inspection reports are issued to Landlords, subsequent infestation treatment is assumed to be the Tenants responsibility;

Tenants in so-called source apartments may be responsible for infestation treatment in adjacent apartments;

Failure of Tenants to comply can result in a.) Landlord contracting for an infestation treatment and billing the Tenant; b.) termination of the tenancy; or c.) pursuit of damages.

We encourage all TAA members (and interested landlords) to contact Committee members and ask them to support the bill. Below please find talking points and a list of contact information for all House Commerce & Job Development Committee Members. Landlord Tenant Bedbug Liability Talking Points

Excerpt from:
North Carolina Landlord-Tenant Law: NORTH CAROLINA BED BUG ...

The North Carolina Senate will be considering a bill in 2012 that would have a huge impact on how landlords and tenants deal with bed bugs and who pays for treatment in the state.

H721, also known as the Landlord/Tenant/Bedbug Liability bill, passed in the North Carolina House in June. I have some concerns about its provisions.

The bill would prohibit landlords from renting a unit known to be infested by bed bugs. However, if the landlord gets an inspection from a licensed inspector, prior to leasing the unit, with a written report stating no bed bug evidence was found, then the landlord wont be liable if a problem is discovered later.

If the landlord does not get an inspection before renting the unit, and then a tenant complains bed bugs are present within 60 days of renting the unit, the landlord must hire someone to treat within five days of this complaint. All neighboring units must also be inspected.

Landlords must also provide educational materials about bed bugs to new tenants.

The bill also requires tenants to refrain from knowingly introducing bed bugs to the unit, stating: tenants shall not knowingly or recklessly introduce onto the premises any person or thing infested with bedbugs.

Tenants must notify landlords in writing within five days of suspecting they may have bed bugs.

If the landlord got an inspection before the tenant moved in, or if more than sixty days have passed since the tenant moved in, the tenant must pay all costs of bed bug treatment hiring a firm within seven days.

This tenant would also need to cover any fees charged by the licensee [PCO] and any damages associated with the presence and elimination of bedbugs from the premises and any attached units and spaces.

[Emphasis added.]

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North Carolina’s misguided Landlord/Tenant Bed bug Liability ...