Bronx Bed Bug Registry Infestation Maps, Residential and Hotel

Bed bugs, bed-bugs, or bedbugs[2] are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known, as it prefers to feed on human blood. Other Cimex species specialize in other animals, e.g., bat bugs, such as Cimex pipistrelli (Europe), Cimex pilosellus (western US), and Cimex adjunctus (entire eastern US).[3]

The name bed bug derives from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially near or inside beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hostswithout being noticed.[4][5][5][6]

A number of adverse health effects may result from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms.[7] They are not known to transmit any pathogens as disease vectors. Certain signs and symptoms suggest the presence of bed bugs; finding the insects confirms the diagnosis.

Bed bugs have been known as human parasites for thousands of years.[8] At a point in the early 1940s, they were mostly eradicated in the developed world, but have increased in prevalence since 1995, likely due to pesticide resistance and governmental bans on effective pesticides.[9][10] Because infestation of human habitats has been on the increase, bed bug bites and related conditions have been on the rise as well.[8][11]

Diagnosis of an infestation involves both finding bed bugs and the occurrence of compatible symptoms.[7] Treatment involves the elimination of the insect (including its eggs) and measures to help with the symptoms until they resolve.[7]

Bed bug bites or cimicosis may lead to a range of skin manifestations from no visible effects to prominent blisters.[12] Effects include skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms.[7]

They can be infected by at least 28 human pathogens, but no study has clearly found that the insect can transmit the pathogen to a human being.[11] They have been found with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)[13] and with vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), but the significance of this is still unknown.[14]

Investigations into potential transmission of HIV, MRSA, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and hepatitis E have not shown that bed bugs can spread these diseases. However, arboviruses may be transmissible.[15]

Adult bed bugs are light brown to reddish-brown, flattened, oval-shaped, and have no hind wings. The front wings are vestigial and reduced to pad-like structures. Bed bugs have segmented abdomens with microscopic hairs that give them a banded appearance. Adults grow to 45mm (0.160.20in) long and 1.53mm (0.0590.118in) wide.

Newly hatched nymphs are translucent, lighter in color, and become browner as they moult and reach maturity. A bed bug nymph of any age that has just consumed a blood meal has a bright red, translucent abdomen, fading to brown over the next several hours, and to opaque black within two days as the insect digests its meal. Bed bugs may be mistaken for other insects, such as booklice, small cockroaches, or carpet beetles; however, when warm and active, their movements are more ant-like and, like most other true bugs, they emit a characteristic disagreeable odor when crushed.

Bed bugs use pheromones and kairomones to communicate regarding nesting locations, feeding, and reproduction.

The lifespan of bed bugs varies by species and is also dependent on feeding.

Bed bugs can survive a wide range of temperatures and atmospheric compositions.[16] Below 16.1C (61.0F), adults enter semihibernation and can survive longer; they can survive for at least five days at 10C (14F), but die after 15 minutes of exposure to 32C (26F).[17] Common commercial and residential freezers reach temperatures low enough to kill most life stages of bed bug, with 95% mortality after 3 days at 12C (10F).[18] They show high desiccation tolerance, surviving low humidity and a 3540C range even with loss of one-third of body weight; earlier life stages are more susceptible to drying out than later ones.[19]

The thermal death point for C. lectularius is 45C (113F); all stages of life are killed by 7 minutes of exposure to 46C (115F).[17] Bed bugs apparently cannot survive high concentrations of carbon dioxide for very long; exposure to nearly pure nitrogen atmospheres, however, appears to have relatively little effect even after 72 hours.[20]

A scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Cimex lectularius, digitally colorized with the insects skin-piercing mouthparts highlighted in purple and red

Bed bugs are obligatory hematophagous (bloodsucking) insects. Most species feed on humans only when other prey are unavailable.[21][22][23] They obtain all the additional moisture they need from water vapor in the surrounding air.[24] Bed bugs are attracted to their hosts primarily by carbon dioxide, secondarily by warmth, and also by certain chemicals.[25][26][27] Bedbugs prefer exposed skin, preferably the face, neck, and arms of a sleeping person.

Bedbugs have mouth parts that saw through the skin, and inject saliva with anticoagulants and painkillers. Sensitivity of humans varies from extreme allergic reaction to no reaction at all (about 20%). The bite usually produces a swelling with no red spot, but when many bugs feed on a small area, reddish spots may appear after the swelling subsides.[17]

Although under certain cool conditions adult bed bugs can live for over a year without feeding,[28] under typically warm conditions they try to feed at five- to ten-day intervals, and adults can survive for about five months without food.[29] Younger instars cannot survive nearly as long, though even the vulnerable newly hatched first instars can survive for weeks without taking a blood meal.

At the 57th annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America in 2009, newer generations of pesticide-resistant bed bugs in Virginia were reported to survive only two months without feeding.[30]

DNA from human blood meals can be recovered from bed bugs for up to 90 days, which mean they can be used for forensic purposes in identifying on whom the bed bugs have fed.[31][32]

The tip of a bed bug rostrum

A bed bug pierces the skin of its host with a stylet fascicle, rostrum, or beak. The rostrum is composed of the maxillae and mandibles, which have been modified into elongated shapes from a basic, ancestral style. The right and left maxillary stylets are connected at their midline and a section at the centerline forms a large food canal and a smaller salivary canal. The entire maxillary and mandibular bundle penetrates the skin.[6]

The tips of the right and left maxillary stylets are not the same; the right is hook-like and curved, and the left is straight. The right and left mandibular stylets extend along the outer sides of their respective maxillary stylets and do not reach anywhere near the tip of the fused maxillary stylets. The stylets are retained in a groove in the labium, and during feeding, they are freed from the groove as the jointed labium is bent or folded out of the way; its tip never enters the wound.[6]

The mandibular stylet tips have small teeth, and through alternately moving these stylets back and forth, the insect cuts a path through tissue for the maxillary bundle to reach an appropriately sized blood vessel. Pressure from the blood vessel itself fills the insect with blood in three to five minutes. The bug then withdraws the stylet bundle from the feeding position and retracts it back into the labial groove, folds the entire unit back under the head, and returns to its hiding place.[6] It takes between five and ten minutes for a bed bug to become completely engorged with blood.[33] In all, the insect may spend less than 20 minutes in physical contact with its host, and does not try to feed again until it has either completed a moult or, if an adult, has thoroughly digested the meal.

All bed bugs mate by traumatic insemination.[5][34] Female bed bugs possess a reproductive tract that functions during oviposition, but the male does not use this tract for sperm insemination.[5] Instead, the male pierces the females abdomen with his hypodermic penis andejaculates into the body cavity. In all bed bug species except Primicimex cavernis, sperm are injected into the mesospermalege,[5] a component of the spermalege,[5] a secondary genital structure that reduces the wounding and immunological costs of traumatic insemination.[35][36][37] Injected sperm travel via the haemolymph (blood) to sperm storage structures called seminal conceptacles, with fertilisation eventually taking place at the ovaries.[36]

Male bed bugs sometimes attempt to mate with other males and pierce their abdomens.[38] This behaviour occurs because sexual attractionin bed bugs is based primarily on size, and males mount any freshly fed partner regardless of sex.[39] The bed bug alarm pheromone consists of (E)-2-octenal and (E)-2-hexenal. It is released when a bed bug is disturbed, as during an attack by a predator. A 2009 study demonstrated the alarm pheromone is also released by male bed bugs to repel other males that attempt to mate with them.[37][40]

Cimex lectularius and C. hemipterus mate with each other given the opportunity, but the eggs then produced are usually sterile. In a 1988 study, one of 479 eggs was fertile and resulted in a hybrid, Cimex hemipterus lectularius.[41][42]

Cimex lectularius males have environmental microbes on their genitals. These microbes damage sperm cells, leaving them unable to fertilize female gametes. Due to these dangerous microbes, males have evolved antimicrobial ejaculate substances that prevent sperm damage. When the microbes contact sperm or the male genitals, the bed bug releases antimicrobial substances. Many species of these microbes live in the bodies of females after mating. The microbes can cause infections in the females. It has been suggested that females receive benefit from the ejaculate. Though the benefit is not direct, females are able to produce more eggs than optimum increasing the amount of the females genes in the gene pool.[43]

In organisms, sexual selection extends past differential reproduction to affect sperm composition, sperm competition, and ejaculate size. Males of C. lectularius allocate 12% of their sperm and 19% of their seminal fluid per mating. Due to these findings, Reinhard et. al proposed that multiple mating is limited by seminal fluid and not sperm. After measuring ejaculate volume, mating rate and estimating sperm density, Reinhardt et al. showed that mating could be limited by seminal fluid. Despite these advances, the cost difference between ejaculate-dose dependence and mating frequency dependence have not been explored.[44]

Males fertilize females only by traumatic insemination into the structure called the ectospermalege (the organ of Berlese, however the organ of Ribaga (as it was first named) was first designated as an organ of stridulation. These two names are not descriptive, so other terminologies are used). On fertilization, the females ovaries finish developing, which suggests that sperm plays a role other than fertilizing the egg. Fertilization also allows for egg production through the corpus allatum. Sperm remains viable in a females spermathecae (a better term is conceptacle), a sperm-carrying sack, for a long period of time as long as body temperature is optimum. The female lays fertilized eggs until she depletes the sperm found in her conceptacle. After the depletion of sperm, she lays a few sterile eggs. The number of eggs a C. lectularius female produces does not depend on the sperm she harbors, but on the females nutritional level.[45]

In C. lectularius, males sometimes mount other males because male sexual interest is directed at any recently fed individual regardless of their sex, but unfed females may also be mounted. Traumatic insemination is the only way for copulation to occur in bed bugs. Females have evolved the spermalege to protect themselves from wounding and infection. Because males lack this organ, traumatic insemination could leave them injured badly. For this reason, males have evolved alarm pheromones to signal their sex to other males. If a male C. lectularius mounts another male, the mounted male releases the pheromone signal and the male on top stops before insemination.

Females are capable of producing alarm pheromones to avoid multiple mating, but they generally do not do so. Two reasons are proposed as to why females do not release alarm pheromones to protect themselves. First, alarm pheromone production is costly. Due to egg production, females may refrain from spending additional energy on alarm pheromones. The second proposed reason is that releasing the alarm pheromone reduces the benefits associated with multiple mating.[46] Benefits of multiple mating include material benefits, better quality nourishment or more nourishment, genetic benefits including increased fitness of offspring, and finally, the cost of resistance may be higher than the benefit of consentwhich appears the case in C. lectularius.[47]

Bed bugs have five immature nymph life stages and a final sexually mature adult stage.[48] They shed their skins through ecdysis at each stage, discarding their outer exoskeleton, which is somewhat clear, empty exoskeletons of the bugs themselves. Bed bugs must molt six times before becoming fertile adults, and must consume at least one blood meal to complete each moult.[49]

Each of the immature stages lasts about a week, depending on temperature and the availability of food, and the complete lifecycle can be completed in as little as two months (rather long compared to other ectoparasites). Fertilized females with enough food lay three to four eggs each day continually until the end of their lifespans (about nine months under warm conditions), possibly generating as many as 500 eggs in this time.[49] Genetic analysis has shown that a single pregnant bed bug, possibly a single survivor of eradication, can be responsible for an entire infestation over a matter of weeks, rapidly producing generations of offspring.[50]

Slide of Cimex lectularius

Bed bug (4mm length; 2.5mm width), shown in a film roll plastic container, on the right is the recently sloughed skin from its nymph stage

A bed bug nymph feeding on a host

Blood-fed C. lectularius(note the differences in color with respect to digestion of blood meal)

Sexual dimorphism occurs in C. lectularius, with the females larger in size than the males on average. The abdomens of the sexes differ in that the males appear to have pointed abdomens, which are actually their copulatory organs, while females have more rounded abdomens. Since males are attracted to large body size, any bed bug with a recent blood meal can be seen as a potential mate. However, males will mount unfed, flat females on occasion. The female is able to curl her abdomen forward and underneath toward the head to not mate. Males are generally unable to discriminate between the sexes until after mounting, but before inseminating.[51]

C. lectularius only feeds every five to seven days, which suggests that it does not spend the majority of its life searching for a host. When a bed bug is starved, it leaves its shelter and searches for a host. If it successfully feeds, it returns to its shelter. If it does not feed, it continues to search for a host. After searchingregardless of whether or not it has eatenthe bed bug returns to the shelter to aggregate before the photophase (period of light during a day-night cycle). Reis argues that two reasons explain why C. lectulariuswould return to its shelter and aggregate after feeding. One is to find a mate and the other is to find shelter to avoid getting smashed after eating.[52]

C. lectularius aggregates under all life stages and mating conditions. Bed bugs may choose to aggregate because of predation, resistance to desiccation, and more opportunities to find a mate. Airborne pheromones are responsible for aggregations. Another source of aggregation could be the recognition of other C. lectularius bugs through mechanoreceptors located on their antennae. Aggregations are formed and disbanded based on the associated cost and benefits. Females are more often found separate from the aggregation than males. Females are more likely to expand the population range and find new sites. Active female dispersal can account for treatment failures. Males, when found in areas with few females, abandon an aggregation to find a new mate. The males excrete an aggregation pheromone into the air that attracts virgin females and arrests other males.[53]

Bed bug eggs and two adult bed bugs from inside a dresser

A bed bug detection dog in New York

Bed bug roaming around carpet wrinkles

Bed bugs can exist singly, but tend to congregate once established. Though strictly parasitic, they spend only a tiny fraction of their lifecycles physically attached to hosts. Once a bed bug finishes feeding, it relocates to a place close to a known host, commonly in or near beds or couches in clusters of adults, juveniles, and eggswhich entomologists call harborage areas or simply harborages to which the insect returns after future feedings by following chemical trails. These places can vary greatly in format, including luggage, inside of vehicles, within furniture, amongst bedside cluttereven inside electrical sockets and nearby laptop computers. Bed bugs may also nest near animals that have nested within a dwelling, such as bats, birds,[54] or rodents. They are also capable of surviving on domestic cats and dogs, though humans are the preferred host of C. lectularius.[55]

Bed bugs can also be detected by their characteristic smell of rotting raspberries.[56] Once you smell this scent, however, you can be assured of a massive infestation. Bed bug detection dogs are trained to pinpoint infestations, with a possible accuracy rate between 11% and 83%.[57]

Eradication of bed bugs frequently requires a combination of nonpesticide approaches and the occasional use of pesticides.[8][11]

Mechanical approaches, such as vacuuming up the insects and heat-treating or wrapping mattresses, are effective.[8][57] A combination of heat and drying treatments is most effective. An hour at a temperature of 45C (113F) or over, or two hours at less than 17C (1F) kills them;[57] a domestic clothes drier or steam kills bedbugs.[17] Another study found 100% mortality rates for bed bugs exposed to temperatures greater than 50C (122F) for more than 2 minutes.[58] Starving them is difficult as they can survive without eating for 100 to 300 days, depending on temperature.[57] For public health reasons, individuals are encouraged to call a professional pest control service to eradicate bed bugs in a home, rather than attempting to do it themselves, particularly if they live in a multifamily building.[59]

As of 2012, no truly effective pesticides were available.[57] Pesticides that have historically been found effective include pyrethroids,dichlorvos, and malathion.[11] Resistance to pesticides has increased significantly over time, and harm to health from their use is of concern.[8] The carbamate insecticide propoxur is highly toxic to bed bugs, but it has potential toxicity to children exposed to it, and the US Environmental Protection Agency has been reluctant to approve it for indoor use.[60] Boric acid, occasionally applied as a safe indoor insecticide, is not effective against bed bugs because they do not groom.[61][dubious discuss] The fungus Beauveria bassiana is being researched as of 2012 for its ability to control bed bugs.[62] As bed bugs continue to adapt pesticide resistance, researchers have examined on the insects genome to see how the adaptations develop and to look for potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited in the growth and development phases. [63]

Natural enemies of bed bugs include the masked hunter insect (also known as masked bed bug hunter),[64] cockroaches,[65] ants, spiders (particularly Thanatus flavidus), mites, and centipedes (particularly the house centipede Scutigera coleoptrata). However, biological pest control is not considered practical for eliminating bed bugs from human dwellings.[17]

Bed bugs occur around the world.[66] Rates of infestations in developed countries, while decreasing from the 1930s to the 1980s, have increased dramatically since the 1980s.[8][11][66] Previously, they were common in the developing world, but rare in the developed world.[11]The increase in the developed world may have been caused by increased international travel, resistance to insecticides, and the use of new pest-control methods that do not affect bed bugs.[67][68]

The fall in bed bug populations after the 1930s in the developed world is believed partly due to the use of DDT to kill cockroaches.[69] The invention of the vacuum cleaner and simplification of furniture design may have also played a role.[69] Others believe it might simply be the cyclical nature of the organism.[70]

The exact causes of this resurgence remain unclear; it is variously ascribed to greater foreign travel, increased immigration from the developing world to the developed world, more frequent exchange of second-hand furnishings among homes, a greater focus on control of other pests, resulting in neglect of bed bug countermeasures, and increasing resistance to pesticides.[11][67] Declines in household cockroach populations that have resulted from the use of insecticides effective against this major bed bug predator have aided the bed bugs resurgence, as have bans on DDT and other potent pesticides.[71]

The common bed bug (C. lectularius) is the species best adapted to human environments. It is found in temperate climates throughout the world. Other species include Cimex hemipterus, found in tropical regions, which also infests poultry and bats, and Leptocimex boueti, found in the tropics of West Africa and South America, which infests bats and humans. Cimex pilosellus and Cimex pipistrella primarily infest bats, while Haematosiphon inodora, a species of North America, primarily infests poultry.[72]

Location in the contiguous United States

New Yorkoften called New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a partis the most populous city in the United States[1] and the center of the New York metropolitan area, the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States[9][10][11] and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world.[12][13] Aglobal power city,[14] New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace[15] defining the term New York minute.[16] Home to the headquarters of the United Nations,[17] New York is an important center for international diplomacy[18] and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world.[19][20][21][22][23][24]

Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors,[25][26] New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of New York State.[27] The five boroughs Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island were consolidated into a single city in 1898.[28] With a census-estimated 2014 population of 8,491,079[1][29] distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790km2),[30] New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States.[31] As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York,[32][33][34] making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.[33][35][36] By 2014 census estimates, the New York City metropolitan region remains by a significant margin the most populous in the United States, as defined by both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (20.1million residents)[5] and the Combined Statistical Area(23.6million residents).[6] In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly US$1.39trillion,[37] while in 2012, the CSA[38] generated a GMP of over US$1.55trillion, both ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDPof only twelve and eleven countries, respectively.[39]

New York City traces its roots to its 1624 founding as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626.[40] The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664.[40][41][42] New York served as thecapital of the United States from 1785 until 1790.[43] It has been the countrys largest city since 1790.[44] The Statue of Libertygreeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries[45] and is a globally recognized symbol of the United States and its democracy.[46]

Many districts and landmarks in New York City have become well known, and the city received a record 56 million tourists in 2014,[47] hosting three of the worlds ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013.[48] Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world.[49][50][51] Times Square, iconic as the worlds heart[52] and its Crossroads,[53] is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District,[54] one of the worlds busiest pedestrian intersections,[55][56] and a major center of the worlds entertainment industry.[57] The names of many of the citys bridges, skyscrapers,[58] and parks are known around the world. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world,[23][59][60][61][62][63] and the city is home to the worlds two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.[64][65]Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world.[66][67] Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere,[68][69] with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city.[70][71] Providing continuous 24/7 service,[72] the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metrosystems worldwide, with 469 stations in operation.[73][74][75][76] New York Citys higher education network comprises over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, which have been ranked among the top 35 in the world.[77][78]

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New York City Complete pest control nyc bed bug removal ...

Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter? A number of animals are known to slumber in the winter, while others tend to slow or alter their normal activities. This is because their bodies cannot adapt to the cold very well, so they find themselves feeling more sluggish than normal. This explains why its so hard to get rid of your relatives after Christmas dinner.

Many insects are the same way. They are unable to cope as well in the cold as they can in the warmer months of the year, so they become more scarce than normal. For some homeowners, this prompts a very simple question: where do bed bugs hide in the winter?

This a tricky question, because there is one simple truth to face: bed bugs do not stay outside when it gets cold. Bed bugs might be difficult to get rid of, especially in the case of an infestation, but their bodies are fragile. If they attempted to stay outside during winter, they wouldnt stand a chance. They would quickly die off.

The fact is that bed bugs do not have the ability to hibernate. When winter arrives, they have no choice but to push through it and try to survive. The best way for them to do this is to find a warm place to hide out. If they can get inside your home, this becomes their warm place. And since bed bugs can often live up to a year without feeding, they can stay hidden for a good long while.

Now that weve established that there is no chance that bed bugs will attempt to stay outside since it would mean certain death, you must consider where they will hide inside your house. Although the simple answer would be that bed bugs will hide in the same areas as they do during other parts of the year, it is important that you pay closer attention to places that are heated during the winter. Start looking in places such as

Instead of concentrating on searching for evidence of bed bugs in attics or basements where it might be chilly, look in the warmer areas of your house such as bedrooms. As always, bed bugs will hide in cracks and holes in the wall, along with inside mattresses and other furniture, where they will take up residence until such time that they can venture out (usually at night) and find a juicy person to sink their teeth into. No matter the season, always be on the lookout for these nasty parasites!

If you have difficulty locating them or getting rid of them, it is a good idea to call a professional. With the increase of bed bug infestations over the years, pest control experts are well versed on how to get rid of bed bugs. If needed, they may suggest that you employ the use of bed bug dogs in order to locate them. At that point, these professionals will evaluate your needs and recommend what would be best in your specific situation.

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Where Do Bed Bugs Hide In The Winter NYC?

Our independent business has one primary goal: verify the presence or absence of bed bugs at our clients' properties. And our certified, fully insured, scent detection teams rely on our database tools to evaluate trends for those properties. Quality and accuracy are central to our detection and monitoring programs.

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Are Bed Bugs in the Walls? With the seemingly unstoppable spread of bed bugs, especially the rapid pace in which infestations expand in apartment buildings, hotels, dorms and schools, many wonder if there are bed bugs in the walls, making it easy for them to move from location to location.

While its common knowledge that there may very well be bed bugs in the walls when a structure is infested, there is still debate as to if this is the origin of the infestation and/or the primary cause of the infestation spreading to other locations. One family who moved into a new apartment and got bed bugs believed that they came into their home from being transferred on clothing and furniture. Of course, that can also be true.

The University of Kentucky, in its research, both agrees and disagrees with the idea that bed bugs in the walls are a primary way they spread. In their research on how bed bugs originate, they noted the following:

The bugs are efficient hitchhikers and are usually transported in on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture, and other items. This is a particular problem for hotels, motels and apartments, where turnover of occupants is constant. Bed bugs are small, cryptic and agile, escaping detection after crawling into suitcases, boxes and belongings. The eggs are especially tiny and are usually overlooked. Acquiring secondhand beds, couches and furniture is another way that the bugs are transported into previously non-infested dwellings. Bed bugs also can be carried in on a persons clothing or shoes, resulting in an infestation.

Yet, they do not rule out the use of walls as a means of bed bugs spreading out throughout a building. Their research also concluded, Once bed bugs are introduced, they often spread throughout a building. The bugs can travel from room to room or floor to floor either by crawling or via a person. And, because there may be cracks and crevices in walls, it makes sense to think that they can hide out here and also avoid some bed bug treatments this way. Eventually, they will come out and seek beds and other areas, so it is important to re-inspect and re-treat those areas as well as inspecting any used furniture and other items like suitcases before bringing these items into a new location in case you are inadvertently transporting hitchhiking bed bugs.

In SummaryIn debating how bed bugs spread, this blog post noted the following points:

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Are Bed Bugs in the Walls? - The Bed Bug Inspectors

Permethrin is a synthetic version of Pyrethrum (Pyrethrin) - a naturally occurring substance which protects plants from insects. Unlike Picaridin, DEET and Lemon Eucalyptus, permethrin is an insecticide (kills insects) rather than an insect repellent. Permethrin is sprayed on clothing and other materials. It is non-staining, has no odour, and is resistant to heat, light and moisture. Used in conjunction with Picaridin or DEET repellents it is provides highly effective protection from mosquitos, ticks, fleas, bedbugs, flies and many other pests.

How To Use

Spray permethrin on bed linen, bed sheets, furniture, tiles or other fabrics. Never apply Permethrin directly to your skin. It's best to spray outdoors and let the sprayed stuff dry before using it. The effectiveness lasts a long time. Fabrics treated with permethrin will provide protection for up to two weeks - it even lasts for a wash cycle or two! Permethrin treated fabrics are considered safe for children. Avoid spraying near lakes and ponds as its toxic to fish. Pay attention to precautions and instructions on the product label.

Effectiveness

Permethrin affects the neurological system of bed bugs. Upon contact with permethrin-treated surfaces, bed bugs and other insects will fall off almost immediately, nearly all will die from this brief contact. Studies show permethrin-treated bed nets greatly reduce the infestation of bed bugs. It is most effective when used along with DEET (or Picaridin) repellents. One study showed 99.9% protection from bed bugs when using these two products together - this test was done in a situation where an unprotected person would receive an average of over 1000 bites per hour!

Though a very small percentage or people may experience minor skin irritation and redness from coming in contact with permethrin, it is virtually non-toxic to humans. Reactions to permethrin products are very rare.

Summary

Permethrin is a very safe and effective way to increase your protection against bed bugs. As with any product, carefully read and follow the label precautions and instructions for use.

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Permethrin - A Cure For Bed Bugs

Miami-Dade County: Aventura, Bal Harbour Village, Bay Harbor Islands, Biscayne Park , Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Doral, El Portal, Florida City, Golden Beach, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Homestead, Indian Creek Village, Islandia, Key Biscayne Village, Medley, Miami City, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Shores Village, Miami Springs, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Opa-Locka, Palmetto Bay Village, Pinecrest , South Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, Sweetwater, Virginia Gardens and West Miami.

Broward County: Coconut Creek, Cooper City, Coral Springs, Dania Beach, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Hollywood Florida, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderdale by the Sea, Lazy Lake, Lighthouse Point, Margate, Miramar, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Parkland, Pembroke Pines, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Sea Ranch Lakes, Southwest Ranches, Sunrise, Tamarac, West Park, Weston and Wilton Manors .

Palm Beach County: West Palm Beach , Boca Raton , Boynton Beach , Delray Beach , Greenacres , Jupiter , Lake Worth , Palm Beach Gardens , Royal Palm Beach and Wellington .

Monroe County: Key Largo , Islamorada , Marathon and Key West.

Ants: Acrobat Ant, Allegheny Mound Ant, Argentine Ant, Big-headed Ant, Carpenter Ant, Citronella Ant, Crazy Ant, Field Ant, Fire Ant, Ghost Ant, Harvester Ant, Little Black Ant, Moisture Ant, Odorous House Ant, Pavement Ant, Pharaoh Ant, Texas Leaf Cutter Ant, Thief Ant, Velvety Tree Ant and White-footed Ant.

Bitings Insects: Bed Bugs, Bird Lice, Cat Flea, House Mosquito, Human Head Lice, Kissing Bug, Pubic Lice and Thrips

Mosquitoes: Asian Tiger Mosquito, Aedes-Aegypti Mosquito and Culex Mosquito.

Cockroaches: American Cockroach, Asian Cockroach, Australian Cockroach, Brown Banded Cockroach, Cuban Cockroach, Florida Woods Cockroach, German Cockroach, Oriental Cockroach, Smoky Brown Cockroach, Surinam Cockroach and Woods Cockroach.

Flies: Blow Fly and Bottle Fly, Cluster Fly, Crane Fly, Face Fly, Flesh Fly, Fruit Fly, Fungus Gnat, House Fly, Drain Fly and Phorid Fly.

Rodents: Deer Mouse, House Mouse, Norway Rat, Pack Rat, Roof Rat, Vole and White-footed Mouse.

Spiders: Black Widow Spider , Brown Recluse Spider, Cellar Spider, Crab Spider, Domestic House Spider, Funnelweb Spider, Garden Spider, Ground Spider, Hobo Spider, House Spider, Jumping Spider, Spiny-backed Orb Weaver Spider, Tarantula, Wolf Spider and Yellow Sac Spider.

Stinging Pests: Africanized Honeybee, American Dog Tick, Bald-faced Hornet, Bed Bugs, Bird Lice, Bird Mite, Deer Tick, Brown Dog Tick, Bumblebee, Carpenter Bee, Cat Flea, European Hornet, Fire Ant, Honeybee, Human Head Lice, Kissing Bug, Lone Star Tick, Paper Wasp, Scorpion, Soft Tick, Thrips and Yellow Jacket.

Termites: Dampwood Termite, Drywood Termite, Formosan Subterranean Termite and Subterranean Termite.

Ticks and Mites: American Dog Tick, Bird Mite, Black-legged Tick, Brown Dog Tick, Clover Mite, Lone Star Tick and Soft Tick.

Other Pests: American Spider Beetle, Bean Weevil, Cigarette Beetle, Cowpea Weevil, Dried Fruit Beetle, Drugstore Beetle, Foreign Grain Beetles, Indian Meal Moth, Larder Beetle, Mediterranean Flour Moth, Red or Confused Flour Beetle, Rice & Granary Weevils, Sawtoothed & Merchant, Grain Beetles, Shiny Spider Beetle, Cabinet Beetles, Centipedes & Millipedes, Chinch Bugs and Earwigs.

Continued here:
Residential Bed Bug Control | Toropest

In the morning we feel itchy and try to guess what is causing it. Bed bugs may likely be the cause. Some people who experience bites think that they are suffering from some kind of allergic reaction. Incomplete cleaning of bedding is among the leading reasons that infestations grow so quickly. But how do we know where to find them? Are we able to actually see them?

Luckily the good news is that bed bugs are visible. We hardly ever see them because they usually are active in the dark. During the night, they will climb onto a body and feed on human blood. If disturbed, they will normally move quickly to find a dark area. During the day, the bugs can be found in the crevices or folds of a mattress. Their eggs are difficult to spot despite looking like grains of salt. These parasites are about 5 millimeters (1/4 inch) long and are brown in color. They are usually confused with dust mites. Dust mites are not visible to the naked eye. Vacuuming your bedding regularly can reduce the number of these vampire bugs that are living in your bed.Bed bugs can be seen better if viewed under a magnifying lens. Yet, they are hard to see with the naked eye since they avoid well-lit areas. What also makes them hard to see is the fact that bed bugs have flat bodies. Younger ones, called nymphs, are smaller lighter color and very hard to see. If you are familiar with the areas where they hide, odds are you have a better chance of seeing them. If you cant see them, you can also spot their signs such as shed skin, blood spots on bed sheets, and even dark spots of excrement. Perhaps the best time to see these bugs is during the pre-dawn hours while it is still dark. At that time, shine a light near an area where they are believed to be present.

Bed bugs are tiny but they can be exterminated. If you know where they are hiding, then you have a better chance of getting rid of them. While this may not be the permanent solution to the problem, its better to be prepared the next time you discover a bedbug infestation. While exterminator services can be expensive, there are other ways to kill off these bugs such as using various cleaning chemicals such as Lysol or commercially available sprays.

Read more:
Are Bed Bugs Visible?

About the Bronx

The Bronx is the sole borough which occupies the U.S. Mainland. Manhattan and Staten Island reside on their own islands, and Queens and Brooklyn are both located on Long Island. The Bronx is also the most northerly of the five Boroughs.

Like the rest of the boroughs, the Bronx is simultaneously a county as well as a borough of New York City.

The Bronx is also incorporated as Bronx County, and Yonkers is immediately north of the borough.

Yonkers almost became a borough of New York City, but its citizens voted against joining the city in the late 1800s.

The only borough with fewer people than the Bronx is Staten Island. The Bronx has a population of about 1.4 million residents. On the other hand, the Bronx is larger than every other borough besides Queens. Out of the five boroughs, the Bronx has the third greatest population density overall.

The actual density of residential property in the borough is greater than it seems, however, because the Bronx has a large number of parks and green space which is unoccupied, increasing the density of areas where people actually live in the borough.

Amazingly, even though the Bronx has such high population density, almost a quarter of the land in the borough consists of parks, forest land, and beaches. Some of the most well known green spaces in the Bronx are Pelham Bay Park, the New York Botanical Garden, the Bronx Zoo, Woodlawn Cemetery, and Van Cortlandt Park.

The majority of the parks and open space of the borough is in North Bronx and Central Bronx. Most of these parks were owned by large landowners in the late nineteenth century that decided to donate some of their land for the greater public good.

They recognized that the urbanization radiating outward from Manhattan would eventually consume much of the Bronx and decided that they wanted to preserve some of their beautiful land for future generations to enjoy.

The Bronx has undergone a great series of changes throughout its existence. In the seventeenth century, it started out simply as the farmland of a sole landowner named Jonas Bronck. Over time, more and more people moved to the area, but it remained heavily agricultural.

In the late 19th century, there were a number of wealthy landowners, and by the twentieth century, the borough began to urbanize as immigrants moved into the area to start new lives in America.

In the middle of the 20th century, the area started to go into decline, but beginning in the late 1980s, the area began to undergo a period of immense change and gentrification that improved the conditions of the Bronx considerably, and today, the area is a wonderful place to visit, with many things to see and do. The Bronx Zoo is the largest urban zoo in the United States and has a huge variety of animals, and Yankee Stadium is home to the most storied baseball team of the history in the sport.

In spite of the high population density, the Bronx is not all apartment complexes and multi-unit homes. The further north that you get, away from the core of New York City, the lower the population density gets.

There are some wonderful historic neighborhoods along the Hudson River such as Riverdale, and there is even a wonderful beach in Northeast Bronx known as Orchard Beach, which was once hailed as The Riviera of New York.

Link:
Bronx Bed Bug Map - bedbugsexterminatorqueens.com

Return of the Bed Bugs: Know Your Rights as a Tenant

Bed bug problems were common in America before World War II. Because of widespread use of the pesticide DDT, they became less of a problem during the 1950s and 1960s. By 1970, bed bugs had been almost wiped out in this country. They could be found in Africa, Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe, but they were rarely ever seen here.

That is not true anymore. As most tenants already know, bed bugs are back. Scientists discovered that DDT was extremely dangerous for people and animals. DDT was banned, and it has finally been almost eliminated from the environment. That is good for peoplebut it is also good for bed bugs. Because other pesticides do not do a good job of killing them, bed bugs have not only returned, they are also spreading very rapidly. More and more, bed bugs are turning up in apartment buildings and homes, motels and hotels, health care facilities and dormitories, and every other place where people live.

Learning about bed bugs

Bed bugs are small, brown, flat insects. They feed only on the blood of people and animals. Bed bugs are active mainly at night. During the day, they prefer to hide close to where people sleep. Bed bugs can easily hide in tiny cracks and crevices, such as those found in mattresses, box springs, other pieces of furniture, walls, floors, ceilings, suitcasesyou name it, bed bugs can probably hide in it.

If an apartment has bed bugs, you can usually see them if you look in the right places, such as between a mattress and a box spring. Sometimes you can tell bed bugs are around because you see dark spots or stains on sheets and blankets. Sometimes you even see blood stains in a bed caused by the crushing of bed bugs. One good thing is that, so far, bed bugs have not been shown to transmit diseases to people. But that does not mean much to adults and children who are covered with bed bug bites. Bed bugs make people feel bad physically, emotionally, and mentally. An apartment filled with bed bugs is not fit to live in.

There are some other important things to know about bed bugs. One is that being a good housekeeper does not guarantee that you wont have bed bug problems. Bed bugs are hitchhikers. They usually get into a home or apartment by hiding in luggage, clothing, furniture, or other things. Beg bugs can also get in by hiding in the clothing of tenants, landlords, superintendents, tradesmen, home health aides, people delivering meals, the mailmaneven exterminators.

Because bed bugs feed only on the blood of people and animals, once they get into an apartment, cleaning alone will not get rid of them. (Even if the people leave, that does not mean that the bed bugs will die. Bed bugs can live for a year or more without food.)

Pesticides alone do not work

Another thing to know about bed bugs is that trying to get rid of them by using pesticides alone does not work. The poisons that do kill them must be sprayed right on them. Once the pesticides have dried, they dont work on the bed bugs.

Another problem is that bed bugs often live in used furnishingsespecially beds and couches and other used items. One of the best ways to avoid them is to avoid buying or using second-hand things. But lower-income people often cannot afford new furniture. Landlords may try to blame the tenants if there are bed bugs in an apartment, saying that they should not have bought used furniture. This is unfair. There is almost no way a landlord can prove for sure how bed bugs got into an apartment because there are so many ways that hitchhiking bed bugs can get in.

Ways to get rid of bed bugs

The best way to get rid of bed bugs involves using more than one treatment. Good exterminators will spray pesticides on bed bugs they can see. They will also spray them into cracks in furniture and walls where bed bugs are probably hiding. Good exterminators will put things like furniture and appliances into bags and then pump in high heat or cold, which is a good way to kill bed bugs. Putting clothes, shoes, toys, and other items in a clothes dryer at medium to high heat for up to 20 minutes will also kill them. And sometimes there is no choice but to throw infested things away. But even doing all of these things does not guarantee that the bed bugs will be gone right away. It often takes many tries before they are finally eliminated.

Getting rid of bed bugs is hard. Doing all the things needed to eliminate them can be really hard on older tenants, tenants with disabilities, and families with young children. This is especially true if the tenants have to get rid of things, such as cribs or beds or mattresses, that they cant afford to replace.

Knowing your rights is important

If you are a tenant with a bed bug problem, it is important for you to know your legal rights. It is also important for you to do the things you need to do to protect yourself from being blamed for a problem that you didnt cause. What your rights are, and what you need to do, depend on the kind of building you live in.

If you live in a building with more than one apartment, you should notify the landlord in writing as soon as you see bed bugs in your home. (Send the notice certified mail, return receipt requested, and keep a copy for yourself.) Since anyoneincluding the landlords workerscould have brought the bed bugs in, it will be very hard for the landlord to prove that any one tenant is the cause of the problem. That is why it is important for tenants to keep their apartments clean. An apartment that is not clean will not cause a bed bug problem. But you can be sure that the landlord will try to blame the tenant if the apartment is not clean. This could cause a problem for the tenant if the case goes to court. On the other hand, keeping a clean apartment will make it very hard for the landlord to try to blame a tenant for bed bugs.

If you live in subsidized housing, including public housing, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has given special written instructions to local housing authorities and landlords about how to deal with bed bug problems. It is still very important for you to give written notice about a bed bug problem as soon as possible to the Housing Authority (if you live in public housing) or your landlord (if you live in a privately-owned subsidized apartment). If the Housing Authority or landlord does not come out and begin to work on the problem right away, or if they try to blame you, you should contact your local Legal Services program for help.

The courts in New Jersey have said that it is a landlords duty to provide his or her tenants with a safe, livable apartment, one that is not infested with bugs or other things. This is called the warranty of habitability. Unless the landlord can prove that the tenant caused a problem, it is the landlords duty to fix it. This is true in the case of bed bugs as well. Since a landlord cant really prove who caused a bed bug problem, the landlord must hire good exterminators to get rid of them.

If you live in a building containing three or more apartments, state regulations known as the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Health and Safety Code also say that it is the landlords duty to get rid of bed bugs if they are in more than one apartment. The Code also makes it the landlords job to take good care of the building in order to prevent infestation problems. (The number given by the state to the Code is N.J.A.C. 5:10-10.2.)

If you rent a single-family house, or rent one apartment in a house with only two apartments, the laws are a little different. Local housing codes make it your responsibility to exterminate bed bugs or other pests, unless you can show that the problem was caused by the landlord not taking good care of the building. However, if the bed bugs are there when you move in, or there are bed bugs in both apartments in a two-family house, then it is the landlords duty to get rid of them. Just like tenants in larger buildings, you should notify the landlord in writing as soon as you see bed bugs in your home.

Getting legal advice and help is important

Where bed bugs are concerned, you should get legal advice and assistance if:

You live in a building with two or more apartments and your landlord tries to make it part of your lease that you will be responsible for getting rid of bed bugs.

Your landlord wants you to pay to get rid of bed bugs in your apartment. Even if you live in a single family house, you should get legal advice before you pay for extermination services.

Your landlord refuses to do anything to get rid of bed bugs in your apartment.

The exterminator that comes to get rid of bed bugs wants you to do things that will be very hard on you and your family, such as throw away furniture that you cant replace. These may be the right things to do, but you should get advice to make sure that the exterminator knows what he or she is doing.

You have to throw infested things away. If you do, you should get legal advice to find out if an agency or community organization must or can help you replace them.

Your landlord says that he or she is going to evict you or sue you because of the bed bugs. If this happens, you should get legal help immediately.

Your regional Legal Services office will be able to help you if you qualify based on your income.

If you find bed bugs in your home, the important thing is not to wait to do something. The best way to deal with bed bug problems is to get help as soon as possible.

This article is from the June 2010 issue of Looking Out for Your Legal Rights.

Originally posted here:
LSNJLAW - Bed Bugs: Your Rights as a Tenant

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Bed Bugs 10462 Bronx NY