NYC Bed Bug Registry Infestation Maps, Residential and Hotel

WASHINGTON (ABC7)

It was back to class at their home school for hundreds of students at Savoy Elementary in Southeast Washington on Monday morning.

The school was closed for three weeks to get rid of rats and bed bugs that were plaguing the facility.

The problem started in the fall and persisted into the winter. Earlier this month the school was shut down and students were transferred to Ferebee Hope Elementary School for class. During that time the school was cleaned from top to bottom, a new front lobby floor was put in and all soft materials such as blankets and carpets were replaced. They also located and repaired vulnerable spots in the school where rats could get in.

One of the challenges that we face right now is that we want to make sure that our families, teachers and students feel comfortable, said Deputy Chief of School Eugene Pinkard.

Pinkard was on hand to welcome back students and parents and to give the media a tour of the cleaned up facility. Some parents were anxious to have their students return.

Mother Pauline Richardson told ABC7, I hope they got the bed bug situation under control. Hopefully this is a fresh start.

Both the Department of Health and Department of General Services inspected the facility and say it is safe for students and teachers to return.

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Students return to D.C. elementary school after bed bugs, rat ... - WJLA

Quick Bedbug Facts: Bedbug Size: 1/4 to 3/8 inch (4-5 mm) Bedbug Color: Reddish brown or brown Bedbug Description: Bed bugs are sometimes called "red coats", "chinches", or "mahogany flats". The adult bed bug is a wingless insect that is flattened from top to bottom. Bedbug Habitat: At the beginning of an infestation, bed bugs are likely to be found only in the tufts, seams, and folds of mattresses and bed covers. In areas of heavy infestation, bed bugs can be found in crevices in the bedsteads. Bedbug Life Cycle: The life cycle stages of a bed bug are: Egg, Nymph, and Adult. The females lay about 450 eggs, usually at the rate of up to 5 per day, in cracks and crevices in the floor or bed, and the eggs attach to any hard surface. Newly hatched bed bugs begin feeding immediately. They shed their skin five times before becoming adults. Bedbug - Type of Damage: They feed principally on human blood by piercing the skin with a long beak and sucking blood into their stomachs. They feed mostly at night, but will feed during the day if hungry and the light is dim. Bedbug Control: In private homes, find all areas that bed bugs hide in during the day time. These must be treated with chemicals. In hotels, apartments, and other multiple-type dwelling places, bed bugs may spread from one unit to another using electrical wires and pipes as highways. All units should be inspected. Remove bird nests, if any. Discovery Spots: Usually discovered in unsuspected areas such as in floor cracks, under carpets, behind loose wallpaper or wall pictures, in books, CDs and electrical outlets.

**Who's Responsible in Your Rented Apartment ???

Your landord is! Read more on the law: Article 4, Extermination and Rodent Eradication, Sec. 27-2018, Chapter 2, Housing Maintenance Code.

Useful tools for renters:

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How Bedbugs Feed

Why You Would Have Bedbugs?

Bedbug Control and Pest Extermination Services Available for: New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island.

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Bed Bug Removal and Extermination in New York City ...

Following a week that identified bed bugs at Miner Elementary in Northeast, and citations by the D.C. Health department that shuttered luxury food depot Dean & Deluca and a Whole Foods both in Georgetown concerns have grown among city officials and residents that the District may soon be overrun with pests.

The District of Columbia has long been a hub for rodents with tunnels, waterways, and occasional lapses in abatement; however, the D.C. Department of Health said there has been a drastic increase in calls to report rats, following four years of steady rodent decline. The city logged more than 3,000 rat complaints in fiscal year 2015-2016, causing Mayor Muriel Bowser to launch a rat-riddance program. The program, linking the Department of Health with the National Park Service, began inspecting and treating national parks in the city, including DuPont Circle, where frequent visitors spot an average of 12 to 20 rats each visit.

The National Park Service is committed to ensuring safe, positive experiences for visitors in all of our parks, and this agreement with the D.C. Department of Health provides us better tools to control the rodent population, said Robert Vogel, director of the National Capital Region for the National Park Service, in a statement. By simplifying the reporting process and decreasing the response time for treatment of affected areas, we are working together toward a rat-free D.C.

But for parents of Savoy Elementary School, in Southeast, scheduled to reopen Feb. 27 following a temporary closure to treat both rats and bedbugs, fears have not been so easily assuaged. Despite the efforts by DCPS to proactively work to prevent and treat potential threats from pests, a recent Orkin Pest Control report noted the District has seen a 57 percent increase in its rat population stressing the increase was among rats, not mice.

Similar to large cities like Philadelphia and New York, D.C. has extended its abatement programs with increased patrols and treatments. Still, with increased property development and infrastructure improvements, including breaking open ground to modernize pipes, results are minimal.

Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles told the AFROthat abating rodents across the city, but especially in schools, required improved habits of those inside as well as structural improvements to keep vermin from entering buildings. With the rodents, it isnt always easy because with all of the construction we have in the city the displacement of one population of rats means that they go somewhere [else in the city], Niles said. We need to make sure that we have school buildings with no entry in for rodents, and when we have buildings where rodents have entered that we dont allow them to thrive. Different sites have different challenges, but these are best practices.

Ward 6 resident Donna Haskins told the AFROthat Niles assessment should be a city-wide mandate for schools, residences, and businesses. It is easy to point a finger at DCPS or the individual restaurants and businesses, like Whole Foods, but the truth [is] whether you are downtown near the Archives, east of the river, or in ritzy Georgetown, the rats are everywhere, Haskins said. Yet and still, people are still throwing garbage down, allowing their trash to overflow, and basically inviting the rats to hang out.

The DOH asks residents to: eliminate all clutter around the outside of homes and under porches; store any garbage in metal or heavy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and place trash at point of collection shortly before pickup not days in advance; remove weeds and debris near your property/yards where rats can hide easily. Plants such as English Ivy, Periwinkle, Pachysandra, and Hosta are known to be cover for rats; remove uneaten pet food, and store pet food in secure containers; and add metal weather stripping and trim to doors to prevent rodents from gnawing and entering underneath.

Original post:
DCPS Rodents, Bedbug Crisis May Mean City Infestation Issue - Afro American

New York, United States: TO GO WITH AFP STORYBY CATHERINE HOURS : USA-GESUNDHEIT-TOURISMUS-INSEKTEN A jar of bedbugs sits on the desk of Louis Sorkin of the American Museum of Natural History Entomology Section 16 November 2006. Common in the US and Europe until they were eradicated after World War II, the bedbug has made a comeback in US cities, starting with New York. "Any room is fair game to them, any house is fair game to them. People thought they were found in dirty places, but the truth is they (the bugs) don't care," said Sorkin, showing off the jar of bedbugs that have fed on his forearm. AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

New York, United States: TO GO WITH AFP STORYBY CATHERINE HOURS : USA-GESUNDHEIT-TOURISMUS-INSEKTEN A jar of bedbugs sits on the desk of Louis Sorkin of the American Museum of Natural History Entomology Section 16 November 2006. Common in the US and Europe until they were eradicated after World War II, the bedbug has made a comeback in US cities, starting with New York. "Any room is fair game to them, any house is fair game to them. People thought they were found in dirty places, but the truth is they (the bugs) don't care," said Sorkin, showing off the jar of bedbugs that have fed on his forearm. AFP PHOTO/Timothy A. CLARY (Photo credit should read TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)

WEST MANHEIM TWP., York County, Pa. Investigators say the death of a 96 year-old woman in 2016 was the result of an infection caused by bed bug bites, and last week they filed charges againsther caretaker. Deborah May Butler, 72, is charged with neglect of a care dependent person and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Mary Stoner, 96.

Stoner was taken to the hospital on February 6th of 2016. She was suffering from multiple skin sores and cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin. Doctors said Stoners condition was the result of bites she received from a bed bug infestation at 2015 Baltimore Pike in West Manheim Twp., where she was living under the care of Butler. Butler had cared for Stoner for about ten years, first at her former business, Luckenbaugh Personal Care Home, located at 2040 Baltimore Pike. After she closed that business, Butler was paid to care for Stoner and another woman at her private residence across the street.

Stoners family told police they noticed on January 31st that her health had drastically declined. They took her out of Butlers home on February 6th. She complained of substantial pain and was barely able to walk.When they undressed Stoner in preparation for a bath, they noticed a severe rash covering more than half her body. She was then taken to the hospital via ambulance.When police went to the home on February 7th to check on the other patient residing there, an 88 year-old woman, they saw several bed bugs scurrying along her bed covers and the pillow beneath her head. She told police she was blind and that she could feel the bed bugs crawling and sometimes they bit her. She said Butler had been trying to get rid of the bed bugs for about a year.

Stoners former bedroom was checked and it appeared to be in the process of being cleaned. According to court documents, the mattress had been stripped from the bed and was against the wall. Police saw a pillowcase with what appeared to be blood stains. Police said bed bugs were crawling on another woman who was asleep in the home. She was identified as a relative of Butlers.

Bed Bug Kits were found in the basement. Butler told police she knew she had a bed bug infestation and had been trying to get rid of them since September of 2015. She said she could not afford a professional exterminator. Butler said she took Stoner to a doctor in January because shed been scratching her neck. They thought this had been due to anxiety. Butler failed to tell the doctor about the bed bugs. It was treated with an ointment applied three times per day. Butler said shed noticed no change in Stoner between the doctor visit until her family took her home, a period of 17 days, save for a spot on Stoners neck that looked like raw meat.

Charging documents state that Stoners condition was visible and was in obvious need of medical attention. Butler sought no additional medical care, depriving her of pain relief and preventative healthcare. The doctor Stoner visited, Dr. Kurt Thomas, diagnosed Stoner with scabies. He said if he had been told about the bed bugs, his diagnosis and subsequent treatment would have been different.

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Elderly woman's death caused by bed bugs; caretaker charged ... - FOX43.com

Bed bugs may be tiny, but they can do incredible damage as youll see in our massive photo collection! They are excellent at hiding in tiny spaces where they wait for you and your loved ones to fall asleep and attack when youre most vulnerable.

This website is full of images that show you exactly what they look like, what can happen when they attack you in numbers, how to treat bites and most importantly, how to locate and kill these blood suckers yourself using inexpensive all-natural products.

We also have a very popular checklist that will walk you through the process of identifying infestations in hotel rooms. A few simple precautions can help you find these elusive bugs and prevent the nightmare from ever happening in the first place!

We receive a number of complaints about infants being attacked while sleeping as shown in the photo at the top of this page. That poor baby was taken to the doctor, and unlike many doctors, it was correctly determined that the bites were from bed bugs. Note: Many inexperienced doctors misdiagnose such bites.

The mother of the child shown above searched the crib and found the frame was infested with bed bugs (see more pictures of bed bug bites). Rather than do it herself, she called out a professional pest control company to eliminate the infestation. It is believed that the infestation started with baby cloths found at a garage sale.

Bed bug bites tend to have a pattern and this photo shows the perfect example of what they look like. If this were an attack by many bugs or by a few that are not as hungry, the pattern may not be noticeable.

People from around the world bitten by bed bugs have submitted photos for you to view, some are simple bites while other are horrible attacks that not only left physical scarring, but emotional scars as well.

It cant be said with absolute certainty that a bite was caused by a particular bug, but by viewing our collection of images and matching the pattern, it can give you a good start!

Weve got an impressive collection of bed bugs pictures that Im sure youll find very helpful in identifying the bug you found.

Finding bed bugs in your home has nothing to do with poor hygiene! It takes only one bed bug to hitch a ride on your clothing (furniture, suitcase, etc) and infest your residence. Whats worse is that they can live up to one year without drinking a drop of your blood. Feeding takes about 10 to 15 minutes for adults and less for the nymphs; they feed about every three days. Depending on the conditions, bed bug nymphs can survive for months without feeding.

Bed Bugs are insects, more specifically, True Bugs, which have piercing mouthparts that in most species are used for feeding on plants. Unfortunately, there are some species of bugs with mouthparts that have been adapted to feed on human blood while inflicting very little pain (most never feel the blood feeding).

The eggs are white and about 1mm long. The nymphs look like adults but are smaller. Complete development from egg to adult takes from four weeks to several months depending on the temperature and amount of feed available, see the bed bug life cycle chart on your left.

On average, females begins to lay eggs 4 days after mating and produces 260 eggs throughout their year long lifespan; eggs take 7 to 10 days to hatch. On average, bed bugs lay 5 eggs per week with populations reaching into the thousands in only 30 days!

They DO NOT have wings but that doesnt slow them down, they move at 4 feet per minute and usually are within 20 feet of their victim, however, motivated bed bugs may reach up to 60 feet! When hunting for food, they pick up bits of CO2 until they get close to the source, then follow the heat your body gives off.

NOTE: Although bed bugs dont have wings, it doesnt mean they cant fly 🙂 Believe it or not, some bed bugs can enter your home by riding on bats!

The grouping and number of bites shown on Monica earlier is a good sign that an infestation may be close by. A telltale sign would be mold like spots on your mattress. The picture to your right is of a mattress infested with bed bugs which was missed during an inspection! (click to enlarge) Its a great example of what you might see in a hotel room because it shows eggs, shells, feces and the bedbug itself.

Notice the shell that was shed in the left side of the photo and then again below and to the right? They are very hard to spot, as are the fecal stains (black mold like dots). These are just some of the signs youll look for when trying spot an infestation.

I should also mention that the visitor who submitted this image (her name is V) had an inspection and this slipped through. She left comments complaining of bites and couldnt find any sign of bugs, but we worked with her and through patience and determination, she was able to spot the source of the infestation, performed her own treatment and is now bed bug free!

So how do you know if you have an infestation? Its easy, and we created a bed bug checklist to help you find them in your home it works great for a hotel room as well 🙂

My page on how to get rid of bed bugs will walk you through the extermination process step-by-step, but in general, youll do a lot of cleaning and then apply the mixtures I provide on that page and apply it everywhere bugs might hide.

Uninterrupted, a bed bug can fill up in little as 5 minutes and do this about once every 6 days.

If youre going to be your own exterminator, then youll find everything you need to be successful right here on this site; however, you should be aware of things that can make matters worse often, uneducated landlords will suggest some of these items! Ill list them below:

The first thing you should do is make sure your hotel is bed bug free!

Understand that ANY hotel, 5 star or not, can get bed bugs so check for signs BEFORE you spend the night regardless of how clean it looks! Ive got an entire checklist at the top of this page that will show you where to look in detail this is extremely important!

A few ways to prevent bed bugs from getting into your home after youve used our checklist above include:

Why isnt the Government doing more to prevent infestations? Actually, they are and according to the EPA on bed bugs and infestations, have awarded more than half a million dollars to universities and agencies in hopes a way to eliminate these bugs once and for all will be discovered.

They have also created the Inter-agency Bed Bug Task Force that includes the CDC, Department of Health, USDA, Housing and of course, the EPA which created an entire site dedicated to educating people about bed bugs; however, they are limited on DIY information and lean toward hiring professional exterminators.

Bedbugs do damage, not only to the body from attacks, but also in the form of mental fatigue. Living with an infestation for too long may cause a paranoia that leads the victim into believing they are being bitten when in fact, they are not.

The Cost of Extermination There are thousands of comments on this site and many complain of outrageous costs, some of up to $5,000 for serious home infestations. The average fee reported by visitors for heat treatment is around $1,800 per visit and often, there are no guarantees.

Weve also had an incredible number of complaints where pest control companies took the victims cash and left the bed bugs; when the victim complained, they were told the bed bugs where killed but that the home owner must have brought bugs back into the home.

There are other methods of professional bed bug treatment which we cover in detail, but the most important point when hiring a professional is to make sure they are certified with specialized training on killing bed bugs!

If an exterminator tells you they can remove an infestation in one visit then keep looking. It takes at the very least two visits to make sure the treatment worked.

Below is just one of the many stories visitors have shared about being covered in bites after a deep sleep. In this case, an embarrassed mother who has been fighting bedbugs took the time to share only asking that we change her name to Restless, this is her story:

I Never knew anything about bedbugs until now. They have truly ruined my life. I cant have friends or family over and I cant sleep anymore. I live in a building that consists of 16 units. I discovered the problem a couple of weeks ago.

I woke up itching very bad and saw five bugs in my bed. I looked the bug up online and found out what it was. I started crying and didnt know what to do. I went to the hardware and bought bedbug sprays and also set off bedbug bombs. My daughter came to me crying because her face was swollen from a bite. I flipped over her box spring and tore the fabric off the bottom, there I found the problem. Bedbugs nesting and sleeping. I threw up from the sight of it. I continued to do the same for all the beds in the house, found the exact same thing. Then it was on to the couches. The bugs lie dormant in the wood of the couches. I immediately discarded everything in my apartment. Did my research and found out that I had to contact my landlord. He sent an inspector out the very next day. The inspector told me to bag up everything in plastic bags real tight and throw out old books and paper that I didnt need and said I needed three treatments and he said he would be back on Monday.

While standing in the neighborhood store I overheard neighbors saying that all of the landlords other buildings were infested with bedbugs as well. Why didnt the landlord treat all of the units just in case to avoid the spread of bedbugs? In my opinion, I think that the maintenance workers were transporting the bugs, seeing how the people with the bugs live in different buildings, and have never stepped a foot inside any of the other units. My landlord was careless not to inform all of his tenants about the infestations.

I have nothing now. Everything I own has gone to the garbage. I only had the furniture for one year and a half. I spent thousands of dollars on my furniture, and Im not working now and cant afford to replace anything. I really feel helpless with no-one to trust. Im going crazy. Im so sick of living out of plastic bags. I dont know what to do anymore. The third treatment was completed 2 days ago and this morning I found a bedbug on my sheet.

Its been awhile since then, and Ive learned there is no short cut! My advise to those reading this is, do not use sprays! Many act as a repellent and can cause bed bugs to travel to other areas not being treated. If you want to get rid of bed bugs, then you need to use DE and follow the instructions on this website. It will take time but in the end, its the only DIY method that works.

Want to read more? A LOT of people have shared their experience with bed bug bites!

A ton of people ask me that question and Im happy to help you determine if you have one of these little blood suckers, just use this form to upload your pictures of the suspected bed bug and/or bite.

Do It Yourself Pest Control Youll find great information on how to identify kill these bugs yourself and prevent another infestation. In fact, youll find a large number of success stories by people who took the time to do it right; however, if you have a big infestation but dont have the time and patience to treat it properly, then paying for a professional exterminator may be a better than doing it wrong and causing them to spread. You CAN do it yourself, but there is no quick fix. (unless your like some of the lucky visitors to this site that happened to find and kill the bug before it could multiply).

Not sure where to start? Then read our page on pest control / bed bug treatment or jump right to the bed bug dust solution and see comments left by visitors that now enjoy a bug free life.

Perhaps you can help identify the bug bite left by a visitor, know of pest control method not mentioned, or have a story to share? If so, please leave a comment and help out. Bedbug infestation is a frightening experience and knowing that others have been down the same road can really help, so please comment whenever possible.

Looking for Consumer information on getting rid of bed bugs? The FTC has a nice page on battling these blood suckers; most of it is centered around using pesticides and providing a list of products approved by the EPA.

Take a look around and enjoy the site!

More:
View Bed Bug Bites and ID Bugs with easy DIY Treatment

Following a week that identified bed bugs at Miner Elementary in Northeast, and citations by the D.C. Health department that shuttered luxury food depot Dean & Deluca and a Whole Foods both in Georgetown concerns have grown among city officials and residents that the District may soon be overrun with pests.

The District of Columbia has long been a hub for rodents with tunnels, waterways, and occasional lapses in abatement; however, the D.C. Department of Health said there has been a drastic increase in calls to report rats, following four years of steady rodent decline. The city logged more than 3,000 rat complaints in fiscal year 2015-2016, causing Mayor Muriel Bowser to launch a rat-riddance program. The program, linking the Department of Health with the National Park Service, began inspecting and treating national parks in the city, including DuPont Circle, where frequent visitors spot an average of 12 to 20 rats each visit.

The National Park Service is committed to ensuring safe, positive experiences for visitors in all of our parks, and this agreement with the D.C. Department of Health provides us better tools to control the rodent population, said Robert Vogel, director of the National Capital Region for the National Park Service, in a statement. By simplifying the reporting process and decreasing the response time for treatment of affected areas, we are working together toward a rat-free D.C.

But for parents of Savoy Elementary School, in Southeast, scheduled to reopen Feb. 27 following a temporary closure to treat both rats and bedbugs, fears have not been so easily assuaged. Despite the efforts by DCPS to proactively work to prevent and treat potential threats from pests, a recent Orkin Pest Control report noted the District has seen a 57 percent increase in its rat population stressing the increase was among rats, not mice.

Similar to large cities like Philadelphia and New York, D.C. has extended its abatement programs with increased patrols and treatments. Still, with increased property development and infrastructure improvements, including breaking open ground to modernize pipes, results are minimal.

Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles told the AFROthat abating rodents across the city, but especially in schools, required improved habits of those inside as well as structural improvements to keep vermin from entering buildings. With the rodents, it isnt always easy because with all of the construction we have in the city the displacement of one population of rats means that they go somewhere [else in the city], Niles said. We need to make sure that we have school buildings with no entry in for rodents, and when we have buildings where rodents have entered that we dont allow them to thrive. Different sites have different challenges, but these are best practices.

Ward 6 resident Donna Haskins told the AFROthat Niles assessment should be a city-wide mandate for schools, residences, and businesses. It is easy to point a finger at DCPS or the individual restaurants and businesses, like Whole Foods, but the truth [is] whether you are downtown near the Archives, east of the river, or in ritzy Georgetown, the rats are everywhere, Haskins said. Yet and still, people are still throwing garbage down, allowing their trash to overflow, and basically inviting the rats to hang out.

The DOH asks residents to: eliminate all clutter around the outside of homes and under porches; store any garbage in metal or heavy plastic containers with tight-fitting lids and place trash at point of collection shortly before pickup not days in advance; remove weeds and debris near your property/yards where rats can hide easily. Plants such as English Ivy, Periwinkle, Pachysandra, and Hosta are known to be cover for rats; remove uneaten pet food, and store pet food in secure containers; and add metal weather stripping and trim to doors to prevent rodents from gnawing and entering underneath.

Read more:
DCPS Rodents, Bedbug Crisis May Be Larger City Infestation Issue - Afro American

Baltimore Holds Top Spot on Bed Bugs Cities List

ATLANTA (January 3, 2017) Baltimore tops this years Top 50 Bed Bug Cities list, released today by pest control leader Orkin. In the six years Orkin has released the bed bug city rankings, this is the first time Baltimore has made the top five, moving up nine spots since last year. Four metro regions Las Vegas, Portland, Salt Lake City and Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem made the list for the first time this year.

The list is based on treatment data from the metro areas where Orkin performed the most bed bug treatments from December 1, 2015 November 30, 2016. This ranking includes both residential and commercial treatments.

We have more people affected by bed bugs in the United States now than ever before, says Orkin Entomologist and Director of Technical Services Ron Harrison, Ph.D., adding that bed bugs are a growing issue. They were virtually unheard of in the U.S. 10 years ago, he says.

According to a 2015 Bugs without Borders Survey by the National Pest Management Association, nearly all (99.6 percent) of pest professionals nationwide have treated bed bugs in the past year, up from five, 10 and 15 years ago.

Bed bugs are great hitchhikers because they travel from place to place with ease, including luggage, purses and other belongings. Bed bugs can be found anywhere, from single family homes, apartments and hotel, to public places like movie theaters, public transit and libraries and offices.

Anyone can get bed bugs in their home. They are not a sign of uncleanliness. Bed bugs only need blood to survive. We have treated for bed bugs in everything from million dollar homes to public housing, Harrison says.

Bed bugs can be difficult to detect and treat because of their small size and ability to survive up to a year without feeding. They are about the size of an apple seed when fully grown, and can hide around seams of a mattress, behind headboards and in cracks and crevices, usually within a five-foot radius of the bed. The first signs of a bed bug infestation are often the bed bugs themselves or small dark stains bed bugs can leave behind.

People may have bed bugs and not know it, because many people have no physical reaction to bed bug bites, Harrison says. Thats why its important for people everywhere to inspect for bed bugs regularly.

While the 50 metro areas listed above required the most treatments for bed bugs in 2016, Orkin has treated for bed bugs in all 50 states and around the world. To help detect and prevent bed bugs, Orkin recommends homeowners and travelers do the following:

At Home:

During travel, remember the acronym S.L.E.E.P to inspect for bed bugs:

Bed bugs can quickly become a major problem, as they can spread from room to room if undetected and allowed to multiply. Anyone who suspects a bed bug infestation should contact a pest management professional immediately.

For more information about bed bug detection and prevention, visit Orkin.com. You can also find 100 facts about bed bugs in Orkins new bed bug e-book.

About Orkin, LLC

Founded in 1901, Atlanta-based Orkin is an industry leader in essential pest control services and protection against termite damage, rodents and insects. The company operates more than 400 locations with almost 8,000 employees. Using a proprietary, three-step approach, Orkin provides customized services to approximately 1.7 million homeowners and businesses in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, Central America, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Asia, the Mediterranean and Africa. Orkin is committed to studying pest biology and applying scientifically proven methods. The company collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and eight major universities to conduct research and helps educate consumers and businesses on pest-related health threats. Learn more about Orkin at Orkin.com. Orkin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rollins Inc. (NYSE: ROL). Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Originally posted here:
Dont Let the Bed Bugs Bite: Orkin Releases New Top 50 ...

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Aaron Doughty appears borderline frustrated and understandably anxious with D.C. school and health officials.

A father of two girls who attend Alfred Kiger Savoy Elementary School, Mr. Doughty and other parents learned by way of TV news that the school is infested with bedbugs and rodents.

A rodent problem might be understood, since Savoy sits hard by the Anacostia River. Bedbugs, not so much.

Whats truly troublesome is that school officials were aware of the infestation last year, which means they had the whole Christmas break to clear out classrooms, treat the problem, and return or buy classroom materials.

Mr. Doughty took pictures of his girls bedbug bites and allowed them to be broadcast on WTTG-Channel 5, which first reported the story.

He said his daughters, 9 and 10 years old, would not return to Savoy until the problems are resolved. He said the girls bug bites began around Christmas.

They wont be back because they have several bites on them, and Im very concerned about the situation, he said. I will not be sending them to school.

D.C. does have a serious bedbug problem. Orkin, a leader in the pest control industry, lists the nations capital as the No. 2 center for bedbug infestation. Baltimore is No. 1, and Chicago and New York follow D.C. (In case youre interested, Houston, site of Super Bowl LI, holds the 17th spot on the top 50 list.)

Mr. Doughty isnt the only parent who took city health and school officials to task.

This is not how you should notify parents of rats and bedbugs, another parent told Channel 5. I had to see it on the news. Then, the school doesnt notify the parents until four days later.

As for school authorities, they issued this statement: We were made aware of an incident of bedbugs at Savoy Elementary School, and we hired professional cleaning contractors to thoroughly clean the school, developed an ongoing cleaning plan for the building, and ordered new nap mats with 2-foot risers. We are working with the school and the community to be vigilant in keeping unwanted pests from entering the building.

Reassuring? Not really.

Although officials implemented a three-day-a-week extermination and cleaning plan, a key mistake is allowing students, school personnel, parents and visitors to continue to come and go at Savoy, a pre-K through fifth-grade school.

Bedbugs are unwanted transplants because they travel on and in whatever they cling to. If infested backpacks and clothing are carried home from an infested school, the critters make the return trip to the freshly sanitized school in the infested gear.

Rodents and other four-legged pests dont stay away simply because the exterminator tells them to leave.

Clearly, authorities with the D.C. Health Department need a sustained public profile on this problem.

I say that because, as I stood outside Savoy yesterday afternoon, I wondered whether the trash bins, brooms and mop buckets I saw near the Savoy kids eating area were free of bedbugs or if the room itself was clear of rodents, which generally come and go as they please. The adults appeared as oblivious as the kids.

This was hardly welcome news to the Districts public schools chancellor, Antwan Wilson, who marked his first day on the job yesterday.

The D.C. Health Department informs on its website: Bedbugs feed only on the blood of warm-blooded hosts. They can conceal themselves in any tight crack or crevice, and are often found in padding, such as mattresses and box springs. They can also hide behind electrical faceplates, baseboards, folded areas of beds, bedding, adjacent furniture, picture frames, wallpaper and nearly anywhere inside a shelter, apartment, or structure.

Schools and other educational environs should be added to that list.

Deborah Simmons can be contacted at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.

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Health emergency at DC school with infestation of rodents, bedbugs - Washington Times

We were sleeping in room 904 when my friend discovered a bedbug on her bed. She also faced itches and red spots on her arms and neck. When we filed a complaint at the reception they said they would in...

I was on a business trip for my work. And I was bitten by bed bugs while staying at this hotel. At first I thought I was having some sort of allergic reaction. But when I got home I had a nurse I know...

I woke up in the morning after sleeping here and felt fine, but by mid afternoon, my side started to hurt. At around 5pm, I took off my shirt to find about 10 beg bug bites in two separate groupings o...

Pretty sure I was bitten by bed bugs. I stayed with 4 friends in a 1 bedroom apartment for the weekend. I get home Sunday and broke out on my arm 4 bumps the wells and extremely itchy. I ...

Found a live bed bug crawling across my pillow on my 2nd night of stay. I took a picture then killed it and called the front desk. They said they would send someone to check. A maintenance person came...

Woke up to 7 bed bug bites on my legs. 831...

This hotel has a serious bedbug issue but the management seems to just not want to accept it. I have stayed there twice now and have been bitted both times. The management disregarded it as "insect bi...

BED BUG ALERT!!! My spouse and I received 50+ bites during our stay over 3 nights. The hotel management won't call me back - only communicates through email and refuses to give the name of the inspec...

Multiple units in this building reported bed bugs in 2015 and 2016. (I know of at least 3.) I'm sure the other units have bed bugs, too, and they just don't know it yet. There have been reports in nei...

We reserved the hotel online from Italy. pictures posted were misleading and nothing to do with the actual conditions of the hotel. Room was dirty. We were barely able to spend one night. The followi...

Stayed 1 night on 8/24/16 in room 529 at Club Quarters World Trade Center and had bites on my ankles and feet. Stayed on the Club Quarters side of the hotel. Colleague stayed on the World side of ho...

saw adult bed bugs. left with one on my bag....

there were bed bugs in the room...

20 bites, blistering all over my body from one night stay. Confirmed diagnosis by physician....

Bedroom was infested by bed bugs. They appeared while I was sleeping (3:00 a.m.) Engineer confirmed it. I was transferred to another room....

Terrible, long-standing bedbug problem in this building, which is full of rent-controlled apartments with hoarders who refuse to let exterminators do treatments. Bedbugs are here to stay. Bedbu...

Spent 6 days here and 3 days after returning home the bites started showing up. My husbands were so bad he ended up in Urgent Care. After researching and seeing pictures I remembered the bed being cov...

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Recommended tips after hotel check-in: 1. Pick up the mattresses in the rooms and look under it. Check around the edges of the box springs. 2. Check under the box spring. 3. Lift up each headboard an lie it on the bed. Carefully inspect the hole where the headboard was lifted out of. Also, inspect all niches and corners of the headboard. 4. If you decide to stay in the hotel, do not put any clothes in dressers. Keep them in your luggage and your dirty clothes in plastic bags.

More here:
New York NY Bed bug Hotel and Apartment Reports

This is an update from our story last night on the bed bug treatment-related fire in Detroit.

The tenant who accidentally started the fire in Detroit on Tuesday has now spoken to journalists, offering a heartbreaking apology for her actions:

According to Fox 2 News, the tenant had bed bugs for a whole year, and desperation when the bed bug problem persisted after professionals treated the home led her to take matters into her own hands:

They had sent exterminators over, but it didnt work, and these things just kept at me, they just kept at me, she says. I went in there with clear skin, now my skin is all bitten up and looking like leather. I just want to get rid of these bed bug tormentors.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, says she killed some of the bedbugs a few weeks ago by turning up the heat in her west side apartment, which is near Outer Drive and Rouge Park. So, she says she did the same Tuesday and doused her floors with alcohol, which is often used to kill bedbugs. But, she also had her oven on and she did not know the fumes are flammable.

When I was standing in the front room, the whole floor just ignited. The whole floor just ignited! I couldnt get the fire extinguisher, she says.

As we noted in our previous post, Fox 2 reported yesterday that officials had confirmed the fire was started after the tenant used a smoke bomb and then tried to put it out with a pillow.

Its not clear from this report whether that is correct, but the tenant here reports that a floor sprayed with alcohol ignited from the lit oven.

Alcohol is a contact killer for bed bugs but is highly flammable and if used at all, should be used with great caution.

This is a tragic situation and the womans story of living with bed bugs for a year makes the desperate nature of her actions more understandable.

Her phone call on the news report is quite heartbreaking. I really hope she can forgive herself and move on.

No one should be in the position of living with bed bugs for so long. This story highlights the need both for education about how to kill bed bugs safely, what to expect during treatment, and how to resolve bed bug problems in apartment buildings.

If bed bug treatments fail, there will be reasons why (which might include attached neighbors with untreated infestations, or the methods being used, among other things).

If you are in this situation, there are safer options. Ask landlord to provide more treatment, and ask if they have professionally inspected attached units.

Dont assume treatments cant work. In this case, it isnt clear whether the tenant had given up on professional treatments too soon, whether the landlord stopped providing them, or what other factors were involved.

Self-treatment can be done if professional treatment truly isnt an option, but you need to educate yourself about safe and effective methods.

If you must self-treat, seek out good information from sources like the Comprehensive Guides to Bed Bugs and Treatment in our resources page, which offer treatment advice.

Above all else, please be careful.

Alcohol is flammable, smoke bombs and other bug bombs and foggers have their own dangers and dont work well on bed bugs anyway, and heating your home to treat bed bugs isnt a do it yourself job and can be dangerous.

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Bedbugger.com Bed bugs: news, information, support