Orkin's top 50 bedbug cities

The Houston Chronicle blog has published Orkin's list of the top 50 cities for bedbug infestation.  In Pennsylvania, only Pittsburgh makes the list at number 36. 

Orkin's web page provides basic information on fighting bedbugs.

Progress against bed bugs; ivermectin

All property investors are aware of the danger that bed bugs pose to properties and residents. Bed bugs have spread throughout the United States - especially in the aftermath of federal bans on certain pesticides.

Newsweek carries the story of a new drug (ivermectin) and a new approach that may help fight bed bug infestation:

The investigators ingested a medication called ivermectin, approved decades ago to treat various parasites and worms, and then exposed themselves to a swarm of bedbugs. They knew of course that the bugs, like any frisky vampire, could not resist the offer of warm human flesh; after all, bedbugs live on our blood. Right on cue, the insects hurried to the arm, bit down, had a nice blood meal—and dropped dead. The medication in the research volunteer’s bloodstream, though too weak to affect the human, was more than strong enough to kill the ambushed bedbugs.

This drug may present limited direct usefulness to landlords or hotel owners, as it is unlikely that tenants or guests could be required to take such medication. But any use by the general population could slow the spread of these bugs and thus help investors avoid infestation in the first place. 

Luzerne County Housing Authority; Bedbugs

The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader reported last month on a bedbug problem experienced by the Luzerne County Housing Authority:

Fagula said the authority nipped a slight bedbug problem in the bud. Exterminators eradicated the bloodsucking pests from three facilities and employees educated tenants on how to avoid future infestations.

“We tried to be a little proactive. Our maintenance superintendent Joe Grady found on the Internet a device you can place in the unit that attracts the bedbugs, something our guys can go around and check every week,” Fagula said, adding that the units cost about $1 each and the authority bought about 240.

“These are placed underneath the bed and, if there are bedbugs in there, they’ll be attracted to this device and get trapped in there and we can know right off the bat. So far, we’ve had good luck and good success. Three weeks ago, we put them in every unit in Lee Park and in every unit in Plymouth, and the results have come back and we haven’t found any bedbugs, so that’s a good sign,” Fagula said.

The bedbug products referenced by the maintenance supervisor are featured here.

Bedbugs and attorneys - a word of caution.

If you are an attorney seeking to make a big payday representing tenants in bedbug litigation, here is a word of caution from a recent New York Times article. Don't let your clients come to your office:

Even Steven Smollens, a housing lawyer who has helped many tenants with bedbugs, has his guard up. Those clients are barred from his office. “I meet outside,” he said. “There’s a Starbucks across the street.”

Once your office becomes infested with bedbugs, your business will suffer. Other clients will not want to come to your office:

In recent weeks, bedbugs snuggled into the seats at AMC’s movie theater in Times Square, crept around a Victoria’s Secret store on Lexington Avenue and the offices of Elle Magazine and hitchhiked into the Brooklyn district attorney’s office.

“There were attorneys that didn’t want to come to our building,” said an assistant district attorney who would identify herself only as Caroline A. “I don’t blame them; I wouldn’t want to go somewhere where there is known to be bedbugs.”

The consequences from bedbug litigation are only beginning, but I imagine that if an attorney (or his clients) brings bedbugs into his office building, the landlord would be justified in evicting that attorney. Check your own leases before you put your practice at risk.

Pennsylvania bedbug legislation; Senator Farnese; DDT

Bedbugs have become a more common problem in recent years, as these insects have spread mainly among hotels in urban areas throughout the Northeast.

They resist traditional insect treatments. The known insecticides that kill bedbugs were banned years ago by the federal government.

In 2010, Senator Farnese (D - Phila.) introduced legislation that would have imposed tremendous costs upon landlords in an effort to combat bedbugs. In particular the bill would have required landlords to provide for inspection every time a new tenant leased a unit or every time a lease was renewed. This bill expired with the end of the legislative session in 2010, but Senator Farnese expects to reintroduce it under a new bill number soon. He is now seeking co-sponsors.

On Tuesday, January 11, 2011, representatives of PROA met with Senator Farnese' staff in Harrisburg. We stressed the prohibitive costs that this bill would create for landlords and we presented various alternatives, including expedited eviction for tenants known to have caused a bedbug problem in the unit.

We also discussed the availability of pesticides. According to the New York Times:

Bedbugs, once nearly eradicated, have spread across New York City, in part because of the decline in the use of DDT.

While it was the federal government that banned certain pesticides (thus precluding a real solution by state legislators), state legislators can help address the problem. Senator Farnese's staff indicated that the Senator will conduct hearings in this matter. We asked that the Senator's committee seek testimony on pesticide bans and pesticide solutions. A growing public awareness of the pesticide aspect of this story could influence the federal government.

Meanwhile, real estate owners should contact their federal congressmen in an effort to push for repeal of DDT bans.