Bed Bugs New York

New York, the Bedbug: Cimex Lectularious

In the early 1900’s, the Department of Agriculture issued a warning to housewives about a bug called cimex lectularius, then known as a “chinch,” “chinch Bugs,” “crimson rambler,” or “mahogany flat.” Now we call it something else also so know as the common NYC Bed Bug.

The bedbug even then showed a level of caution and intellect from its long connection with man. The Department of Agriculture chose to see the brighter side of the situation: Thank the Lord forsaken thing lost its wings ages ago, because if not there would be no safety from this pest, even for the most cautious and meticulous housekeeper. Almost a century later, freedom from cimex is progressively more difficult to find. Summer 2010 has been the season of the Bedbug and it looks like it’s turning into the year of the bedbug.

They have infested Movie Theatres, Clothing Stores, Hotels, Motels NYC Transit and even cabs. All of NYC including Upper East and West side apartments. Mayor Bloomberg’s office, realizing bedbugs have become a public nuisance and a health risk, released a report on how it planned to destroy them. They noted that the campaign seemed to consist mostly of speaking from the steps of City Hall and really not much more.

If we are getting more bedbugs now than ever, how are we going to free ourselves of them? Short answer: We can try, but unfortunately we won’t. And if you think u have no chance of getting bed bugs your wrong. Science, logistics, and economics make eradicating or even controlling New York City’s bedbug population almost impossible. Those red bites on your arm; those restless nights when every piece of dust feels like it’s crawling along your skin; Its psycho delusion psychosis, those friends who are abandoning their apartments and using garbage bags as closets — welcome to the new ordinary, circa 2010, also known as bedbug bliss.

At one time in history we eliminated almost all of them to the point of almost extinction . At that time we had the advantage of DDT, a marvel pesticide that took out everything in its way. DDT required one single treatment to the bed, end of story. Bedbug populations significantly dropped. The dark side of this was that it meant sleeping with the enemy. DDT is a deadly neurotoxin that attacks even us humans. Now a banned substance.

As soon as we thought our problem was over, something predictable happened. A new outbreak of bugs that had a greater resistance to DDT had evolved. Almost half a century later, DDT is no longer available on the market, and bedbugs are still making evolutionary progress.

Scientists, exterminators, and bedbug advocates all told me that they’re seeing escalating resistance to pesticide in today’s bug populations. As seen with the current research that bedbugs are more than 206 times more resistant to certain pesticides in New York to anywhere else in the country. They city’s rock-solid housing stock and army of pesticide-toting exterminators have pooled to press the fast-forward button on evolution.

Bugs pick up pesticide toxins topically on their exoskeleton. From there it seeps into their body, where the toxin should, theoretically, begin to take control of its nervous system. A susceptible bug will then start to twitch as its nerves — which normally control mobility, breathing, and blood flow — go into overdrive. Eventually the bug will die. The trouble is that pesticides have already killed off a large number of the weaker bedbugs. Nature has chosen for the stronger guys that can withstand larger toxic doses. Hence why over the counter bed bug products are not doing much.

single bug can be responsible for numerous bite symptoms. Although over 28 disease pathogens have been found in bed bugs, transmission of these pathogens to humans has never been documented and is considered highly unlikely. For this reason, they are not considered a serious disease threat. Their medical significance is mainly limited to the itching and inflammation associated with their bite

The second explanation involves numerous bugs that are lined up one next to the other (typically along a fold in a bed sheet) all feeding at the same time (similar to cattle at a trough). The important point is that the number of welts does not always correlate with the number of bugs that bit the individual. Thus, just a few bugs can be responsible for many welts in a single evening.

It is also very important to realize that bed bugs cannot be diagnosed by the bite alone. While a medical professional can examine the bites, they can only conclude that the bite symptoms are consistent with those produced by bed bugs.

So, what to do with these genetic superbugs? Burn them. And if that doesn’t work, freeze them. Exterminators don’t just treat the houses with pesticide any longer, the way it was 80 years ago. Now the exterminators of our time are going all out. That includes using heat and steam machines that reach over 180 degrees. In other situations, exterminators use what is similar to a snow cone machine to freeze them, like they’re a villain from X-men.

However, there are some weaknesses to these techniques. They cannot locate any of the bugs that have already scurried to safety. The heat, steam, and freeze are contact killers — if they miss the bedbugs when they’re first applied, they miss completely. Pesticides, on the other hand, can kill the things long after the exterminator is gone, assuming the bugs are susceptible.

It’s the difference between being shot by a sniper and stumbling over a land mine. Usually a combined attack is what does the trick.Even those actions at times are not enough. If pesticide-resistant bugs are hiding in bed boards or deep crevices, nothing will kill them — these bugs can unfortunately stay hidden for up to a year without any food. That leaves us with the nuclear option of extermination. It is the only thing that will guarantee us 100 percent eradication of these little buggers. But it is costly and hard to pull off in a densely packed city. You need to contain the area that is being Exterminated, not allowing anyone in or out, and that is definitely not possible in a 50 unit Upper East Side walk-up.

There are plenty of people in East Harlem for example that cannot get their landlords to call and bring exterminators in for treatment. This is illegal. All they do is provide them with some quick advice on how to deal with the issue themselves, but it isn’t nearly as effective as what exterminators can do on a massive fumigation budget. Bedbugs are equal-opportunity infesters, but to bring them under control may ultimately depend (like so many other New York City real-estate matters) on the size of your paycheck.

If you ever have any bug related issues in New York City, feel free to call us either at Beyond Pest Control. Once again, and I can’t stress this enough we are on call twenty four hours a day seven days a week to kill those bugs, we aren’t kidding whether you call us at 9 am or midnight we will be available to take your call and either get rid of the bug infestation, or answer any questions you may have concerning the bug issue. I can honestly guarantee that there will be someone to answer that call. We make it our business to make you bug free!

For more information check out the rest of our site and You can also from time to time find helpful hints on http://nypestpro.blogspot.com.

Beyond Pest Control.

Our pest control specialists service all NYC boroughs, including Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Long Island (both Nassau & Suffolk counties), Staten Island and even both Westchester & Rockland counties.