Penn South co-op, image from Wikipedia
Chelsea weekly Chelsea Now reports a story about bed bugs at Penn South, a co-op complex in Chelsea.
This is what Brendan Keany, Penn South’s General Manager, told the paper:
Out of the 2,820 apartments that comprise Penn South, Keany estimated that only around a dozen were ridden with the bloodsuckers over the past 18 months. [...] “We had a case a week ago and had to deal with another one two weeks before that,” Keany told The Buzz. “People are now paying more attention.” He added that more people may be coming forward now because of an educational campaign that management launched in the past month to inform residents about bedbugs. [...] “We want to let them know what they should look out for and that it’s not a problem if you have it,” the manager said. Keany also pointed out that bedbugs don’t often spread from one apartment to another unless a resident visits an infested apartment and a critter or two takes a ride out of the unit with the visitor.
Emphasis added.
Penn South, Mutual Redevelopment Houses, comprises 10 residential and 3 commercial buildings in Chelsea. This Cooperator article from 2004 describes the history and character of the co-op and its great community life:
Penn South has a uniformed security force, a staff of 110 employees, its own power plant (which enabled the development to have uninterrupted power during last year’s blackout), a community garden, an exercise room, an extremely active seniors’ program, a group of stores and restaurants on the premises, and even a theater or two.
When bed bugs strike well-managed and cared for residential buildings, there is a great opportunity to set in motion a considered bed bug management plan that will enable all concerned to, if not effectively dodge the particular bullet that is a bed bug infestation, preserve the value of their properties and their health and financial well-being. Clearing bed bug infestations can cost thousands of dollars.
Ever mindful of the upcoming hearing for three bed bug bills in the New York City Council, including Intro 873 which would create a bed bug education program for pest control providers and property owners, we want to take the Penn South case and offer a list of suggestions, decidedly unsolicited advice for General Manager Brendan Keany (who by the way, sounds like a caring manager who is doing many things well). These are our favorite principles of bed bug management.
#1: Research and Expert Advice
Naturally we don’t know why Mr. Keany said that bed bugs do not often spread from one apartment to another except in a hitch-hiking bed bug scenario.
Possible reasons include:
- he intends not to alarm residents about bed bugs (this is a frequent, if misguided, fear)
- he is not actually aware that in fact bed bugs do spread between apartments and floors via structural conduits (as well as via improper disposal of bed bug trash)
- he has gotten incorrect information and advice from his pest management contractor(s)
Whatever the reason, it’s an incorrect assessment. And disseminating good bed bug information to all concerned (Point # 2 below) is of critical importance.
So, the first step is to know the bed bug, how and why it spreads and how infestations develop. Know this inside out, if you intend to save money, time and resources, not to mention spare residents needless financial expenditures and suffering.
Pest management contractors should be selected on the basis of expertise. Not everyone can do bed bug work well. Bed bug pest control is complex. Find qualified bed bug pest control providers. Investigate the types of services that are available, true fumigation, thermal treatment, non-pesticide alternatives for chemically-sensitive residents, and adjunct tools such as dog inspections.
Find someone who can sit down with you and give you an overview of the challenges and vulnerabilities in each property and who can design an appropriate management plan. This, it must be noted, should be a distinct plan from your regular pest control needs. Bed bugs are special cases! We strongly advise that you do not underestimate bed bugs. The actual best protocols for bed bug eradication in individual apartments are the purview of professionals, so we offer only this suggestion from our collective experience: inspect, inspect, inspect (#4).
#2: Resident and Staff Education
The online bed bug discussion by Penn South residents cited in the Chelsea Now story can be found here: bed bugs at Penn South.
From it we can see that the resident education plan recently set in place by Penn South’s management has not yet reached all residents.
We note that Penn South has a website and a newsletter. (And holds an annual flea market!) Direct notices can of course simply be sent to all residents. And building staff can be trained by the pest management contractor. Holding community classes in a complex as large that has so many appropriate venues would not be difficult and would really pay off.
Disseminate bed bug information to residents and building staff that includes, but is not limited to:
- the physical signs of bed bug infestations, with photographs of all life stages, of cast bed bug skins and fecal marks, and suggestions about common places for residents to inspect — there is now a wealth of bed bug management guidelines written by entomologists that can assist this effort so that the information provided is clear and, above all, accurate
- a very clear warning that people may not react to bed bug bites at all — waiting for residents to complain about bed bug bites is a sure path to bed bug management disaster
- warnings and suggestions about the appropriate handling of bed bug-infested trash, how to wrap, mark and dispose of infested belongings — this must be done without actually encouraging people to throw away infested furniture and belongings, as infested belongings can often be saved with appropriate treatment and disposing of them increases the likelihood of spread in the community
Again, involve the pest management contractor. There may be entomologists on staff that can hold seminars for the staff and for the residents. Do this, and do it well, and your residents will be informed and bed bug-savvy. When people are informed, they are not afraid and can advise you immediately of a problem.
#3: Proactive Exclusion
It is cheaper to make every effort at reasonable pest-proofing in apartments than to treat full-blown infestations.
Caulk is cheap, I’m reminded often by a New York vs Bed Bugs member.
#4: Inspection
Consider routine bed bug inspections.
Whether or not a routine bed bug inspection program is feasible, in the case of identified infestations, inspect the floor above, the floor below and all units on the same floor before and after treatment.
Early detection of infestations is your ticket to reduced pest control expenses.
#5: Follow-up
Make sure you have a plan for the period after infestations have been eradicated. Bed bugs can reappear months down the line. If the residents are not allergic to bed bug bites, they may not immediately discover the reappearance of bed bugs.
Go back and check. Make sure they’re really gone!
These pages may be of related interest:
i think i am beginning to sound like a bit of an echo on this website, but i am always happy to say “well done!” . The bed bug treatment plan noted here is truly excellent.. The educational component is critical and as noted, it cannot be one in a one time effort, it must be repeated and awareness created through some repetition and good educational materials…..
just one point i would add and that is the inspection are critical, but inspecting all units above and below on the entire floor may be impractical – the first inspection should give a pretty good overview and direction, and if the problem is fairly widespread, then it might be worthwhile to hire a detection dog to confirm infestation. i think that there is an experience on this site telling of how well that does work.
finally, helping people prepare for treatment is really one of the very most critical points.. this MUST be done… even if sometimes the landlord has to pay… because if it is not done in those tough cases, teh problem is going to continue.. i am sure that has been said on the site here somewhere as this site has so much useful information, and the quality of the interviews and the comments is of a very high calibre.
i have to say that many pest control people could learn a lot from Renee and from her web site…
Sam
Thanks, Sam, you are very kind.
As long as there is ongoing monitoring, many problems can be solved. Educating the tenants is key though.
As I sit here and read all the issues that NYC is having with bed bugs, I realize how scary the situation really is. Education is key to all, for both pest control companies, and tenants (clients)… I suggest that all do their homework, to educate, do the prep work (don’t skimp on things), then eradicate. Having access to the entire building, not just the infected units, so that we can find the source of the problem. This is important so that you can treat properly, and try to prevent the spreading of these buggers. I hope that in the future people will realize that is not ok to live with them, but that we need to eliminate them.
Thanks, Maria. We think everyone should do their homework too. Of course, education will only go so far, but we have to start there.
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Hello,
I skimmed through this information and thank you for it! Please get in touch with me. I live in a beautiful condo of 350 units, in Silver Spring, MD. 3 units, that is mine, the one below me, and one near by, have all had or are still undergoing infestation. Let me explain my situation. Right now, I’ve had 2-treatments, the unit below, me which was immensely infested back in December, is still not clear and now my unit remains infested, particularly in the bedroom. My building manager and condo board are seeking to find a company that will eliminate these bugs and keep them from spreading. Most companies use the same treatment approach (same chemicals, applied every 2-weeks). The unit below me has been treated several times and, as I said, the bugs are in my unit now.
My purpose/s in writing: to vent and to get more information.
I’d like to talk to someone, or at least, have a network of people to talk to. Today, I spent a lot of time at work talking to a pest management company and looking at the internet. I’m on information overload. One very practical question I have: what do to with all my clothes, which I’ve dry cleaned, washed, etc. but have no closets for them. Some are in a neighbor’s closets. Help!! I’m living out of boxes and garbage bags, sleeping on my sofa because I disposed of my bed and even bedroom carpeting. Soon, I’ll have a new bed, which I’ll protect with protectors and climb up interceptors. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Nancy Allinson