Comments on: Preparation, money, and the shortening of the window to act http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/ A bed bug policy advocacy group Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:38:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Cash for…? — New York vs Bed Bugs http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-21807 Cash for…? — New York vs Bed Bugs Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:01:42 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-21807 [...] Bed bug jobs? Toronto pioneered the idea of social enterprise bed bug services. Some bed bug preparation services have started to appear in NYC (and are still unaffordable) and there is one social enterprise bed bug control company and at [...] [...] Bed bug jobs? Toronto pioneered the idea of social enterprise bed bug services. Some bed bug preparation services have started to appear in NYC (and are still unaffordable) and there is one social enterprise bed bug control company and at [...]

]]> By: Sam Bryks http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6960 Sam Bryks Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:44:40 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6960 Regarding Marie's comment, I heard an activist lawyer here in Toronto speak on a number of occasions and she supports Marie's comment about landlord accountability. The point is that a landlord is responsible for protecting all tenants and if a tenant cannot manage the preparation for health reasons and also cannot afford to hire a firm, then it becomes a matter of human rights. A sensible landlord would handle the situaton and write it off as an expense against profits and still gain in the long run especially by protecting the reputation of the site. If it is a slum landlord, well it becomes another issue of failed services that must be handled by the authorities. In a sense, though the preparation involves the tenant's personal effects, it still impacts other tenants... but one would hope that the politicians could see how important this is , and enable support to actually solve the bigger problem. that would be the ethical thing to do. Sam Regarding Marie’s comment, I heard an activist lawyer here in Toronto speak on a number of occasions and she supports Marie’s comment about landlord accountability. The point is that a landlord is responsible for protecting all tenants and if a tenant cannot manage the preparation for health reasons and also cannot afford to hire a firm, then it becomes a matter of human rights. A sensible landlord would handle the situaton and write it off as an expense against profits and still gain in the long run especially by protecting the reputation of the site. If it is a slum landlord, well it becomes another issue of failed services that must be handled by the authorities.
In a sense, though the preparation involves the tenant’s personal effects, it still impacts other tenants… but one would hope that the politicians could see how important this is , and enable support to actually solve the bigger problem.
that would be the ethical thing to do.
Sam

]]> By: Sam Bryks http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6959 Sam Bryks Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:37:08 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6959 Good points Renee.. I did forget about the fact that the majority of New Yorkers live in apartments, but I still hold to my view for other reasons though i certainly agree the risk is higher than I would estimate for a single family dwelling. The study in 2003 was unique at the time as it was one of the very first studies on bed bug infestations. Unfortunately, i was not asked to participate and had I been, i am really not sure i would have been allowed to share the data i had which was considerable even then. The study was based on two sources of data. One, from pest control operators and the second from calls to the Toronto Public Health department. I have not read it recently so i can't comment too specifically, but i will review it again. The reporting of more calls from private dwellings was factual, but this certainly did not mean that most infestations were necessarily in private homes. It only really meant that private homeowners were more willing to call public health. Activists for the homeless reported major infestations in the shelters at that time, and i know this was a major problem in shelters from mhy visits to a few and discussions with people. The first major workshop in Toronto on bed bugs which i gave was for the shelter people. Fortunately Richard Grotsch approach to managing this in his home base - Seaton House, established an excellent precedent for how this could be done. I am hopeful that New York will come up with funding to help the disadvantaged.. If people live in a multi-milliion dollar apartment like the famous Dakota, you can bet they will ensure infestations are handled and someone will certainly be educated to address this by every means. I still contend the risk for the wealthy will be less than for the poor. Even if not as ideal as I had presented forgetting the fact of multi-dwelling structures in New York.. Sam Good points Renee.. I did forget about the fact that the majority of New Yorkers live in apartments, but I still hold to my view for other reasons though i certainly agree the risk is higher than I would estimate for a single family dwelling.
The study in 2003 was unique at the time as it was one of the very first studies on bed bug infestations. Unfortunately, i was not asked to participate and had I been, i am really not sure i would have been allowed to share the data i had which was considerable even then. The study was based on two sources of data. One, from pest control operators and the second from calls to the Toronto Public Health department. I have not read it recently so i can’t comment too specifically, but i will review it again. The reporting of more calls from private dwellings was factual, but this certainly did not mean that most infestations were necessarily in private homes. It only really meant that private homeowners were more willing to call public health.
Activists for the homeless reported major infestations in the shelters at that time, and i know this was a major problem in shelters from mhy visits to a few and discussions with people. The first major workshop in Toronto on bed bugs which i gave was for the shelter people. Fortunately Richard Grotsch approach to managing this in his home base – Seaton House, established an excellent precedent for how this could be done.
I am hopeful that New York will come up with funding to help the disadvantaged.. If people live in a multi-milliion dollar apartment like the famous Dakota, you can bet they will ensure infestations are handled and someone will certainly be educated to address this by every means. I still contend the risk for the wealthy will be less than for the poor. Even if not as ideal as I had presented forgetting the fact of multi-dwelling structures in New York..
Sam

]]> By: Renee Corea http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6958 Renee Corea Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:21:29 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6958 Sam, I'm glad you are working on accessible materials. I have given a lot of thought to this and the simpler the better. A couple of notes on your comment. Funny that I think the New Jersey bill is best of class. I disagree on minimal risk for the wealthy, actually. I'm also reminded that the <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol11no04/04-1126.htm" rel="nofollow">2003 Toronto study</a> indicated that the majority of pest control service calls for bed bugs, in that survey of pest control firms, were in single-family homes, not apartments. I'm not fully versed in the housing makeup and demographics of Toronto but I can tell you that NYC is a beast unto itself. Virtually everyone lives in apartments or attached homes, no matter their personal wealth, so everyone is at risk from poorly controlled adjacent infestations, neighbors who don't report or treat infestations, etc. Further, since there are multiple vectors when it comes to bed bugs, and especially when it comes to bed bugs in a city like ours at this late stage of the bed bug epidemic, I would not say that the risk approaches 0, not for bed bugs. Hospital stays, workplaces of every conceivable type, movie theaters, public transportation, visiting kids from college, ad infinitum. So I'm not sure of the cockroach introduction analogy. What will change is this: right now you can throw a great deal of money at bed bugs and still fail to achieve control. This may be surprising to some and it's certainly sad but it's absolutely the case. But once certain control methods mature, perhaps, money will consistently make a significant difference. And then, well, then it'll be over and no one will be able to compel any politician to do anything about poor New Yorkers suffering from bed bugs. Of this I am pretty sure. I was advised that the least persuasive and effective approach to getting politicians and decision-makers to care about bed bugs was to emphasize the effects on the poor. Nobody cares. Sam, I’m glad you are working on accessible materials. I have given a lot of thought to this and the simpler the better.

A couple of notes on your comment.

Funny that I think the New Jersey bill is best of class.

I disagree on minimal risk for the wealthy, actually. I’m also reminded that the 2003 Toronto study indicated that the majority of pest control service calls for bed bugs, in that survey of pest control firms, were in single-family homes, not apartments.

I’m not fully versed in the housing makeup and demographics of Toronto but I can tell you that NYC is a beast unto itself. Virtually everyone lives in apartments or attached homes, no matter their personal wealth, so everyone is at risk from poorly controlled adjacent infestations, neighbors who don’t report or treat infestations, etc. Further, since there are multiple vectors when it comes to bed bugs, and especially when it comes to bed bugs in a city like ours at this late stage of the bed bug epidemic, I would not say that the risk approaches 0, not for bed bugs. Hospital stays, workplaces of every conceivable type, movie theaters, public transportation, visiting kids from college, ad infinitum. So I’m not sure of the cockroach introduction analogy.

What will change is this: right now you can throw a great deal of money at bed bugs and still fail to achieve control. This may be surprising to some and it’s certainly sad but it’s absolutely the case. But once certain control methods mature, perhaps, money will consistently make a significant difference.

And then, well, then it’ll be over and no one will be able to compel any politician to do anything about poor New Yorkers suffering from bed bugs. Of this I am pretty sure. I was advised that the least persuasive and effective approach to getting politicians and decision-makers to care about bed bugs was to emphasize the effects on the poor.

Nobody cares.

]]> By: Renee Corea http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6957 Renee Corea Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:41:17 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6957 Hi Marie, thank you for your comment. As I told your colleague, I think you have the makings of a successful business. However, it's more than a couple of hundred dollars, is it not? I think decoupling prep from pest control makes financial sense given the right conditions. However, given what we know of the current situation wherein NYC landlords are already legally responsible for providing bed bug eradication services to their tenants but are nevertheless not <em>held responsible</em> for actual eradication, in a system where inertia makes it possible for them to get away with providing spray and pray treatments practically forever, it's clear that what is missing, and what there are no resources and apparently no political will for, is the accountability apparatus. While I personally think it highly unlikely that bed bug prep service will become the legal responsibility of landlords, I wish you well. Hi Marie, thank you for your comment. As I told your colleague, I think you have the makings of a successful business.

However, it’s more than a couple of hundred dollars, is it not?

I think decoupling prep from pest control makes financial sense given the right conditions. However, given what we know of the current situation wherein NYC landlords are already legally responsible for providing bed bug eradication services to their tenants but are nevertheless not held responsible for actual eradication, in a system where inertia makes it possible for them to get away with providing spray and pray treatments practically forever, it’s clear that what is missing, and what there are no resources and apparently no political will for, is the accountability apparatus. While I personally think it highly unlikely that bed bug prep service will become the legal responsibility of landlords, I wish you well.

]]> By: sam bryks http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6952 sam bryks Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:13:36 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6952 Of course I agree Renee.... I am amazed that there are no resources available to help seniors in New York. This is really sad and tragic and shameful. I can't say that resources are always available here, but what I see in Canada is that we have community agencies that are supported by public funding, and even if they may not have internal resources due to the nature of this critter and fear, I see efforts made to marshal help for seniors and for other disadvantaged people. Sometimes we do see some who stand "back" from the situation and don't want to get involved, but the attitude here is that this is really disgraceful.. yes, disgraceful... and that we must get involved to find ways to help the disadvantaged. This can easily become political because of course one sees the costs of homes in New York in the millions of dollars, and we know of the millions of people who do not have basic health insurance in the U.S.. That is why some Canadians get outraged at attacks on our health system by those who want to privatize it and create a two tier system, one for the average person and one for the wealthy, and most Canadians feel that everyone deserves good health care whether wealthy or not. Studies have shown our system is more effective than the American system. The support for people in bed bug management really falls into the same kind of category. Perhaps what is needed in New York City is a strong volunteer agency with support from the constituency so that funding is made available much like is available here to enable Bug n' Scrub to work. They are 100% funded by the public purse. And a second cleaning organization is also funded by public resources. As you noted, if the help is there, then it not only helps that tenant but it helps ALL tenants and it helps.. ALL citizens as well... I just think it is a disgrace to have a senior who cannot prepare and who can't afford to hire someone be left in that circumstance. It is shameful. It is immoral. It is unethical.. I will leave it at that.. Sam Of course I agree Renee….
I am amazed that there are no resources available to help seniors in New York.
This is really sad and tragic and shameful.
I can’t say that resources are always available here, but what I see in Canada is that we have community agencies that are supported by public funding, and even if they may not have internal resources due to the nature of this critter and fear, I see efforts made to marshal help for seniors and for other disadvantaged people. Sometimes we do see some who stand “back” from the situation and don’t want to get involved, but the attitude here is that this is really disgraceful.. yes, disgraceful… and that we must get involved to find ways to help the disadvantaged. This can easily become political because of course one sees the costs of homes in New York in the millions of dollars, and we know of the millions of people who do not have basic health insurance in the U.S.. That is why some Canadians get outraged at attacks on our health system by those who want to privatize it and create a two tier system, one for the average person and one for the wealthy, and most Canadians feel that everyone deserves good health care whether wealthy or not. Studies have shown our system is more effective than the American system. The support for people in bed bug management really falls into the same kind of category.
Perhaps what is needed in New York City is a strong volunteer agency with support from the constituency so that funding is made available much like is available here to enable Bug n’ Scrub to work. They are 100% funded by the public purse. And a second cleaning organization is also funded by public resources. As you noted, if the help is there, then it not only helps that tenant but it helps ALL tenants and it helps.. ALL citizens as well…
I just think it is a disgrace to have a senior who cannot prepare and who can’t afford to hire someone be left in that circumstance. It is shameful. It is immoral. It is unethical.. I will leave it at that..
Sam

]]> By: Marie Wilson http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6951 Marie Wilson Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:42:17 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6951 Perhaps our intentions aren't clear. A bed bug infestation is financially, physically and emotionally challenging for everyone--particularly the urban poor, the elderly and the phsicially/mentally challenged. We see this as a breach in the warrant of habilitabilty for all residents. At present, there isn't one agency in NYC that will assist the under priviledged with the pre-treatment preparation process and/or the costs associated with the same. Our goal is make Landlords and Building Management sensitive to their plight and perhaps they will cough up a couple hundred dollars to avoid a building-wide infestation--a penny wise, a pound foolish. So far, we were able to convince one Management Company of this and we are presently prepping bed bug infested apartments (occupied by the underpriviledged) in their buildings at their cost. We are hoping to get a law passed to make them responsible for the costs (so that they won't have an option). We are also hoping to get funds allocated from the government for this vital service. The bottom line is the rich could afford to stay in a hotel while their apartment is being treated, dry clean all of their clothes, pay someone to prep their apartment, dicard all of their furnishings or move. The underprivileged has no choice but to live with an infestation indefinitely. As a Real Estate Property Manager, I've witnessed an elderly living with a bed bug infestation since October, 2007 until a couple of weeks ago. Something has to be done! Perhaps our intentions aren’t clear. A bed bug infestation is financially, physically and emotionally challenging for everyone–particularly the urban poor, the elderly and the phsicially/mentally challenged. We see this as a breach in the warrant of habilitabilty for all residents. At present, there isn’t one agency in NYC that will assist the under priviledged with the pre-treatment preparation process and/or the costs associated with the same. Our goal is make Landlords and Building Management sensitive to their plight and perhaps they will cough up a couple hundred dollars to avoid a building-wide infestation–a penny wise, a pound foolish. So far, we were able to convince one Management Company of this and we are presently prepping bed bug infested apartments (occupied by the underpriviledged) in their buildings at their cost. We are hoping to get a law passed to make them responsible for the costs (so that they won’t have an option). We are also hoping to get funds allocated from the government for this vital service.

The bottom line is the rich could afford to stay in a hotel while their apartment is being treated, dry clean all of their clothes, pay someone to prep their apartment, dicard all of their furnishings or move. The underprivileged has no choice but to live with an infestation indefinitely. As a Real Estate Property Manager, I’ve witnessed an elderly living with a bed bug infestation since October, 2007 until a couple of weeks ago. Something has to be done!

]]> By: Sam Bryks http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6940 Sam Bryks Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:09:54 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6940 Your reflections here Renee are truly at "the heart of the matter" as one might say both as a cliche and reminiscent of an Eagles hit. Joe Fiorito the Toronto Star columnist who has been the lead on bed bug issues in Toronto especially at Toronto Housing wrote a recent piece about the difficulties of getting help for tenants whose homes were in advanced decay both in terms of sanitation and the common severe infestations of roaches and bed bugs. In the context of the difference between how the wealthy and the disadvantaged can manage infestations, the hard reality is that the risk of infestation of the wealthy is really minimal when compared to those living in multi-dwelling housing, and compared to public housing... it becomes truly infinitesimal. I once estimated based on personal experience that the risk of newly imported roach infestation in a home through usual route from shopping was about once in 20 or 30 years. Multiply that risk in a high rise of 100 units and it is 5 new infesations per year, not to mention existing infestations. If one applies this to bed bugs, then a wealthy person who took basic measures when travelling, has a risk that approaches zero. For someone living in non profit housing situation with disadvantaged people of various categories, the risk is huge if there is not a well managed IPM program. Fiorito speaks of privacy issues in addressing problem units, but my experience has been that most of these cases can be well managed, and in doing so, the overall costs of managing any pest in a structure are reduced, but it takes will at the policy making senior management level and sometimes this is utterly lacking. I have seen mentally ill tenants be evicted in the past(not often) because of non-cooperation in enabling control of roaches when the real issue was to get them help for their mental health issue. What does this have to do with preparation? ... well it is really at the centre of successful bed bug management, and as you have put here so well, this needs education and understanding and polcy to let it happen. It is also about quality and intelligence of services provided as well as being able to do this at manageable costs.. When a service provider who is successful tells me that he charges for cost of treatment is $250 per room, and he does this without any prep by tenants, well, who could afford to pay $750 for one treatment for a one bedroom apartment.... in the non profit sector, this is totally out of possiibility, therefore preparation is absolutely critical as a tenant activity. When the bed bug problem was starting to grow, we required that pest control firms move mattresses and box springs as a matter of treatment but many firms told tenants to do this in order to relieve their staff of this task. I found this to be ridiculous as it was a major disturbance without even telling the tenant what should be done. Spraying matresses could actually spread infestation, so our policy was that tenants leave matts and box springs unless they had vacuuming capability and then to only remove sheets and bed clothes, and vacuum if they saw live infestation and leave lifting the matt and box to pest control contractors.. Lots of complaints of course. but now even the large firm who opposed this is on board and agrees with our reasoning. Some firms still have this in their prep sheets as a most stupid practice in my view and for the wrong reasons... (reduce time of service). There are no easy answers to this real difficulty of who does what and how. For seniors and handciapped people, having outside help is an absolute must. This is not as bad as one might thing if infestation is reported early, and if there are no disturbvances of the infestation such as by bad advice to spray either with aerosol pesticides or even some of the GRAS products which lack real efficacy data and are essentially guaranteed to spread infestation. Both Cedar oil and limonene are repellent. For an early detected infestation, it is very likely that infestation is not widespread in the unit, therefore the basic preparation such as laundering and/or drying only, as well as reduction of clutter and enabliing accessibiilty combined with a thorough treatment do give a reasonable prospect of control with a two treatment approach and common sense in use of encasements and treatment of high risk refugia such as box spring, sofa, bed frame etc... And for the heavily infested units, the prep may be much more difficult but it is enabling and in many cases, it was needed even before the infestation for reason of reducing fire risk and improving quality of life.. When i read the New Jersey legislation, there are elements in it that are really anti=tenant in terms of ascribing responsibility for infestation and putting costs on tenant. I think that this must be very carefully worded and reviewed by real experts.. entomologists who understand the specific contexts on infestation, rather than ascribing blame without real understanding. If a tenant refuses to co-operate, that is when there should be regulations of accountability, and even these must take into account contributory factors. If a tenant on a limited income has to choose between food and laundering all their clothing, that is a pretty bad situation..a nd it is one that happens in the real world. I have heard of landlords ensuring that in prep for bed bugs, laundry costs in the laundromats in the units are free. Really a very low cost to the landlord to encourage tenants. Education remains so important, and this is still not getting across as well as it should. In my organinzation we are putting together bulletins to break down various elements of information for tenants and landlords so that the information appears less formidable and in layout is easy to understand. One of the bulletins is about Quality of Treatment, how do you ensure you are getting a good service for a fair price..a nd this is targetted to landlords with detailed explanations of what can happen and the ways in which buying the lowest cost service actually costs a lot more and understanding how the service price is reached in terms of various cost elements before profit. This is a longstanding problem in the pest control industry and one which the industry does not talk about much in the public forum, but there has been a long , long history of low-ball pricing, especially in roach control in non profit housing, and sadly the partner in this truly disgusting regimen of bad service has been some of the pest control industry. My staff and I have seen this over many years and we were sometimes caught up in this though we set minimum standards and refused to accept bids that were not grounded with actual details of material and time costs. Some housing providers accepted ridiculous bids full well knowing that the promised service could not be delivered. I know, because they asked me if a certain price was rasonable and still awarded the tender in spite of my telling tem that they could not do the work at that cost. All about budgets and about personal bonuses based on performance. This should be excluded as a factor by strict measures.. This is all part of the IPM process... that is ensuring that service delivery meets basic standards of costs and of time, and that these standards are delivered faithfully.. This is how costs are actually kept in check.. Your reflections here Renee are truly at “the heart of the matter” as one might say both as a cliche and reminiscent of an Eagles hit. Joe Fiorito the Toronto Star columnist who has been the lead on bed bug issues in Toronto especially at Toronto Housing wrote a recent piece about the difficulties of getting help for tenants whose homes were in advanced decay both in terms of sanitation and the common severe infestations of roaches and bed bugs. In the context of the difference between how the wealthy and the disadvantaged can manage infestations, the hard reality is that the risk of infestation of the wealthy is really minimal when compared to those living in multi-dwelling housing, and compared to public housing… it becomes truly infinitesimal. I once estimated based on personal experience that the risk of newly imported roach infestation in a home through usual route from shopping was about once in 20 or 30 years. Multiply that risk in a high rise of 100 units and it is 5 new infesations per year, not to mention existing infestations. If one applies this to bed bugs, then a wealthy person who took basic measures when travelling, has a risk that approaches zero. For someone living in non profit housing situation with disadvantaged people of various categories, the risk is huge if there is not a well managed IPM program. Fiorito speaks of privacy issues in addressing problem units, but my experience has been that most of these cases can be well managed, and in doing so, the overall costs of managing any pest in a structure are reduced, but it takes will at the policy making senior management level and sometimes this is utterly lacking. I have seen mentally ill tenants be evicted in the past(not often) because of non-cooperation in enabling control of roaches when the real issue was to get them help for their mental health issue. What does this have to do with preparation? … well it is really at the centre of successful bed bug management, and as you have put here so well, this needs education and understanding and polcy to let it happen.
It is also about quality and intelligence of services provided as well as being able to do this at manageable costs.. When a service provider who is successful tells me that he charges for cost of treatment is $250 per room, and he does this without any prep by tenants, well, who could afford to pay $750 for one treatment for a one bedroom apartment…. in the non profit sector, this is totally out of possiibility, therefore preparation is absolutely critical as a tenant activity.
When the bed bug problem was starting to grow, we required that pest control firms move mattresses and box springs as a matter of treatment but many firms told tenants to do this in order to relieve their staff of this task. I found this to be ridiculous as it was a major disturbance without even telling the tenant what should be done. Spraying matresses could actually spread infestation, so our policy was that tenants leave matts and box springs unless they had vacuuming capability and then to only remove sheets and bed clothes, and vacuum if they saw live infestation and leave lifting the matt and box to pest control contractors.. Lots of complaints of course.
but now even the large firm who opposed this is on board and agrees with our reasoning. Some firms still have this in their prep sheets as a most stupid practice in my view and for the wrong reasons… (reduce time of service).
There are no easy answers to this real difficulty of who does what and how. For seniors and handciapped people, having outside help is an absolute must. This is not as bad as one might thing if infestation is reported early, and if there are no disturbvances of the infestation such as by bad advice to spray either with aerosol pesticides or even some of the GRAS products which lack real efficacy data and are essentially guaranteed to spread infestation. Both Cedar oil and limonene are repellent.
For an early detected infestation, it is very likely that infestation is not widespread in the unit, therefore the basic preparation such as laundering and/or drying only, as well as reduction of clutter and enabliing accessibiilty combined with a thorough treatment do give a reasonable prospect of control with a two treatment approach and common sense in use of encasements and treatment of high risk refugia such as box spring, sofa, bed frame etc… And for the heavily infested units, the prep may be much more difficult but it is enabling and in many cases, it was needed even before the infestation for reason of reducing fire risk and improving quality of life..
When i read the New Jersey legislation, there are elements in it that are really anti=tenant in terms of ascribing responsibility for infestation and putting costs on tenant. I think that this must be very carefully worded and reviewed by real experts.. entomologists who understand the specific contexts on infestation, rather than ascribing blame without real understanding. If a tenant refuses to co-operate, that is when there should be regulations of accountability, and even these must take into account contributory factors. If a tenant on a limited income has to choose between food and laundering all their clothing, that is a pretty bad situation..a nd it is one that happens in the real world. I have heard of landlords ensuring that in prep for bed bugs, laundry costs in the laundromats in the units are free. Really a very low cost to the landlord to encourage tenants.
Education remains so important, and this is still not getting across as well as it should. In my organinzation we are putting together bulletins to break down various elements of information for tenants and landlords so that the information appears less formidable and in layout is easy to understand. One of the bulletins is about Quality of Treatment, how do you ensure you are getting a good service for a fair price..a nd this is targetted to landlords with detailed explanations of what can happen and the ways in which buying the lowest cost service actually costs a lot more and understanding how the service price is reached in terms of various cost elements before profit. This is a longstanding problem in the pest control industry and one which the industry does not talk about much in the public forum, but there has been a long , long history of low-ball pricing, especially in roach control in non profit housing, and sadly the partner in this truly disgusting regimen of bad service has been some of the pest control industry. My staff and I have seen this over many years and we were sometimes caught up in this though we set minimum standards and refused to accept bids that were not grounded with actual details of material and time costs. Some housing providers accepted ridiculous bids full well knowing that the promised service could not be delivered. I know, because they asked me if a certain price was rasonable and still awarded the tender in spite of my telling tem that they could not do the work at that cost. All about budgets and about personal bonuses based on performance.
This should be excluded as a factor by strict measures..
This is all part of the IPM process… that is ensuring that service delivery meets basic standards of costs and of time, and that these standards are delivered faithfully.. This is how costs are actually kept in check..

]]> By: New York vs. Bed Bugs on bed bug prep, and the widening divide between bed bugs haves and have-nots http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2009/06/06/preparation-money-and-the-shortening-of-the-window-to-act/comment-page-1/#comment-6926 New York vs. Bed Bugs on bed bug prep, and the widening divide between bed bugs haves and have-nots Sun, 07 Jun 2009 06:11:21 +0000 http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/?p=2839#comment-6926 [...] I know you’ll want to read the rest of Renee’s post here: Preparation, money, and the shortening of the window to act — New York vs Bed Bugs. [...] [...] I know you’ll want to read the rest of Renee’s post here: Preparation, money, and the shortening of the window to act — New York vs Bed Bugs. [...]

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