The Social Security Administration posted a bid solicitation in December for heat treatment to eradicate a bed bug infestation at its Jamaica, Queens offices — SSA-RFQ-R02-10-1003 — from the solicitation document:
The purpose of this contract is to use sufficient heat levels and heat application time to remove a bed bug infestation that has been identified by a trained bed bug detection canine inside a number of vertical file cabinets currently loaded with paper files and folders. There are seven areas needing treatment in the building. The treatment areas are spread across 5 floors. The areas are all approximately 35’ x 35’. An example of the areas to be treated would consist of about 5 double rows of approx. 64 vertical file cabinets per double row totaling approximately 320 file cabinets.
Emphasis added.
7 areas spread across 5 floors? All in file cabinets?
This is a really strange infestation, don’t you think? Or am I leading a sheltered life when it comes to bed bugs in offices? I am certainly not one of those people who doubts that there can be reproducing populations of bed bugs in offices.
And yet. My gut reaction is, were the bed bug dog alerts confirmed?
Dog reinspections will determine success:
Within three days after treatment is completed, SSA will re-inspect the treated area with a trained bed bug detection canine. If the canine detects evidence of live bed bugs or live eggs, the contractor may be directed to re-perform work at no additional charge.
No human involved? Really unfair to speculate perhaps! I hope they get it sorted out.
In New York there have been infestations in offices and colleges: i.e., the white shoe law firm Cravath, Swain & Moore (my friend works there), and John Jay College (reported in The New York Times and elsewhere). There is no escaping these horrible bugs. When is NYC government going to make a concerted effort to eradicate or at least mitigate the growing menace?
Hi Jeannette, indeed. Although what I was referring to is something else. The slightly controversial issue is not whether there can be bed bugs in offices (or schools and other public spaces), as that is well established by rather public infestations such as the ones you cite, but whether any bed bugs present in those locations have actually established harborage sites and bite people in those offices, produce offspring, and can be termed a reproducing population. Reproducing populations are not as commonly found as what are deemed to be stray bed bugs that are introduced to the location, even if introduced in largish quantities and re-introduced on a daily basis. The distinction is important for control — and the politics of responsibility.
Nonetheless, what I was noticing here is a spread infestation (5 floors) that is yet found only in filing cabinets. One can’t avoid wondering about what type of transmission route made this possible (an infested file trolley cart that distributed bed bugs to different filing locations?), or if it’s rather a question of the known problematic nature of bed bug dog alerts. It’s impossible to say but I am mighty curious.
The NYC government has so far convened a bed bug advisory board (of which I am a member) and has begun certain types of educational projects. There are no policies and programs yet — and whether any will be established will be up to the Mayor and the Speaker.
I had a quick scan of the solicitation document which is HUGE with all the governmental requirements, and the warranty really puts the firm who might do this on the spot – without a notion of the requirement being that kill temperatures were reached.
Good points Renee.. did the dog actually find live eggs in those areas inside the cabinets? where did the papers come from?
not exactly the ideal location for an active infestation, but of course with insects, almost anything is possible given the right conditions.
too bad they don’t have the full details of the findings and whether the dog was certified for distinction between live and dead insects/eggs. Seems like a bit of overkill to me.
350 filing cabinets in seven areas on five floors… needle in a haystack i think..
if i were on this job, i would be asking a lot more questions about files and sources, and try to localize infestation better than described. Someone is going to make money on this job or no one may even quote with the expectations, but i think they should provide a lot more detail of the situation before expecting a firm to do this work.
but this stuff happens sometimes when there is not a truly professional assessment before deciding to do this kind of extensive work at some many thousands of dollars i would guess.
When in doubt, the saying goes, measure twice and cut once.