You say you feel like a “little nobody, one person.” Imagine though if we all joined together, we could be a force to be reckoned with!

So many laws that are in place today are a result of grassroots organizing. Why not us?

You can just contact me for anything at all!

We’ve started a google group to make it easy for people to join us:
http://groups.google.com/group/newyorkvsbedbugs

But no one is taking me up on the offer.

Send me an email, monroe!

renee at newyorkvsbedbugs dot org

But, here’s the thing, NYvsBB is not a blog or a forum really. We’re not just here to talk about bed bugs. We’re an advocacy group, and you can be a part of our efforts.

It is not a waste of time to write. The letters that we are asking people to write for this campaign for a Bed Bug Task Force are being tracked. And, yes, unless there are really a great number of letters, there will be no results. There are legislation proposals out there but they will never make it out of committee until people start to demand action. If everyone takes your view, then we will be here forever trying to make change and getting nowhere. I’m not prepared to be here forever and not get anything done.

So, why don’t you write a letter anyway, even if you don’t really think it will make a difference? It will take two minutes of your time, it will add to the number of letters that we are tracking, and it will matter. It will matter to us.

And I’m sorry. But I do feel that writing our representatives is a waste of time. For me anyway. I’m just a little nobody, one person. Who is going to listen to me? This is the way I’m thinking and feeling. I’m really all for these blogs and forums on bbs…..really!

I just wanna say “thank you” for starting this blog. You are trying to do something and that is great.

Don’t lose hope. It may take a while but change will come.

It’s also important, in order to be effective, to be measured and positive in our approach and keep the focus on what can be done.

I hope you’ve sent your letter(s) to your representatives, PrettyGirl. Please don’t think it’s a waste of time because we need your help.

Hurricane Katrina: The government was way too slow to respond to this disaster. And now, those people, almost 2 years after the fact, are living in squalor in crime-rampant trailors gated by fences. These people have no money and nowhere to go. Their communities, after 2 years, are still not rebuilt. This is the government’s response to the crisis. They are forgotten by us, the public, and the government.

I’m afraid it’s going to be a looooong time before the government does something, if anything at all. Waiting for the government to do something is a waste of time. And the harsh reality is that this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I’ve read articles where there are increases of 600-700% of bb cases each year. And these are the ones that people know about.

Thank you for your comment. I’m so sorry that you suspect you may be experiencing a reinfestation. I sincerely hope that you will emerge from this fight very soon and I hope that you are receiving the best pest control advice and assistance.

We are committed to our work in advocating for change in this very complex problem, and we are very mindful of experiences like yours.

Thanks for sharing them.

Detection of this bug, even by professionals is very very difficult. People have hired PCO’s gotten inspections, come up with nothing and then about a month later when the infestation is really bad, the home owner finally finds a bug. At this point it’s too late, infestation is bad, spread through out the home, car and most likely their job as well. It’s a -very sad and unbelievable situation for todays time.

In severe infestations, even when you have an experienced PCO, ridding them 100% is very very difficult and many times when you think they are totally gone, they are not. This also continues the spread because by the time the person realizes the bugs are still there (due to no early detection) it’s too late.

In addition, after families spending all that they have on many pesticides in the home, still getting bit, ridding expensive furniture, belongings, living out of plastic for months and months….it would help the economy greatly IF a reliable pesticide were to come on the market, use it once and that’s it. No more mountains of plastic, furniture going to the dumps, less amounts of pesticides going into the environment. This epidemic is greatly hurting our environment due to resistance and pesticide treatment methods available.

Lastly and just as important. The psychological impact on people effected is truly devastating. I don’t think it’s just because there are bugs eating at you while you sleep. You it was possible to just treat and be done with it, that would be a God send. The bigger impact is from the living in an infested environment for a long period time during this months of repeated treatments, slowly ridding everything you own due to infestation and/or decluttering for these treatments. The experience is much like going through a fire or flood in the home but much much worse. You yourself is the one ridding, decluttering, walls, floors items get permanently damaged from mishandling from techs and pesticides. This problem sucks every penny out of you and none of it is covered by insurance. I would believe there are many families eventually on the street due to the economics of this. If having to make a choice, I would much rather lose my home, belongings to a fire. It happens in one day, you can collect under insurance and slowly recover your life.

With this epidemic and how much it has spread, it takes months to rid the bug, then you go to a movie, restaurant, or child comes home from school and it starts all over again. How is a family to recover financially from something that doesn’t end? Having peace and safety from this is now at an end.

Now for some rambling….How is one to treat non treatable items? Computers, toys, etc…the answer is, unless you get fumigated with vikane, you cannot. You bag these items of 18 months or rid the item. This effects how children learn, people work, everything one does in a normal environment. Shame on the US for having let this get so far and so many people suffering.

Many “signs” show that my family may have gotten these bugs once again. If this shows to be true, then we are all in big trouble because all I’ve done is shop at the mall and go to eat at some restaurants. I believe that if major steps and changes aren’t made soon, unless we live in a bubble, everyone will be living out of plastic and will have bedbugs unfortunately. The bugs are already in thousands of work places and now even reported on public transportation. In other countries it’s reported to have bed bugs out scurring during the day on trains. How to people NOT bring these things home. They just do, like it or not.

Yes awareness is critical. Unfortunately, that is just the tip of the iceburg due to politics and the all mighty dollar. I hope there’s a day when some one with the political capabilities is man enough to do the right thing and resolve this.

-Paula