11/30/10 NYC: New Mattress Disposal Rules Aimed At BedBugs Catches Nora Jones

Starting Dec. 3, singer Norah Jones — along with all other New York City residents — will have to help fight the bedbug infestation crawling through the city by following new rules enacted by the New York City Department of Sanitation. Jones, who recently was alleged to have brought bedbugs to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill, will be required “to fully encase within a sealed plastic bag all mattresses or box springs being discarded for DSNY collection.”

Jones, the platinum-selling indie singer and daughter of international superstar sitarist Ravi Shankar, has been accused of bringing a bedbug infestation to the neighborhood when she moved her furniture into her brownstone.

11/30/10 NYC Juicy Couture Fifth Avenue Store Closed For BedBugs: Like Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Prior, Store Is Closing To Deal With Problem

Liz Claiborne Inc.’s Juicy Couture clothing division said Tuesday that its store on Fifth Avenue in New York is closed due to a bedbug problem.

“Like other major retailers recently impacted by this issue, we are moving swiftly and aggressively to address the problem,” the company said in a statement.

The store is expected to reopen this week.

Three other Juicy Couture stores in Manhattan are open and unaffected.

In July, an Abercrombie & Fitch store and its sibling Hollister store were closed briefly to clean for bedbugs, which have also been found in other New York stores and in apartments, movie theaters and even on the subway.

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11/29/10 Avoid All Used Furniture To Prevent Bedbugs: Allergists Warn Bedbugs Hide In Crevices Of Wood & Cloth

Think twice before hauling used furniture into your home because it may be infested with bedbugs, warns a Loyola University Health System allergist.

Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not there.

“A family came in covered in bedbug bites from infested ‘free’ furniture they found in an abandoned apartment,” Dr. Joseph Leija said in a Loyola news release. “The couple had only taken the wooden headboards and baseboards of the beds — not the mattresses because they knew that would be unsanitary — as well as a table and chairs.  The bugs were found in the tiny crevices.”

Other patients have brought home bedbugs in clothing bought at neighborhood garage sales and resale stores.

“Bedbugs are insidious survivors who travel well — they hide in cracks in wood and in the weave of cloth. They are vampires — they are dormant during the day but come out at night and feed on human blood,” Leija said.

Bedbug bites can cause a skin rash or even large weeping blisters due to allergic reactions.

Leija offered the following advice for protecting yourself from bedbugs:

• If you purchase secondhand clothing, keep it sealed in a plastic bag until you wash it in hot water. Then put them in the dryer at high heat.
• If you acquire used furniture, paint or seal it before using it. The bugs are tiny enough to hide in screw holes.
• If you discover bedbugs in your home, spray insecticide and vacuum bedding and furniture thoroughly and place the vacuum bag outside in the trash. Keep doing this daily and “check for tiny brown bugs or pieces that may be part of the bug,” he advised.
• When you travel, check the mattress. “If you see tiny brown specks, move yourself and your clothing and luggage out immediately,” he stated. Inform the hotel manager or your hosts.
• If you are bitten by bedbugs, wash the area with soap and water and dry thoroughly. Apply anti-itch cream to prevent irritation and limit scratching. See a doctor if a bite becomes warm to the touch, swells or hurts.

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11/29/10 Sleepy’s Settles Over BedBug Infested Mattress: Ct Man Settles Complaint For $2500

A Norwalk, Ct businessman who accused Sleepy’s of delivering him a used box spring infested with bedbugs has settled his complaint for $2,500.

Jeff Maier, who owns a tanning salon, filed a complaint against Sleepy’s with the Connecticut Attorney General’s office more than two years ago saying that he had purchased a new box spring and soon after he and his wife  experienced a ‘’severe’’ bedbug infestation.

Maier said last week he has settled his complaint with Sleepy’s, the largest mattress retailer in the country. He did not withdraw his complaint with the Attorney General’s office, Maier said, but simply signed a release foreclosing any further legal action on his part.

Sleepy’s has vehemently denied that it was possible for Maier to have received a used box spring and impossible that it was infested with anything.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s office said today it is still investigating complaints it had received against Sleepy’s alleging that it had sold customers used mattresses or box springs.

“We have outstanding requests for follow-up information from Sleepy’s. Our investigation remains open and ongoing,” Blumenthal’s office said today.

Sleepy’s insists that it has never sold a used mattress or box spring in Connecticut.

Maier however insists that one week after receiving the box spring  his wife began developing red spots, which Maier said came from bedbugs.

He said they hired the Stern Environmental Group of Secaucus, N.J., to investigate and to exterminate the bugs. The company – which specializes in ridding homes of bedbugs – dismantled the box spring and determined that it was the source of the infestation, Maier said.

Stern Environmental Group’s report, made available to me, states that the “box spring … was the culprit. There were bedbugs inside and the box spring did not look like it was new.”

Maier said it took two months before all the bedbugs could be killed. (During that time, he told me, he and his wife had to stay in their bed because if they slept somewhere else the bedbugs would have moved with them.)

He said Sleepy’s attorneys offered a replacement box spring, but they denied that the bedbugs came from their merchandise.

Maier said he was suspicious when the delivery was made because the heavy plastic used to seal the box spring appeared to have been opened. He said one of the workers assured him that it was opened by them as they took it out of their truck.

That leaves open the possibility that a mattress removed earlier from another home had bedbugs and was put in the truck next to the Maier box spring, and that their box spring then became infested.

Maier said there is no other explanation for the bedbug infestation. The couple had not slept anywhere else in the weeks prior to their purchase, Maier said, and their personal habits had not changed.

Last summer Blumenthal said today that his investigation into Sleepy’s has not produced any evidence that the nation’s largest retailer of mattresses has been systematically selling returned mattresses as new.

Nor has Blumenthal seen any concrete evidence that Sleepy’s has delivered mattresses that were infested with bedbugs, despite receiving 28 complaints to that effect – three directly and 25 that had been sent from Connecticut consumers to Sleepy’s.

However, in an interview back then, Blumenthal said his investigation continues and he does not preclude the possibility that isolated cases may be found where used mattresses were delivered as new, and that at least one had bedbugs.

Blumenthal agreed to the interview after rejecting my state Freedom of Information request for all documents Sleepy’s had sent him in response to questions raised in the attorney general’s investigation. Blumenthal is honoring Sleepy’s claim that its answers included propriety information that it wanted kept confidential.

However, Blumenthal agreed to my request for a verbal update on his investigation. If folks recall, my attempt to write about his initial announcement of that investigation led to The Courant firing me as its investigative consumer columnist. Sleepy’s, the largest mattress retailer in Connecticut, with more than 70 retail stores, is one of The Courant’s biggest advertisers. I have since filed an unlawful termination suit against the Courant, which is still ongoing. The Courant’s attorneys are attempting to have it dismissed.

Blumenthal’s present investigation into Sleepy’s operations is the second in Connecticut since 2004, when the company paid a $4,000 fine to consumer protection.

Two years ago, Sleepy’s, according to the Better Business Bureau, paid a $200,000 fine to New York City consumer officials as part of a settlement.

The BBB said that the company faced charges that it used “deceptive sales tactics, including exchanging defective mattresses with equally defective mattresses; charging additional delivery fees to consumers for exchanging damaged mattresses; failing to deliver items when scheduled and not properly informing or offering customers store credit or refund; and refusing to honor manufacturer warranties because of alleged stains.”

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11/24/10 Bedbugs In North Carolina Salvation Army Shelter: 80 Mattresses To Be Replaced After Infestation

Greensboro, NC — The Salvation Army Center of Hope has to replace nearly 80 mattresses following a bedbug infestation.

It will cost $22,000. They need to raise the money to replace the federally-regulated mattresses.

“We’re the Salvation Army. We’re supposed to help the needy,” said Jackie Lucas, the Center of Hope’s Executive Director. “But now we’re facing a need and we need the community to step up and help us.”

Lucas says the bedbugs were unkonwingly brought in by a family staying at the shelter.

The center had to close three dorms, eliminating sleeping space for 16 people or three families.

Monetary donations can be made at the Center of Hope at 1311 Sout Eugene Street, Greensboro 27406. Simply put “mattresses for Center of Hope” on the memo line of your check.

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11/23/10 Toronto Asks For $3MM To Fight BedBugs: Request Unanimously Approved By Toronto Board Of Health

A Toronto city councillor has called on the province to commit $2.89 million to the fight against bedbugs.

Councillor Paula Fletcher’s motion to request the funding was unanimously endorsed by the Toronto Board of Health on Monday.

Fletcher said in an interview that the money would fund a dedicated staff of 16, including a coordinator, nurses and other public health staff.

Currently, city staff from other departments has been redirected to the Toronto Bedbug Project. A report released earlier this month warned that if there was another major outbreak, the bedbug program would have to be squashed as public health resources were redeployed.

“This has been a project held together with glue and wires,” Fletcher said. “The time is now here for something that is stronger and has a funding envelope.”

Fletcher said she has not yet heard from the provincial government.

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11/22/10 NYC To Purchase BedBug Sniffing Dogs: City Is Looking For 2 Male Trained Dogs To Sniff Out Bedbugs And Their Eggs

Now hiring: two city inspectors capable of smelling bedbugs. Must walk on four legs.

New York City is moving forward with a plan to purchase bedbug-sniffing dogs for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. According to a request for information issued Monday, the city is looking for two male dogs trained to sniff out live bedbugs and their eggs.

Most of the funding for the dogs will come from the departments existing enforcement budget, according to an HPD spokesman. The dogs will be deployed citywide and “used to compliment and enhance our existing code enforcement activities,” the spokesman explained.

The city is looking to train up to six dog handlers as part of the initiative. The dogs will be certified by either the National Entomology Scent Detection Association or a similar group.

As The Journal reported in August, there are two major companies that dominate the market for bedbug-sniffing dogs in the U.S., and each one is affiliated with a different certification organization. A trained bedbug-sniffing dog costs about $10,000. Most of the dogs come from rescue shelters.

Pepe Peruyero, the owner of J&K Canine Academy in High Springs, Fla., has about 65 dogs working in the New York metropolitan area. His dog-training company is now affiliated with New York outfit called Bed Bug Super Dogs. Bill Whitstine owns Florida Canine Academy in Safety Harbor, Peruyero’s major rival. Each company is tied to a different certification regime.

Training and certification of bedbug-sniffing dogs has become a hot-button issue within the industry. The National Pest Management Association hopes to release official training protocols for bedbug-sniffing dogs next year.

Jim Skinner, president of NESDCA, said that he has not been contacted by the city. He emphasized that proper training and a strong relationship between handler and dog are essential for successful bedbug detection. If the city is only looking for trained dogs without qualified handlers, Skinner warned that government officials are “going down the wrong road.”

“It’s not about purchasing a canine, it’s about the training that you continue to do on a regular basis. It’s not just, ‘Hey, I got a dog that sniffs out bedbugs’ and you just give them to anybody,” Skinner said. “It’s how that person works with the canine and the relationship they have as a team.”

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11/22/10 Bedbugs Found In Indiana Hospital: Health Officials Confirm Bloomington Hospital Has Found Bedbugs In 2 Patient Rooms

An unwanted guest has been spotted at a Southern Indiana hospital.

Health officials confirmed Friday that bedbugs have been found at Bloomington Hospital.

Officials discovered the tiny blood suckers in two patient rooms.

Experts tell us bedbugs are a health problem, but they do not carry disease.

It’s how they make people feel psychologically, the cost to get rid of them and the general uncleanly perception people have about them, is why Bloomington Hospital is treating this as a priority.

Amanda Roach with Bloomington Hospital says they’re using heaters to kill the bugs and eggs and they’re making sure patients who are leaving the hospital don’t take them home.

“Before patients are discharged they will be given a visual inspection and a shower after that they get a clean gown and we’re also heating their belongings to a temperature that would destroy bedbugs that might have been hidden in there.”

The hospital does not have any restrictions and it is not limiting visitors.

Experts say it takes about 4 hours using heaters set at 118 degrees or higher to kill bedbugs.

They also says it’s going to take the community coming together to get rid of the bedbug problem and so far, that has not happened in Bloomington.

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11/21/10 Bedbugs Take A Bite Out Of Paris: French Exterminators Say Phones Ringing Off The Hook With Complaints

Bedbugs – the pesky blood-sucking insects wreaking havoc with New York’s global image since 2009 – have arrived in the French capital.

After having infested New York City landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Carnegie Hall and even UN headquarters, bedbugs are becoming increasingly common in the City of Light, French fumigators say.

Known in French as “punaises de lit,” bedbugs were thought to have more or less disappeared in the 1950s. But they seem to have taken advantage of the ban on certain insecticides, such as DDT, and the international travel boom to make their reappearance.

The tenacious critters, brown and barely 5mm long, often hitch rides in suitcases and then take up residence in mattresses, box-springs, bed linen and clothing. They tend to attack at night, leaving itchy, uniform bites.

One fumigator told France Info radio that his phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from bedbug victims “in tiny, unhygenic apartments but also from amazing lofts in beautiful neighbourhoods”. Monsieur Marcel pointed out that “bedbugs affect everybody. I’d say that Paris, and even France, is under invasion.”

Maybe not yet, but Smash (Municipal Service of Health and Hygiene) has already responded to 600 bed bug calls this year. The City Council has downplayed trhe bedbug threat. But a technician who answered the phone at one local council told France Info they were “doing nothing but” dealing with the little pests.

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11/21/10 Bedbugs On New York City Subways: MTA Fumigating Ninth Street Station In Brooklyn After Recent Siting In Subway Booth