Monthly Archives: December 2013

" Bed bugs New Hampshire cases are on the rise, with local pest control firms reporting more cases in the past 2 years than in the last 5. The Union Leader reports that bed bugs are an exploding problem across the state including Nashua, Berlin and Milford.."

New Hampshire is no exception when it comes to bed bugs. In testimony before the House Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, one exterminator testified that the number of bed bug related calls rose from between 1 to 10/yr to over 300 in the past 2 years.

To combat the local bed bug problem, committees are forming to both educate home owners and to advocate for a coordinated state wide effort to fight the insects. For example, in Manchester, the Manchester Bed Bug Action Committee has been formed to coordinate efforts among home owners, renters, exterminators, health officials and the motel/hotel industry.

The key to treatment is to act early, so be sure to report any problem to both your landlord and the 211 hot line.

2-1-1 Hot line: This statewide resource is a great source for local bed bug information.

University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service: There is a cooperative extension office in each county (Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Cobs, Grafton, HIssborough, Merimack, Rockingham, Strafford, Sullivan). The service can be reached via phone and will answer you bed bug questions. You can reach the Family, Home & Garden Education Center M-F 9AM - 2PM at 1-877-298-4769.

They can also refer you to a resource to confirm that the insect you trapped is in fact a bed bug (bedbugs are often confused with young roaches and beetles). You can download the Cooperative Extension Bed Bug Fact Sheet (PDF).

The New Hampshire Bed Bug Action Committee also provides information.

NH may study bed bug resurgence - UnionLeader

Bedbugs Found in Farmington School - WMUR(

See the article here:
Bed Bugs New Hampshire Information and Resources

Perhaps New Hampshires famous motto Live Free or Die will be slightly amended the state just passed a new law which means tenants and landlords may have an easier time living bed bug free.

Like other pieces of bed bug legislation were aware of, the new law, which we told you about when it was NH House Bill 482, isnt perfect. We outlined some concerns about it in that earlier story.

The New Hampshire law, which was passed in June and goes into effect January 1, 2014, stipulates that landlords have to pay for bed bug treatment initially. (This helps make sure everything happens quickly.)

However, the law allows landlords to later charge a tenant for having their own unit treated (with an installment payment plan if needed), if that tenant is considered responsible for bringing bed bugs into the building. That is fair, I think, but (as usual in these scenarios) I have some concerns about how it will be determined who is responsible.

As HB582 notes:

there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the tenant is responsible for the infestation if during the 6 months prior to the inception of the defendants tenancy, and throughout the defendants tenancy, there were no reports, to the landlord or a municipal health or housing authority, of the presence of bed bugs in the defendants unit or the dwelling units of a multiple-unit building that are adjacent to or directly above or below the defendants unit, or by previous tenants in a single-family home.

In other words, the law seems to suggest that if no other tenants report their bed bug problems, the tenant who does report bed bugs is assumed to be responsible.

This is faulty reasoning, because there are lots of possible reasons for those adjacent neighbors not to come forward and report their own problem with bed bugs.

We know for a fact that some people will have bed bugs and not notice, sometimes for a long time. More often, perhaps, some tenants will fear repercussions (not least of which, having to pay for treatment they may be unable to afford) and may stay silent. Some admit they are willing to put up with bed bugs rather than pay for treatment. And then there are the tenants who stealthily treat their own units rather than report bed bugs even though many DIY methods (like aerosols and foggers) make it more likely the bed bugs spreadto neighbors.

Read more:
Live Free of Bed Bugs in New Hampshire? — Got bed bugs ...