Bed bug cases in NYC drop to 4-year low

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A vial of live bed bugs is displayed. (Photo by Brian Kersey/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) Good news, New York. There are fewer bed bugs crawling in your sheets.

Infestations by the tiny brown critters have dropped every year for the past four years, according to new data from the housing department.

Brooklyn has the unsavory distinction of having the most bed bug violations since 2010, but all five boroughs have seen declines in confirmed bed bug cases, according to the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Citywide, bedbug infestations were cut by nearly 53 percent from 4,808 in 2010 to 2,268 in 2013.

Housing officials credited the drop to legislation enacted in 2011 that required landlords to properly deal with infestations, and to better awareness citywide of the crawly critters.

As opposed to just a few years ago, people today are considerably more vigilant and there is more and better information available to the general public regarding how to prevent and deal with infestations, the city said in a statement releasing the new figures.

The numbers reflect confirmed infestations between fiscal year 2010 and fiscal year 2013, which ends in July.

The cases were reported in the housing departments jurisdiction, that is, homes that are being rented. The latest data does not include statistics for co-ops, condos, private homes, public housing, schools, offices, hospitals or any commercial spaces, including movie theaters.

Bed bugs are tiny insects, about the size of an apple seed, that are usually active at night. They live in cracks in furniture, floors and walls, and feed on blood.

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Bed bug cases in NYC drop to 4-year low

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