Category Archives: Bed Bugs California

One should never travel Because one sometimes brings back from our peregrinations tiny, invisible and silent enemies, who have traveled gratis in our luggage, and adore to plant their fangs at night in our soft bodies. Attention, the bed bug invades us!

If you notice mosquito-like bites in the morning, as they wake up, itchy, or even turn into painful skin lesions, maybe the little beast rages in your mattress. Observe your bedding: if you are infected, you will see on your sheets small black spots and trails of blood.

The parasite, called Cimex lectularius, is oval in shape, brown in color and about 7 mm in size. He lines every 3 to 7 days. His favorite meal: you! Or more exactly your blood. The female lays about fifteen eggs per day, which explains the difficulty of getting rid of it.

If the phenomenon is not new, (we have noticed for 15 years an increase in bed bugs, whether in individual or collective habitats, hotels, residences, retirement homes ) Is at this time of year, at the beginning of the school year, which he attacks in number (return of holidays, therefore), and that we must react.

To limit the infestation, wash your clothes at 50 minimum, vacuum bedding, sofas, clothes, and put the bag of the vacuum cleaner in an airtight bag. Then wash the vacuum cleaner. Plug cracks and cracks in the walls, baseboards. If you still do not get rid of it, check out a bug borer.

Finally, to console you, know that in California, researchers are working for you. A team from the University of California is working on an ancestral solution from central Europe: the properties of a local bean, with sticky leaves that were once surrounded by beds to trap mini-vampires. A kind of natural velcro, an ecological insect trap that interests our scholars.

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A vampire under our sheets: bed bug alert! - The Quebec Times

A new, in-depth review of existing research on bed bug management strategies says preventing bed bug infestations is less costly than curbing existing ones. Preventative methods include visual inspections (top), interceptors (lower left), and adjusting furniture so that beds dont touch walls and bed linens dont touch floors (lower right.) (Photo credit:Alvaro Romero, Ph.D.)

Amid the persistent threat of bed bug infestations in multi-unit housing, the best advice for property owners, managers, and tenants looking to avoid the pests is the same advice that applies to many other afflictions: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

So says an extensive review of existing research into management strategies for bed bugs, published today in the Journal of Integrated Pest Management (JIPM). The free, open-access report examines dozens of field studies on bed bug management and concludes that programs that consider the residents, housing managers, and staff and attempt to detect infestations before they are reported and before populations spread to multiple units stand the best chance at succeeding.

Multi-unit housing such as assisted living facilities and affordable housing communities are particularly vulnerable to bed beg (Cimex lectularius) infestations, and research shows that the most common management strategies in these settings rely mostly on application of insecticides. These reactive methods are often costly and are not always successful, says Alvaro Romero, Ph.D., assistant professor of urban entomology at New Mexico State University and lead author of the JIPM report.

We consider early detection and regular monitoring to be the most important components of successful integrated pest management (IPM) programs for bed bugs in multi-unit housing, Romero says.

A multi-pronged IPM approach to bed bug management includes a variety of nonchemical methodssuch as clutter reduction, mattress and box spring encasements, steam treatment, heat treatment, vacuuming, laundering, and placement of bed bug traps and monitorsall of which help to reduce risks associated with chemical methods, such as pesticide exposure events and insecticide resistance development, says Romero, who wrote the JIPM report with a team of researchers from University of California Cooperative Extension; UC Riverside; UC Berkeley; University of Arizona; University of Hawaii at Manoa; and Colorado State University.

Part of the challenge faced in managing bed bugs in multi-unit housing is the need to continually educate tenants on bed bug prevention and identification. Past studies that Romero and colleagues reviewed on the publics ability to identify a bed bug correctly consistently showed low percentages of people able to do so.

Meanwhile, property owners and managers are advised to weigh the investment in ongoing, preventative management methods against the risk of costly control efforts necessary once an infestation has occurred.

Although proactive IPM approaches for bed bugs may initially generate substantial additional costs, these long-term programs may eventually make economic sense as the best ways to effectively manage bed bugs in these challenging environments, says Romero.

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Bed Bugs: Proactive IPM Strategies Critical in Multi-Unit Housing - Entomology Today

Q We rent our home. Lately my whole family has a lot of bites and itching. At first, we didnt know if it was fleas from the dog or what. Turns out we have bed bugs! What responsibility does the landlord have to remedy this? Is he going to try to say its our fault?

L.H., Hawthorne

A The landlord has a well-established legal duty to provide habitable premises, and, of course, bed bugs negatively affect habitability. So review your rental agreement for any pertinent provisions as to your rights and obligations, as well as those of the landlord. In addition, promptly report the problem to the landlord in writing, and ask him to immediately deal with it. You may be entitled to an offset on rent, and reimbursement if you have legitimate out-of-pocket expenses.

If the infestation is particularly bad and not caused by you the circumstances could even rise to a constructive eviction (i.e., your family has to vacate the rental, although you prefer not to). The landlords liability assumes, however, it is not a problem you created. When did the bed bugs arise? What caused them? Research indicates bed bugs can spread, such as in a multiunit complex. Is yours a single-family residence?

Given the issues, it might be wise for you to quickly consult with qualified counsel, particularly if the landlord is uncooperative.

Q Several of us have a serious bed bug problem in our apartments, but the landlord tells us we have to fix it, and, if we dont, that we can simply move out. She is completely antagonistic to our requests. Is her position legal?

A.F., Encino

A Effective Jan. 1, California Civil Code Section 1945.5(a)(1) prohibits landlords from raising rents, reducing services or retaliating against a tenant who reports a problem with bed bugs. You and the other tenants may want to join hands in a collective action to, first, fix the problem, and then take your landlady to task for her impermissible conduct.

By July 1, landlords are required to provide new tenants general information about bed bug identification, behavior and biology, the importance of prevention and treatment, and the importance of prompt reporting of suspected infestations to the landlord. This language is set forth in California Civil Code Section 1954.603, which in turn requires tenants to cooperate with pest control operators who enter their residence to inspect for bed bugs. Additionally, this provision requires landlords to notify tenants within two business days of receiving a pest control operators findings. If an infestation is found in common areas, the landlord is then required to provide notice to all tenants.

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Ron Sokol is a Manhattan Beach attorney with more than 30years of experience. His column, which appears on Wednesdays, presents a summary of the law and should not be construed as legal advice. Email questions and comments to him at RonSEsq@aol.com or write to him at Ask the Lawyer, Daily Breeze, 21250Hawthorne Blvd., Suite170, Torrance, CA90503.

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Are landlords responsible for getting rid of bed bugs? - The Daily Breeze

Science Daily

Oldest remains of insects from bed bug genus found in Oregon Science Daily Cimex lectularius and Cimex hemipterus are the two bed bug species that are known to parasitize humans, widely believed to have adapted to that role thousands of years ago when humans shared caves with bats in Europe, Asia, and Africa. The species ... and more »

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Oldest remains of insects from bed bug genus found in Oregon - Science Daily

By Brittney Martin, Staff Writer

Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News

The Aurora apartments opened in 1930 as a luxury hotel.

The Aurora apartments opened in 1930 as a luxury hotel.

Orkin's most bedbug infested-cities

Orkin's most bedbug infested-cities

Up 10 spots from last year

Up 10 spots from last year

Down three spots from last year

Down three spots from last year

Up two spots from last year

Up two spots from last year

17. Houston

17. Houston

Up three spots from last year

Up three spots from last year

Down two spots from last year

Down two spots from last year

Up one spot from last year

Up one spot from last year

Down one spot from last year

Down one spot from last year

Down one spot from last year

Down one spot from last year

Down two spots from last year

Down two spots from last year

Up four spots from last year

Up four spots from last year

Down three spots from last year

Down three spots from last year

8. Cincinnati

8. Cincinnati

7. Detroit

Down four spots from last year

Down four spots from last year

5. Columbus, Ohio

5. Columbus, Ohio

4. New York

4. New York

Last year's No. 1 city for bed bugs

Last year's No. 1 city for bed bugs

Up one spot from last year

Up one spot from last year

Up nine spots from last year.

Up nine spots from last year.

Bedbugs, roaches found at HUD-subsidized apartments

Elderly residents of Aurora Apartments north of downtown were temporarily booted from their units Thursday after a Metropolitan Health District inspector found an infestation of bedbugs and cockroaches.

The owner of the high-rise on Howard Street is working on exterminating the bugs. The building is privately owned, but the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department pays a portion of residents rent because they are low-income.

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When we inspected the place ourselves, it was this past Monday, and it revealed a very gross infestation of bedbugs and cockroaches, said Carol Schliesinger, a Metro Health spokeswoman. Its a pretty widespread issue.

The health inspector was called out after a separate code enforcement inspection. A spokeswoman for the Development Services Department said code enforcement inspections typically occur when someone makes a complaint about a property. Details of the complaint were not made available Thursday.

About a dozen residents gathered in the buildings lobby as they waited to get back into their apartments. As they spoke to one another, a cockroach crawled toward a woman with a walker. She casually stomped on it.

The exterminators are working to clear one floor at a time. The buildings owner, Mitch Meyer, said he expected the process to be done by next Friday. The residents on the floors treated Thursday were asked to leave their apartments from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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Meyer said none of the buildings 105 residents reported the bug problem.

One woman, who asked not to be identified out of fear of being evicted, said she first noticed a line of bedbugs on her white comforter over two weeks ago. When she removed the sheets, she found them all over her mattress.

Bedbugs are everybodys problem, Meyer said. Were just going to have to inspect a lot more often and be trained on how to really spot bedbugs.

Meyer said he hopes his misfortune encourages others to be more proactive to prevent the spread of bedbugs. He advises against accepting used mattresses or upholstered furniture and encourages people to report bedbugs as soon as they notice them.

Patricia A. Campbell, a HUD spokeswoman in Fort Worth, said the Aurora was inspected by the federal agency in February 2016 and did very well.

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At that point, it didnt appear to be what it is now, Campbell said. Were going to continue to monitor the situation until its taken care of.

Schliesinger said Metro Health would conduct another inspection early next week.

Metro Health and the Department of Human Services are assisting the residents, were providing meals and some clothing for them, she said.

bmartin@express-news.net

Twitter: @beedotmartin

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Bedbugs, roaches found at HUD-subsidized apartments - San ... - mySanAntonio.com