BY NICK BUGLIONE <\/p>\n
First there were the Asian Beetles, then the mosquitoes and now experts have claimed that even the local population of bedbugs is growing. <\/p>\n
With creepy crawling creatures making headlines and instilling fear into the hearts of residents of what seems to be becoming to be the Big Apples buggiest borough, the Tribune offers an in-depth look at some of the insects bugging Queens. <\/p>\n
THINGS THAT GO BITE IN THE NIGHT Goodnight, sleep tight and dont let the bed bugs bitea statement most Queens residents have probably heard a thousand times from parents upon settling down to sleep. Yet after waking morning upon morning with no signs of having been bitten by one of these mysterious insects, most may not even believe they exist at all. <\/p>\n
But they do, and in fact, theyre becoming a significant problem in the borough, according to entomologist and exterminator Gil Bloom. <\/p>\n
Bloom, who has been in the extermination business for over 20 years and claimed to be interested in entomology, the study of insects, his whole life, said that there has been a marked increase in the number of Queens bed bugs cases in recent years. <\/p>\n
Whereas in the earlier part of the 1990s his company, the Astoria-based Standard Extermination, would maybe get only a five or six bed bugs calls a year, Bloom said that in the past few years customer complaints have come in monthly. <\/p>\n
Were now averaging five or six bed bugs calls a month, Bloom added. Theres definitely a rise in bed bugs. <\/p>\n
The apparent fluctuation of the insect interested Bloom, who is the vice president of the New York State Pest Control Association and an adjunct professor at Queensborough Community College, and lead him to embark on a study along with the help of the Cornell University Agricultural Extension. <\/p>\n
The two-tiered study, which officially began in July, involved sending out surveys throughout New York City to pest control officials and entomologists, as well as interviewing people suffering from bed bug infestations. <\/p>\n
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