People came from far and wide to celebrate the New Year in New York City’s Time Square once again. Party revelers withstood the frosty temperatures to watch the crystal ball drop, likely with nary a care about bloodsucking bed bugs lurking in the cracks and crevices of the city. Through the confetti, horns, party hats and screams, a new report from New York’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development has given residents of New York City another reason to celebrate. Thanks to the help of pest control professionals, current legislation, and educational campaigns, it appears that the grip that bed bugs once had on the Big Apple might be loosening just a tiny bit.
According to reports from Crain’sNewYorkBusiness.com on January 1, 2012, New Yorker’s might be able to breathe a sigh of relief as the incidents of bed bug infestations appears to be subsiding. In New York, violations are issued by inspectors when a single bed bug is found during an inspection. Reports are that in 2011, Queens was the only borough with an increase of bed bug infestation violations. Incidentally, there were only 17 more violations issued in comparison to 2010, which is not so bad when you look at previous year’s numbers. Additionally, the New York City 311 line received 22% fewer calls about bed bugs from January – November 2011. Either New Yorkers are more educated about how to deal with the bed bugs themselves or clearly there are less bed bugs to deal with. You may read the article here.
New York bed bug statistics, legislation, and procedures have been the model for many other cities across the United States and Canada. Despite the current resistance to pesticides and the changes to their exoskeleton that modern day bed bugs exhibit, pest control experts have been able to use an Integrated Pest Management program to help knock the bloodsuckers numbers down.
Only time will tell if New York City’s good luck will trickle down to the rest of the United States. Until then, NJ Pest Control professionals recommend that you call a bed bug expert at the first sign of bed bugs so that the infestation can be stopped quickly.