On Sept. 18, the New York City Council held a hearing in regards to exploring a ban on the sale of used/reconditioned mattresses and to establish a bed bug task force. New York State Pest Management Association’s Gil Bloom was invited to testify at the hearing and did so in order to have the pest control industry positively and professionally represented. Among those who testified were the Departments of Health and Consumer Affairs, victims, the mattress industry, bed bug attorneys from both sides, Richard Pollack of the Harvard School of Public Health, and Lou Sorkin from the Museum on Natural History. Following are excerpts which highlight the key points of Gil Bloom’s testimony.
“Cimex lectularius, commonly referred to as a bed bug, has not only become a nuisance pest but increasingly is manifesting itself as a quality of life pest. In late 1999, I noticed a rise in the incidence and set out to survey it with the aid of a colleague from Cornell University. At that time, what we found was that bed bugs were definitely on the rise and that they were spreading slowly across the city. While originally there where some hot spots, more recent information indicates that their activity is no longer confined to any geographic areas.
“One of the factors we sought to gain information on was the method of introduction of bed bugs into a household. Travel, overnight guests, occupations such as visiting nurses and case workers, all had a potential for creating a problem; however, one item which seemed to factor into a significant number of cases was the introduction of a questionable mattress or other used item. It may have come from a store or from some other source but unwittingly people were buying bed bugs by the ounce along with the “new mattress”. Ergo, in light of these facts, we endorse the proposed legislation in regard to the sale of used or “pre owned” mattresses.
“On a second front is the continuation of the battle against bed bugs. It is important to understand that chemical methods alone will not stop their advance nor do any biological predators provide a viable alternative. Since becoming involved in 1999, I have addressed numerous groups ranging from a joint NYSDEC / EPA Inspector conference to social service case workers to tenants. All these efforts have served to convince me that what bed bug control requires to be successful is cooperation and that boils down to education. If a committee is to be formed, it must not only gain accurate field information but it must be able to evaluate it and turn it into an effective multi cultural information and educational program. And of this program, an important target group must be children, as they are the bridge to many parents, they tend to see things on a micro- managed level and finally they have the patience and interest to look for bed bugs as they themselves are all too often the victims of these vampires of the night.”