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September 3, 2010

Bedbugs making a comeback in area

By Jake Palmateer Staff Writer

Bedbugs are not just a New York City problem.

The bloodsuckers are resurging across the country, including this region.

"I'm certainly not going to name any hotels, but we have had plenty of calls in our service area," said Tim Dixon, district manager for J.C. Ehrlich Pest Control. Dixon's Johnson City-based district includes Norwich, Oneonta and the surrounding areas.

Reports of the resurgence began hitting the media a few years, ago and this summer saw a fusillade of articles focusing on New York City infestations.

Even the Empire State Building, posh hotels and the bodies of celebrities were not immune.

There are 82 Ehrlich districts in the country and Dixon said they are all getting daily bedbug calls.

Eight years ago he may have received complaints of bedbugs twice a year, Dixon said.

His office now gets about five calls a day, he said.

"It did catch everybody by surprise about five or six years ago," he said.

Dixon said hotels and anywhere there is communal living are particularly susceptible.

Colleges and universities tend to stay ahead of any pest issues and have plans to deal with them when they occur, he said.

"As far as I know, the local universities all have some sort of a protocol, which is helpful," he said.

But student housing off-campus is particularly troubling, he said.

Chris Shields, manager of the Clarion Hotel in downtown Oneonta, said it has been four years since the hotel last had a report of bedbugs. In that case, the bugs were confined to one room and were quickly eliminated, he said.

The hotel takes a proactive stance against the pests, he said.

"The real soldiers on the front line are the housekeeping staff," Shields said. "The staff is trained in what to look for."

The hotel maintains a contract with a pest control company to ensure any critters found at the hotel are eliminated quickly.

A key in the fight against bedbugs is to tackle infestations early, before they have time to spread, Shields said.

He also said the bugs can be found anywhere there are people.

"Bedbugs are travelers," Shields said. "They are not by any means indigenous to hotels."

Hartwick College and the State University College at Oneonta each have plans for bedbugs

"We clean and disinfect all the rooms before anyone moves in," Hartwick Director of Marketing and Communications James Jolly said Thursday

If bugs are suspected, an outside pest control company under contract with the college will arrive the same day, or the next day, if they are reported overnight, Jolly said.

Liz Morley, director of the Perrello Wellness Center at Hartwick, indicated bedbugs are pests, but they do not carry any infectious diseases.

Staff at SUNY Oneonta met over the summer to strategize.

"Staff members from Residence Life, Custodial Services, and the Health Center and other offices created a response plan to deal with bedbugs, should we or any one of our students encounter them," Vice President for Student Development Steve Perry said in a media release.

"We prepared and have distributed, as requested, a guide that describes bedbugs and signs of bedbug bites, explains what students should do if they suspect that bedbugs may be present in their rooms, and details the steps the college will take to address the situation, from contacting a professional exterminator if the circumstances warrant, to finding alternative lodging if a student is displaced during treatment of a room affected by bedbugs."

The guide asks off-campus students who think they have bedbugs to contact their apartment manager or owner immediately.

Dixon said apartment dwellers may sometimes find themselves in ambiguous territory when it comes to bedbugs.

"It's tough out there right now for folks who move into an apartment and there are bedbugs in it," Dixon said.

Landlords are responsible for having a dwelling pest free before a tenant moves into it, he said.

"But who checks," Dixon said.

Problems can arise if bedbugs are found after a tenant moves in, he said.

"The argument is, you brought them with you," Dixon said.

Battling bedbugs is going to be a "tough, uphill battle," Dixon said.

Bedbugs, which were largely eradicated in the middle of the 20th Century, can gain resistance to some pesticides, especially if an infestation has survivors from a pesticide application, Dixon said.

Also, highly effective pesticides deemed unsafe for the environment are no longer in use, he said.

But when it comes to fighting bedbugs, exterminators can turn to heat and hounds.

"Heat treatment is, in our opinion, the best treatment," Dixon said.

Dogs trained to sniff out bedbugs are used by Ehrlich to quickly locate infestation sites _ much the same way police dogs sniff out drugs and bombs.

"It's very, very fast and very, very effective," Dixon said.

It can be expensive to eliminate bedbugs, with costs hitting $800 or more for a three-bedroom home, Dixon said. Some exterminators then come back for repeated treatments that can cost $200 or more each time, he added.

Dixon said Ehrlich tries to eliminate the problem all at once, for a slightly higher base cost.

Homes cleared of bedbugs, should have follow-up inspections, especially if an inhabitant is a frequent traveler, he said.

Despite tales of woe from the hotel industry, Shields said the attention may help prevent bedbug infestations by raising awareness.

"It's a little bit comforting that it is getting the publicity," Shields said.

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