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Bedbug Violations Have Dropped 50 Percent Since 2010
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 31, 2014
Modified May 31, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published May 31, 2014
Modified May 31, 2014
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Bedbugs have been infesting the corners of our mattresses and our neuronal fear processing pathways for awhile now, but it appears their reign of terror in New York may be winding down. New data shows reported bedbug infestations have dropped by about 50 percent citywide since 2010—so is it safe to take home that perfectly good couch sitting outside the deli now?
Probably not. Though the NY Post-reported news is encouraging—there have been 2,268 bedbug violations citywide since October 2013 as compared to 4,808 violations during the 2010 fiscal year—it's best not to tempt fate by bringing home curbside furniture. Plus, as bedbug exterminator Bill Swan told us last year, the numbers only indicate a drop in reported infestations, and it's all too possible people have simply started accepting the tiny vampires as venerable household pets, naming all their eggs after famous poets and leaving blood droplets around their apartments as treats when the bugs go a night without biting.
Still, it's nice to know we might be winning the battle. In Manhattan, multifamily residential rental buildings saw 520 infestations in the 2013 fiscal year, as opposed to 675 violations in 2012 and 775 violations in 2011. “Go back to 2009, and it was not uncommon to get called back again and again,” exterminator Lee Browning told the tabloid. “The hysteria seems to be over.”
On the other hand, bedbuggies seem to be slowly moving southward in search of blood tinged with better barbecue, leaving a path of destruction in states like Tennessee and South Carolina. A collective "Why We're Leaving New York" NYT diatribe can't be too far off, right?
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bedbug violations
bedbugs
manhattan
Rebecca Fishbein
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