The Low Down on Bedbugs (Part I of II)
Curious if you can catch bedbugs on the subway? Find an apartment that’s too good to be true? Wondering how far a bedbug can sniff out a meal ie. (YOU)? Janet Friedman, Founder/Owner of Bedbug Busters NY filled in the Junkluggers and now we’re telling you!!
We asked Janet what you can do if your neighbor has bedbugs. Were there any preventive measures one could take to safeguard? Janet told us that fortunately for you, the landlord is responsible for checking surrounding apartments – this could take place via an exterminator eyeballing the situation, or a k-9 service. The k-9 service is typically preferred, especially if the bedbugs in question are extra sneaky.
If you know that someone else in your building has had an issue, you might do well to have your apartment calked, but realistically, getting your apartment calked is not the kind of trouble you’d want to go through unless you knew for sure. The process entails someone coming in and calking the baseboards that adjoin your unit to neighboring apartments as well as around windows, radiators, and the like. Bedbugs usually travel along electrical wires in the walls, so once they’re in a building, they’re usually around for quite some time.
As for how far they can sniff you out? A bedbug can detect food (blood) up to 25-feet away!! SO, if your neighbor living two floors above (or below) you had bugs, it’s possible that those critters could be making the 25-foot pilgrimage to your humble abode. Same situation if your building is adjacent to another building. As for furry friends, they’re in the clear. Bedbugs are pretty fussy about their meals and don’t feed on pets because they don’t like hair. Short of calking your apartment, you’d do well to grow a werewolf-like coat, although that may be physically impossible.
In terms of general prevention, Janet advises that whenever you buy new fabric items, linens or clothes, and bring them to your apartment… “Don’t take them out of your bag. Leave them in the bag until you have time to throw them in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat; at least 120 degrees.”
For more information, or advice on an emergency situation, make sure to check out Janet’s site: www.bedbugbustersny.com
Janet was previously a stage manager on Broadway for 25-years, doing lots of stage managing for corporate meetings. As the economy turned, new opportunities were unveiled. Janet got into personal organizing and discovered a talent for managing clients with bedbugs. At her brother’s encouragement, Janet burst into a thriving second career with over 130 happy clients in the past 2-years.