Bedbugs in NY: An Overview for Rental Apartment Residents

It’s not something that any NYC rental apartment resident wants to talk about, or even THINK about, but to everyone everywhere’s dismay, the great bedbug comeback of the 21st century seems to not be disappearing on its own anytime soon.

So what can residents of apartments do to avoid, or get rid of, bedbugs in NY? Journalist and bedbug survivor Theresa Braine has spent a lot time researching and thinking about and scheming against the little suckers, and her column over at Brick Underground is where I always recommend people turn for both preventative strategies as well as what to do if the dreaded infestation ever hits home.

A good place to start is with Braine’s “minutes” from Brick Underground’s BedbuggedNYC Meetup last month, in which NYC bedbug victims and survivors got together and swapped horror stories and from-the-trenches intelligence over a few glasses of Pinot Grigio. Among the highlights: are those (expensive) services with bed bug-sniffing dogs reliable?; why you should NOT throw out everything you own if faced with an infestation; and a look at that wonderful “bed bug chamber of death”, your dryer.

Lots of solid advice for NYC apartment dwellers can be found in all Braine’s columns, including her primer on how to bedbug-proof your home; how to talk to your neighbors and–and this is crucial–your landlord and superintendent about bedbugs; and her roundup of lessons learned from her own experience with the pests, including the importance of saving samples of the creatures (however unappealing that might sound), and why you shouldn’t move out of your bedroom, unless, that is, you want to risk spreading them throughout your apartment.

Most recently, and this is vital in case you haven’t heard,  Braine alerts us to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on how bed bug pesticides, in and of themselves or, much more frequently, when misused, are causing serious illnesses in some homes. Definitely worth a read for all of us who are trying to deal with bedbugs in NY.

Urban Edge No Fee Apartments
NYC Metro Area (including NJ)
Rent Directly from Owners & Property Managers
Thousands of No Fee Apartments