Residents at The Surf Manor Adult Home in Coney Island are suing over living conditions and a three-year bed bug infestation.  The class action lawsuit was filed by almost 200 residents who claim their rooms are infested with bedbugs.

The residents are also placing blame for the spread of scabies, leaking ceilings, broken elevators, sporadic heat and hot water and mold growth.

Yesterday, Fox 5 News did a report about a Long Island landscaper in their evening segment, Shame on You.  This landscaper had lost his license two years ago but continued doing business with customers.  It was reported that over 30 customers were getting ripped off and not getting the service they had paid for. The landscaper will now face charges from the district attorney for fraud.  When you contact JP McHale you can be assured that we are current with our licensing and all state requirements. JP McHale is licensed in pest management and plant health care.  All of our products are environmentally sensitive and approved by the EPA.  When researching a prospective contractor, you should go on your state/county’s website to try and find a list of licensed professionals as well as fraudulent ones. JP McHale is a Westchester Pest Control company.  We would love to help you with your pest or lawn problem! Contact us by phone 800-479-2284, email, live chat, twitter, or facebook.

Bed Bugs and lawyers are becoming a hot topic these days with the sharp rise in bed bugs infestations. In Ohio, an apartment landlord has informed all of his tenants that they are expected to pay $100 each for bed bug treatment. One tenant says he’s not paying. NBC 4 came in and started an investigation. It’s pretty clear in their lease that they are not responsible if they wish not to have treatment, however, the landlord’s notice says he must pay, or face eviction. The video below…

Thanks to @GriffinPest for tweeting first about this story.

In New Jersey, a bill is in play that will change the protocol when it comes to tenants, landlords and bed bugs. As of now, Landlords have to treat for bed bugs, however, after treatment is done, the costs can be passed along to the tenants. The problem with this is simple; most tenants can’t pay for the treatment, as well as follow-up treatment. So, instead of reporting the problem, they would rather not tell the landlord, and live with it. This in the long run costs the landlord more money, as they have to treat it later. The bill, however, would change that. When notified of the bed bug infestation, the landlord has to treat for it, and at their own expense. If the landlord doesn’t treat the bed bugs, they will be fined. Also, a local health board will come in, treat for the bed bugs, and then bill the landlord.

It is up to the tenant to notify the landlord. The landlord has up to 10 day to start treatment. This forces the landlord to be proactive and be on top of the process. Then the tenants must give the landlord access with 48 hour notice to inspect and treat the area. However, if the tenant fails to do so, they then become liable for the cost of getting rid of the bed bugs. Also, if bed bugs are present when the tenant moves out, the cost of getting rid of them will be taken from the security deposit.

There are some flaws to the bill. For instance, landlords are only responsible for one treatment and one follow-up per year. This is less than most treatments require. Additional treatments that maybe needed would be placed on the tenant. Also, the 48 hour notice maybe too little. Making a person who works everyday clean all their clothes and bag everything, in the span of 48 hours in which they work the majority of them, might be unrealistic. This is not to mention the burden it would be on those who are seniors or need assistance. Regardless of the flaws, this bill does improves the laws that are in place. If it would be put into effect, it would have a great benefit to all those effected, landlords and tenants alike.

If you are a landlord or a tenant, and think you have bed bugs, please do not hesitate to contact us. Let us get a K9 Bed Bug Inspection Dog out to see if in fact your really do have bed bugs present.

Our friends over at Bedbugger.com informed us of this story.

We wrote last week about an off campus apartment complex that is infested with bed bugs at Portland State University. Students that were living there found the bed bugs, then alerted management who hired a sub-par pest control company that did not treat the apartments the correct way, claiming the products would only work for one week. When the students demanded their security deposit back, the management refused. They did not pay rent and some students proceed to move out, however they were locked out of their apartments until rent was paid. PSU legal services are assisting the students in the lawsuit, but until then students are left without a place to live.  Watch the video below from KGW Portland.

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At Portland State University in Oregon, students residing in one of the more popular apartment complexes say many apartments in the complex are infested with bed bugs. Residents that spoke to the Daily Vanguard say that the building management has tried several treatment options, but none of which work for more than a week.

“I had to go to the doctor because of an allergic reaction; the bites were swelling to the size of eggs.” – Kris Thomason, Resident

Fumigation has been used on the premises on a per-room basis, which will make bed bugs relocate to different rooms, making the infestation worse.  Spraying has also been done, but they have been told it will only be effective for a week.

Apartment management has not been helpful at all during this problem.  They will not allow students that have elected to move of to retrieve their things unless they finish paying rent, or pay the early move-out fee. Bed bugs are still present in many of the rooms, but students are turning to bed bug mattress covers which will prevent any bed bugs living in the mattress to live any longer. However, bed bugs can live in the wall, behind picture frames, and even in electrical sockets! Students are turning to PSU for legal assistance in this situation.

As the bed bug resurgence becomes more popular in the United States, we will see more and more of these situations. Many questions must be answered by the courts on whose responsibility it is to pay for the treatment. Bed bugs are not normally covered in basic pest control programs that apartment complexes are on contract for.

If you run an apartment complex and think you may have a bed bug problem, please contact our offices. We employ a K-9 bed bug inspection dog so the infestations can be found without treating rooms that do not have bed bugs in them.

The Daily Vanguard reported this story first.