If you still think bedbugs are only a problem for the great unwashed living in squalorous tenements, read the news. Your customers probably already have, especially if they're located in Terminex's recent list of cities with the biggest bedbug problems, including New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and Chicago.

Bedbugs are a growing problem, not just for homeowners and apartment managers, but also for some of the biggest names in retail (two Abercrombie & Fitch stores in Manhattan were recently forced to close because of the problem, as was an AMC Theater in Times Square).

And if you think these pernicious pests are just a problem for the Big Apple, consider this: although they prefer places with beds where they can come out at night and feed on people, bedbugs are becoming increasingly common in downtown office spaces, even in filing cabinets, in all the metro areas where bedbugs are prevalent. Yes — bedbugs could be living in those file cabinets in your own office.

Why bedbugs and why now? I spoke at length with entomologist and expert witness Lawrence J. Pinto about the rapid growth of this problem, which is often blamed on the FDA's failure to approve the use of a pesticide as lethal to bedbugs as DDT, which was banned in 1972. Not true, says Pinto, coauthor of “Bed Bug Handbook: The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control.”

“DDT was the magic bullet when it was introduced after World War II, but within a few years, bedbugs had gotten resistant to it and the pest control industry wasn't using it anymore because it didn't work,” he said. “The chemicals of the day were the reason we got rid of bedbugs in the first place; they were a scourge in the 1930s, but by the late '50s and early '60s, they were gone. Pest control companies in the '70s and '80s saw so few cases that they stopped treating for them.”

Although the bedbug problem began to resurface in the mid-1990s, it was still rare. However, in the last 5 to 6 years, the number of bedbug infestations has “exploded” (ewww), Pinto said. According to a recent survey by the National Pest Management Assn., 10 years ago only 10 percent of pest control companies were seeing bedbug problems. The figure is now 80 percent.

At the risk of sounding politically incorrect, the rise in bedbugs can be at least partially attributed to the influx of goods and people from the world's less developed countries, Pinto said. ”The way international travel changed is the spur,” he said. “Today, the whole world is traveling from places in the world where bedbugs are common. And not just people, but products – if you package something in a box and ship it to New York, it will have potential to contain bedbugs or any other pest.”

The other half of the equation is the “shy and cryptic” nature of the bedbugs themselves. Not only are they good at hiding (in beds, furniture, walls, clothing), they are also prolific breeders and extremely hardy – and adult bedbugs can survive without feeding for a year and a half, Pinto said.

Many apartments spend as much as $100,000 a year dealing with getting rid of intial problem, which doesn't include maintenance to keep them away, Pinto said. For the typical homeowner, the cost is anywhere from $300 to $1,200, and probably somewhere in the middle. (This doesn't include the cost of special bedbug-sniffing dogs, which are 96 percent accurate in detecting the pests and cost $300 and up to sniff out a private home.) Treatment, which includes not only the application of pesticides, but steam and vacuum cleaning, usually takes three applications to eradicate the pest. “Bedbugs are the worst problem in pest control, nothing else compares to it,” Pinto said.

And because bedbugs, like termites or vermin, are excluded from personal and commercial insurance policies, business owners are on the hook for cleanup costs. “Bedbugs are considered a maintenance issue,” said Loretta Worters of III, who spends a lot of her time these days talking about bedbugs (http://twitter.com/LWorters). “Insurance coverage has broadened over time. It used to be insurance just covered fire, then it expanded to include such perils as theft and wind. But bedbugs, or bugs of any kind, have never been covered. There are no riders or additional coverages that could cover pests,” she added. “I don't know about hundreds of thousands of dollars, but if it spreads throughout a big building it would be extremely expensive for the building owner.”

In New York, where the pest is most prevalent, legislators are looking for ways around this. Brooklyn Asssemblyman Dov Hikind and Senate Majority Conference Leader John Sampson plan to introduce a bill that would require insurers who underwrite property and casualty policies in the state to offer policies that cover the cost of bedbug infestations. And there is also a bill under consideration (New York State Assembly Bill A10081) to give a tax credit to residents who lose property due to bedbugs in their homes. And only days ago, New York Gov. David Patterson signed the Bedbug Disclosure Act, which requires apartment owners to inform consumers if bedbugs were discovered in an apartment, said Loretta Worters of III.

It seems to me that some enterprising underwriters could look on bedbugs as an opportunity to craft some interesting coverage that, for a price, could protect businesses against costs related to their eradication. But since this coverage doesn't yet exist, what should agents tell their business customers about risk management for bedbugs?

Larry Pinto suggests starting with full disclosure if a problem has been detected and is being treated, which could prevent lawsuits in the future. Awareness and early detection are key. “You can control bedbugs in any site if you have the money and cooperation,” he said. “Management must be sure to inspect and treat not only the areas where there are bedbugs, but the adjacent areas as well.” And although prevention is easier than mitigation, it's sometimes hard to convince management of this, he added. “Your pest control service should be doing regular maintenance focused on bedbugs, and managers also need to make their custodial staff and residents aware of the threat — and if there is a problem, to attack it aggressively.”

There are also some surprisingly low-tech, low-cost ways to prevent a problem, including bedbug-proof encasements that go over mattresses, box springs and pillows, and plastic “insect interceptors” that go under the legs of beds and furniture and trap bedbugs. And because bedbugs are vulnerable to heat, simply putting infested bedding and clothing into a standard clothes dryer is enough to kill both eggs and adults, Pinto said.

I'd love to hear from any readers, especially those in big bedbug cities, about what their customers are saying about the problem. Anyone care to bite? (hahahaha….)

Special Reports /

Toops Scoops: Are Bedbugs Biting Your Customers?

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