The ‘emerging epidemic’ of bedbug infestation in the county

My colleagues in the Dutchess County Legislature raised their eyebrows recently when I submitted proposed legislation about bedbugs. No one regularly talks about bedbug infestation. But following my report on the county at the February village of Millbrook meeting, one woman did. She told me bedbugs have become quite a problem locally and asked me to look into it. I told her I would.That night I engrossed myself in Internet research, reading up on the small, flat, brown, wingless parasitic insects known as “vampires” for their nocturnal sucking of human blood and as “hitchhikers” for their tendency to travel from place to place by crawling into human clothing or suitcases. I read about how they hide in mattresses and furniture during the day, but at night feast on humans, leaving red, itchy welts or small bumps on the skin. New York City’s bedbug plight was well documented due to the close proximity of apartments, but so was the nationwide prevalence of bedbug infestations in hotels. But Dutchess County?The next day I called the Dutchess County Department of Health and heard bedbug infestation in the county described as an “emerging epidemic,” but because bedbugs don’t transmit disease they are not monitored by the health department. They are considered nuisances like mosquitoes, although once one’s home is infected it can take years to be rid of them.I then met with Stephanie Radin at the Cornell Cooperative Extension, who explained to me how when visiting hotels I should pull back sheets and look on mattresses for red marks and keep my suitcase off the floor or bed to prevent any hitchhikers from traveling home with me. I spoke with Craig Thomas Pest Control, who confirmed that bedbugs are on the rise in Dutchess County with a 76 percent increase in reported cases in 2010 from 2009. I subsequently learned that there have been several cases within our own legislative district, including a motel and an incident where an area rescue squad feared an ambulance had been infected after treating a patient at an infested home (it wasn’t).Bedbugs do not discriminate against rich or poor, and their presence is not an indication of cleanliness. Most at risk are people who travel a lot or bring in used furniture off the curb as do college kids and those on the lower economic scale.I am sponsoring legislation to require all groups that contract with the county for beds (mental hygiene, social services, homeless shelters, domestic violence, etc.) as well as Dutchess Community College (new dormitories) to have in existence appropriate policies on bedbug prevention and remediation as a condition precedent to entering into a contract with the county for funding.Community education is the best policy. Already the health department is providing training to rescue personnel on bedbug precautions. Additionally, as the county lacks enforcement personnel to inspect hotels and we have no control over out-of-county lodging, all of us need to be vigilant about inspecting hotel rooms when we travel. Michael Kelsey represents Amenia, Washington, Pleasant Valley, Stanford and Millbrook in the Dutchess County Legislature. Write him at KelseyESQ@yahoo.com.