# Bed Bugs Invade New York



## henryj (Jul 28, 2010)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/residents/bedbugs.shtml

Just one link of many. According to the evening news New York has been invaded by a massive bed bug infestation. Are long distance trains that originate in New York safe to sleep in? Are NEC trains safe to ride in? How does Amtrak combat this? These bugs are just disgusting.


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## caravanman (Jul 28, 2010)

I think the conductors ask them for I.D... Bugs without I.D. (Unless they are bugs planted by secret agents...) get squished.

Eddie


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## guest (Jul 28, 2010)

henryj said:


> http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/residents/bedbugs.shtml
> 
> Just one link of many. According to the evening news New York has been invaded by a massive bed bug infestation. Are long distance trains that originate in New York safe to sleep in? Are NEC trains safe to ride in? How does Amtrak combat this? These bugs are just disgusting.


Amtrak limits the bugs by charging them the highest bucket!!! :lol:


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## roomette (Jul 28, 2010)

I had a couple in my roomette on the EB out of Chicago a couple of months ago. Never saw but two but it 'bugged' me the entire trip. I always felt like something was crawling on me after I felt and saw that first one on me. I meant to call Amtrak and report it but failed to do so.

Edited to ad this Smoking Gun link I found. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0709091amtrak1.html


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## guest (Jul 28, 2010)

roomette said:


> I had a couple in my roomette on the EB out of Chicago a couple of months ago. Never saw but two but it 'bugged' me the entire trip. I always felt like something was crawling on me after I felt and saw that first one on me. I meant to call Amtrak and report it but failed to do so.
> 
> Edited to ad this Smoking Gun link I found. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0709091amtrak1.html


Darn, you should have called them! I understand you either could have gotten a $100 voucher or a year's supply of bug spray! (handling and shipping extra) :giggle:


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## henryj (Jul 28, 2010)

roomette said:


> I had a couple in my roomette on the EB out of Chicago a couple of months ago. Never saw but two but it 'bugged' me the entire trip. I always felt like something was crawling on me after I felt and saw that first one on me. I meant to call Amtrak and report it but failed to do so.
> 
> Edited to ad this Smoking Gun link I found. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0709091amtrak1.html


Thanks for that link. Looks like you should have reported it so they could have cleaned the car. Good to know there is a procedure. A few years ago they had mice infestations. It's always something I guess. If I find bugs in my sleeper I am not so sure I could stay in it for the night much less the whole trip.


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## roomette (Jul 28, 2010)

Yeah. And sadly I discovered them before we were even outside Chicago city limits.  Haunted me all the way to Portland. I wonder if it's too late to report it?


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## battalion51 (Jul 28, 2010)

One word: E-Clean. Every few months or so every car is taken to E-Clean where its essentially pumped with a whole bunch of chemicals that will kill anything and everything. They'll then blow out the cars by opening up the end doors to remove any lingering odor.


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## Green Maned Lion (Jul 28, 2010)

They send that jerk the bug letter.


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## City of Miami (Jul 29, 2010)

It is extremely rare to 'see' a bedbug at all and they are never seen in daylight. Even when they are actively biting you in bed in the dark, it is virtually impossible to catch sight of them with the aid of a flashlight or anything else. What one *does* see is evidence of them, like feces, bites or blood specks on sheets. :unsure:

The real danger is bringing them home with you which is a nightmare. To prevent that, when I am staying in questionable circumstances I keep my luggage in a large plastic bag that can be completely closed. BBs cannot fly or hop....they only walk or run so this an effective barrier. You won't bring them home on your clothes or on your person....only in your luggage. I speak from experience: I lived in a community that had an infestation brought in from a B&B and it was expensive and onerous to get rid of them. Plus you're never really sure they're gone for good. :blink:


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## sunchaser (Jul 29, 2010)

roomette said:


> Yeah. And sadly I discovered them before we were even outside Chicago city limits.  Haunted me all the way to Portland. I wonder if it's too late to report it?


I would call!!! They need to know this kind of stuff!! They can't treat the problem if they don't know about it!!!

If you still have your ticket # or rezzie #, give that info when you call.


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## Cho Cho Charlie (Jul 29, 2010)

henryj said:


> Are long distance trains that originate in New York safe to sleep in?


Maybe I am stereotyping a bit, but I would think that those who can afford to buy a sleeper accommodation, aren't the types that also sleep in the streets.

But I guess if high-end stores and high-end hotels can get them, any place can including airplanes and even private cars.


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## sunchaser (Jul 29, 2010)

Cho Cho Charlie said:


> henryj said:
> 
> 
> > Are long distance trains that originate in New York safe to sleep in?
> ...


I don't think bugs really care where you sleep, or how much money you have. I think they care how good you taste. :giggle:

Seriously, if you are really, really, really, a sloppy housekeeper, you can have bugs too, & a bigger infestion. They're just harder to get rid of if your house is a mess.


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## Tony (Jul 29, 2010)

sunchaser said:


> I don't think bugs really care where you sleep, or how much money you have. I think they care how good you taste. :giggle:
> 
> Seriously, if you are really, really, really, a sloppy housekeeper, you can have bugs too, & a bigger infestion. They're just harder to get rid of if your house is a mess.


Since bed bugs don't fly, I thought one needs to be "contaminated" with them, and them bring them home with you, or have an overnight guest who is.

I guess since bed bugs don't fly (like me), they take Amtrak instead (also like me). :hi:


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## Carol (Sep 2, 2010)

Oh my gosh. I was supposed to be in NY right now...but I cancelled my trip 3 days beforehand when I heard about bed bugs in my hotel. I am a senior, and I have a near phobia of bugs since childhood. I know I wouldn't be able to sleep with just the thought of them sharing my room somewhere. Now I am reading here that they are riding the trains. I had a sleeper car......but never thought about them on the EB. I am wondering if I'll be able to ride the trains again. I've been taking Amtrak for many years but only the last couple of times have I had sleeping accomodations. I probably would have been better off...not reading this "stuff",but on the otherhand, maybe it's better that I am informed?????????????????????


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## FriskyFL (Sep 2, 2010)

Carol said:


> Oh my gosh. I was supposed to be in NY right now...but I cancelled my trip 3 days beforehand when I heard about bed bugs in my hotel. I am a senior, and I have a near phobia of bugs since childhood. I know I wouldn't be able to sleep with just the thought of them sharing my room somewhere. Now I am reading here that they are riding the trains. I had a sleeper car......but never thought about them on the EB. I am wondering if I'll be able to ride the trains again. I've been taking Amtrak for many years but only the last couple of times have I had sleeping accomodations. I probably would have been better off...not reading this "stuff",but on the otherhand, maybe it's better that I am informed?????????????????????


Then you'll be pleased to know that the average mattress contains tens of thousands of dust mites, which according to some sources can double the weight of the mattress over the course of time with their waste. Have a pleasant day!


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## henryj (Sep 2, 2010)

Carol said:


> Oh my gosh. I was supposed to be in NY right now...but I cancelled my trip 3 days beforehand when I heard about bed bugs in my hotel. I am a senior, and I have a near phobia of bugs since childhood. I know I wouldn't be able to sleep with just the thought of them sharing my room somewhere. Now I am reading here that they are riding the trains. I had a sleeper car......but never thought about them on the EB. I am wondering if I'll be able to ride the trains again. I've been taking Amtrak for many years but only the last couple of times have I had sleeping accomodations. I probably would have been better off...not reading this "stuff",but on the otherhand, maybe it's better that I am informed?????????????????????


Well you are just as likely to encounter then in coach as in a sleeper. The beds in the sleeper are just a foam mat bout 2 inches thick that they can just throw away and the bedding is washed every time it's used and changed out for every passenger even in route. Do you wash your bedding in your home every day??????? Plus as someone stated above Amtrak totally fumigates their equipment on a regular schedule. I would think that the likely hood of an encounter on a train is remote. Much more remote than sleeping in a hotel or motel. If you are going to the New York area you can take precautions such as wrapping your clothes in plastic inside your travel bags and washing everything before you let anything loose in your house when you come back home. Bed bug bites are harmless and they don't seem to carry any diseases. You just don't want to carry any back home with you.


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## amamba (Sep 2, 2010)

Bedbugs are also becoming a problem in Boston and in many cities up and down the East Coast. There is an article in the NYT today about how Boston is encouraging college students to NOT pick up old mattresses and furniture off the streets like they normally do because of bedbugs, and affixing bedbug warning stickers to discarded items in the street.

I also read an editorial in the NYT a few weeks ago from a pax that claimed he was bitten by bedbugs - severely - during a flight from LAX - JFK (maybe Laguardia, can't remember) in his business class/first class seat on US airways.

If you see bedbugs, YOU MUST report them. That is the only way they can be cleaned. They often need to be sniffed out with dogs and can live for up to 6-9 months without feeding on people. They will crawl into cracks and crevices and just hang out there.

Use a hard sided suitcase and wash all of your stuff on HOT when you get home.


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## p&sr (Sep 2, 2010)

amamba said:


> If you see bedbugs, YOU MUST report them. That is the only way they can be cleaned. They often need to be sniffed out with dogs...


Now this is just great. Imagine before getting on the Train, all the Passengers have to line up outside while the Dogs sniff them out up and down the line. When the bug-dog cringes, you are separated out for "secondary screening", and given a steam bath before being permitted on board.

All in the name of Public Decency, of course.


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## amamba (Sep 2, 2010)

p&sr said:


> amamba said:
> 
> 
> > If you see bedbugs, YOU MUST report them. That is the only way they can be cleaned. They often need to be sniffed out with dogs...
> ...


It will be just like Ellis Island!


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## lthanlon (Sep 2, 2010)

To heck with Rachael Carson. DDT would solve the bed bug problem. It would also save many people from dying of malaria.


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2010)

IINM Mexico is the only country left in the world where the manufacture and use of DDT is legal. Lots of our fruit and vegetables come from Mexico and with the lax food inspection that has been going on by the Government wonder if were being exposed to this Proven TOXIC substance! It's not the answer, it causes lots worse things than bed bugs! :help:


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## FriskyFL (Sep 2, 2010)

Guest said:


> IINM Mexico is the only country left in the world where the manufacture and use of DDT is legal. Lots of our fruit and vegetables come from Mexico and with the lax food inspection that has been going on by the Government wonder if were being exposed to this Proven TOXIC substance! It's not the answer, it causes lots worse things than bed bugs! :help:


Complete rubbish.


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## silver sagitarius (Sep 2, 2010)

NYC has had a bed bug problem in the lower-end hotels and apartments for many years. Even some of the high end hotels are known to have a "scare" every once in a while. I agree that a bed bug problem, whether on a train or in hotel should be addressed immediately. But for the most part, you have to drive things like that out of your mind and enjoy your travels with as little worry as possible, or else stress yourself out the entire trip.


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## lthanlon (Sep 2, 2010)

Cecil Adams' "The Straight Dope" has a pretty good assessment of Rachel Carson and DDT.


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## nferr (Sep 2, 2010)

Carol said:


> Oh my gosh. I was supposed to be in NY right now...but I cancelled my trip 3 days beforehand when I heard about bed bugs in my hotel. I am a senior, and I have a near phobia of bugs since childhood. I know I wouldn't be able to sleep with just the thought of them sharing my room somewhere. Now I am reading here that they are riding the trains. I had a sleeper car......but never thought about them on the EB. I am wondering if I'll be able to ride the trains again. I've been taking Amtrak for many years but only the last couple of times have I had sleeping accomodations. I probably would have been better off...not reading this "stuff",but on the otherhand, maybe it's better that I am informed?????????????????????


I think you should just never leave your house. Live like a hermit. I mean - come on - all life is a risk of some kind. You're going to be terrified of the small chance of a bedbug bite? I ride motorcycles 10,000 miles a year.


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## gmcguire (Sep 3, 2010)

lthanlon said:


> Cecil Adams' "The Straight Dope" has a pretty good assessment of Rachel Carson and DDT.


A couple of things. First, much of the conventional wisdom on DDT is a myth. It's still used in places where malaria is a problem, but mosquito resistance to its overuse is an issue.

As for bedbugs, heating the room they are in to > 130* seems to be an effective measure now that they've developed resistance to most pesticides and is becoming the preferred method of eradication.


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## AlanB (Sep 3, 2010)

gmcguire said:


> As for bedbugs, heating the room they are in to > 130* seems to be an effective measure now that they've developed resistance to most pesticides and is becoming the preferred method of eradication.


Actually the method being used to kill them more and more is to take the temperature in the other direction, freezing them. Yes, for clothing they'll tell you to wash them and then dry the clothes to kill the bugs. But for furniture and other objects, freezing is both easier and safer.


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