Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bedbugs and nyc

Could we have bed bugs?

spacefire — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:07:16 -0800

Could we have bed bugs? My wife has a bug bite on her that looks like a bed bug bite. It's two bumps in a red area with splotches of red (possibly from scratching).
It's turning purple.
So, could we have bed bugs? She didn't find any on our mattress, hasn't been bitten since she found this one a couple of days ago, and I wasn't bitten at all...
What else could cause this characteristic type of bite?

Let me mention that we live in Hoboken which is just across the river from NYC which is well known for bed-bugs.

My landlord is a slime bucket and I need to break my lease. What kind of repercussions might I face?

Sloop John B — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:28:31 -0800

My landlord is a slime bucket and I need to break my lease. What kind of repercussions might I face? Over the last year and a half, I've had some problems with my landlord. Leaky roofs, heat and hot water that randomly stop working, mice, roaches, and, most recently, bedbugs. Although it turned out that we didn't have a full-on infestation, the landlord has refused to have the whole building inspected, and I don't trust him to stay on top of the problem. In short, I want to break my lease and leave the apartment. I have a feeling that he'll let me out of the lease, but his security deposit policy is a bit whacked out. His policy is to release the security deposit a full 30 days after you move out. Plus, in order to break my lease, he may try to get me to sign something that would allow him to take my deposit. Basically, he's a slimy, slimy man, and I don't trust him to actually give me my deposit back. What I want to do is move the hell out and tell him to keep my security deposit in lieu of last month's rent. If I do this, what can he do to me? Can he mess up my credit? Can he sue me? Would he sue me? Do I have any recourse, other than spending lots of money on a lawyer?

Thanks for the help.

Possible bedbug infestation

Sloop John B — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:22:37 -0800

I think I just found a bedbug. What should I do? Is there a place I can go in NYC to have a bedbug positively identified? I just found what appears to be an adult bedbug on my bed. I checked my mattress and blankets and such and didn't see any further evidence of infestation. Furthermore, I haven't had any strange bites or anything recently.

I haven't done anything recently that would bring bedbugs in - I haven't brought in any furniture off the street or anything.

Should I be freaking out? Is there a place in NYC that will look at my specimen and tell me if it's a bedbug? How likely is it that I have a full-blown infestation? At this juncture, does it make sense to call the exterminator and go through all the stuff you're supposed to go through to get rid of bedbugs?

ugghhhh... such stress and strain.

What is NYC doing about pests?

Drohan — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:43:08 -0800

[NYCFilter] What steps has NYC taken to deal with vermin? And what isn't it doing that it could? What city initiatives exist to deal with pests in NYC apartments? Like the NYC Rodent Academy? Are there similar initiatives for bedbugs, cockroaches, assorted other vermin? And what are some things the city could/should do that it hasn't to address bug & rodent problems? I heard about some legislation introduced last year to forbid the sale of reconditioned mattresses as a means of preventing bedbugs spreading but I don't know if it ever got passed.

I want to nuke the place from orbit and never look back

Gamblor — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:13:36 -0800

How do you combat a bedbug problem with a new baby present? When we first moved into our new apartment one month ago, I killed a small bug that I thought was a young cockroach. Looking back, I'm pretty sure it was a bedbug. About two weeks ago, I woke up with what I thought were a couple of mosquito bites on my hand. Then, the next day, a couple more on my leg. I keep getting one or two a night. I just realized what's going on this morning when I found a single, small black smudge on the side of our box spring. I haven't shared this with my wife yet. She already hates the apartment, hates bugs, and is under enough stress taking care of the baby. She's going to lose her shit over this (and who can blame her?). I need to come up with a concrete plan of attack before I spring this hell on her.

Before this mess, we had already decided to leave the apartment and move out of state to be closer to our family, so I don't really care about long-term eradication. I just want to figure out how to leave with our things clean.

Here's my biggest concern: We have a two month old baby. He's been sleeping with us in the bed (He cries if we put him in his crib). So far, I'm the only one that's been bitten, thankfully, and obviously he's not staying in the bed anymore, but I don't know if it's even possible to spray for the bugs with a baby in the apartment.

This happened as soon as we moved in. I can't believe that the previous tenants never had any problems. I'm furious that they knew about this and didn't say anything. I don't know if the landlord had any prior knowledge, but she'll probably deny it, even if she did.

This is an old building with lots of woodwork and old hardwood floors with lots of crevices. I don't know the degree to which the place is infested, but I know we just moved in, so our bed can't be that bad off yet. We recently purchased a new, king sized bed and I don't want to have to get rid of it, if possible.

-Is it possible to combat a bedbug infestation with a baby in the apartment?
-Who's responsible for the cost of the exterminator and treatment? The tenant? the landlord? What about all the other expenses?
-Can a one bedroom apartment be considered livable while being treated?
-What kind of recourse do I have against the former tenant and/or landlord?
-Is this something you can break your lease over?
-Can you save your bed?
-How do you pack an entire apartment and ensure you don't carry the bugs with you?
-My father is supposed to visit on Monday to see his new grandson. Can he still stay with us?

This is in NYC.

Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite!

anjamu — Tue, 16 May 2006 18:17:15 -0800

[New York City apartment filter] So my future roommate and I found a place we thought was perfect. We're thisclose to signing the lease. And then a search with HPD turns up 96 open violations in the building. How concerned should I be? We're working with a broker, and we have put down the security deposit but not the first month's rent (also required) and we haven't signed a lease yet.

The place seems almost too good to be true: spacious flex 2 BR for $2200 in the Financial District, replete with doorman, elevator, laundry in-building.

(I know, I know: if it seems too good to be true, well, it probably is.)

The 96 (!) open violations, courtesy of NYC HPD, include roaches, mice, all kinds of maintenance issues, and worst of all, bedbugs. Only 2 out of 5 tenants on apartmentratings.com recommended it, but I don't know how much weight to throw behind that, as I'd never heard of the site before today.

I should note that our broker is the only broker who rents places out in this building.

My questions include:

1) If a building has bedbugs, even if they are only cited in one apartment, do I run?
2) How many violations are normal? Is this excessive?
3) Are there any other city websites I should check out?
4) How much might it cost us to escape this deal?