Bedbugs Bills Heard by Council, DDT Myth Spread

The city council yesterday looked into the anti-bedbug legislation that councilmember Gale Brewer has been pushing. Among the considered items was a bill requiring all new mattresses sold in the city to be accompanied by a disposal bag clearly identifying the mattress as used -- though, as we have noted, sometimes even labeling a piece of trashed furniture "BEDBUGS" will not prevent idiots from taking it home. One bill that passed the council considered establishes a bedbug "task force" to fight the scourge. Given the rapidly growing bedbug epidemic, and the resistance of many landlords to acknowledging and treating infestations, this task force should be fast-tracked and given extraconstitutional powers.

Surprisingly, much of the recent coverage of the council's bedbug hunt suggest that there's some truth to the story spread by conservatives that if only the Gummint would allow DDT spraying again, everything would be fine. But, as New York vs. Beg Bugs points out, bedbugs have grown very resistant to DDT. Your best bet if infested is long-term treatment by a pest control specialist -- we've heard good things about these guys -- and a more aggressive city program. Revised February 28.