Chicago vs. Bed Bugs

Wow.  I just saw this Craigslist post, thanks to Gapers Block (many, many thanks to Kaylee as well!), which reads

$750 / 1br - RE: $750 / 1br - Hot Lakeview Location on quiet street (1335 W. Fletcher)

I was a previous tenant in this unit. I didn’t know any better at the time but I survived the winter in this dump with NO HEAT!!! That’s right, there was no heat save for one furnace in the living room that is meant to keep the pipes from freezing and still you can see your breath. This apartment should actually be declared illegal by the city and shame on the landlord for trying to pass it off as habitable. In fact, I think I should call housing inspectors to make sure no one has to potentially freeze to death like I did. I wonder why it’s suddenly available again in February? Hmm…

P.S. Aside from frequent ants and house flies in the summer, I also had the pleasure of experiencing bed bugs for the first time. Below is a picture of what bed bug bites look like. Still want to live here?

*Picture omitted.

Lakeview, are you prepared do deal with bed bugs?  If not, ask your alderman, and all of the aldermen in the City of Chicago to introduce, support, and pass legislation to control the spread of bed bugs in our city.  ASAP.

Once again, we give our wholehearted thanks to Gapers Block– and to our fellow Chicagoans– for spreading the word.

This, my friends, is what happens when people have bed bugs and don’t know what to do about it.

This photo was taken in a North Side neighborhood a couple nights ago.  It’s disconcerting for several reasons:

• First, if this futon cushion is indeed infested with bed bugs, the person who picks it up (either for personal use, for resale, or for disposal) risks contracting and spreading bed bugs throughout our city and possibly beyond.
• Second, in most cases, it is not necessary nor is it recommended that people dispose of infested mattresses and furniture.
• Third, bed bugs can be spread through residences and buildings when infested mattresses and furniture are moved outside for disposal.
• Finally, if disposal is absolutely necessary, the risk of spreading bed bugs can be reduced if infested mattresses are wrapped and tightly sealed in airtight plastic sheets.  This should only be attempted at the suggestion and under the direct supervision of a qualified pest management professional.

Spread the word, okay, people?  And if you’re interested in helping us encourage our City of Chicago aldermen to introduce and support legislation to regulate the disposal of infested furniture, among other things, please participate in our CitizenSpeak campaigns.  We already wrote the letter for you– all you have to do is fill in some information and click “send”.

We’re all in this together, remember.

Well, folks, I think it’s safe to say that Chicago vs. Bed Bugs is officially back in business.  I’m still on the mend, but my surgery went well, and I’m feeling much better than I have in months. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do– there have been some exciting, important, and in some cases groundbreaking developments during the last several weeks– let’s get to it, shall we?

First, thank you to Renee Corea of New York vs Bed Bugs for keeping me posted on the goings on in the world of bed bugs and for giving me a whole lot of encouragement and support– publicly, even!– before and after my surgery.  Words cannot express my gratitude.  Also, I thank Nobugs over at Bedbugger.com for giving me good press about my good press, for making me laugh during some really trying times, and for her genuine concern.  Thank you, my friends.

Those of you who are familiar with our website might notice a significant change in its appearance these days. This is because we wanted to implement some new tools in order to further our mission and promote open dialogue about the spread of bed bugs in the City of Chicago, and we had to alter things a bit to accomplish this.

We encourage you to take advantage of all the new ways in which you can participate in our mission and in our discussions:

• Public discussion forums: You can access these by clicking on the “Join Our Discussion Forums!” link on the right side of this page. We installed these forums in place of our old Discuss page, because its format was not really conducive to organized conversation.  We invite you to visit the new forums, read the rules and instructions posted there, and then join a conversation or start one of your own.  It’s easy, we promise.

• Two CitizenSpeak email campaigns: We created two separate CitizenSpeak email campaigns– which contain pre-written emails addressed to every single alderman in the City of Chicago– in which everyone can participate simply by filling in some basic information.  Please help us advocate policy to control the spread of bed bugs in the City of Chicago by taking a few minutes to participate in our campaigns. You  can access them by visiting our Take Action page and clicking the campaign links provided there.

• Take Action Page: Our new Take Action page provides numerous ways for you to make a difference in your city.  We encourage you to use the information provided to contact your legislators and your public health officials and ask them to help control the spread of bed bugs in the City of Chicago now.

It’s going to be tough to cover all of the events that took place during the last few weeks, believe me.  Stay tuned for what will probably be a ridiculously long recap post, highlighting what we missed and why it’s important to you.

It’s good to be back in business.  I’m excited to begin a new phase in our mission to advocate policy to control the spread of bed bug infestations in the City of Chicago– one that’s more detailed, direct and hopefully, more successful.  I invite all of you to join me in accomplishing our goals.  We are all in this together, after all.