My favorite line from the video? Environmental Protection Agency’s Lois Rossi on the purpose of the summit:
We felt at this point in time it was necessary to bring interested stakeholders together to collaboratively try and solve a problem or come up with some solutions that might lead to the resolution of this problem.
Perfect. This, my friends, is how strategic plans like the one we advocate for the City of Chicago begin. It’s the first thing I’d ask our city to do, if I could share my Bed Bug Wish List with the officials responsible for addressing the spread of bed bug infestations in Chicago: invite interested local stakeholders (public health agencies, community organizations, pest management professionals, entomologists, housing authorities, city council members, streets and sanitation officials, apartment associations and others) to participate in a collaborative brainstorming session and generate ideas about how to solve the problem. It’s the best first step our city can take; it’s the first step many other cities and states have already taken.
Chicagoans, if you’d like to send a message to your aldermen, you can do so quickly through our CitizenSpeak Campaigns. We’re all in this together, remember.
So, Chicagoans, have you noticed these nifty new ads on the CTA? Seems to me that they began to appear a few weeks ago, and now, it seems to me that they’ve virtually taken over the Red and Brown Lines.
Believe me, folks, it’s no coincidence that Protect-A-Bed is suddenly advertising– with a vengeance– in the City of Chicago. They’re doing it for a very good reason: They know what’s coming, and so should you.
This leads me to photo number two, taken a couple of weeks ago, again on the North Side.
What’s the deal with pitching futon cushions? I suppose this might just be coincidence, and people are tossing perfectly good furniture because they can afford to do so. But somehow, I have a hard time believing that’s the case, especially considering the current economic situation.
Listen, if you take nothing else from this post, please take this:
Do not throw your furniture away if you think or know it is infested with bed bugs unless you do so at the suggestion and under the direct supervision of an experienced, trained, qualified pest management professional. It’s usually not necessary to throw your belongings away and if you do, you could spread bed bugs throughout your building and throughout your city.
Mattresses and box springs can typically be safely sealed with zippered encasements– I happen to really like Protect-A-Bed’s AllerZip Encasement, to be honest– and used during and after treatment for bed bugs, as long as your pest management professional says it’s okay. So save your stuff, Chicagoans, if at all possible. You might just save your neighbors, too.
WGN TV News did an absolutely commendable job of disseminating accurate, pertinent information to the public in its Medical Watch: Bed Bugs segment, which my sources tell me aired on Tuesday, March 31st.
I sure wished I hadn’t missed it, or I would have written this post a heck of a lot sooner than now! I applaud each and every person involved in producing the segment– especially medical/health producer Katharin Czink, with whom I spoke, briefly, on Tuesday.
Folks, if you want to see great local coverage of the unique, complex, and frankly disturbing issues presented by bed bug infestations, click here to watch the segment.
Got bed bugs in the City of Chicago?Remember that you are not alone, and try to stay calm.
Notify your landlord immediately.
File a report of the infestation through 311.
Landlords must contract with an experienced, licensed, trained pest management professional.
Tenants must receive and follow an integrated pest management plan designed by their pest management professional.
DO NOT throw out your furniture unless instructed to do so by your pest management professional.
Visit our discussion forums for more information, advice, and support.
