NYC Bed Bugs Infiltrating Northern New Jersey
Bed bugs seem to be everywhere. In a new poll, New York City again ranked first as the most bed bug-infested city in America, beating out Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati and Chicago for the dubious honor. That’s bad news for northern New Jersey residents, many of whom work in New York or visit the city regularly for shopping and entertainment. Bed bugs are adept hitchhikers and are easily transported on clothing and in backpacks, briefcases and shopping bags carried from New York back to your northern New Jersey home.
Recent bed bug infestations at two popular Hollister stores and a Victoria’s Secrets in Manhattan, a movie theater near Times Square and, most recently, the Empire State Building indicate how easy it can be to come into contact with bed bugs in the course of everyday activities. In another recent poll, 10% of people who work in New Yorker said their workplace had been infested with bed bugs. Ten percent of NYC shoppers had seen bed bugs at a store. One-third of the New Yorkers polled had either suffered a bed bug infestation in their home or had a close relative or friend whose home had been invaded by bed bugs.
With all the transportation between New York and northern New Jersey, the arrival of every train and ferry brings new risk of bed bug infestation. Northern New Jersey home and business owners need to educate themselves about bed bugs and know what to look for.