Need Bed Bug Advice
I am currently looking to rent a place on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint. I love it! It’s perfect! When I first arrived to view the apartment I asked the Building Manager if there had ever been a history of Bed Bug infestation in the building. He seems to skip a beat for an instant, but…
I am currently looking to rent a place on Manhattan Ave in Greenpoint. I love it! It’s perfect! When I first arrived to view the apartment I asked the Building Manager if there had ever been a history of Bed Bug infestation in the building. He seems to skip a beat for an instant, but replied, “I’m not sure, I would have to check with the landlord.â€
The next day when we spoke on the phone to finalize some details he told me that three years ago the apartment directly above the one I was interested in had reported bed bugs. They apparently treated the entire building and I was told they haven’t had any problems since.
However, after the initial report an exterminator came and found bed bugs in all three apt.’s on that side of the 8 family building. The one above, the one I want and the one below. There were two old women living in the apartment I want to rent and the apartment below, they never reported bugs because they had no physical reaction to them. So even if a problem persisted, they may have never known.
Anyways, the apartment vacated because the old woman moved back to Poland and the place was gut-renovated. The old lady living above (where the infestation was said to originate) is also vacating and that place is going to be gut renovated too.
It seems a little odd to me that two of the three apartments said to be infested are now vacating and being gut-renovated, but the tenants did live there for like 30 years.
Do you think this place is probably okay to move into? It’s a great place and they said they could probably spray before I moved in to ease my mind. What do you think? Is it worth the risk?
quote:
Why is finding a decent one bedroom so hard?
🙁 it’s not if you have money
*rob*
Yeah, they most definitely came from the old woman in the apartment above. She is an extremely old Polish woman who often had visitors/family from Poland come and stay with her. I saw her apartment and it was gross. She is leaving, her apartment will be gut renovated, but I wonder how the bugs could have been gotten rid of if she was living like that and has been for the past however may years.
Ugh.
I just want an apartment already 🙁
Why is finding a decent one bedroom so hard?
7K? damn. see? it’s really expensive, and there are hundreds of sheisty companies out there promoting “green” bedbug treatments. THEY DO NOT WORK! YOU ARE GETTING RIPPED OFF!!! it would be like killing a rat with a kiss!!!
and do not be like those idiots in queens who doused their mattresses with GASOLINE :-/
*rob*
“quote:
it’s interesting to note that “pitbull and other dog owners” were left off it.
wow that was rude..”
Another thing to add to the list: People who pick up old clothes from the street and wear them!
**guess who does that**
having just finished (hopefully) a six month, 7k and counting battle with bed bugs in a rental, I can tell that if you think there’s a chance there are BB in the surrounding units, and it sounds like there are, DONT DO IT.
pls trust me, there is no deal that’s so “good” that it’s worth dealing with bed bugs. outside of a sickness, death,loss of job,etc, it’s one of the toughest situations i’ve experienced…
I’d take the place if rent is good and really like it and
rent stabilized. (which would by the way make it a less transient bldg).
If not RS then probably have other choices and not sure if I would take it.
Landlord sounds like trying to do what is right and moving somewhere else is not going to guarantee being bugfree.
You can’t interview everyone in any bldg. But if you see people wearing faux fur that could be a warning not to move in.
Run, don’t walk, away. Who cares if you can ever get rid of them? Better to never get them in the first place.
You can get rid of bedbugs – but there’s no guarantee. personally I would not move into the place based on what you’ve told us so far. Sounds like you can’t even really be sure whether the bed bugs are gone or not – even if they’re not in that unit now, they could still be in the others. if the whole building isn’t treated and confirmed bedbug free, it’s still pretty high-risk that they could return.
first off, some DIY bedbug treatments and measures to take:
http://www.broadwayexterminating.com/bedBugs.html
They sell a bunch of effective products that can help you IF you get infested. Some simple Ortho which you can buy at any Home Depot works really well on bedbugs. Would be good to spray in every corner or tight spot they could crawl out of before you move in, IF you move in.
We had a nasty old man in an apt. for almost 40 years who passed away last May. Before we started gut renovation, we discovered he was infested. We fogged the joint about a dozen times and it still didn’t get all of them. Some died, others spread to the apt. above. That tenant didn’t react to the bites physically. They also lived in spaces too tight fog to reach, like some of the mouldings we ripped out. Bought a BUNCH of stuff twice from Broadway Exterminating as they deliver, Intruder works well, and Bedlam which is also ok to spray in mattress seams. Took a few stressful weeks but got it done ourselves. TWO apartments with elderly being vacated and then gut renovated sounds like you will most likely get infested at some point, unless you’re comfortable living with all the chemicals pre-treating your apt before you move in. Best of luck either way.