BOSTON, MA--(Marketwired - Sep 1, 2015) - The beginning of September brings a fleet of moving vans and rental trucks that crowd the narrow streets to deliver students to their new apartments. Boston proper is the location for 35 colleges, universities and community colleges, with well over 152,000 students.
On the first day of September every year, leases on Boston apartments expire, and the departing renters fill the Allston sidewalks with unwanted furniture and other belongings. Coming right after them are waves of incoming tenants who comb through the castoffs before it can be hauled away. This annual ritual is known as "Allston Christmas."
The temptation to select something from this bounty is considerable; after all, that couch, easy chair, or bed frame looks perfectly usable, and would only be going to a landfill anyway, right? However, in bringing that furniture into your apartment, you could also be bringing in unwanted guests in the form of bedbugs. Since the banning of DDT in the US in 1972, bedbugs (Cimex Lectularius) have made a comeback, with Boston now ranked in the top 30 cities in the US for bedbug infestations.
Here are three things you should keep in mind, from Ecologic Entomology's owner, Jonathan Boyar:
1. All used furniture is suspect and should be avoided. Bugs can hide in crevices deep inside the furniture that are not easily accessed or inspected.
2. Store-bought insecticides and home remedies almost never eliminate bed bug infestations in the home or on infested furniture. These products can actually make the problem worse by spreading the bugs out into areas where they don't normally exist, making the eventual remedial process even more difficult.
3. If you suspect a problem in your apartment, you must contact the landlord as soon as possible to have the problem checked-out. Pest control companies need the consent of the property owner to perform treatments in their building. The problem may not be limited to just one apartment and the landlord may need to inspect all abutting units or every unit in the building.
About Ecologic Entomology
Ecologic Entomology is Boston's leading local integrated pest management company. Our Boston Bedbug Authority website provides extensive resources for anyone who is dealing with a bedbug infestation.
Contact Information:
For media interviews with Jonathan Boyar, Boston's Bedbug Authority, contact:
Bobbie Carlton
781-718-7619