Noted

Spotted on Sixth Street and Second Avenue. Thanks to EVG reader Lora Ewing for the photo...

Today in warnings about bed bugs

Derek Berg spotted this on the curb along Seventh Street... a couch ensemble with the warning "Bed Bugs Do Not Touch" ... probably could have used larger paper or smaller letters so the touch isn't so squished...



Anyway, this was before today's noon-time downour, so maybe the bed bugs floated away or drowned.

Noted

Possible bed bugs, tapering off later today. The high is expected to be 86 degrees with a low of 70 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

First Avenue between Second Street and Third Street.

This free mattress has no bed bugs, however...

A reader shared this photo of a mattress on 11th Street this morning:

"Gratis — no bed bugs just cat piss."

Cool, free chair without bugs of the day

Spotted earlier this evening on Ninth Street between Avenue A and First Avenue... as the sign says, "Cool free chair! Clean — no bugs"...



Photos via Steven

Noted

Branding on Avenue B between Sixth Street and Seventh Street via EVG reader Ronnie...

(And a mattress that got away?)

Avenue A, 7:17 p.m., June 30

This week in discarded mattress epidemics in the East Village

If I took a photo of every discarded mattress that I spotted this past week, well, then I'd have a lot of photos of discarded mattresses to share...

Still, with these, you get the idea...

Dave on 7th sent these next three shots along... And Dave on 7th said, "never seen so many discarded mattresses as I have in the last week."

Seconded.

And I only spotted one mattress that had been wrapped in plastic per the City's wishes...this one of Avenue C at Second Street...

Landlords enter bed bugs battle

Several readers noted the arrival of these letters from their landlords this past week...

So, basically, to avoid the spread of bed bugs, you have to wrap your mattress and box springs in plastic before dumping it on the curb — whether or not you even have bed bugs. There is a fine of up to $100 if your bed isn't wrapped. Landlords such as Brownstone Building Mgmt here will fine you the tenant then. If they can figure out who the mattress belonged to, that is.

Wealthier people are to blame for NYC's bedbug problem

The Guardian UK checks in on NYC's bedbug infestation...Per the article:

Richard Cooper is a director of BedBug Central, an educational website and prevention company that last week organised a nationwide "summit" in Chicago, attended by about 400 of America's top bedbug experts. He also sits on Bloomberg's advisory board.

Over the last 10 years he has got to know the bloodsuckers very well, watching them multiply from virtually nothing to take hold of New York, and now other US cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati. So what does he think of them?

"I'm fascinated by them. I respect them. They have extraordinary strategies for succeeding."

One reason often cited for the resurgence of the pest is the banning of the toxic chemical DDT, with which they had previously been brought under control. But Cooper believes the main cause of their success today is human ignorance. People are unaware of what to look for and miss the early signs, allowing the bedbugs to establish themselves and spread throughout a dwelling. Part of the problem is the assumption that infestation is confined to poor neighbourhoods with dirty and crowded living spaces.

Wrong, says Cooper, who is taking a PhD in the impact of bedbugs on low-income communities. The bedbug invasion began among the wealthy and middle classes, where frequent international travel for work and/or leisure allowed the insects to penetrate salubrious homes via luggage.

[Image: Photomontage by Guardian imaging/Getty]

Think outside the bug

Bedbug artist Samuel Mark shares this photo from in front of the Taco Bell on 14th Street...

Spreading the fear of bed bugs to the F train

Thanks to our friend AWKWORDrap for these shots....

BREAKING: Bed bugs infiltrating bedroom(s) of Avenue B

Looks like just another unassuming pile of trash of the curb on Avenue B, just past the Christodora, right?



Well, LOOK CLOSER!



[On Avenue B, between 9th Street and 10th Street]