Also troubling is that I spoke to the real estate agent for the building, who was asking me about the layout of my apartment, because he is going to be showing it to prospective renters within the next week. He is well aware of the bedbug problem, but seems unconcerned about someone else moving in. There has to be a way to warn people, right? Possible ideas (keep in mind I've been writing papers about various social problems over the past few days, so my mind is pretty fried):
- standing in front of the building and intercepting the real estate agent and unsuspecting victims/prospective renters before they view the apartment
- making the apartment messier than it already is in the hopes that no-one would want to live there
- contacting the NYC Department of Health/Housing
- constructing a huge warning sign and posting it on my front door
I can think of various reasons why these won't work, so does anyone have thoughts on this?
9 comments:
leave a note on the side of the fridge. The agent might not see it, but renters are going to snoop at any thing they can see without and sometimes with opening things up. (that makes me think, put in in the kitchen cabinets)
Dumb/dumber is on to something. Of course, it will take time but the greatest plans always do.
However, you may consider letting someone else move in; that way the bedbugs won't get lonely and wander elsewhere (namely you new apartment).
Or perhaps you are using reverse psychology to get the bugs to leave, but if that were so I have totally just blown your cover...
Oh, yes. Copies of your extermination bills on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the sofa, the nightstand -- EVERYWHERE. That should do the trick. Just save the originals, in case your landlord decides to do some in-house (and illegal) editing.
Like mentioned, notes, extermination bills but add an exaggerrated about of bug spray in every room...two to a counter or so...have them rolling around the floor, give the impression of a constant use thing
My thoughts were similar to everyone else's... leaving the white dust all over the edges of the floor, dead bugs here and there, your mattress torn apart, the photos of bedbug bites might be a nice touch, too.
It absolutely kills me that people would actually try to get people to rent an apartment knowing that there are insects insdie it that will eat you alive simply for the sake of cash.
I learned from living in a college town that exterminators leave large red signs on your apartment door to warn you NOT TO ENTER FOR 24 HOURS - FUMIGATION WITH "DEMON" BRAND SPRAY IN PROGRESS or somesuch. It cannot be that difficult to either purchase a sign or fake one with MS publisher. Numerous empty cans of roach or bug spray all over your kitchen and bath room are subtle enough. A friend of mine sabotaged his landlord for over a year with pranks like a poorly-erased chalk outline of a body on the living room rug (irrelevant to your needs, but still amusing).
1 - Leave cans of insect spray out.
2 - Tape various anti-bedbug advice columns to your fridge after blowing up the font.
3 - Conspicuously wrap various textiles in clingfilm and/or those plastic bags that you get when you buy blankets or curtains.
thanks everyone! for now, i've left the various pesticides on all the counters, my bedbug jail is prominently displayed in the bedroom, the ny times article (with highlighting and picture) is taped to the fridge and my clothes remain in garbage bags all over the apartment and my bed is in the middle of the room.
Do you know of any hotels or dorms that still have bed bugs? I'm doing research for an NBC story and am trying to get the word out that nice hotels and colleges get the bugs too. Email me if you know of anything at Kari.Johnson@nbcuni.com.
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