Mangano: Bedbug season in Nassau
A beagle, part of the Nassau County Bed Bug Taskforce, sniffs a vial filled with bed bugs to aquire the scent to track the bugs in Mineola. (July 27, 2012) Credit: Howard Schnapp
The heightened bedbug season is upon us, Nassau County officials said Friday as they warned residents to inspect their homes carefully to prevent spread of the insects.
"It [the season] typically starts around the end of July and lasts until the end of September," Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano said Friday at a news conference.
Accompanying Mangano outside county headquarters in Mineola were members of the county Bed Bug Task Force, which included exterminators, two of whom brought their bedbug detectors: Scooter, a Beagle, and Cruiser, a Pug-Beagle mix.
Arthur Katz, the owner of Cruiser, as well as Knock Out Pest Control in Uniondale, said there has been a 20 percent increase in bedbug calls to his business during the past three months.
He described the bugs as dark-reddish brown, almost flat, and said can be as small as a pinhead or as big as an apple seed.
He also said that not all pesticide sprays work, as bugs have become resistant to many of them.
"The key to preventing the spread of bedbugs is to know what they look like, where they can be picked up, and how to inspect your home," said Mangano.
Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Rene Feichter, who chairs the Bedbug Task Force, said: "The bad news is bedbugs are back. The good news is there is a lot we can do about it."
Mangano also referred residents to the Nassau County website, which contains a Bed Bug Task Force link.
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