Bed bugs, beware!
Providence Rest will be hosting a seminar and information session on keeping bed bugs, which have become an increasingly large epidemic in the Bronx, under control.
With infestations reported even in the Bronx County Courthouse and the borough president’s office, the Bronx and all five boroughs are targeting the blood-suckers.
The seminar will take place on Tuesday, October 19 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Providence Rest auditorium and will feature guest speaker Mike Deutsch, of Arrow Exterminating.
The program, entitled “Everything you Always Wanted to Know and Didn’t Want to Know about Bed Bugs,” would be the first of several programs that Providence Rest will hold for the benefit of the community dealing with health and wellness in the coming months.
Marcia Pavlica, president of the Country Club Civic Association, said that she was glad the facility at 3304 Waterbury Avenue was tackling this unsettling issue.
“Bed bugs really are a major concern for a lot of people,” Pavlica said. “I don’t know if there has been a lot of talk about this one particular issue in Country Club because of the fact that many people are never exposed to it.”
Raquel Franklin, an executive assistant at Providence Rest, said the facility is planning a whole series of seminars on different topics. The topics chosen will benefit the community, as well as residents of Providence Rest.
“We decided to do this because currently there is a bed bug epidemic throughout the city,” Franklin said. “Our administration thought that it would be a good topic since it can affect not only nursing facilities like ours, but also the community. Every day you hear on the news about another bed-bug infestation. The exterminator will be talking about the prevention of bed bugs and how to do a home inspection.”
Hazel Miura, a Community Board 11 member and part of the Neighborhood Initiatives Development Corporation, a non-profit housing advocacy group, said that bed bugs continue to be or was a problem or for a number of buildings in Pelham Parkway, Allerton and Van Nest that she is aware of. She said that it is important tenants report the problem right away.
“Often people do not come out and complain until they have no other choice; it could be because they are embarrassed,” Miura said.
“Bed bugs spread very easily. If you talk about it right away, the infestation can be dealt with in the beginning.”
