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# Living Bed-Bug Free: Tips for Protecting You & Your Neighbors
- URL: https://bklyner.com/living-bed-bug-free-tips-for-protecting-you-your-neighbors-parkslopestoop/
- Published: 2013-03-15T15:34:13.000Z
- Updated: 2013-03-15T15:34:13.000Z
- Author: Nora Whelan
- Tags: bed bugs, #API-Imported

![free full shot](/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/free-full-shot-533x388.jpg)

It’s no secret that New York is a haven for bed bugs, and a serious pest infestation can wreak havoc on properties for years. Of course, it’s also no secret that Park Slope loves its hand-me-downs.

Having coveted many a chippy gilt frame on the street, we have often considered that someone must be cleaning out for less-than-savory reasons. Exterminators can cost hundreds, and packing the entire contents of your home into garbage bags is hardly the ideal use of a weekend. Whether you’re considering that bookshelf on 16th Street, or it’s time to throw out some unfortunately-buggy belongings, here are some tips for keeping yourself and your neighbors vermin-free:

**1\. Check the crevices and undersides of suspicious items before bringing them home.** Bed bugs love cushion seams and book spines — so think twice before you pick up that novel you’re only slightly interested in. It may stay with you longer than you think.

**2\. Use heavy-duty garbage bags and seal all openings with duct tape** when disposing of infested items. Attach signs stating the reason you’re putting them out. Wrap large furniture in plastic (note: the DSNY will not pick up unwrapped mattresses and box springs).

**3\. Spray your newly-acquired item or remaining furniture thoroughly with rubbing alcohol.** This will kill eggs and prevent new ones from being laid.

**4\. Invest in a mattress protector.**

**5\. Wash and dry your home linens.** Crank the dryer up as hot as it can go. For an hour and a half. A shrunken sweater beats a body-full of bug bites any day.

**6\. If you suspect an infestation, contact your landlord.** He or she is most likely responsible for extermination costs, and should be happy to have the issue taken care of (because as readers of the [Bed Bug Registry](http://bedbugregistry.com/metro/nyc/?ref=bklyner.com) will tell you, apartments in red-dotted buildings are not in high demand). Communicate clearly about your particular needs — for instance, an exterminator who uses organic cleaning materials that are kid- and pet-safe.

**7\. Put on clean clothes and go get a drink.** You deserve it, and the exterminator will be in there for a while.

Bed bugs are a fact of life in NYC, but they don’t have to be in your biography. Good luck on the streets, and enjoy your mid-century rescues responsibly!

If you have dealt with bedbugs and can offer any tips — exterminator recommendations, for instance — please share in the comments.