Bed Bug Public Policy & Laws
With respect to public policy, bed bugs have
been a pest that has been "out of sight, out of mind" for many
years. In fact, the U.S. Government ceased publishing its "How to
Control Bed Bugs" publication in 1984. However, over the past
several years as bed bug populations have increased, effective
control of these challenging pests has been a societal wide problem
- one that has caught the attention of regulatory and legislative
officials at the federal, state and local levels.
By way of example, legislative bodies in Alabama, Arizona,
Illinois, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania have
considered bed bug legislation over the last two years. Illinois,
Maine and New York all adopted bed bug laws in 2010. Municipalities
across the country are looking at the issue. Examples of such
proactive local jurisdictions include Jersey City, San Francisco,
New York City, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Yonkers, NY and Ocean
City, MD. And of course, numerous agencies of the Federal
Government are working on bed bug control. Federal legislation has recently been
introduced on bed bugs.
The National Pest Management Association has been working with
government officials as part of a national strategy on bed bug
eradication. Samples of the association's position papers on key
issues regarding bed bug policy and bed bug laws can be found
here:
· Formation of State/Municipal Bed Bug Task
Force/Working Group/Advisory Committee
· Government Funded Bed Bug Research
· Registering New/Existing/Legacy Pesticides for the
Professional Market for the Control of Bed Bugs
· Assigning of Specific Responsibilities to
Landlords, Tenants & Pest Management Professionals in the
Management & Prevention of Bed Bug Infestations in Multi-Family
Housing
· Including Bed Bugs in the Legal Definition of
"Vermin" or "Pest"