Bedbugs cause panic among dwellers

Cockroaches, rats and other critters are a common (and gross) inconvenience for New Yorkers of all ilks. But the bedbug has a unique ability to spread panic among apartment dwellers. Those afflicted with a bedbug infestation often shell out thousands of dollars to kill the bugs and, in some cases, throw out furniture just to be rid of the tiny-legged plague, the New York Times said, which is why assessing a building and a unit’s propensity for bedbugs — with experts or even specially trained dogs — has become a central part of buying a home in the city. If a new residence has a past problem with bedbug infestations that can, in some cases, kill a deal, Steven Sladkus, a real estate lawyer with Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, said. “It’s like the dreaded mold that was killing values for a while,” Sladkus said. “People don’t want to buy into a building if they find out there are bedbugs.”