Bedbug cases on the rise in PBC

Bedbugs are rearing their nocturnal heads all over the country lately, and Palm Beach County is no exception. Exterminators in the area say that more than ever before, people are calling to have the pests removed from their residences. “Five years ago, we might have had a call about bedbugs once a year and we’d be like, ‘Wow, that’s strange,'” said John Miller, who works for pest control company JP Miller & Sons Services, which does business in Broward and Palm Beach counties and the Treasure Coast. “Two years ago, we’d get that call maybe once a month. Now it’s every single day, it seems.” Notoriously difficult to get rid of, bedbugs cost around $200 per room to exterminate. The Palm Beach County Health Department has also been getting more calls about bedbugs over the past year, said Tim O’Connor, a spokesperson. “Being the global society that we are, bedbugs can hitch a ride from New York very easily,” he said. New York City has been battling a bedbug outbreak and recently launched a $500,000 effort to combat the problem, which has thus far hit the Empire State Building, the offices of Elle Magazine, an Abercrombie & Fitch, a Victoria’s Secret and countless apartment buildings. [Palm Beach Post]