NYSPMA Winter Conference and Trade Show

January was certainly an exciting month in the world of bed bug-centric meetings and conferences (yes this world does exist).

Mid-month, friend to M&M Environmental Lou Sorkin hosted the monthly NY Entomological society meeting at the American Museum of Natural History and you can see our write-up here. Then this past Friday, the New York State Pest Management Association hosted their Winter Conference and Trade Show with a number of industry guest speakers and experts.

The first speaker, Dr. Stephen Kells, delved deep into the discussion of using heat as a bed bug treatment option. Next up was yet another friend to M&M, Attorney Timothy Wenk, who shared his presentation on bed bug litigation and contractual obligations. Much of what was covered in his presentation can also be seen here in our two interviews (for landlords & tenants). Tim's discussion included information on negligence lawsuits between landlords and tenants, where judgments have been based on an analysis of either parties behavior, depending on whether it could be deemed "reasonable" or not.

Later on, Jeff White of Bed Bug Central shared a presentation on the comeback of bed bugs, citing "resistance and a lack of public awareness" as possible explanations. Jeff also compared different bed bug monitoring devices like ClimpUp and NightWatch, concluding that though there are a variety of monitoring tools out there, you have to figure out which the right one is for your particular situation. The booths were populated mostly by industry vendors and suppliers, including fumigation professionals Bed Bugs and Beyond.