Federal officials are renewing a warning to New Yorkers who take on the task of exterminating bedbugs at home. “Be wary,” officials said. “The cure can kill you.”
A study released last year by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found that dozens of New Yorkers have fallen ill from insecticides used by “Do-It-Yourselfers.”
The warning advises New Yorkers to be careful when using pesticides sold in pharmacies and other shops and urges people to call in professional exterminators to do the job.
The study counted 80 illnesses and one death linked to the insecticides over the last three years.
Approximately 90 percent of the cases were caused by insecticides commonly used to rid homes and offices of bedbugs, officials said.
The products are not a health risk for most people, but should be applied by a trained exterminator, the report states.
—Liz Goff