But if the police attempt to enforce any law there the Mercury will print a law disaparaging them.

With digital cameras being available for less than $20 a pop, why not buy a few and give them to the complaining tenants to take pictures of the bugs?

Or better yet, give them the tiny button cams and let them walk thru the building and observe deals and prostitution so that the po-po have the proof needed to go in and clean it up. Same can be said for the Dept of Health and their enforcing a cleanup.

I am working towards starting an advisory task force on Bed Bugs in the entire Northwest. I invite you to share your story at www.bedbugsnorthwest.com.

While this story will do much to alert the Portland community about Bed Bugs, it also somewhat reinforces the stigma that only poor or indigent people have Bed Bugs. People in all economic strata have this problem if you do your research. It's just much harder for people without the cash to hire a Pest Control company. That is the ONLY difference. They are forced to live longer with these pests. Read about Vancouver BC, Baltimore, New York, Boston, Seattle (which recently formed a task force/advisory group at the city level) and soon, Portland.

After reading your story, Don’t Let the Bed Bugs Bite, by Jake Thomas, (vol. 9 no. 44), I was disappointed and angry because your story was more interested in sensationalism then reporting the actual facts. Many of the statements in this story were outright lies. Is this the kind of careless reporting you do on a regular basis?

I work for Central City Concern as a full time pest control technician. Central City Concern’s mission is to provide help to those who in many cases are unable to help themselves. This is done with a variety of really good programs. Our goal as pest control professionals is to eradicate pests from all of our buildings and to make our residents as safe and comfortable as possible in their homes. You make us sound like slum lords with no regard for our tenants.

The truth behind this article is that our pest control team has a set of strict guidelines and procedures that we follow in dealing with any pests. All of our buildings are on a quarterly schedule for complete pest control sprays. We also provide help to each individual tenant who requests help with any pests they may have. We never allow any pest issues to go untreated as this would affect the entire building.

Your article slanders one of the best programs that Portland has to deal with its addiction, poverty and homeless problem. I think that Central City Concern deserves better than that.

David Dean
Janitorial/Pest Control
Central City Concern