Bedbugs do NOt like wood they like blood human blood they hide out whever whether its wallpaper, iron. or hell even plastic headboards
This is true. An iron headboard will not prevent an infestation.
The only things that could prevent an infestation are kind of extreme, such as not riding public transportation, not going to the movies, not renting cars, not sleeping outside of your own home, not sending your kids to school, not having guests over, etc. It's kind of like trying not to catch a cold. So that's why there's not much info on prevention.
However, that said, one of the most basic forms of prevention is to not bring any used items into your home. But that gets tricky as well, since many people borrow books from the library and rent DVDs etc. It does make sense in this day and age in a large city such as NYC to NEVER EVER take any items from the sidewalk that others have discarded. I personally won't shop at a flea market or thrift shop any more either.
Some people who have had infestations in the past are being extra vigilant after overnight trips in hotels and some have purchased a product that's called a Pack-tite, which is, as far as I understand, a collapsible-electrical unit that is large enough to accommodate a suitcase. When people return from their trip, they put the suitcase in the unit and turn it on; it reaches whatever temperature necessary to kill bugs and eggs. But since bugs can be found in many places besides hotels, it seems that you would need to use this unit every time you return from stepping outside of the house or apartment. This doesn't seem realistic.
I have read that people such as bedbug professionals/exterminators who may be especially prone to bringing a hitchhiking bedbug into their home are doing weekly or monthly inspections of their sleeping area. They sleep on all white non-patterned bedding and linens so that they can examine any evidence (the excrement can look like ball point pen marks on the sheets). They are aware that not everyone is allergic to bites, so they don't rely on itchy skin to tell them they have a problem.
[Other hyper-vigilant people with means are hiring bedbug dogs to inspect their homes on a quarterly basis. I think some hotels are doing this as well.]
Anyway, since they are bug professionals, I presume that if they get infested and catch their infestation early that it is relatively straightforward for them to deal with it.
The problem comes when infestations are allowed to get large and out of control and spread throughout buildings. That's why education is so important. I think if everyone knows what to look for and how to handle a problem if it comes about, then NYC won't be so plagued by these things.
