Family hotel horror as ‘bed bugs’ ruins trip

By Andrew Burns, Dumfries Standard Friday

A FAMILY’S festive trip was “completely ruined” by a suspected pest outbreak in a Dumfries hotel.
Cheryl Reid made a 650 mile round trip on Boxing Day from Wales with her brother Niall and his daughter Summer to spend time with her elderly parents.
But their stay at the Travelodge on Annan Road was cut short after they were attacked by “bed bugs”.
And they were left without clothes and belongings because they had to be bagged for fumigation.

Miss Reid, 44, from Hawarden near Chester, said: “We decided to stay in a hotel because there is not enough space at my parents’ house and it turned into an utter disaster.
“What was meant to be a nice trip up to visit our family at Christmas has been completely ruined and has ended with almost all of our possessions in contamination bags and others in the bin.”
Miss Reid, who was staying in a room with her 11-year-old niece, realised something was wrong when her skin became irritated during the night.
She said: “I woke up around 1am and I couldn’t stop scratching and was so uncomfortable. I thought it could maybe have been allergies and decided to leave it until the morning.
“I spoke to the staff and was told that there had been a similar problems two years ago and that they would have to block off our room and bring in cleaners to fumigate.
“They offered us another room but we just wanted to get out of the hotel.”
Miss Reid, who works in the travel industry, added: “They did not deal with the situation properly and they left us completely stuck.
“They offered us a transfer to their hotel in Carlisle, over 30 miles away, but were unable to try and sort us out with another hotel in the town.
“It has completely ruined our trip and I think that their management of the situation has been pretty disgraceful.
“It has been very upsetting for us and our parents as we wanted to enjoy a quiet stay here but it has just been a disaster.”
The family claim they had to fork out £50 to have their belongings fumigated after they arrived home on Wednesday.
A Travelodge spokeswoman told the Standard that an investigation is under way and said that as a standard precautionary measure, the rooms either side and opposite the one with suspected bed bugs were also fumigated.
The spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that we are investigating a reported incident of bed bugs at Dumfries Travelodge.
“We take the health, safety and welfare of our customers very seriously and as a result we will be following the correct procedures to deal with this matter.
“We are in close liaison with Miss Reid and have refunded her stay.”

Hairy Skin May Keep the Bedbugs From Biting

Posted by Alyson Foster

Photo by Darlyne A. Murawski

According to new research, having hairy skin may help a person ward off bedbugs.  Participants in a study conducted by scientists at the University of Sheffield released the nighttime bloodsuckers on themselves and observed the bugs’ feeding habits.  Bedbugs placed on shaved arms were more likely to try to feed than those that were placed on unshaven limbs.
Why?  Hair makes it more difficult for bedbugs to find a place to feed, and the nerve endings in follicles help alert us to the presence of intruders.  But thick hair can also make it easier for parasites to hide and harder for hosts to find them. This game of hide-and-seek may be the reason why modern humans have only a fine layer of hair (called vellus) in place of the furry coats that our ancestors sported:  eventually the reduction of parasite-borne diseases outweighed the protective benefits of having more hair.
The full results of the study can be found in the journal Biology Letters.

Holidays can increase bedbug exposure

By CBS6 Web Staff

Will you be traveling, partying, or shopping this season?

Experts warn that although ‘tis the season to deck the halls with boughs of holly, it ‘tis also the season for bedbugs.

The holidays are a time of increased travel, and exposure to public spaces, which experts say can lead to the spread of bedbugs.

 

Experts  said that although the pests are frequently found in beds, there are other prime places where they live. Any space where one spends a lengthy period of time can lead to exposure; like airplane seats and terminals, movie theaters, or stacks of coats at holiday parties.

Terminix has issued a list of tips to help avoid an infestation, and help curb the spread of bedbugs.

• Try getting to movie theaters early to brush seats and check between seats and armrests for signs of infestation.
• Check plane seats for sign of infestation.
• If you feel that you have been through an area where many pass through, such as airports, wash travel clothing in warm water and run through a warm dryer cycle once you reach your home.
• Be mindful of strong, musty odors permeating from seats, beds, clothing or linens. This odor is a sign of infestation.
• Hang all clothing, including winter coats, to prevent spreading from laying clothing on furniture or beds. Party hosts, the bed of blankets could be unsanitary for both you and your guests. Instead hang them in a coat closet.
• Upon returning home, leave suitcases in the basement or garage until you have had the opportunity to inspect for bedbugs. Vacuum luggage thoroughly.
• If you suspect bedbugs to be in your home, have it inspected by a professional. Do-it-yourself remedies traditionally worsen the situation. Terminix offers free, no-obligation home

Bed bugs are a concern when you travel

By Dar Danielson
A lot of people will be traveling during the holidays and that can lead to an encounter with pests that like to join you. Polk County Health Department spokesperson Sarah Boese says bed bugs are not something you want to be a part of your holiday memories.
“Bed bugs continue to be a problem throughout communities across the country and the world, and we want to remind people know as they’re traveling to be extra diligent to avoid bringing bed bugs home with them,” Boese says, “because bed bugs really are excellent hitchhikers. They like to stow away in suitcases or on clothing and then come home, where they can develop into an infestation.”
Contrary to popular belief, you aren’t necessarily safe just because you are staying with someone you know. She says you should be aware of bedbugs whether you are staying in another person’s home or a motel. When you enter the room you are sleeping in Boese suggests you pull the sheets up and look along the cracks of the mattress for bugs, empty skin shells or little black spots on the cracks of the mattress — and also check out the bedside table.
The best way to avoid spreading the bugs is to stay away when they are discovered. “If you see signs of a bed bug infestation in the place that you’re staying, try to make different arrangements to stay someplace else, or in a different room,” Boese says. She recommends reporting the bed bug findings to the manager of the hotel-motel and ask for a different room.
Once you get home, you should check the seams of your luggage for any bed bugs, and then wash your clothing in hot water and dry with high heat to kill any bed bugs that might’ve gotten into your clothing. Boese says bed bugs don’t pose any major danger beyond an itchy bite — and perhaps some stress.
“At this time there is no disease associated with bed bugs, but they really do cause families a lot of mental anxiety, and it can be really expensive and time consuming to treat them,” Boese says. Bed bugs made a resurgence as the pesticides that were used to get rid of them were wiped out.
Boese says they are like cockroaches and mosquitoes and will likely never go completely away, but we can help by doing things to try and control any outbreaks.

Humans losing war against bedbugs

by Jim Namiotka


The war on bedbugs was winnable, experts say.
When the flesh-eating insects began their U.S. resurgence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, we humans had our chance. Brought into airports and hotels by international travelers, a focused attack could have eradicated the pest not seen in such great numbers since the mid-20th century.
But no one talked about bedbugs then. And by the time the widening epidemic was noticed by the general population in the late 2000s, it was too late.
Now, according to Richard Cooper, one of New Jersey’s foremost experts on bedbugs, humans are in for a long, entrenched war whose progress will be measured in years.
“I think we had that opportunity and missed it,” Cooper said.
New Jersey is in the heart of the Northeast’s bedbug outbreak. Located between two major urban infestations — New York City is No. 1, according to a 2011 Terminix ranking of the most infested U.S. cities; Philadelphia is No. 5 — reports of bedbug problems are increasing in the Garden State as the pest makes its way from city centers into the suburbs and their public spaces.
In the past two months, the tiny, reddish insects were found in schools in Lakewood and Woodbridge. Bedbugs have been reported in public buildings, theaters, jails, hospitals and school buildings throughout New Jersey.
“Bedbugs are very small, and they can hide very well,” said Changlu Wang, a Rutgers University entomologist who studies bedbugs and other urban pests. “You may think you’ve killed them all, but you miss a few. Those few can survive and restart the problem.”
The last time the U.S. experienced a bedbug problem of this magnitude was the 1940s and 1950s, experts say. That infestation was handled effectively with pesticides, primarily DDT. But half a century later, in the late 1990s, bedbug reports began to resurface — this time linked to international travelers who picked up the insects in South America, Africa and Asia, and brought them back to American shores in luggage and clothing.
At that point, heightened awareness could have helped stop bedbugs from gaining a new foothold in the U.S. But bedbugs carry with them a stigma — they’re dirty. People and places with bedbugs are labeled unclean, messy and unsanitary.
So hotels — the ground zero for early bedbug issues — handled their problems quietly. It wasn’t until the problem grew so quickly that it made news reports in the mid-2000s that awareness and attention to the problem began to increase. By then, it was too late, Cooper said.
“We lived in denial and maintained the stigma that it (bedbugs) only happens to other people,” said Cooper, an entomologist and technical director of Cooper Pest Solutions in Lawrenceville. “That’s the kind of ignorance that allowed bedbugs to spread. Had the nation realized what it was dealing with, we probably could have nipped it.”
It’s no small irony that a problem commonly — and wrongly — associated with poverty and unsanitary conditions actually was brought to the U.S. by the middle and upper classes, those with the means to travel to other continents, according to Cooper. And it was the swankier New York hotels where the bedbugs were first spotted a decade ago.
Today, however, it is poorer communities where bedbugs have found their foothold. But it’s not a matter of cleanliness, Cooper said. It’s a matter of money.
Because the modern bedbug is resistant to most common pesticides, ridding a home of bedbugs is a months-long, multi-layered process.
It’s time-consuming and expensive, ranging anywhere from a few hundred dollars to more than $1,000, depending on the extent of the infestation, the exterminator and the specific eradication program.
If bedbugs invade a typical New Jersey McMansion, a single family with a middle- to upper-class income can afford the cost of treating the home and commit itself to ridding the home of the habitats — clothing, bedding, mattresses, furniture and cluttered storage areas — where the pests thrive.
Poorer families might not be able to afford an extensive treatment program, however. That means an in-home bedbug problem might be temporarily stifled, but not fully eliminated, because families can’t afford additional treatments. Renters might choose to move rather than pay for treatments — leaving the bedbugs for the landlord and new tenants to deal with, and perhaps carrying some of the critters with them to a new home.

“For a single homeowner, you really can eliminate bedbugs in a reasonable amount of time, maybe one or two months,” Wang said. “But when it comes to an apartment building, that’s where it becomes more difficult. It requires building-wide action.”
Earlier this year, Cooper, who is studying for his doctorate in entomology at Rutgers University and is a founder of BedBug Central, considered one of the most thorough online resources for information about the painful pest, was awarded a $100,000 education and outreach grant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
He’s using the money to develop a plan that will educate low-income and multi-family housing dwellers about bedbug resistance, as well as develop a pest management program aimed at apartment buildings and other places where bedbugs can take root.
It’s the rapid spread of bedbugs and their entrenchment in large communities of people that make the modern battle so difficult, Cooper said. That, and the fact that today’s bedbugs are so resistant to chemical weapons: pesticides.
“It’s not that there are no chemicals that work,” Cooper said. “There’s just no simple cure like there was back in the ’40s and ’50s, when you could spray a place with DDT.”
That’s not to say humans aren’t making some progress, he said.
First, in 2006, there were no academic institutions studying bedbugs. Today, there are 12 to 14 universities with bedbug research programs — “urban entomology” studies that look at all aspects of bedbugs, from molecular to behavioral to chemical, to applied sciences such as pesticides.
“That’s how we’ll eventually turn the tide, by better understanding the insect,” Cooper said. “But I don’t foresee some sort of inexpensive silver bullet.”
However, exterminators now have accumulated more than a decade’s worth of data and experience on the best way to handle bedbugs.
Considering that more than a generation of exterminators never saw a bedbug, they have achieved significant field experience in a relatively short period of time.

Today, extermination programs use a combination of pesticides as well as natural methods that kill bedbugs with extreme heat or extreme cold, as well as eliminating their habitats.
“We have more scientific understanding, more skills on the ground,” Cooper said. “But it’s slow, and it’s expensive.”
For Action Termite and Pest Control, located in Toms River and Red Bank, bedbugs have doubled the size of the business in less than 10 years, according to Michael Russell, vice president of sales and marketing.
When bedbugs finally reached the Jersey Shore in the mid-2000s, Russell said, Action was the first company to begin using bedbug-sniffing dogs to find infestations. Today, the company has six dogs and has grown from 24 employees to 48. Its market has expanded from Ocean County to include New York and Philadelphia.
“We probably didn’t get a (bedbug) call for 30 years,” Russell said. “Today, it’s 50 percent of the business.”
Action first uses dogs to sniff out bedbugs wherever they hide. Russell says the dogs are 98 percent effective, compared with 35 percent for a visual human inspection. They then treat the infested areas with a one-two punch of steam heat and chemicals.
Why is so much attention paid to the tiny bedbug? Why have these insects, barely visible to the naked eye, demanded so much human energy during the past decade? Why more than mice, mosquitoes or cockroaches?
It’s because they live where we live and, more importantly, feed on our flesh.
“Tolerance for bedbugs versus roaches, for example, is zero,” Wang said, “because of the pain and discomfort they cause.” Bedbugs can leave their victims covered with hundreds of tiny, painful bites — often inflicted while the victim sleeps.
It’s a pain that, Cooper insists, could have been avoided with more immediate attention a decade ago.
“In 2011, everyone is aware that bedbugs are real, but the average person doesn’t believe it’s something that will affect them,” Cooper said. “While we hear and read it’s not about hygiene or housekeeping and it can happen to anyone, it doesn’t register,” he said. “Now they’re going to be a part of the culture.”

Incidents of bed bugs are on rise in Manhattan

by Paul Harris

"Don't let the bed bugs bite," is becoming more of a warning than a cliche.

Health experts and those in the pest industry say the presence of bed bugs is increasing here, with estimates of cases reported this year alone of several hundred.

Joey Hoke, general pest control supervisor at American Pest Management, said the company has seen an uptick in curative bed bug treatments over the last four years. The company started tracking its bed bug measures in 2008. In its first year, the company did seven treatments. That number jumped to 70 in 2010. Hoke said the number has increased this year too, but he is unsure of how many curative treatments have been performed. 

Theater denying claims of bed bug problem

by Jenise Fernandez


The Grand 16 on Johnston is denying claims made by the Independent that the theater has an ongoing bed bug problem.
"They've all been inspected. Each auditorium, each seat. There's not a seat in this area that has a bed bug in it."
Southern Theaters Regional Director Eric Kullander says in recent years, people have complained of bed bug bites at the Grand 16. The theatre investigated each claim and found nothing.
"The minute we have a complaint, we will not have one more person sit in that seat," said Kullander.
He says once someone claims they've been bitten, management quarantines the seat and whether or not they find bed bugs--the seat is treated.
The Grand 16 uses dogs to look for bed bugs, for this inspection, they brought in a two-year-old Border Collie named Deuce.
"We train dogs to detect the odor of bed bugs," said Jim Latimer, inspector and trainer.
KATC chose a random theater and put Deuce to the test. He sniffed around auditorium 8, he stopped at one seat, but no bed bugs were found.
Latimer says there's no way to stop bed bugs from spreading, but suggests people be aware of their surroundings.
"Be proactive. If you go into a hotel, check around the mattress and check behind the bed board and talk to management, ask them what they're doing to address this issue," he said. And what do you look for? Although hard to see with the naked eye, Latimer says a flashlight will help spot them.

How to find out whether that hotel is full of bed bugs before you travel

By AnneHart

 

If you're traveling this holiday season, you should know that many hotels in California are full of bed bugs. Sometimes you can't see the bugs and they get into your luggage, clothing, or crevices of your shoes or other garments. Just putting a purse on the bed invites bed bugs to enter. These bugs are so small they hide in the electrical switch crevices between the wall and the switch. So before you register, check the Bed Bug Registry to see which hotels have passed the bed bug inspection recently.
See the website, Bed Bug Registry. This site shows the hotels that have bedbugs and those that don't at the time of inspection. For other cities and states, go to the Bed bug Registry--National. Just put in the city and state, and you'll get a report on which hotels passed the inspection. For example, if you're going to San Francisco, check out the Sheraton hotel at the wharf has had no bed bug reports or complaints. This is one of my favorite hotels, and it is exceptionally clean and comfortable.
In 2010, a bedbug-detecting dog named Barney signaled which container had live bed bugs during a demonstration at the Bed Bug University North American Summit 2010 on September 22, 2010 in Rosemont, Illinois. The two-day conference of bed bug experts and pest control workers featured seminars from researchers and vendors displaying the latest products focused on bedbug detection, elimination and prevention. Do you need to travel with a bed-bug detection dog? Need to buy a bed bug detection dog? See the site, Bed Bug Detection Dogs.
So, check out any city and state by looking up the name of the hotel, and you'll get a report or a message that there have never been any complaints about bed bugs. Before you travel, check out the Bed bug registry. Holiday time so many people travel, the last thing you want is to take home bed bugs in your luggage or clothing.
Also carry with you a portable or pocket-sized carbon monoxide detection device. You can buy a tiny one to bring with you to any hotel to make sure that carbon monoxide is not seeping into your room from a closed store in a neighboring building. Or you can be sure the heater in the room works well without carbon monoxide fumes. See a few of these pocket-sized or portable CO detectors at Amazon.com. Safety first.

Thanksgiving travelers report bedbugs in Stockton hotels

by Jody Only, Stockton Headlines Examiner

 

In a report filed on The Bedbug Registry on Thursday, Thanksgiving travelers found "evidence of bedbugs" at the Marriott Courtyard and live bugs with accompanying "dead skins" at the Residence Inn.

Credits: Creative Commons Attribution

 

In a report filed in The Bedbug Registry on Thursday, Thanksgiving travelers found "evidence of bedbugs" at the Marriott Courtyard and "live bug"s with accompanying "dead skins" at the Residence Inn. An excerpt follows:

I scooped up samples with a piece of paper, one of which appeared to be an actual dead bug, to take to the desk. All of a sudden, the "dead" bug began to move! We immediately went to the front desk and gave them the live bug and dead skins and departed to look for something outside the Marriott chain.

Both Stockton hotels noted in the report are located in the Brookside area near March Lane and Deer Park Drive.
The travelers stated they were able to find lodging in the city when the Hilton passed the bedbug inspection.

The full Bedbug Registry report can be viewed here

Terminix Released Top 15 Cities For Bed Bugs

by Lex18.com

Terminix has released the top 15 most bedbug infested cities, and it appears we are partially surrounded by the unwanted visitors.
Number one is New York City. Just up the road from Lexington, the Queen City, Cincinnati, is No. 2. The list includes Chicago, Washington, D.C., and sitting at No. 14, Louisville.
The 2011 most bedbug-infested cities include:

1. New York City
2. Cincinnati
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Philadelphia
6. Denver
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Los Angeles
9. Boston
10. San Francisco
11. Columbus, Ohio
12. Dayton, Ohio
13. Baltimore
14. Louisville, Ky.
15. Dallas
Infestation Signs
Bedbugs are difficult to catch in the act of feeding; however, they will leave behind signs of their presence. Infestation signs include:
· Blood spots on bedding.
· In heavily infested areas, their dark-colored excrement may be visible.
· Bedbug bites generally result in raised, itchy areas similar to those of mosquito bites.
· In heavy infestations, a strong, musty odor may develop.

Travel Tips
· Check around headboards, mattresses and box springs for bedbugs and the dark blood spots they leave behind.
· Hang all clothing. Leave nothing lying on the bed or furniture.
· Avoid unpacking clothing and storing them in the hotel's furniture drawers.
· Don't allow your baggage to sit on the floor. Store it on a luggage rack as far from the bed as possible.
· If you notice evidence of bedbugs, request another room or change hotels.
· When returning home, leave luggage in the garage or basement until you are able to thoroughly inspect it for bedbugs.
· Vacuum suitcases when returning from trips and immediately wash clothing in hot water.

Home Prevention and Protection
· Inspect vintage furniture, antiques, used appliances or consignment items for signs of bedbugs before purchasing or bringing into the home
· Never pick up used mattresses or furniture left curbside
· Inspect and wash (in warm water) previously-worn clothing that has been donated or purchased from consignment shops
· Quarantine infested items. Moving them within the home can spread the problem
· Use zippered encasements on infested mattresses and box springs
· If you suspect you have bedbugs, have your home inspected by a trained professional. Bedbugs cannot be controlled by over-the-counter treatments and will require the assistance of a pest control operator.

Lack of cleanliness could prompt rise in bedbugs

by netdoctor

Britons' lazy laundry habits could lead to an increase in bedbug infestations over the winter months, new research suggests.

The latest annual Bed Bug Audit, conducted by Sheilas' Wheels, suggests that 13 per cent of Britons do not wash their bedding for more than a month at a time.

The figure rises to 16 per cent among British men, while four per cent of male respondents admitted that they had not washed their bedding in over two months.

Common reasons for not washing bedding more frequently include lack of time (29 per cent) and the desire to save money (17 per cent).

Researchers also found that 27 per cent of people have a mattress that is more than ten years old.

The findings could have important implications for bedbug infestations, as the creatures feed in the warmth of mattresses, pillows and sheets.

Spokeswoman Jacky Brown said: 'We spend so much time in our beds that it is astounding so many Brits and particularly men do not keep them clean.

'Simple measures like avoiding eating in bed, leaving the sheets exposed during the day and washing them regularly can help avoid an infestation.'

Many people do not react to bedbug bites, but others develop itchy red bumps that may require mild steroid cream.

In rare cases, a severe rash may develop and become infected, requiring treatment with antibiotics.

Bed Bugs on Airplanes?! Yikes! How to Fly Bed Bug-Free

by Melanie Haiken

Big Surprise: Bed Bugs Are Now Flying Business Class (Image via Wikipedia)

Just because you haven’t heard much about bed bug-infested airplanes doesn’t mean that economy or business class seat is free of the icky pests. While the topic hasn’t hit the headlines the way bed bugs in hotels has, the stories are getting out.

Passengers Go Viral with Bed Bug Complaints

According to the Daily Mail, British Airways was forced to fumigate two planes after discovering a bed bug infestation on a Los Angeles-London flight. However, BA did not act quickly; the business class passenger, Zane Selkirk, became so disgruntled by the airline’s lack of response to her complaints that she set up a website and posted photos of her bite-covered arms, legs and feet online and they went viral and it wasn’t until then that BA conducted an investigation and found the bugs. Another passenger wrote an op-ed letter to the New York Times last year after flying United Airlines to Washington D.C. from L.A. — again in business class — and arriving covered in bites his doctor diagnosed as bed bug bites.

Yet search for official reports or statistics about bed bugs on airplanes and you won’t find much. “There are numerous cases of bed bugs being spread on airplanes,” according to Bed-Bugs.com, a referral site for extermination services. “Bed bugs can spread through close proximity with fellow travelers as well as their belongings. They also thrive where there is frequent turnover of people. On airplanes, people are in close proximity, are not able to move other than on the plane, and their belongings are required to stay untouched for long periods of time. This is an excellent recipe for bed bug transmittal.”

Of course, it’s easy to imagine that the last thing the airlines want to talk about is passengers bringing home a bed bug infestation as a result of an overpriced, under-served flight. And they’re not likely to add fumigation to their standard cleaning procedures. So what can you do to protect yourself?

 

Packable Airplane Seat Covers Offer Bed Bug Protection

How to Stay Bed Bug-Free While Flying
Several companies are coming to the rescue with products designed to protect against bed bugs in transit.

1. Cover Your Seats Invented by a New York entrepreneur fed up with worrying about bed bugs at the movies, Bug Off seat covers are light stretchable plastic covers that are easy to slip over airplane or movie theater seats. They’re light and packable and provide a bug-proof layer between the upholstery and you. You could accomplish the same thing by bringing a box of saran wrap and encasing your seat in plastic, but these seat covers are much easier to use and the fabric is also comfortable to sit on. Several other companies, BedGuard and Seat Defender have also jumped into this market, but I’ve tried Bug Off covers myself and can attest that they’re big enough to go over any airline seat and the strong fabric doesn’t rip even on a long flight. At $2.99 they’re also not a big investment.
2. Bring your own pillow and blanket. In Zane Selkirk’s horrific experience, it was the blanket “crawling with bed bugs” that caught her eye. It doesn’t have to get that extreme, though, to suggest it’s best to beware airline blankets. After all, during last year’s H1N1 flu epidemic, many airlines pulled the blankets fearing they could transmit the virus. Pack a travel pillow (inflatable if you’re tight for space) and a blanket or pashmina shawl. Or just dress in warm layers instead.
3. Plastic Bag Your Carry On Since it’s way to easy for bed bugs to slip into your carry on while it’s stored under your seat. The best way to prevent this happening is to encase it in a plastic bag, such as a shopping bag or kitchen-sized garbage bag.
4. Stop Bed Bugs Before They Get In Your House The real problem with bed bugs isn’t when they bite you en route (the bites heal quickly and don’t cause any lasting damage), it’s when they come home with you and set up housekeeping in your home. The way to keep this from happening is with stringent preventive measures. Don’t bring luggage or carry-ons inside your home, but empty them outside and wash clothes and anything else that’s washable. A hot dryer will also kill bedbugs, so dry anything you don’t want to wash. Put the suitcase and bag itself in a plastic bag and store for two weeks.

Bed bugs aren’t the only health problem on planes, of course; ever since the H1N1 epidemic last year there’s been increasing attention on the problem of flu and cold transmission on airlines. Luckily, there’s lots you can do to stay flu-free while traveling

Bed bugs 101: Everything you need to know about the resurgent little horrors that follow you home

By Katie Oxford

Before you confirm your next reservation at a hotel, you might google something on the Internet: Bedbugregistry.com and Bedbugger.com. You can also type in the name and location of your hotel followed by the slash symbol, then, “bed bugs.”

It should tell you whether or not your hotel has had any reports of the pests.

I visited these websites and others after hearing from a friend who had just returned home from traveling and counted 20 bites along her neck and arms. They looked like spider bites but after a visit to the doctor’s office, she learned that they were from bed bugs.

Unfortunately, this came after she slept in her bed at home. Not good.
 Hell, the next time I sleep in a hotel, I’m wearing a wet suit! 
She launched into a series of measures — washing her pillows, sheets and mattress pad. She carried her suitcase to her garage and sprayed it down with alcohol. She also hired an exterminator. These are but a few steps in the eradication process.
The devil is in the details. Seemingly, in these little buggers too.
After hearing her tell about this, I ran to my computer and googled bedbugs. I was amazed. As I read, I began itching all over. Bedbugs are serious business.

Granted, after my experience with typhus (contracted from a flea bite) I am paranoid anyway about blood-sucking parasites. But what’s alarming about bed bugs is their pervasiveness. After treating yourself, you should re-trace every step from where you contracted them, as some of these places will require treatment as well.

The Bedbug Registry explains that, “bedbugs don’t care about cleanliness! They can thrive in an immaculate, five-star hotel room just as easily as somewhere run-down. All they need is proximity to people and a crevice to hide in.”
Who in the world (including infants) doesn’t have crevices? Where in the world are there not crevices?

Protect Yourself
The website provides steps you can take while traveling as well as at home. The first step they suggest is to learn what a bedbug looks like, reddish brown in color and oval in shape. Because they are extremely flat, they can hide in surprising places.

Bedbug Registry also tells you to how to check a hotel room. This is important, folks! Click on “Resources” and you’ll see detailed photographs. Maybe more than you want.

Bedbugger.com. lists important dos and don’ts:
“Don’t assume bed bugs are only in your bed. While bed frames and mattresses and headboards are the most likely location for bed bugs, they can and often do hide out in sofas and other soft furniture, electrical sockets (behind plates), light fixtures, baseboards, floor crevices and other crevices in the bedroom and living room.”
Remember this the next time you go to buy second-hand furniture.
Here’s another warning from Bedbugger.com.:
“Do not, absolutely do not release a fogger or bug bomb. Do not allow your landlord to do so. Do not allow a so-called exterminator to do so. Bug bombs/foggers do not work for bed bugs, and in fact, will spread them. Your problem will be magnified. Trust me!”

For a comprehensive report, google “Bed bugs Mayo Clinic.” The report explains that bed bugs were prevalent during WWII but with the use of DDT (then legal), they were “eradicated from most developed nations.”

Apparently, however, there has been a resurgence of bed bugs. Some reports claim since 1980, another states that bed bugs have increased dramatically since 1995. The Mayo report links this to three causes:
“Increased international travel”
“Changes in pest control practices”
“Insecticide resistance”
The report states, “The risk of encountering bed bugs increases if you spend time in places with high turnovers of night-time guests such as hotels, hospitals or homeless shelters.”
Then, I wondered, what about movie theaters? Yikes!
My friend provided other travel tips. Don’t set your suitcase down on the floor or put your clothes inside drawers. “Set it on the luggage rack and work out of your suitcase from there,” she suggested. “Not to worry!” I said.
“Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite,” may have a literal meaning. The Mayo report suggests that you cover up.
“Because bedbugs don’t tend to burrow under clothing, you may be able to avoid bites by wearing pajamas that cover as much skin as possible.”
Hell, the next time I sleep in a hotel, I’m wearing a wet suit!

Bed Bugs: What You Need to Know

By Julia Ireland

Bed bugs were the focus of a recent informational seminar held at the Lawrence Township headquarters branch of the Mercer County Library.
Speaking before a crowded room on Oct. 27, Kristin Reed, a registered environmental health specialist from the Mercer County Division of Public Health, spoke about how to identify, prevent and eliminate the tiny pests.
Reed said county health officials are working with the county library system to help get the word out about bed bugs, which are becoming a growing concern throughout the area, particularly in libraries themselves.
Locally, there recently was a bed bug problem in the township’s own emergency medical services building.

How to Recognize Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are parasitic insects ranging in size from a pinhead to an apple seed.
“They will fit through the hole in a needle head,” Reed said.
Their eggs are white and look like “a grain of salt” and are hard to detect, but adult bed bugs are visible to the naked eye, she said.
Barbara Bromley, a horticulturist at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Mercer County, located at 930 Spruce St. in Lawrence Township, is an expert at distinguishing bed bugs from similar pests like bat bugs, lice, fleas, ticks and cockroaches.
“If you find something in your house and you don’t think it belongs there, most of the time we can identify it,” Bromley said. “I’ve had a lot of bed bugs brought in and even three cases of bat bugs.”
Bed bug bites are often misdiagnosed. They often occur in clusters of three, and although they cannot cause disease, they may cause reactions and infections, Reed said.
Reed recommends checking anything that is upholstered: mattresses, box springs, couches, clothes and wheelchairs are popular bed bug homes. Dark spots on bed sheets and in the folds of mattresses can indicate bed bugs themselves, feces or blood marks, Reed said.
“They like books because they like close areas,” said Michael Andrews, a representative from Cooper Pest Solutions.
Reed said the county library system has been combating an ongoing problem of bed bugs in books returned from infested homes.

How to Avoid Being Affected by Bed Bugs
Reed said there is no definite way to prevent acquiring bed bugs in your home; however, she recommends keeping your living space clean, tidy and clutter free.
The best way to kill bed bugs is using heat. Reed recommends vacuuming and steam cleaning carpets and upholstery.
“One complete washer and dryer cycle on the hottest setting will kill eggs and adults,” Reed said.
Another preventative technique is purchasing a bed bug encasement for your mattress and box spring.
“Encasing mattresses and box springs usually costs about $100, and those that are $30-$50 probably won’t keep out bed bugs,” Reed said.
Bromley said that a common way to bring bed bugs home is by traveling.
“When you go to hotels, it doesn’t matter if it’s a five-star or a flop house, you have to be aware,” Bromley said. “Put your luggage on a luggage rack – never on the bed, never on the carpet. Or put it in the bath tub - just take it out when you want to take a bath.”

What to Do if Your Home Gets Infested
“There is no effective over-the-counter treatment,” Reed said. “If you have bed bugs, you need help.”
Reed calls combating bed bugs a “collaborative effort” between homeowners and exterminators. There are typically three treatments made by a pest control company, but this may vary depending on the cases’ severity.
“If you happen to have a severe infestation, we bag things and make recommendations on what to throw away and what to keep,” Andrews said.
It is the homeowners’ responsibility to prepare their home by removing clutter, and they must be willing to follow recommendations on how to complete treatment and dispose of infested items.
“To be done effectively, each service needs to be done about 14 days apart,” Andrews said. “Three treatments would take about a month or a month and a half or longer depending on the infestation. When we do a visual visit we first find out your habits, like where you go when you come home from work. Then we’ll do an actual search.”
Reed said seeking professional help is extremely important, however costly.
“To treat a one bedroom studio apartment with three treatments, it could be about $7,000. That’s just a minor infestation, not a major infestation, and it’s in a small location,” Reed said. However, by steam cleaning and removing infested items themselves, homeowners can reduce the cost.

Green Methods to Fight Bedbugs

By Guest Contributor (planetsave.com) 


Have you seen the reports of bedbugs invading high-end department stores, hotels, and theaters this past year? Does the thought of sleeping in a bed with hundreds of tiny parasitic creatures give you nightmares? If so, it may be time to take preemptive action to reduce the odds that your home will provide the next great dining experience for these minute blood suckers. If you are chosen as their main course, it is difficult, but not impossible, to get them to move on without using commercial strength pesticides. However, the following ideas are eco-friendly and should be tried first:

Discouraging an Infestation

Making new habits may decrease your chances of becoming a bedbug victim. The following are practical green methods of discouraging bedbugs from settling into your home:
• Put every piece of clothing or any linens brought into the home into the dryer for thirty minutes because bedbugs and their eggs can be killed with sustained heat.
• Wash and dry reusable shopping bags regularly.
• Vacuum carpets and mattresses thoroughly, especially after overnight visitors who may have unwittingly carried bedbugs into your home.
• Keep beds positioned away from the walls and place sticky pest strips around all four legs.

• Do periodic checks by inspecting the seams of upholstered furnishings, curtain hems, and mattress corners. Check out bedbug photos online so you know what signs to look out for.

• Buy a zippered mattress bag for every set of bedding in the house to protect them from becoming a bedbug habitat in the future.

Dealing with a Bed Bug Invasion

Once bedbugs have decided that the residents of your household are a tasty meal, it takes some serious action to convince them to depart. While herbal sprays, such as neem or peppermint, may send them into hiding and prevent them from biting quite as often, these only kill these voracious critters if applied directly to their outer surface. Since bedbugs are some of the best hiders in the insect world, getting a shot at every member of the horde is next to impossible. The following green methods of extermination might work much better:
• Mist mattresses and carpets with a solution of rubbing alcohol and water. The alcohol content should be at least 70% to be effective, and this may need to be done several times for successful results, and it is important to remember that alcohol is flammable.
• Use a steamer on mattresses, bedding, household linens, curtains, carpeting, and upholstered couches and chairs.
• Sprinkle a powdery, non-toxic substance called diatomaceous earth on household surfaces. When bed bugs are exposed to diatomaceous earth, they dry up and die.
Ridding a home of bed bugs using natural methods is hard work and not for the faint of heart. Persistent effort, however, will mean that your family does not have to be exposed to toxins that might later cause health problems, so it is worth the effort to try these eco-friendly measures before calling a pest control specialist.

This is a guest post from Karen Barnes, who tries to find a green solution for every problem. She believes people should use eco-friendly methods to fight bedbugs without resorting to using pesticides in their homes.

Source: Planetsave

Battling bedbugs buck naked

By Tammy Keith (Arkansasonline)

TRI-LAKES AREA — It’s an innocent little rhyme, and I’m sure I said it to my kids a few times when they were growing up.
“Goodnight; sleep tight; don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
Until last week, I never knew anyone whom a bedbug had actually bitten.
The parents of a friend of mine went on a trip to Virginia, and they stayed at a Tennessee hotel on the way back. That morning, my friend’s mother saw a bug meandering across her pillow, and she investigated. (This is a woman who takes her flashlight to hotels and inspects behind the headboard of the bed.) She looked under the mattress and found … bedbugs. She put some in a cup, and her husband took them downstairs to the front desk.
The clerk tried to tell him they were ticks. (As if that’s way better than bedbugs.)
My friend’s father, who has been a country boy all his life, told him in no uncertain terms that he knew what a tick looked like, and “that ain’t a tick.”
His wife had discovered a couple of bites on her by this time. She put some of the bugs in a plastic bag, stuck them in the cooler and brought them to Arkansas.
She informed the hotel manager she’d be calling back to see what kind of bugs his exterminator identified them as.
The couple came back to Faulkner County, feeling infested.
She knew they couldn’t take anything into their house. That meant the clothes they were wearing.
This woman called her daughter, my friend, laughing so hard she could barely talk. She and her husband were sitting in their driveway, waiting for it to get dark, so they could get nekkid and go into the house.
The plan was, when the sun went down, for dad to strip and go inside, put on clean clothes, and bring out a towel so Momma could strip.
Now, attractive as they are, neither of these people is a spring chicken. They are not accustomed, to my knowledge, to showing off their bodies in public. (I don’t know what they do in their own home.)
The report was that dad stripped down to his hearing aids and glasses, and streaked on into the house. He brought momma a towel, and she did the same.
“We live in a subdivision,” she told me. “I just hope they (the neighbors) weren’t home.”
They both took hot showers, and momma even dried herself with a blow dryer to kill the little suckers with heat.
A local exterminator told her they had to clean everything - luggage, clothes, the car.
I read online that bedbugs were mostly eradicated in the 1940s, but they had a resurgence in the 1990s. (An up close photo of the “skin-piercing mouth parts” is pretty gross.)
The article I read said bedbugs can cause skin rashes allergic symptoms and “psychological effects.”
I’d say that last one is a biggie.
“It was a nightmare,” the woman said.
I know one thing - I’ll be checking out the bed a little better the next time I go to a hotel, and that couple definitely will.
And their neighbors either missed - or got - a really good show out of the deal.

Help for bed bugs at hand

by simcoe.com

SIMCOE COUNTY - Local residents can now access resources to help them prevent and manage bed bugs through the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.

“Bed bugs don’t spread disease so they are not a threat to public health, but they are a real nuisance and as a result cause considerable anxiety,” said Ryan MacDougall, supervisor in the health hazards program at the health unit. “We have information available on our web site and through our Your Health Connection line to help people understand, prevent and manage bed bugs.

“We’ve also developed an assistance program in partnership with the United Way of Greater Simcoe County and Reliable Pest Control, for people who are having trouble managing bed bugs due to limited resources.”

Bed bugs are not necessarily associated with living conditions, and anyone can be affected by them. People can get bed bugs by coming into contact with them. Those who frequently travel, for example, can become exposed to bed bugs and bring them back home. Bed bugs can enter homes by attaching onto items such as clothing, bags, luggage, or second-hand furniture and electronics. They can also crawl from neighbouring apartments through cracks in the walls or by walking along pipes or electrical wires.

Homeowners who think they have bed bugs should verify with a pest control professional that the infestation is indeed bed bugs. Tenants who think they may have bed bugs should contact their landlord who can have a licensed pest control company identify the insect.

For more information about bed bugs check www.simcoemuskokahealth.org or call Your Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Bedbugs creep into MTS building

by CBC News


Bedbugs have found their way into an MTS office building on Osborne Street in Winnipeg.
Three of the creepy bugs were found on the main floor of the building on Tuesday.
One was crawling on a computer monitor, one was in a couch in the staff lounge and one had been squashed into the carpet, said company spokeswoman Selena Hinds.
Some employees were uncomfortable about the discovery and went home early.
"We were completely supportive of that, but the building has been treated and is completely safe," Hinds said.
"We are working with internal and external experts to develop and implement a long-term monitoring and prevention plan. We're taking [it] very seriously."
City of Winnipeg and Manitoba government data show a nearly 20 per cent increase in reports of bedbugs in the city from 2009 to 2010.
Apartment blocks, rooming houses and homes in the city's core, along Langside and Furby streets saw the highest reports of the bugs in 2010.
But the complaints also come from government buildings, a daycare, retail outlets, a movie theatre, a hospital, a library, banks, university residences, and even a Winnipeg media outlet.
Those reports — which have increased from 505 in 2009 to 639 in 2010 — do not mean the bugs were actually found.
City Hall made the list but none of the critters have ever been located.
"Globally there is more opportunity for transfer and you do unfortunately start finding those bedbugs in the workspace or in the public space," said Dave Funk, who heads up the provincial bedbug strategy.
The strategy, launched in 2010, provides organizations with access to specialized materials — such as mattress and box-spring encasements, specialized laundry bags and insect monitors — to help combat bedbugs at low cost.

Seriously Scary Housing Trends: Bedbugs Make a Comeback

by Christina Aragon, Contributor

The ghouls and goblins have all gone home, counted their bounty and returned to the relative normalcy of daily life. While the fantasy and fright of Halloween is behind us, some sobering  - and alarming – realities remain.  In light of this, we are kicking off a series of articles on Seriously Scary Housing Trends that impact the housing and rental markets.
Our first scary trend really has our skin crawling. We go to a lot of apartment conferences, read apartment industry publications and talk to a lot of apartment owners. While vacancy rates, occupancy rates, capital market and economic trends have always been hot topics of conversation, over the last year or two, there has been a new buzz in the biz that is keeping us up at night: Bedbugs.

More and more we see the topic of bedbugs popping up on conference agendas, and the National Apartment Association – one of the largest apartment associations in the United States- even has a Bedbug Resource Center on its website. Although the bedbug population in the U.S. dropped dramatically in the mid-20th century, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year issued a joint statement on Bed Bug Control in the United States stating that the United States is now experiencing “an alarming resurgence in the population of bed bugs.”

To make matters worse, those pesky critters have developed a resistance to many pesticides, so chemical approaches to eradicating the problem could actually make these unwanted houseguests  long-term tenants.

Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, it is important to understand how to detect and treat a bedbug infestation. The EPA provides resources for residents and housing managers alike, and offers these top ten bed bug tips:

1. Make sure you really have bed bugs, not fleas or ticks or other insects: You can verify your insect on their bed bug web page or check with your local extension agent.
2. Don’t panic: Eliminating bed bugs is difficult, but it is not impossible. Don’t throw out all of your belongings; most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing out belongings is costly, may spread the infestation, and could be unnecessarily stressful.
3. Think through your treatment options — Don’t immediately reach for the spray can: Be comprehensive in your approach. Integrated pest management techniques may reduce bed bug populations and limit pesticide exposure to you and your family. If pesticide treatment is needed, it is best to bring in a professional
4. Reduce the number of hiding places — Clean up the clutter: A cluttered home provides more places for bed bugs to hide and makes locating and treating for them more difficult. If bed bugs are in your mattress, using a mattress/box spring encasement makes it more difficult for them to get to you while you sleep. To be effective the encasement must be left in place for a year. Be sure to buy a product that has been tested for bed bugs and is strong enough to last for the full year without tearing.
5. Frequently wash and heat-dry your bed linens: Wash bed spreads, and clothing that touches the floor to reduce bed bug populations. Bed bugs and their eggs can hide in laundry containers/hampers so clean them when you do the laundry.
6. Do-it-yourself freezing is not usually reliable for bed bug control: While freezing can effectively kill bed bugs, temperatures must remain extremely low for an extended period of time. Home freezers typically are not cold enough to kill bed bugs. Freezing temperatures outside may be used to kill bed bugs, but can take several days (at 0^oF) to almost a week (at 20^oF).
7. High temperatures can kill bed bugs: Raising the indoor temperature with the thermostat or space heaters won’t do the job, though. Space heaters must always be used with care, as they have the potential to cause fires and serious burns. Specialized equipment and very high temperatures are required to successfully heat treat a structure. Black plastic bags in the sun might work to kill bed bugs in luggage or small items, provided the contents become hot enough (approximately 110^oF for at least 3 hours).
8. Don’t pass your bed bugs on to others: Bed bugs are excellent hitchhikers. If you throw out a piece of furniture that is harboring bed bugs, take steps to destroy the item so that no one else adopts it (along with the bugs!).
9. Reduce populations to reduce bites: Thorough vacuuming reduces populations. Carefully vacuum rugs, floors, under beds, around bed legs, bed frames, and all cracks and crevices around the room. Thoroughly vacuum upholstered furniture. Change the bag after each use so the bed bugs can’t escape. Place the used bag in a tightly sealed plastic bag and in an outside garbage bin.
10. Turn to the professionals, if needed: Hiring an experienced, responsible pest control professional can increase the likelihood and the speed of success in eliminating bed bugs from your home. If you hire an expert, ensure it is a company with a reputable history and ask them to use an IPM (integrated pest management) approach.

A bedbug's life

Written by Lenita Powers

The lifespan of a bedbug is from 10 to 20 months.
Within a six-month period, a female bedbug can produce about 31,700 offspring. » They feed at night, typically one to two hours before sunrise.
There are things that go bite in the night and they could be living in a mattress near you.
Bedbugs are a widespread problem in Washoe County and across the nation and world, said Jeff Jeppson, a specialist in vector-borne disease with the Washoe County Health District.
Jeppson said there has been a resurgence in the last decade in the number of bedbugs across the country.
Speculation about the reason for the increase ranges from a switch in treatment from spraying hotel and motel bedrooms to the safer-for-humans use of bait traps in the 1990s to the surge in international travel that allowed the insects to hitch rides around the world.
"They're popping up all over the place," Jeppson said, citing the media attention that followed reports from customers of the critters being found last year in some stores and a ritzy hotel in New York City.
"Locally, they're common in a lot of the older hotels that have more transient populations," Jeppson said. "Apartments and assisted living centers also seem to have more issues with bedbugs."
No state or local law requires that infestations be reported because although the nocturnal insects are a nuisance, they are not known to transmit any diseases, Jeppson said.
"But some people have a nasty reaction to the bites and if they continue to scratch the bites, they can get a secondary infection," he said.
Although having bedbugs in a
business or apartment does not require the owners to report it, the health district does
issue permits for hotels and motels so it monitors complaints, said Jeanne Rucker, the district's environmental health specialist supervisor.
"We do respond to those facilities if we receive a complaint about bedbugs," she said.
Rucker estimates the department receives about 100 to 125 complaints annually, but not all those complaints have resulted in confirmed cases of bedbugs.
She declined to name which local hotels or motels have had confirmed cases of bedbugs so far this year.
"I can't remember all of them so I would rather not single one out," Rucker said. "It's a pretty widespread problem. There probably isn't a facility in town that hasn't had at least one complaint."

"Generally, if we find one or two rooms we treat those rooms and all the rooms around it," she said.
One problem is bedbugs are the camels of the bedroom -- able to survive for months without a blood meal from a human or animal host.
"That's one of the issues," Rucker said. "Another is that, depending on the insect's various stage of development, they can be hard to see."
The best way to check for bedbugs is to look for traces of their breakfast.
"Look for blood staining on the mattress or the bed linen," Rucker said -- not the obvious kind forensic experts would find at a crime scene, either, but miniscule pinhead-sized black dots that look like ground pepper.
Rucker also recommends asking hotel and motel managers outright if they have had bedbug activity lately at their lodgings.
"I think sometimes they would be honest about it because it's such a common occurrence now," she said. "Most large hotels have aggressive programs. But for weekly motels, it's a little harder for management to control it because tenants might be there for months on end and they might not be sensitive to the bites so management wouldn't know anything about it."
Jeppson said it is possible to get rid of bedbugs but it isn't easy since they can be on clothing, shoes, luggage, in carpets, upholstered furniture and other items in addition to mattresses.
"It's best to bring in a professional pest control company when you have bedbugs because it is very difficult for the average person to get rid of them," he said.
"And I'd think twice about taking that La-Z-Boy recliner left sitting on the side of the road," Jeppson said. "I'd be pretty wary of buying second-hand stuff, too, or at least look things over closely, especially things like a second-hand mattress or box springs. That's probably the way most people bring in bedbugs is with contaminated used mattresses and boxed springs."
"Generally, if we find one or two rooms we treat those rooms and all the rooms around it," she said.
One problem is bedbugs are the camels of the bedroom -- able to survive for months without a blood meal from a human or animal host.
"That's one of the issues," Rucker said. "Another is that, depending on the insect's various stage of development, they can be hard to see."
The best way to check for bedbugs is to look for traces of their breakfast.
"Look for blood staining on the mattress or the bed linen," Rucker said -- not the obvious kind forensic experts would find at a crime scene, either, but miniscule pinhead-sized black dots that look like ground pepper.
Rucker also recommends asking hotel and motel managers outright if they have had bedbug activity lately at their lodgings.
"I think sometimes they would be honest about it because it's such a common occurrence now," she said. "Most large hotels have aggressive programs. But for weekly motels, it's a little harder for management to control it because tenants might be there for months on end and they might not be sensitive to the bites so management wouldn't know anything about it."
Jeppson said it is possible to get rid of bedbugs but it isn't easy since they can be on clothing, shoes, luggage, in carpets, upholstered furniture and other items in addition to mattresses.
"It's best to bring in a professional pest control company when you have bedbugs because it is very difficult for the average person to get rid of them," he said.
"And I'd think twice about taking that La-Z-Boy recliner left sitting on the side of the road," Jeppson said. "I'd be pretty wary of buying second-hand stuff, too, or at least look things over closely, especially things like a second-hand mattress or box springs. That's probably the way most people bring in bedbugs is with contaminated used mattresses and boxed springs."

Holiday travel tips: Keep bed bugs out of the fun

By (ARA)

(ARA) - The holidays are a time for celebration, gift-giving and visiting with family and friends. Travel wisely this winter to ensure that you do not bring any unwanted visitors, such as bed bugs, back home with you.

Once thought to be a thing of the past, bed bug populations have increased by approximately 500 percent in the United States in recent years, according to Congress' "Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite" Act of 2009. Bed bugs spread by hitching a ride on travelers' possessions, and with our highly mobile society, bed bugs have been able to spread quickly across the United States. This makes it important for travelers to educate themselves on bed bugs. Becoming familiar with the bug, its habits and methods of detecting, treating and preventing an infestation is an essential and effective first step.

The facts on bed bugs:

Identification: Bed bugs are easily identifiable if you know what you are looking for. They are small, but still large enough to see. These pests are flat, oval and wingless, with antennae and six legs. Adults are 5 millimeters long, about the same size and color of an apple seed. Eggs are the size of a pin head,colorless and incredibly hard to see.

What attracts bed bugs: Bed bugs are attracted to warmth and carbon dioxide from people and animals. They feed at night for about five minutes every three to seven days. Bed bugs usually reside within five feet of a food source, but can travel up to 100 feet to find a meal.

Lifespan: A bed bug will live for approximately three to nine months if well fed, but can survive for six months or more without feeding. Females can lay as many as five eggs per day - or up to 200 in their lifetime.

Travel wisely:

Travel lightly and do not bring your own bedding or pillows when visiting a hotel. Take a few minutes upon arrival to inspect your surroundings. Here is a list of recommendations on the way to inspect your accommodation before settling in for the night.

When entering a hotel room:
1. Place all of your belongings in the bathroom or on a tile surface.
2. Exhale gently across the top and sides of the headboard.
3. Pull back the bedding at both top corners of the bed to expose the mattress.
4. Using your flashlight, inspect the rolled seams at the top and bottom edges of the mattress at each corner, looking for bed bugs, spotting or cast skins.
5. Lift the mattress enough to observe the top corner of the box spring looking for the same signs of bugs as you did on the mattress.
6. Look at the edge of the carpet and baseboard under the corners of the bed to inspect for spotting and cast skins. Put the corners back together.
7. Using your flashlight, inspect the top and edges of the headboard looking for any bed bugs that might have come out to investigate the carbon dioxide from your breath, and continue checking back throughout the inspection process.
8. Using your flashlight, inspect the skirting along the bottom of the bed, looking for bed bugs, spotting and cast skins within the inside folds of the fabric.
9. If there is a nightstand next to the bed, turn it upside down and inspect the back and bottom of the unit paying close attention to bed bugs or eggs that might have been laid in the heads of screws or other openings in the wood.
10. Inspect the portable luggage rack looking for signs of bed bugs.
11. If the luggage rack is attached to the wall, inspect closely the intersections of any wood/fabric joints or cracks along the wall.

When you return:
Upon return from travel, place all items that may have been exposed (including suitcase when possible) into the dryer, and place on high heat for 15 minutes.

With just a little preparation and some caution, holiday travel can be relaxing and you can rest assured that you will return home without any uninvited pests. For more information on bed bugs, visit http://www.orthohomedefense.com/smg/templates/index.jsp?pageUrl=homedefenseBBugPh2.

Why are bed bugs so damn hard to kill?

By Tim Barribeau, Oct 21, 2011 7:00 AM

Photo by Diego Cervo via Shutterstock

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With New York still in the grips of a bed bug epidemic, the question keeps popping up: why are these little bastards so damned hard to kill? According to new research, their resurgence in the last few years has definitely been closely linked to the Big Apple, but it's actually been happening in all 50 states. The infestation is the worst since the 50s — and the bugs have developed a resistance to pyrethroids, one of the few types of insecticides used to do them in.

More specifically, bed bugs have a resistance to deltamethrin and beta-cyfluthrin, two of the more popular pyrethroids on the market, and the researchers have picked apart the genetics behind this development. They compared a resistant population of bugs to a non-resistant group that had been raised in labs since the 70s — the wild ones required 5,200 times more deltamethrin or 111 times more beta-cyfulthrin to kill.
The resistant bed bugs had multiple genetic defenses against the toxins. There are three specific genes (cytochrome P450 monooxygenases, carboxylesterases, and glutathione S-transferases) that can bind to, deactivate, and break down insecticides, and all three were cranked way up in the wild bed bugs. The pyrethroid also targets the insects sodium channel, which in response had mutated, making them partially resistant to the effects.

Ladies and gentlemen, the very definition of evolution. A constant pressure on the population in the form of a limited number of insecticides means that bed bugs with mutations that offer them a resistance are substantially more likely to live long enough to reproduce.
This means that there's a definite biomarker that separates the resistant insects from the rest. And hopefully, we can now engineer a smart pesticide which will actually succeed in killing the horrible things.

Library closed due to bedbugs

By David Komer

The finding of a bed bug at the city’s library, 12303 Pardee, on Friday resulted in its closing over the weekend.

The library is expected to reopen tomorrow after an inspection by the exterminator today.

Librarian Jaqueline Whinihan said it originally was thought that the problem was in the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.

Rocky Alazazi, the city’s director of building and safety, said the bed bug was found on a chair in the computer lab.

“A user in the lab felt she had been bit by something,” he said. “The (library staff) wanted to get (help) in there and find out if it spread beyond the computer lab.

“We shut down the entire building for safety issues.”

The area was treated on Friday after Orkin Pest Control was called and came out, General Foreman Guido Ulin said.

The exterminator was to bring a dog today for a sweep, the first of a monthly inspection, Ulin said.

Bed bugs are about one-quarter of an inch long and have reddish-brown, oval, flattened bodies that are mistaken for ticks or roaches. They feed at night on the blood of humans or animals.

They are known to hide in fabric and wood.

Bed Bugs – How They Enter Our Homes and How to Eliminate Them

By Albert Arce on October 18, 2011
Bed bugs cause unnecessary vexation to family members in numerous households. These pests are infamous bloodsuckers and have a preference for warm blooded animals like cats, dogs and humans, with humans being their first preference. In addition, getting rid of them is not easy at all and it requires a serious bug control effort to remove them.
Travellers often bring bed bugs with them to a new place where they grow rapidly and begin annoying the residents of the home. They invade beds, furniture, carpets and any such objects where they can find holes and cracks.
A common misconception about bed bugs is that they spread because of lack of cleanliness, but nothing can be farther from the truth. Bed bugs are creatures that are thirsty for blood and not trash, and thus trash removal is not a very useful way to control them. However, keeping the surroundings sanitized and dirt free can assist in easy spotting of these bugs.
That bed bugs are too small to be seen without any magnifying device is another misconception. The fact is that bed bugs are actually large enough to be spotted with naked eyes but they have a flat body which helps them vanish into little holes and clothing folds easily, making it hard to locate them.
They will normally bite once a week or so, and they can really survive for a long time without eating – commonly six months, but sometimes over a year.
One of the easiest ways to get rid of bed bugs is to engage an expert pest controller who can disinfect the home of these pests. However, if you want to fight bed bugs on your own, the next best thing to do is to vigorously wash bed sheets, carpets etc. in hot water and then allow them to dry in the sun. Crevices in the walls should be closed with a sealant, and any piece of furniture that has holes must be removed to avoid them from turning into breeding grounds for these bugs.
You probably think that it is not a priority for you to administer pest control measures for your home right now. For some reason in the future, you might be putting your house up for sale even if it’s not something that you would wish to do as of the moment. No matter how appealing your home is from the outside, real estate brokers and buyers would steer clear of it if they see marks of pest infestations. A termite colony existing in your house’s foundation could very well diminish the resale value of your property. Moreover, lending institutions can be very strict in approving loan applications, especially if you will use your residence as collateral; you may find your application refused if the bank representatives discovered pest infestations in your household when they come over for visual appraisal. Thus, although the cost to hire a professional pest control company to eliminate pest infestations in your home may be high, consider it a good investment for the future resale value of your home.