The Bed Bugs Will Bite, so Don’t Let Them Hitchhike

Hiding behind the headboard in your hotel room, a bed bug anxiously waits for you to turn out the lights, pull the covers up to your chin and close your eyes. When all is calm, the bed bug strikes, sinking its teeth into your skin for a taste of your warm, nourishing blood. Satiated by the warm fluid, the critter will settle until its time for another feeding. A group of the tiny parasitic insects will then hide in your suitcase, and upon your return home, invade the crevices and corners of your bedroom.

“They like an easy meal,” said Victor Pizzella, Peekskill’s building inspector. “And they are prolific hitchhikers.”

Bed bugs have been spreading across the country and the world for the last few years. Experts suspect their increase is due to increased international and domestic travel, unpreparedness due to their prolonged absence (they’ve been essentially absent for about 15 years) and increased resistance of bed bugs to available pesticides, according to the EPA.

Considering an alarming bed bug infestation at Bohlman Towers and other housing authority projects last summer, which officials say has since calmed down, the city of Peekskill is taking preventative measures to mitigate the spread of the insects as travel season approaches. Local officials and entomologists emphasize the importance of bed bug awareness and education.

Starting June 1 Peekskill residents will be required to wrap discarded mattresses entirely in plastic before leaving them on the curb for trash pick up. Also, mattresses with known bed bug infestations must be marked as such and disposed of privately. (Read the full requirement in the pdf attached to this article). Officials also warn residents against bringing discarded furniture they find on the street into their homes; the furniture may look to be in good condition, but bed bugs may be hiding in its crevices.

“Now that bed bugs are on the rise, we want to do our part to keep from spreading them,” said Director of Peekskill Department Public Works Howard Wessells.

Wrapping mattresses will help prevent bed bugs from attaching themselves to a worker’s clothes and hitching a ride to their next home, but Peekskill officials ask residents to do their part as well. The most important thing the public can do to be prepared is to be informed.

“Residents have to be careful,” said Deputy Mayor and Peekskill Housing Authority board member Don Bennett. “With people traveling more as we go into spring and summer there is a greater likelihood of bringing them back."

The city of Peekskill Building Department receives bed bug reports from residents about once a month, Pizella said. Complaints come from different types of residences, from one to two family houses to apartment buildings to the housing projects mentioned above. The building department issues a violation notice whenever a bed bug report comes in. The notice requires the owner to hire a licensed exterminator and provide whatever treatments are necessary to rid the residence of bed bugs.

Jim McHale, owner of JPMcHale Pest Management in Buchanan and a licensed entomologist, received 10 bed bug calls this past Thursday, and said he treated at least 500 bed bug problems in the area in the last year. Bill Ayres, general manager of Garrie Pest Control in Peekskill, said his company treated about 500 local places for bed bugs in the last year as well, most of which were apartment buildings.

“In colder months all insects conserve energy and aren’t as active,” McHale said. “When it is warmer they will be out more.”

An adult bug is only 1/5 of an inch long, which allows it to scatter quickly through electrical sockets and other tiny openings. The bloodsuckers’ size and agility makes them difficult to fully eliminate.

McHale has treated all sorts of buildings and even vehicles for bed bugs, including moving company trucks, movie theaters, apartment complexes, houses and retail stores.

“Retail stores are getting bed bugs from returned items,” McHale said.

McHale explained that some people are not sensitive to bites so they can go months without knowing they have the critters until someone who is sensitive picks them up and takes them home, and then notices the symptoms.

Symptoms of a bite are typically red, itchy welts, but can vary from each individual to the next-some may have a mild welt, others might get a more severe rash-like symptom. Typically, there are several bites in the same area, as an insect might withdraw its mouthparts if you move in your sleep, or several bugs feed at the same time in a row (like cattle at a trough, as described by bedbugcentral.com).

Bites cause itching and irritation, and are annoying and distressing, but pose no actual health risk to the bloodsucker’s victim.

“The only reason bed bugs are considered a public health risk is because of the mental anguish people go through,” McHale said. “A lot of times people are in tears when we show up for treatment.”

Treating bed bug problems can be costly and requires skilled and prepared professionals. Many pest control agencies use trained canines to detect the bugs, which is proven to be about 90 percent effective. Once adequately detected, there are several types of treatments that rid areas of bed bugs including Hepa Vacuum to suck them up, steam, thermal remediation, and product applications, but the treatment depends on the infestation and type of house or building, among other factors, McHale said. The price ranges from around $300 to thousands of dollars. In addition, bed bug victims often have to purchase new mattresses and other furniture.

“One of the biggest problems we are having is that people are just not educated enough about bed bugs,” said Ayres.

One of the best things that the public can do to help mediate the spread is be aware of the potential presence of bed bugs in the home, while traveling and when considering bringing used furniture into the home. Next, it is important to properly report and treat the problem as quickly as possible.

Here are some tips and resources for bed bug information on preventing, identifying and treating bed bugs compiled from the Environmental Protection Agency and JPMcHale and Pest Control literature.

Helpful Facts:

• Bed bugs can exist in any environment—that means dirty or clean homes or businesses. They are not attracted to dirt, but to warmth, blood and carbon dioxide. Clutter does offer more hiding spots.
• Bed bugs do not transmit disease. There are no known cases of bed bugs transmitting diesease or infecting a host.
• Bed bugs are not only active in the dark. They can come out in the middle of the day and bite their victims. “They just like to come out when it is calm,” Bill Ayres of Gerrie Pest Control said. And leaving the light on at night will not deter the bugs from biting you.
• You can see bed bugs with your naked eye. An adult bug is about 1/5 of an inch long, and is brown with a flat, oval-shaped body. Nymphs (baby bed bugs) are smaller and lighter in color. Their eggs are clear/whitish and oval shaped, and are smaller than the bug or nympth.
• Bed bugs can hide in very small spaces. They are the width of a credit card, so if a credit card can fit into a crack, so can a bed bug. They are often found behind headboards, on lampshades, under mattresses, behind paintings, in cracks and crevices of walls, within bed frames and other furniture. Heavy infestations are accompanied by a sweet, sickly smell.
• Bed bugs can leave stains in your bed. Bed bugs can be crushed by you during the night so if you find brownish/reddish stains in your bed, it could be bed bugs.

Tips for Avoiding Bed Bugs when Traveling

• Bed bugs can hitch a ride on luggage and clothing but are rarely found in planes, trains or motor vehicles, according to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. When traveling, use hard-cased luggage if possible, it is harder for bed bugs to attach themselves to rigid materials. Pack your clothing in re-sealable plastic bags and bring a flashlight to inspect your room when you arrive. You can also ask your hotel about their bed bug prevention when you arrive.

Bed bug resources:

• EPA
• Garrie Pest Control 
• JPMcHale Pest Management Inc.
• bedbugcentral.com

Now you can "like" Rivertowns Patch on facebook!