Bedbugs Biting

From hotels to dormitories, small towns to major cities there is documented evidence that bedbugs are on the rise. When it comes to your health, those creepy crawlers are much like sleeping with the enemy.

It used to be that the phrase "don't let the bed bugs bite" was based in fiction, but these days it's a reality. There is a tremendous increase in the amount of bedbugs and around the world. Once nearly eradicated in the United Kingdom, bedbugs have been re-emerging nationwide. In fact some areas are reporting a 500% increase.

There's a growing sense that there is an expanding problem in the country, but we don't know the extent of it. The nocturnal bloodsuckers have made a comeback since many of the pesticides used to kill them were banned, including DDT.

Pest professionals blame the recent bedbug revival on increased international travel and new pest control methods that use baits to kill cockroaches or ants, rather than liquid insecticides that zapped multiple critters – and kept bedbugs at bay, too.

SDA Pest Control receives about one bedbug call per week, nowadays, but that's a lot considering that in the company's first 18 years, we came in contact with just two cases.

Health departments don't track bedbug infestations because the insects don't carry infectious diseases, but bedbug bites, which look like the work of large mosquitoes, often trigger an allergic reaction. Although there is little evidence that bedbug bites transmit diseases to humans, the reaction to the bites differ from no reaction to large red itchy bumps.

Bedbugs will infest almost any dwelling from top-end hotels to homeless shelters, college rooms to motels and private homes – whether pristine or filthy.

Bedbugs only eat blood, which is why sanitation is somewhat irrelevant – the opposite of what we see with other pests, like ants, cockroaches and rodents. Bedbugs are being seen throughout the country, primarily in urban settings, because when there is a denser population there is an increased chance of bedbugs.

The flat, brownish insects, about the size of an apple seed, hitchhike on luggage, clothes and furniture. They are small enough to squeeze into an opening the size of a pencil point. The creatures hide in furniture, moldings and electrical outlets.

The pests are especially difficult to squash because adult bedbugs can live for a year without a meal. The key is to stay calm. Bedbugs can be controlled, but it's going to take some extra work. This is a pest that is extremely persistent.

Article provided by SDA Pest Control