July 2007
How to deal with bedbugs
This summer vacation, don’t bring home unwanted souvenirs
For insects that can't hop or fly, bedbugs sure do get around. Especially lately. Bedbug infestations are on the rise in the
United States and the rest of North America, Western Europe, and Australia. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) reports that its member pest-control companies are receiving one to two bedbug-related calls each week, up from one
to two per year.
Mistaken identity could be the cause of some of the calls. Ticks and cockroaches are often confused with adult bedbugs, which are about ¼-inch long, usually reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. You're more likely to see signs of bedbug activity first as the nocturnal bloodsuckers venture from tight crevices to feed (they can go for a week to many months between meals). Dark-brown, black, or reddish spots of bedbug excrement on bed linens, the mattress, or walls near the bed are another indication, as well as bites that typically appear two or three in a row and that are often accompanied by blood spots on bedding.
The busy female bedbug can lay several eggs a day. Over its life, which can be from several months to more than a year, that can add up to hundreds of eggs. While Harvard School of Public Health entomologist Richard Pollack says he's seen residential infestations in which the floor was "shimmering with bedbugs," he suspects most households that have a problem contain only a dozen or so. Outside factors such as temperature and food availability limit the lives of bedbugs and the viability of their eggs. But if you see even one bedbug, take some action, because there could be others lurking. (See At home.)
While bedbugs aren't migratory, their penchant for hiding in dark, covered places makes them what scientists call "passive travelers." Modes of bedbug transportation include the cuff of a coat sleeve, a used piece of furniture retrieved from the curb, and even a suitcase left sitting on the fine pile carpet of a five-star hotel.
Multimillion-dollar hotel lawsuits filed in the last few years by bugged travelers are enough to make your skin crawl. In several cases, plaintiffs claim they received hundreds of inflamed, itching bites during hotel stays. A New York City couple suing for millions argued that bedbugs followed them home after a stay at a posh London hotel. Once the bugs had moved into their apartment, they were not easily evicted. (The suit has been settled.)
It can take months of misery and mounds of money to eradicate the pests, which go by the Latin name Cimex lectularius and are also known as chinch bugs, chinches, crimson ramblers, mahogany flats, redcoats, and wall lice. While there's always some risk of encountering bedbugs in hotels, motels, B&Bs, and on cruise ships, that's no reason to cancel your summer vacation. "Most hotels are not infested with bedbugs," says Pollack, who adds that it's better to be mindful rather than worried. What's more, the bedbug expert points out, following a few tips can help ensure you don't bring home those unwanted houseguests. Pollack, whose job has him hotel-hopping year-round, says he always takes a few minutes to inspect his hotel room when he checks in and his luggage when returns home.
"Know thy enemy," is Pollack's first rule of defense. But most people, according to Pollack, aren't familiar with this six-legged parasite. Until recent years, the message "Don't let the bedbugs bite" was perhaps the only knowledge people had about bedbugs. It is thought that the widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1940s and 50s all but wiped out bedbugs in the U.S. Many pest-control professionals and entomologists blame the current resurgence on domestic and international tourism and the bans on powerful pest poisons. Pollack says only the bedbugs know for sure, "and they're not talking."
The Professional Pest Management Alliance's 2005-06 media campaign did a lot for public awareness--if not hysteria. An ongoing NPMA informal online poll reported in late June that 68 percent of more than 20,000 respondents say that they or others they know have encountered bedbugs.
Pollack isn't so sure they have. He receives dozens of specimens daily from horrified homeowners, tenants, building managers, and pest-control pros looking for confirmation of infestation. But those bags, bottles, canisters, and envelopes don't usually contain the dreaded bedbug. More often than not, Pollack says, the samples turn out to be dandruff, crumbs, roaches, or crushed carpet beetles, which are common.
What's more, Pollack says, it's difficult to distinguish a bedbug bite from a common mosquito bite or rash. The parasites feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, and are usually more of a nuisance than a health threat. But some people have severe reactions to their bites, while others lose quite a bit of sleep, and scratching can lead to infections. Bedbugs aren't known to transmit disease and not everyone bitten will develop red bumps commonly associated with the bites, though some might experience mild to severe allergic reactions. Still, it's best to keep a closed-door policy on those tenacious terrors. See At home and On the road to learn how to keep them out, and what to do if they make it in.
Mistaken identity could be the cause of some of the calls. Ticks and cockroaches are often confused with adult bedbugs, which are about ¼-inch long, usually reddish-brown, with oval, flattened bodies. You're more likely to see signs of bedbug activity first as the nocturnal bloodsuckers venture from tight crevices to feed (they can go for a week to many months between meals). Dark-brown, black, or reddish spots of bedbug excrement on bed linens, the mattress, or walls near the bed are another indication, as well as bites that typically appear two or three in a row and that are often accompanied by blood spots on bedding.
The busy female bedbug can lay several eggs a day. Over its life, which can be from several months to more than a year, that can add up to hundreds of eggs. While Harvard School of Public Health entomologist Richard Pollack says he's seen residential infestations in which the floor was "shimmering with bedbugs," he suspects most households that have a problem contain only a dozen or so. Outside factors such as temperature and food availability limit the lives of bedbugs and the viability of their eggs. But if you see even one bedbug, take some action, because there could be others lurking. (See At home.)
While bedbugs aren't migratory, their penchant for hiding in dark, covered places makes them what scientists call "passive travelers." Modes of bedbug transportation include the cuff of a coat sleeve, a used piece of furniture retrieved from the curb, and even a suitcase left sitting on the fine pile carpet of a five-star hotel.
Multimillion-dollar hotel lawsuits filed in the last few years by bugged travelers are enough to make your skin crawl. In several cases, plaintiffs claim they received hundreds of inflamed, itching bites during hotel stays. A New York City couple suing for millions argued that bedbugs followed them home after a stay at a posh London hotel. Once the bugs had moved into their apartment, they were not easily evicted. (The suit has been settled.)
It can take months of misery and mounds of money to eradicate the pests, which go by the Latin name Cimex lectularius and are also known as chinch bugs, chinches, crimson ramblers, mahogany flats, redcoats, and wall lice. While there's always some risk of encountering bedbugs in hotels, motels, B&Bs, and on cruise ships, that's no reason to cancel your summer vacation. "Most hotels are not infested with bedbugs," says Pollack, who adds that it's better to be mindful rather than worried. What's more, the bedbug expert points out, following a few tips can help ensure you don't bring home those unwanted houseguests. Pollack, whose job has him hotel-hopping year-round, says he always takes a few minutes to inspect his hotel room when he checks in and his luggage when returns home.
"Know thy enemy," is Pollack's first rule of defense. But most people, according to Pollack, aren't familiar with this six-legged parasite. Until recent years, the message "Don't let the bedbugs bite" was perhaps the only knowledge people had about bedbugs. It is thought that the widespread use of the pesticide DDT in the 1940s and 50s all but wiped out bedbugs in the U.S. Many pest-control professionals and entomologists blame the current resurgence on domestic and international tourism and the bans on powerful pest poisons. Pollack says only the bedbugs know for sure, "and they're not talking."
The Professional Pest Management Alliance's 2005-06 media campaign did a lot for public awareness--if not hysteria. An ongoing NPMA informal online poll reported in late June that 68 percent of more than 20,000 respondents say that they or others they know have encountered bedbugs.
Pollack isn't so sure they have. He receives dozens of specimens daily from horrified homeowners, tenants, building managers, and pest-control pros looking for confirmation of infestation. But those bags, bottles, canisters, and envelopes don't usually contain the dreaded bedbug. More often than not, Pollack says, the samples turn out to be dandruff, crumbs, roaches, or crushed carpet beetles, which are common.
What's more, Pollack says, it's difficult to distinguish a bedbug bite from a common mosquito bite or rash. The parasites feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals, and are usually more of a nuisance than a health threat. But some people have severe reactions to their bites, while others lose quite a bit of sleep, and scratching can lead to infections. Bedbugs aren't known to transmit disease and not everyone bitten will develop red bumps commonly associated with the bites, though some might experience mild to severe allergic reactions. Still, it's best to keep a closed-door policy on those tenacious terrors. See At home and On the road to learn how to keep them out, and what to do if they make it in.
