Bed bug infestation, which was last seen as a problem in the 1950’s and in the past three years, has seen resurgence as a health issue throughout the United States. Based on reports from local health departments and pest control operators, bed bug infestations have been found in hotels, nursing homes, public homes, apartment complexes, dormitories, furniture rental stores, moving vans, jails, multi-unit dwellings, and private homes. Over the past year many of our public housing members have also reported varying levels of bed bug infestation. Many members have tenants blaming the authority for the infestation.

Bed bugs are reddish-brown, small (about ¼-inch long), wingless, and very flat. During the day they usually stay out of light, hiding in such places as mattresses, mattress materials, baseboard, bedding frames, furniture, or carpeting. They are known to come out at night to feed on warm-blooded animals, including humans. Skin reactions are commonly associated with bed bugs, which results from the saliva injected from a bite. Some individuals however, do not react to bites, while others note a great deal of discomfort, often with loss of sleep from persistent biting.

Bed bugs don’t appear spontaneously in a housing authority unit. People accidentally move bed bugs from place to place. They can be brought in with infested (used) furniture and mattresses, while travelers may bring them back in luggage and infected clothing. Housing authority members have reported used furniture and mattresses as a common cause of infestation. These furnishings are usually bought from used furniture stores or picked up as discarded items outside of buildings.

Commonly, the first sign of bed bug infestation is the appearance of small brownish or reddish dots on bed linens. These are fecal spots or droppings on the surface of linings from these bugs. Occupants may also notice swelling where they have been bitten.

Once bed bugs have found a hiding place in your home, they can be difficult to detect and very difficult to remove. Once the infestation is detected, prompt treatment is required to control the problem. Early detection is the key to rapid eradication. A survey of pest control professionals conducted by a pest control professor at the University of Massachusetts stated that 68% of all bed bug infestations require three or more treatments.

The first step is to have a professional thoroughly inspect the area. The inspection is required to determine where the bed bugs live. After inspection the pest control professional should be able to determine the proper type of control technique. When considering pest control companies ask about previous experience in treating bed bugs and obtain recommendations from others who have had the problem and were successfully treated.

A common sense approach to preventing and controlling bed bug infestation

• Educate your staff to identify bug infestation to promote more rapid treatment;
• Quick investigation response to tenant complaints;
• Relocate tenants while the infested room is being serviced. The room the tenant is relocated to should not be adjacent to the infested room and should be inspected for signs of bed bugs prior to relocation;
• Instruct tenants to launder their clothing and linens, placing them in plastic bags during room relocation so infested items do not spread bed bugs during transport to the laundry or new room. Items should be washed in hot water and dried using the hottest setting of the dryer to kill bed bugs and bed bug eggs;
• Notify tenants adjacent (next door, above, and below the infestation) about infested properties and the need to prepare for inspection and treatment, if necessary, for bed bugs;
• Do not remove any items from a bed bug-infested room before inspection and treatment. This will help prevent relocating bed bugs to other areas within the premises;
• Seal cracks and crevices in infested rooms;
• Remove items and materials designated for disposal from the infested room in sealed plastic bags to prevent relocating bed bugs to other areas;
• Dispose of all vacuumed refuse from the infested room in a plastic bag (including the vacuum cleaner bag);
• Secure all disposed bed bug-infested material to prevent reintroduction by other tenants into the property; and
• Educate tenants on the problems associated with the purchasing of used furniture or mattresses and the problems with recovering discarded furniture.

These are only general guidelines for preventing and controlling infestation. Contact your state health department for additional information. Other resources include the following Web sites: www.hsph.harvard.edu/bedbugs and http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/BedBug263.shtml.