Health threat of bed bugs 'serious as sin,' speaker says

It's true. Bed bugs are back and they could be crawling through a home, apartment, or a hotel near you.

That was the message from entomologist Susan Jones, who gave a public talk about the bugs Thursday at the Toledo Botanical Garden.

"This little blood-sucking insect is here, and it's here to stay," said Ms. Jones, who as a member of the Ohio Central Bed Bug Task Force says she spends "every minute" of her time fielding calls and providing assistance to people with bedbugs throughout the state. "This is a pest of public health importance. Every public health department ought to be taking this as serious as sin."

Speaking before a crowd of about 100 people, Ms. Jones said bed-bug infestations were unheard of in Ohio, and much of the United States, until a few years ago. But in 2003, a couple of cases surfaced in Hamilton County, the county seat for Cincinnati. By 2008, Hamilton County Public Health Department was reporting 305 cases of the bugs. The Cincinnati Health Department reported 1,101.

Now, bed bugs are appearing all over Ohio, Ms. Jones said. That includes in the Toledo area, where the Ohio State University Extension office recently identified two bedbug samples taken from local homes.

There is no one reason for the bed bugs' resurgence. However, experts have linked it to a rise in international travel, high turnover of tenants in some types of housing, and the bugs' increasing resistance to certain pesticides.

Konni Sutfield, a supervisor at the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, said students coming to local universities and colleges from other areas also could be spreading the pests. He said the department has received more than 20 complaints about bed bugs in the past two months, some involving rental housing for students.

"A few years ago we had no complaints. [Now] we are getting more," said Mr. Sutfield, who estimated reports of bedbug infestations to the department have doubled since last year. "It is a concern."

Although tiny - about the size of an apple seed when fully grown - bed bugs can cause immense distress. They typically feed on human blood, mostly at night, although they can also bite during the day. Most people have an allergic reaction to bed-bug bites, developing itchy red welts or swelling. The pests also multiply at a rapid rate if left unchecked and spread easily between apartment units or are carried unwittingly by people to new locations on bags or luggage.

"They are very good hitchhikers. They can tuck away into your suitcase, into your briefcase, into a backpack, into a purse. And you will not know that you have these little stowaways on your person," Ms. Jones cautioned. "You have to be vigilant and you have to know what you're looking for."

Telltale signs of bed bugs include clusters of black fecal spots which, when wiped, leave a reddish smear. They may also leave behind tiny shed skins and eggs. The bugs themselves often cluster in the crevices of mattresses, the seams of suitcases, or in any hidden spot in the home. They prefer materials made of fabric, paper, and wood, and their eggs cling tightly to surfaces so they cannot easily be vacuumed away, Ms. Jones said.

One way of preventing the spread of bed bugs is to thoroughly inspect hotel rooms when traveling and keep luggage on a rack rather than putting it on the floor. Travelers should inspect bedding, mattresses, box springs, and bed frames for fecal spots, and even look inside night stand drawers. Clothes should be kept in a zipped suitcase or hung up in the hotel closet, rather than a chest-of-drawers.

Those already dealing with a bed bug infestation should contact a pest control company immediately, Ms. Jones said. Bed bugs can live for a year and a half, and a female bug lays around 500 eggs in her lifetime, so the problem can grow quickly.

Serious pest control companies will conduct at least two treatments and spend several hours tackling the problem, Ms. Jones said. Victims also can help with the removal process by clearing clutter where bugs could be hiding, laundering and drying clothes at high temperatures, and vacuuming thoroughly.

Getting help can be expensive, however. Pest control for bed bugs ranges from a few hundred dollars to more than a thousand dollars. The poor, elderly, and disabled are the worst affected by bed-bug infestations because they often can't afford to pay for pest control services, Ms. Jones said.

Despite the growing number of bed-bug infestations, reliable data on the problem is scarce and health authorities often fail to maintain proper records or respond to citizen complaints about the bugs, said the entomologist.

During the meeting, two people stated they had been laughed at when they called up the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department to report a bed-bug problem. Mr. Sutfield and health department sanitarian Lana Glore later said they believed those complaints were the result of a misunderstanding.

"I don't think that happened," Mr. Sutfield said.

Those at the meeting included numerous concerned citizens, health-care workers, business owners, and government officials.

Retiree Patricia Byczynski of Sylvania Township said she attended the session because she plans to travel to Texas in a few weeks and was worried after hearing reports about bed bugs on television.

"I just have real concerns about going to a hotel," Mrs. Byczynski said. "Now I feel I have a way to look and detect [bed bugs], and know when I need to leave the hotel room and go to a different one."

Contact Claudia Boyd-Barrett at:

cbarrett@theblade.com

or 419-724-6272.