More Bed Bugs will Bite in 2006

By Leonard Douglen, Executive Director of the New Jersey Pest Management Association

Pest control firms throughout New Jersey witnessed the number of bedbug infestations double in 2005, says Leonard Douglen, Executive Director of the New Jersey Pest Management Association. “An informal survey of our member firms confirmed the increase in bedbug incidences.”

In December, a Glassboro, NJ Rowen University dormitory was hit when four residents fell victim to the bloodsuckers after returning from a Thanksgiving recess. How they accessed the dormitory remains a mystery, but Douglen notes that there are a variety of places and ways bedbugs might have been acquired elsewhere and unwittingly brought into the dormitory.

Most pest control professionals date the current influx of the problem from about 1999 when the first increase in calls to exterminate them began to occur.

“Throughout New Jersey, our member firms have deployed their entomologists, sanitarians, and technicians to deal with bedbugs as evidence of their spread has risen dramatically,” says Douglen, who called for greater efforts to educate the public regarding this pest species. “Without greater awareness the bedbug population will spread quite rapidly.”

Pest control experts attribute the source of the problem to the increase in international travel. In 2002 nearly 41.9 million foreign visitors traveled to the United States. By 2004, that number had risen to 46 million. Designed by nature to endure and exist in temperature extremes, the tiny insects are arriving in the United States in the luggage of travelers from outside the nation.

Occurring from California to Florida as well as the northeast, the problem is nationwide. “The problem occurred initially in those States that are tourism destinations,” noted Douglen. “Once established in various hotels and resorts, they were then picked up by domestic travelers.”

Among the tips Douglen has for travelers are (1) pull the headboard away from the wall and check for bedbugs, (2) lift the mattress to see if any are present, (3) check the sheets for any signs of blood stains, (4) keep your suitcase away from the wall and off the floor, and (5) check your clothes before removing them from closets.

Douglen said that the quarter-inch long bugs feed primarily on humans at night when they are asleep. “Some people have no reactions to the bites, but others experience swelling and redness where they are bitten. Fortunately, bedbugs do not spread disease, but they do leave behind tiny droppings of blood and give off a sickly sweet odor.”

Bedbugs can live for more than a year without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures from nearly freezing to almost 113 degrees Fahrenheit. This increases the difficulty of eliminating them. “The problem has reached such proportions that in May 2005, the NJPMA co-sponsored a seminar to educate its members because many had literally never encountered bedbugs before,” said Douglen.

Eradicating bedbugs is especially difficult because, for places like hotels and resorts, there’s nothing that can be done to prevent an infestation that could take place any day in any suite. Bedbugs are difficult to find because they are so small, even in their adult stage. They have flat bodies that permit them to squeeze into the smallest cracks and crevices in furniture.

Because bedbugs have the ability to smell the presence of humans, often in other units, “If bedbugs get a foothold in a single condo or apartment unit,” said Douglen, “they can multiply and easily migrate to other units in the structure. Their small size allows them to move around any structure with ease.”

Douglen suggested that, “the banning of the use of pesticides that might otherwise control this reemerging insect problem has probably contributed to its rapid spread. The pest control industry has lost some of its most effective pesticides in recent years. When properly applied by licensed and certified pest management professionals, the pesticides posed no health threat and, in fact, protected people and property against such problems.”

“Fortunately, there are still pesticides registered to use in the event of a bedbug infestation, but pest management technicians are long accustomed to using insecticides only as the last choice when they utilize Integrated Pest Management programs to identify and eliminate insect and rodent pest problems,” said Douglen.

Common off-the-shelf pesticides are not going to rid the average home or hotel room of bedbugs. Once established, bedbugs can multiply rapidly, reaching numbers in the hundreds and even thousands. Extermination of this pest specie can take time and often proves costly.

Douglen advises people not to purchase used furniture, particularly second-hand mattresses. If you have traveled anywhere in the affected areas or overseas, he recommends vacuuming your luggage before and after unpacking. Immediately isolate and clean any clothes worn during your travels. “Do not hang them in your closet or add them to your laundry bag,” advises Douglen.

Douglen predicts that 2006 will produce an increase in calls from people throughout New Jersey to rid their homes of bedbugs.