Why is it so arduous to eliminate mattress bugs? | Information

CADILLAC – Bed bugs are an insidious type of pest that can easily show up in any home, but obstacles like cost and awareness can make getting rid of them difficult.

Since bed bugs depend on blood to live, the parasite will make its home in the beds of people and animals. They’re no bigger than an apple seed, so when bed bugs are hiding, they’re not looking to be found.

Rebecca Reik, epidemiologist for the Michigan Department of Health’s Department of Health and Human Services’ division of emerging and zoonotic diseases, said if people aren’t looking, they probably won’t know the bed bugs are there. A lack of awareness of what bed bugs are and how to spot an infestation is one of the reasons bed bugs can be difficult to eradicate.

One of the telltale signs of a bed bug infection is small, red bite marks on the skin. Reik said it’s common for people to mistake their bites for those of another living being, but it’s important to thoroughly check the home at the slightest sign of infection.

“Usually you need a flashlight, and you’re going to want to inspect beds and sleeping areas and especially look into cracks, crevices, screw holes and things like that,” she said. “Also take a good look at the box spring beds if any as they have many nice empty quiet dark rooms very hospitable to a bed bug.”

While bed bugs are attracted to beds, Reik says it’s possible they’re hiding in sofa and chair cushions, so it’s important to check every surface that might be used for sleeping. Bed bug bites do not transmit infectious diseases, so they are not a direct concern, but they can become a health hazard in other ways.

“While the bites themselves are very itchy, they can become infected when people scratch,” Reik said. “And they can cause a lot of other health problems too, like trouble sleeping, increased anxiety, but they’re not thought to transmit other diseases.”

Although there is nothing deadly about bed bugs, Reik has seen an infestation devastate people’s lives. Knowing that little bugs could bite you all night can cause a lot of anxiety, and she said it often keeps people from getting a good night’s sleep.

Professional bed bug removal can be expensive, and in desperation people sometimes try to get rid of them using home remedies, many of which contain dangerous chemicals. In some cases, Reik says, people have burned down buildings in their desperation to reclaim their homes.

Both the cost and an increasing lack of mobility have made bed bugs a particularly terrible nuisance for seniors. Wexford County Council on Aging Executive Director Pam Blevins said the organization has noticed an influx of bed bug infestations in the homes of the seniors they serve.

Shortly after Blevins began her role with the COA, she said that one of her employees entered an elderly person’s home to perform a service and noticed some bed bugs. According to Blevins, if an infestation is detected, COA services must be revoked entirely until cleared to avoid transferring them to another residence.

In addition to a physical inability to conduct inspections or decluttering, and a steady income that may not cover the cost of professional pest services, Blevins said the added stress of losing COA services makes a bed bug infestation devastating for seniors.

“Sometimes it’s their bathing that we can’t do for a week or two or a month until they clean it up, so it hurts the senior,” she said. “And many seniors simply aren’t physically able to thoroughly track bed bugs themselves, whether due to poor vision or just being physically frail, so they need help to do so.”

Also, Reik said bed bugs are a noticeable problem for older people and said it’s important they alert management at their residential facility or contact a professional to have them removed from their home.

Professional extermination of bed bugs isn’t usually a one-off expense, pest control specialist for Canfield Innovative Pest Management Seth Canfield said he always aims for single spray removal, but the best thing he’s ever done to remove bed bugs is are a total of four sprays. Because of this, he said, people tend to avoid contacting a pest control service, but there’s really no other way to get rid of bed bugs completely.

Something Canfield has noticed in his years as an exterminator is that there is a stereotype of uncleanliness that accompanies bed bug infestations. But in reality he was saying that bed bugs don’t discriminate; they can enter any house. Cleaning up can help keep them from finding new places to hide and lay eggs, but he wishes people wouldn’t feel embarrassed when they see an infestation in their home.

Although bed bugs are a frustrating pest for a number of reasons, Canfield said they can be eradicated. He said it’s important for people to stay calm and simply take the necessary steps – like cleaning and bagging clothes and tidying up – to start the removal process.