Nasty Little Bloodsuckers Again Invading Bedrooms 8/4/03

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Bedbugs are back. Over the last three years, they’ve shown up in at least 28 states, causing allergic reactions and sending homeowners, hotel operators and dormitory supervisors into a frenzy of cleaning, said Ludek Zurek, entomologist at Kansas State University.

Bedbugs can’t fly. As people return home from a vacation or business trip, however, the pests are quite willing to hitch a ride in clothing, suitcases and the like.

"International travel is probably how bedbugs appeared in the United States again, after so many years of our having no reports," Zurek said. "Once they’re in place, though, each female can easily produce 200 eggs – which will hatch into hungry nymphs within just a few days."

Bedbugs Are Back

Manhattan, Kan. – There was a reason Grandma used to say, "Don’t let the bedbugs bite." After years of posing little problem in U.S. homes, the tiny pests have made a comeback, and as of last year were found in at least 28 states.

States with confirmed cases of bedbug infestations by 2002 included: California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

A pest-control industry poll found 31 percent of those cases were in hotels/motels, 28 percent in apartment complexes/dormitories, 25 percent in single-family homes, and 16 percent in other types of sites.

–Source: Kansas State University Research and Extension Entomology

The nymphs immediately start looking for blood. They do so again every time they grow enough to need to molt. Then, if conditions are right, the female adults can repeatedly lay eggs for up to a year.

That adds up to "a lot of bedbugs, resulting from a lot of eggs produced fairly quickly," he said.

Once established, bedbugs also can be difficult to eliminate completely, because they hide during the daytime in cracks and crevices, under mattresses and other furniture, under rug edges, behind pictures and even under loose wallpaper. Getting rid of all of them requires both time and effort, said Zurek, who is the medical-veterinary entomologist for
K-State Research and Extension.

Bedbugs are known to carry an array of "bugs" themselves, he added. They’re often considered a public health hazard – perhaps because they’ve long been associated with lack of sanitation. Thus far, however, no one has ever documented a bedbug’s having transmitted a disease to humans.

"They’re a nuisance," Zurek said. "For sensitive people, their bites make you itch. Bedbugs also create a rather distinctive, sickly-sweet stench with the droppings they leave in your bedclothes."

Steam and hot water can kill bedbug eggs, nymphs and adults, he said. So, travelers may want to start a practice of unpacking directly into the washing machine. They also may want to vacuum out other travel items and then immediately dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag.

But Zurek is recommending that both travelers and hosts for overnight visitors learn the signs to watch for.

"If you’re not allergic to bedbug saliva, you may not notice anything for awhile, because they only feed at night and their biting apparatus is so small that you don’t feel it," he said. "But if you are sensitive, you’ll wake up and start itching. Then you’ll notice little red spots with a lighter red area around them. Unlike chigger bites, which tend to be grouped in one area or pattern, bedbug bites may be all over you."

"If and when you think bedbugs might be a problem, the next thing to try is abruptly turning on the light during the middle of the night. An infestation will be pretty obvious," Zurek advised. "The adults are relatively big (one-fourth to three-eighths inch) – much bigger than a flea – so you can easily see them with the naked eye. If they’re hungry, they’ll be flat and brown. If they’re engorged, they’ll be up to three times fatter and a reddish brown."

Most people’s immediate reaction to finding the pests is to rush bedclothes to the washer. But the entomologist said another step is important to take first.

"Gather samples in a jar or plastic bag, so you can check to find the kind of bedbug you’ve got," Zurek said. "You can take the jar to your county Extension office, which will submit it to the diagnostic lab here at K-State. Or, you can call a pest control company and ask them for the microscopic analysis."

Only the Cimex lectularius bedbug truly prefers human blood, although it can survive on other animals for a time. Even so, other bedbug species occasionally enter human dwellings almost by accident.

"The one most likely to occur in Kansas, for example, is the species that feeds on bats. And it requires quite different treatments than the species that feeds on humans," the entomologist said.

Insecticides are available to control Cimex lectularius bedbugs, Zurek said. But homeowners often get professional help for two reasons:

* Mattresses are the pest’s favorite hangout, but treating mattresses incorrectly can have health consequences. Replacing mattresses can be costly – and a wasted investment unless all bedbugs are gone.

"Only a few products are approved for use on mattresses," Zurek said. "And you really have to follow label directions exactly."

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.