Public health workers battle biting bedbugs

LYNN – A fast-spreading infestation of bedbugs has public health departments scrambling statewide to keep the critters in check.In Lynn, approximately 20 complaints have been logged since May, according to Maryann O’Connor, director of the Health Division in the Department of Inspectional Services.”We certainly have seen a rise in bedbug complaints over the past year. It has become more and more of an issue and it can be a major nightmare for both landlords and tenants,” she said. “We’re discouraging people from picking up used furniture from sidewalks and our inspectors are instructed if they see a mattress at the curb to trash them or bag them up.”O’Connor explained that people who choose to inherit a used mattress could be courting bedbugs. “Mattresses are one good way for bedbugs to travel. They also like upholstered furniture, and once they get into the headboard, they can live there as well in the wood,” she said. “Bedbugs can be a difficult problem to get rid of and they have been a source of issues for quite a few landlords in the city.”The Boston Health Department also has been grappling with a resurgence of parasitic bedbugs, commonly reported in public housing, apartments and dormitories, as well as hotels, nursing homes, movie theaters, furniture retail stores, moving vans and single-unit homes.Because of high resident turnover and the ability of the pest to spread, multi-unit housing provides a set of unique challenges in the prevention and control of bedbugs.Bedbugs, scientifically known as Cimex Lectularius, are small wingless insects, the adults approximately one-quarter inch long, the nymphs much smaller. They feed on blood, mostly at night. They do not spread disease, but their bites result in itchy skin reactions and scratching can lead to secondary skin infections, psychological stress, disruption of sleep and agitation.Bedbugs congregate in cracks and crevices near where humans and animals sleep. They also infest furniture, electronic devices, books and other articles that provide a crevice.An apartment house owner in Wakefield recently told local health authorities all three of his rental units were infested, adding that he has been combating them with fumigators purchased at Home Depot where employees claimed the kits have been “flying off the shelves.”Cornell University entomologist Jody Gangioff-Kaufmann told reporters how to spot bedbugs. “The bites look a lot like mosquito bites but not everybody in the world reacts to the bites,” she said. “The signs that you would see in your home include the fecal spotting. It looks like somebody touched a magic marker to the sheets or to the mattress. So you would look for those kinds of things, the bites, but then also the fecal markings and perhaps live or dead bedbugs.”Bedbugs also cast off their exoskeletons, which can be another sign of infestation.Boston officials confirmed 1,050 cases of bedbug infestations in the city over the past five years.Earlier this week, Terminix, the pest control company, released a list of the nation’s most bedbug-infested cities. New York topped the ticket, followed by Philadelphia and Detroit. Ohio scored four cities on the Top 15 list. Boston ranked 11th. Terminix based the information on call volume regarding infestations and on product sales reports.Dumpster diving by college students was listed by Boston health officials as one of the primary ways bedbugs are spread. To ensure returning students aren’t picking the curbside trash of their predecessors, city inspectors are distributing brochures about bedbug infestations. The inspectors are also on the lookout for piles of discarded used furniture, hoping to damage the goods beyond use or affix warning stickers before they are recycled.Pet owners worried about bedbugs should know the insects do not live on the body of their host, according to Dr. Tina Wismer, senior director of veterinary outreach and education at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals