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Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite- Part Two

Read the full article below or at WTNH News 8

By News Channel 8's Erin Cox
July 13, 2008
11:55 PM

Bed bugs aren't just turning up in obscure places -- they can be found in places such as your home. But how do you get rid of the pests once they make themselves at home?

Experts tells News Channel 8 that these pests are becoming a real problem. Bed bugs are now turning up on cruise ships, in some college dorms and homes in upscale neighborhoods. Exterminators tell News Channel 8 that once the insect has moved in -- it can take months to get rid of them.

Bed bugs aren't just in city apartments and hotels -- exterminators are seeing them in the suburbs. "As the years progressed, more and more calls came in like wildfire," Mike Lipsett, of CT Pest Elimination, said.

The dreaded bed bugs are even turning up in college dorms.

"A personal friend called me distraught," Lipsett said. "His daughter brought them home and of course they live in a beautiful home and they were shocked."

The resurgence is because we are all traveling more -- bringing bed bugs home in our luggage, often after staying at a hotel. Carl Massicott's specially trained dog is hired by hotels to sniff out bed bugs. It's not just hotels. This little dog finds bed bugs in upscale, Manhattan apartments.

"Its a bug," Massicott said. "They don't care if it's fancy, poor, rich -- they'll be there."

And once the bed bugs have moved in -- it can be a nightmare to get rid of them.

Some folks just throw things out or bag up all their clothes for cleaning. Steam can be used on mattresses and furniture -- killing the bed bugs and their eggs. The bed bugs can also crawl into cracks and crevices -- that's when pesticides are necessary.

But since the use of DDT was banned -- professionals say newer products don't wipe out the bugs -- so it is unlikely to kill the bed bugs the first time around.

John Anderson, of the Connecticut Agricultural Station in New Haven, is now working with the city's housing authority to reduce the presence of bed bugs. Right now they're testing a new trap and have collected hundreds of bed bugs.

"Once the bed bugs drop in they cannot get out," Anderson noted.

Until they build a better trap for bed bugs -- or stronger pesticide -- we all face the possibility of encounters with bed bugs.

"I believe we will be hearing more about bed bugs as we go forward in Connecticut and all over the country," Anderson said.

Exterminators tell News Channel 8 that houses with more clutter have an even tougher time getting rid of bed bugs. They also say frequent vacuuming can help. The bed bugs can hide and crawl into any space that is big enough to slide a business card into.

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