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Northridge Bed bug Inspections, 818-276-3225, bed bug exterminator northridge – Video
18 Feb 12 Bedbug expert scratches head over extent of UNL infestation
Posted: Friday, February 17, 2012 9:41 am | Updated: 9:48 am, Fri Feb 17, 2012.
LINCOLN – The large number of bedbug reports at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln – 94 rooms treated for the pests so far — has led one national expert to wonder whether UNL is getting “false positives” from the dogs it's been using to detect the bugs.
“Something doesn't seem right,” said Jeffrey White, an entomologist who serves as technical director for Bedbug Central, an online bedbug information center. He has been a featured entomologist on “Infested,” an Animal Planet program about insect infestations.
It's possible that the university's aggressive attack has resulted in false positives, said UNL spokeswoman Kelly Bartling.
Only a handful of the bedbug reports have come from students who actually saw the bugs or were bitten.
The rest were detected through the housing department's efforts to ferret out the bugs, though in some rooms they could be seen climbing and crawling. UNL has estimated that the cost to detect and eradicate the bugs could exceed $100,000.
The university has used five bedbug-sniffing dogs from three different handlers in a room-to-room dragnet.
So far, about 1,300 of the 3,256 dormitory rooms have been checked, with bedbugs confirmed in about 7 percent of the rooms. The handlers do attempt to corroborate one dog's “alert” by bringing in a second dog but don't always take the time to hunt for visual evidence of the bugs.
Despite the possibility of false positives, “the responsible thing to do is to treat the room anyway,” Bartling said. “What's the alternative? Nobody wants anybody to get bedbug bites. The strategy is to get ahead of them and identify them before they start biting.”
Although campuses across the country are dealing with bedbug problems, White said, he's checked with other major universities and none has ever dealt with an infestation that extended beyond five rooms.
Bedbugs have become more common in the United States in recent years because they have developed resistance to commonly used pesticides. White said college campuses are especially vulnerable to bedbugs.
“College and university dorms are really long-term-stay hotels,” he said. “The trick is limiting the spread in a dorm building. You have a lot of socialization among students in a dorm. If you don't catch things quick enough, you have a sort of spiderweb effect.”
He said the most common times for college bedbug reports are right after summer break, right after semester break and right after spring break.
Usually, the situation is that students have brought the bugs back with them from their travels, and only a few bugs — fewer than 20 — are involved.
High-level infestations, of 100 bugs or more, take longer to develop but are tougher to eradicate.
White said it can be tough to catch bedbugs early. Some studies have shown that 30 percent of people don't react to bedbug bites. The bugs are nocturnal and hide in crevices, cracks and dark places like the inside of a bed's box springs.
White himself has been a bedbug victim. He woke one morning with bites on the nape of his neck. He dismissed them as mosquito bites. A week later, he found a cluster of three bites on the back of his arm.
“I knew only one thing does that.”
He checked his box spring and found just one bug, which he quickly killed.
“It was a simple solution, but it brought some reality to the situation,” he said. “You can't really understand what it's like until you have them. I had a hard time sleeping for a couple months.”
The first residence hall report at UNL came the first week after classes resumed in January. Housing officials said they found a mass of bugs hiding behind a built-in pegboard in a dormitory room.
White said the bugs could have been there for weeks — and were hungry when the students returned from semester break. Bedbugs can live for three to six months without feeding.
The bugs don't build nests, but they tend to congregate in one area, he said. Their deposits — which look like black spots — give off a pheromone that attracts more bugs. Their eggs are usually found in that area.
Adults reach about a quarter-inch in size, and they are round and flat like a tick. Eggs and hatchlings are quite small, the size of the letters on a penny. The eggs are translucent.
The first UNL inspections were done by Spots, a rat terrier handled by James Pelowski of Lincoln. Pelowski said he always works with a secondary inspector who helps him look for visual evidence of bugs after Spots signals the alert.
“With my dog, we always show physical evidence,” he said. “There's absolutely no false positives on my end.”
After the dog alerts — and Spots can detect as few as one or two bugs — Pelowski and his secondary inspector put on their gloves and pull out high-intensity flashlights and magnifying glasses. “We usually find some within 2 to 3 feet,” he said.
“Out of all the colleges I've worked with, UNL is definitely doing the best job,” he said. “It's definitely the most aggressive in seeking to get this critter taken care of.”
Pelowski said he is not affiliated with a pest control company, to avoid creating the appearance that he has an incentive to find the bugs.
Mark Lillis, a canine handler and bedbug division manager for a pest control company based in Topeka, Kan., said one bedbug is as bad as 100. An adult bedbug produces five to seven eggs per day.
“I don't fault what the university is doing by any means,” he said. “The reason for using canines is to get ahead of the bedbugs and to eradicate them.”
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Bedbug expert scratches head over extent of UNL infestation
18 Feb 12 Second Case of Bed Bugs Reported at UNK
From the University of Nebraska at Kearney:
Officials at the University of Nebraska at Kearney confirmed a second case of bedbugs has been found in a residence hall Thursday.
The second case is again isolated to a single room in the same hall where bedbugs were found earlier.
No bedbugs were found in rooms adjacent to, or above or below, the affected room.
A pest control company has been on site, conducted an in-depth inspection and will treat the affected room, as well as the rooms on both sides, and above and below, the affected room.
All five rooms will also have two follow-up treatments.
“We have a protocol in place and will be following that protocol,” Dr. Earls said. “If students in the residence halls suspect bedbugs, they should contact residence hall staff immediately. Students seeking treatment for bites should contact Health Care.”
While bedbugs are a nuisance, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are not known to transmit disease.
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Second Case of Bed Bugs Reported at UNK
18 Feb 12 Classrooms in Hampton school treated for bed bugs
by Brian Farrell
WVEC.com
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 6:11 AM
Updated yesterday at 11:41 AM
HAMPTON — A spokeswoman for Hampton City Schools told 13News classrooms at Tucker-Capps Fundamental Elementary School would undergo a second treatment for bed bugs Friday.
Earlier in the week, staff members found the bugs in 2 classrooms of the building. Letters went home to parents who have children in those classrooms.
“When I get the letter, my child's been home, she's been all over my house for an hour,” said parent Michele Cavanaugh, frustrated the only notification came via letter. “It is so easy to send a Connect-Ed message. It's free. I don't know what the problem was. I don't know why that wasn't utilized, and I don't know why the entire school wasn't notified.”
Cavanaugh received the letter Wednesday, the same day contractors treated her daughter's classroom. On Thursday, her daughter's teacher recovered another bug.
“They all share a same coat closet. They all hang their bookbags in the same place, so if a child's bringing 'em in, it's likely to be on everybody's stuff in that classroom,” noted Cavanaugh. “I don't want bed bugs coming to my house, 'cause I know the City of Hampton isn't going to come out and treat my house if an infestation comes home on my child.”
While bed bugs do not transmit diseases, they do feed off people's blood. They grow in number rapidly, hiding in any kind of crack or crevice. They often infest mattresses and can be found in or on other pieces of furniture. Even piping on cushions or pillows provide hiding spaces. They can latch onto clothing or bags easily, making it easy for them to spread from one place to another.
An expert on bed bugs told 13News bed bugs in school settings are not uncommon. In fact, he, personally, knows of 8 cases during the past year in different cities in Hampton Roads including Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Portsmouth.
While treatment methods vary, the most critical element is inspection by a person who is certified in the removal of bed bugs. Multiple treatments then follow to ensure the issue is addressed properly.
HCS spokeswoman Ann Stephens-Cherry told 13News in addition to another treatment planned for the infected classrooms, staff members intended to meet about the situation again Friday.
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Classrooms in Hampton school treated for bed bugs
18 Feb 12 Hampton school to treat for bed bugs
HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) – Hampton Public Schools has called in pest control experts after two cases of bed bugs were discovered at Tucker-Capps Elementary School .
Letters went home to parents on Feb. 15 stating that “a bed bug was found in your child's classroom.” The letter goes on to say that “even though it is unlikely for bed bugs to infest a school, an inspection was conducted and the areas affected were treated.”
Carolyn Bowers with Hampton Public Schools told WAVY.com that the first bed bug was found in a classroom on Feb. 15. The other bug was discovered the next day in an adjacent classroom.
The school had a licensed pest control specialist come in and treat the affected areas immediately. Even though Bowers said there is no indication of a problem other than in the original classrooms, they will be treating the entire school this Saturday. The pest control experts will focus on treating cracks, crevices, wall injections, floor edges, carpets and all desks.
After the treatment course, there will be a follow up inspection.
Hampton Public Schools urges parents to watch for clusters of bites, usually in a line, and to contact a physician or school nurse for proper treatment if they notice the appearance of bed bug bites.
Anyone with questions regarding this situation at Tucker-Capps Elementary School should contact the school at 757-825-4641.
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Hampton school to treat for bed bugs
16 Feb 12 HRA plans regular bed bug inspections
Starting this year, public housing residents in Pipestone might notice dogs sniffing around their homes every six months or so following a decision by the Pipestone Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to conduct biannual bed bug searches at their properties.
The HRA will pay $1,650 per inspection to have the trained dogs scour the properties in an attempt to prevent future outbreaks like the one that began in October 2011 and was finally resolved three months and nearly $21,500 later. The tiny pests were found and treated in 12 apartments at Nokomis and one HRA-owned house, but are now believed to be eradicated.
“I think we have to stay on top of it,” said Ron Smidt, board chair, during the board’s Feb. 8 meeting. “We’ve got to continue on.”
The board approved biannual inspections by the dogs with the possibility of cutting back to yearly inspections if no bed bugs are found after three or four consecutive searches.
Tammy Manderscheid, HRA executive director, also told the board that she will be meeting with other HRAs from the region Feb. 16 and plans to acquire bed bug policies from those agencies to bring back to the board.
“Everybody is going to bring any policies or procedures they’ve put in place to start charging tenants (for bed bug treatment),” Manderscheid said.
She said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which oversees the HRA, does not allow HRAs to hold tenants in apartment buildings financially responsible for bed bug treatment because it’s too difficult to tell which apartments the bugs originated in. Manderscheid said the HRA could create a policy that applies only to the agency’s scattered housing sites and might be able to obtain a waiver that would allow such a policy at Nokomis.
“I do think some housing authorities have asked for a waiver from HUD and have implemented charging tenants,” she said. “The particular lady I’m referring to says she’ll bring me all of her policies and papers that she submitted to HUD to get that waiver.”
During the March meeting, the board intends to review the information Manderscheid gathers and discuss the creation of a policy to hold residents accountable.
In other business:
-The HRA’s window committee — comprised of Manderscheid, Smidt and Fred Portz — planned to review information about the window replacement project planned for the Nokomis Apartments later this year before Manderscheid sends it out to architects to obtain bids. The board then plans to select a bid during its March 14 meeting. Preliminary estimates to replace 84 windows at the high rise are between $170,000 and $300,000.
-Manderscheid told the board she is working with a HUD field representative to develop a plan of action in case the HRA’s Section 8 funding from HUD remains at a level insufficient to support the 43 vouchers the agency currently funds.
In January, HUD reduced the HRA’s Section 8 funding to $8,239 a month for January, February and March, which will leave the agency with a shortfall of $4,617 each month and drain its Section 8 reserves by April. Manderscheid said they might be able to reduce the amount they provide for each Section 8 voucher or seek a waiver for emergency funds. But she added that there are no emergency funds available at this time.
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HRA plans regular bed bug inspections
15 Feb 12 Don’t let bed bugs bite, Region says
Don’t let bed bugs bite, Region says. People who travel this winter are being urged to be careful not to bring home bed bugs, amid a surge of infestations of the blood-sucking bug. File photo
Niagara residents are being cautioned by the Region’s public health department to take precautions to avoid bringing bed bugs into their homes.
The Region, which issued an alert about a surge in bedbug infestations last August, said on Feb. 8 that people need to be aware of how to avoid having their own infestation.
The same week that the Region issued the alert last summer, the U.S. National Pest Management Association issued sobering statistics from a new survey, showing explosive growth in the number of exterminators’ calls regarding infestations everywhere from buses and taxis to nursing homes, office buildings, schools and hotels/motels in the last year.
For many people, bed bugs are a relic of a bygone era, conjuring up images of filthy tenement housing in big cities like New York City back in the Depression.
But the tenacious little bloodsuckers hung on, and now in a world where people travel more than ever before, they’re back with a vengeance, hitching rides on things such as suitcases and clothing and establishing new colonies in homes, businesses and anywhere else where there’s human blood to gorge on.
Peter Jekel, with the public health department, said the presence of bed bugs doesn’t reflect a lack of cleanliness: they can be found in five-star hotels, buses and gleaming cruise ships. People opting to take a break from winter this month and next months can take the following steps to protect themselves from bed bugs, he said:
• Try to avoid booking a hotel with a bedbug problem.
• Use luggage with hard, smooth plastic without inviting pockets, since bed bugs struggle over smooth surfaces and polished metal.
• Pack clothes into oversized, sealable plastic bags and leave them inside luggage during the trip, or hanging in the closet – never on the bed or floor.
• Leave luggage outside the room and perform an inspection around the bed: peel back the bed sheets and check the mattress for blood stains and bed bug feces. Run your fingers along the upper and lower seams of the mattress and make sure to check the headboard.
• Check the bedside table. Look for signs of bed bugs in the drawers and along the wall on the side of the bed that is less likely to be disturbed by cleaning staff and guests.
• If you detect bed bugs, be sure to inform hotel management and request another room. But just moving to a different room may not be the total answer: You should repeat the inspection of any new or different room you are offered.
• When you pack to leave, inspect your luggage carefully and inspect every item as you pack to help detect any bugs or signs.
• After your trip, unpack luggage outdoors, re-inspect clothing and then put everything into the dryer on the highest setting possible for at least 30 minutes or steam clean (for delicates). Vacuum your luggage thoroughly.
• If you find bed bugs or their droppings, if you have bites or know that you have spent time in a room with bed bugs, vacuum your suitcases and dispose of the vacuum bag. Washable items should be laundered in the hottest water possible and dried on the highest setting possible for 30 minutes.
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