BUILDIGEST.COM REPORTS BEDBUG INFESTATIONS ARE BECOMING MORE COMMON AND MORE DIFFICULT TO TREAT

Buildigest.com reports that bed bugs are challenging specialists. There has been a dramatic increase in the presence of bed bugs in all type of facilities: homes, hotels, hospitals, clothing store dressing rooms, and offices. No building is off limits.

People usually bring bugs home in luggage or on clothes from an infested dwelling or hotel. When you travel, watch for signs of bed bugs by checking under sheets and on mattresses, especially if you have been bitten. If you suspect bed bugs, check your luggage before leaving and wash all your clothes in very hot water, as soon as you get home. Throw out the suitcase.

Second-hand furniture, especially cushioned products, must be thoroughly inspected before bringing it into your space.

A foul, rotting, bloody-meat smell might be present in infested areas. You may detect a bed bug infestation by searching for the bugs, fecal spots and shed skins More than 85% of bed bugs are found in or near a bed or similar furniture, so inspections should focus on mattresses, cushions, frames, and headboards. A flashlight will aid the inspection.

They may also be discovered in a wide variety of places in a space, such as:
- in cracks as small as a business card,
- behind floor base and door trim,
- behind pictures,
- within books,
- in phones, radios or computers,
- within the folds of drapes or towels.
- Under laboratory and simulated-field conditions, - trained dogs have been 97% effective. Other - research indicates that a small trap, called - Interceptor, which is installed on the leg ends of — - beds, trapped six times more bed bugs than were found by humans.

Managing an infestation is difficult. It requires removal or treatment of all infested material, using several methods such as vacuuming, washing bedding at a high temperature, using steam or heat treatment, and sealing hiding places. Insecticides may be required, but few ingredients are federally approved. Many successful treatment compounds are, now, illegal to manufacture.

Bed bugs and eggs may be removed with a suction wand and a strong vacuum. Target the seams of bedding, the perimeters of carpets, under baseboards, and other areas where bed bugs live. Repeat the vacuuming on a regular schedule. Portable steam cleaners may be helpful on furniture.

Commercial services can treat entire rooms with very high heat, which will kill most bed bugs and eggs.

bed-bug.org and Buildigest.com offer helpful observations.