“Health Department hearing about bedbugs” |
| Health Department hearing about bedbugs Posted: 04 Oct 2010 11:54 AM PDT Bedbug avoidance tips for travelers : Check headboards, mattresses and box springs for bedbugs and the dark blood spots they leave behind. Hang all clothing. Leave nothing lying on the bed or furniture. Avoid unpacking clothing and storing your clothing in the hotel's furniture drawers. Store baggage on a luggage rack as far from the bed as possible. Vacuum suitcases when returning, and immediately wash clothing in hot water. Source: www.terminix.com How to keep bedbugs away from your home: Bedbug infestations can happen in office buildings and retail shops. Inspect furniture, antiques, used appliances or consignment items for signs of bedbugs before bringing them into the home. Never pick up used mattresses or furniture left curbside. Inspect clothing for bedbugs and wash (in hot water) new items in hot water after bringing them into the house. Use zippered encasements on infested mattresses and box springs. If you suspect you have bedbugs, have your home inspected by a trained professional. Bedbugs cannot be controlled by over-the-counter treatments. Source: www.terminix.com Visitors to Gaston County can sleep tight because it's likely the bedbugs won't bite. Despite national attention that the blood-sucking, bed-invading bugs are getting, facilities inspected by the local Health Department aren't uncovering new colonies of the creepy critters. Each year Environmental Services with the Gaston County Health Department inspects 20 hotels, two bed-and-breakfast homes, 25 nursing homes, 118 child day cares, 107 residential cares, Gaston Memorial Hospital and the Gaston County Jail. Most of those facilities are visited once a year. Day cares get two inspections a year and nursing homes are checked more frequently. Extended-stay motels and apartment complexes are not inspected. When the department inspects a facility, the state requires that 10 percent of the occupancy be investigated. None of the mandatory inspections are bedbug specific, according to Curtis Hopper, environmental health administrator with the Gaston County Health Department. "Most of the time when we go looking for bedbugs it's because of a complaint," he said. Only one hotel complaint has been reported in the past six months, and it was unfounded, Hopper said. That call seemed more about a disgruntled hotel guest than an insect infestation. The most significant bedbug infestation in the past two years came in 2008 at the Super 8 Hotel, according to Hopper. The department inspected the hotel and found bedbugs in 20 out of 35 rooms, Environment Health Program Supervisor Doc Thompson told The Gazette in a previous interview. He said they found an average of four adult bedbugs in each room. Most recent bedbug activity Hopper has heard about has come from private residents. Due to national media attention, Gaston County residents seem to be more educated about the bugs and they're looking for help. The Health Department provides information and education about bedbugs but offers little other help. That work is left up to exterminators, said Hopper. Unfortunately, bedbugs continue to evolve and many have built immunity to chemicals. New recipes are being developed to combat the problem that has gotten attention in many large American cities. Bedbugs have shut down office buildings and clothing stores and invaded homes in recent months. Terminix, a national extermination company, has developed a list of the top 15 bedbug-infested cities. No North Carolina cities made the list. New York City was at the top followed by Philadelphia, Detroit and Cincinnati. Larger cities with high traffic volume would be the likely place for such pests, according to the Terminix report. Victims of bedbugs don't often know they've been attacked until bites appear on their bodies. Much like mosquitoes, the saliva of bedbugs numbs the bite site. Itching and redness doesn't appear until later. Bedbugs haven't been found to cause disease but they procreate rapidly and are skilled hitchhikers, according to Hopper. Bedbugs can also go without feeding for up to a year. "They're hard to get rid of," said Hopper. "They will survive places not being slept in. They can lay several eggs in a day's time. They may lay dormant for months." Bedbugs are visible to the naked eye, and can most often be discovered by the excrement and blood-stained mattresses they leave behind. An infestation doesn't mean a home or hotel is filthy, it's just fallen victim to crafty bugs, said Hopper. "It can be the cleanest house or the cleanest hotel in the world. The little bedbug doesn't know the difference," he said. "They're drawn to the body heat. The fact that you're lying on that bed or sitting on that chair, your body heat tells them, hey, there's something to eat." If you think you have bedbugs, Hopper's department can likely help you determine for sure, but an exterminator is going to be the final answer, said Hopper. Inspections of each facility can be found online at gastonpublichealth.com. You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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