Keeping Bed Bugs at Bay

After much ballyhoo about bedbugs many local health departments are working to calm area residents about the tiny critters.

Last year it seemed as if bed bugs were poised to overrun Connecticut like monsters from a B-movie. With warmer weather coming, bed bugs will increase their activity. Yet, while New York City and other locales undoubtedly have serious infestations, there is also no doubt that people need to take a deep breath, said most area health directors.

“This isn’t monstrous, it can be managed,” said Dr. Gale Ridge of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Department of Entomology. “Yes it’s a hot issue, but we’re moving away from a guttural response to a more mature response.”

That response includes taking an integrated approach to preventing and treating the problem. In other words, people need to become more proactive in identifying problem areas, be it in schools, hospitals, hotels or homes. One way to do this is to use beagle dogs, which can literally sniff out the bugs. 

“We’ve had lot of good luck with dogs,” said Ronald Miller of Stamford’s Health Department. “They are used by licensed contractors in the state to help find bugs in motels and schools. They are very reliable in finding them.”

Connecticut Bed Bug Dogs is one company using beagles to hunt bugs. It services towns across the state including Fairfield, Norwalk and Stamford. If bed bugs are found, the company uses a freezing treatment called Cryonite to eliminate the bugs.

Locally health departments are also placing an increased emphasis on communication.  

The Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs is part of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Founded in 2008, it tackles bed bugs and future insect pest issues. It has listserve with about 280 members and agrees communication is key.

In Stamford, the health department manages a detailed website. Aside from photos of bugs, larvae and bites, the site also tells people what to do in the event a possible bed bug is sighted — capture it and bring it into the health department. Treatment only comes after a positive identification.

“We need to make sure it is in fact a bed bug," Miller said. "Sometimes people confuse them with mosquitoes, lice or ticks."

Bed bugs are small parasites and belong to the insect family Cimicide. Adult bed bugs are brown, flat and about ¼ inch long. They have rounded bodies about the size of an apple seed. There are many species, but only three feed on humans.

“Bed bugs are seen as a big problem,” said Mark Cooper, Director of Health for the Weston-Westport Health District. “People around here do travel a lot. They should follow travel tips and treat your belongings as if there may have been an exposure.”

Taking certain steps while traveling can help people avoid bringing home unwanted souvenirs, according to health officials in several towns. For example, people should use hard smooth luggage over fabric luggage. They should pack plastic bags to seal purchases and items that might have become infested. In hotels, travelers are urged to inspect the bed area for bed bug signs on headboards, mattress seams, furniture and objects near the bed.

Also, people should keep luggage off floors and beds. And one shouldn’t unpack clothes.

Do health officials practice what they preach?

“I do now,” Miller said.

They come out at night to feed on blood, usually human. After they eat they become dark red and grow to 3/8 inch long. The bugs lay small white eggs that hatch into hard-to-spot transparent nymphs who start eating almost immediately.

Gross, perhaps, Ridge said. But people need to understand there are no known cases of the bugs ever transmitting infectious diseases, despite that the bugs can carry disease pathogens ranging from diphtheria to HIV.

“These are the big guns of disease,” Ridge said.  “However, the chemistry in bed bugs is so hostile, the DNA of the pathogen is shattered. It’s as if you took a vase and smashed it on the ground.”

Recently, scientists started taking a new look at the insects. They wonder why the bugs don’t get the diseases despite having the pathogens and are looking to see what can be learned from them.

In the Trumbull-Monroe Health District, Director Patrice Sulik said they will soon be putting information up on their website, with links to other informative sites. The department will also be training staff how to deal with the pests.

“We know that it’s going to be coming because the activity is increasing,” Sulik said. “But right now we hear very little about it. Maybe we’ve had a total of two calls.”

Weston-Westport’s Cooper, who holds a DEP pesticide applicators license, said there have been no complaints about infestations in area hotels. And if there have been isolated instances in residential properties he hasn’t heard about it.

“A lot of locals do go to New York where there is a huge outbreak going on, but I’m not aware of a large infestation going on locally,” he said.

In Wilton, Steve Schole, Director of Health, has gotten zero calls on the issue.  But wants people to understand one thing.

“You can get rid of them,” Schole said. “I understand the nuisance and the connotations of them, but it is an issue that I think has gotten blown out of proportion."