Friday, March 23, 2012

Precautions about Bed Bugs

By Elnora Cephas


Bed bugs decided to make a comeback in the country and college campuses aren't immuned from attack. And others are just the colleges that have made the nation's news. Many schools keep news of your bed bug infestation hush hush. It's actually not exactly a great selling point for incoming students.

Bedbug infestations have risen dramatically during the last five years so it will be not unusual for college campuses using their highly mobile populations for being affected. Bedbug reports by bug control companies increased by 71% between 2000 and 2005, in line with the National Pest control Association (NPMA). In the national survey of pest management companies, University of Kentucky entomologist Michael Potter, a noted bedbug expert, found, "A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bedbug infestations previously two years. Only 37% said they encountered the infestation more than 5yrs ago."

These bugs have been reported to all 50 states, primarily in homes, apartments, hotels and motels. However, 2% from the infestations reported in past times year have been around in college dormitories. "The last Calendar year have been particularly active," Cindy Mannes, NPMA director of public affairs, noted last spring. "They are turning up like never before in hotels, hospitals, college dormitories, and multi-family housing units, together with single-family homes."

An age-old scourge, bedbugs, like lice and fleas, were common bedfellows before World War II. The creation of DDT-based pesticides following the war allowed America to eliminate these nuisance pests; however, the infestation are still common in most parts of the entire world. The banning of DDT in early 1970s, as well as increased worldwide travel and also the rise of pesticide-resistant bugs, is mainly responsible for a resurgence of bedbugs worldwide.

Since they don't transmit disease, these bugs can traumatize their victims. Regarding the size of an apple seed, these bugs have flattened oval, wingless bodies which can be light to reddish-brown colored. Feeding on the blood of humans for three to Ten minutes at a time, the nocturnal pests possess a psychological punch from proportion on their size. "They appear in the dark; they feast upon you; they scurry away whenever you turn the sunshine on," said Lynn Kimsey, director in the Bohart Museum of Entomology for the University of California-Davis. Not every victims respond to bed bugs, however bites can leave itchy, red welts. Victims can be nervous and jumpy, constantly feeling phantom bites and crawling skin. "I have individuals who call me in tears," said entomologist Richard Pollack of Harvard University. "They're in hysterics."

The infestation are especially hard to control in multi-unit buildings like dormitories. The little insects multiply rapidly; females typically laying 500 eggs throughout their six- to 12-month lifespan. Some bed bugs can cause a major infestation in a short time. Not consumed by filth or food, these bugs hitch a ride to a building on luggage, clothing, bedding, boxes or used or rental furniture. They spread easily on students' clothing and belongings, in reconditioned mattresses purchased by some colleges, and thru building ductwork, electrical and plumbing conduits, elevator shafts and wall voids. If the bed bug infestation is located in a room, it's quite possible that adjacent rooms and rooms within the floors above and below also are infected.




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