Monday, January 30, 2012

"At some point, virtually everyone in New Jersey should expect to encounter a bed bug infestation in their home, apartment or workplace," says Leonard Douglen, Executive Director of the New Jersey Pest Management Association.

"In the case of bed bugs," said Douglen, "you have a particular pest that is very difficult to eliminate without a lot of intensive effort and the need to return to the scene of the infestation to get at those bed bugs that were hidden away between blood meals and will survive, become active, and lay eggs that become nymphs in a new generation to be exterminated."

"No place is exempt from an infestation," says Douglen, noting that in October 2011 even employees of the State Department of Labor and Workforce Development discovered that their headquarters building in Trenton had bed bugs. One employee said that our co-workers were getting "paranoid" at the thought of the blood suckers.

There some basic facts about bed bugs that will help avoid or cope with them.

Bed bugs get their name from their favorite place to hide out, a mattress, box spring, and bed frame. They can be found in any dark, warm place in a home, apartment, or workplace.

Bed bugs can live a long time, up to a year, between meals. Cold weather is not a problem for bed bugs because they can easily over-winter just about anywhere. They are very tiny and their eggs are tinier, barely one millimeter long or 1/32nd of an inch.

People who have discovered a bed bug infestation also discover that it takes a lot of time to get rid of them. A bed bug problem does not lend itself to a one-stop, quick application of a pesticide, and total elimination. Pest management technicians are specially trained to find them and there are now bed bug-sniffing dogs that have proven effective. There are no proven bed bug repellent products currently available.

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After professional treatment, it may take up to eight weeks before you can be absolutely sure no bed bugs are seen and following a treatment, the purchase of high quality mattress encasements to seal in unseen bed bugs or their eggs is an excellent investment.

If you travel, pest management professionals recommend you bring large, white, draw-string plastic trash bags with you to prevent bed bugs from getting into your luggage. If you spot them, you can keep them in the bag to be destroyed and to avoid bringing them into your home. Almost anyone returning home, such as a college student, can unwittingly cause an infestation that may not discover it for weeks or months.

A bed bug bite generally appears as a raised reddened bump on the skin and is often itchy. Bed bugs, however, are not known to transmit diseases

At this point, bed bugs have been found in all fifty states, though it has taken a decade for the problem that initially manifested itself in the Northeast. It is generally thought that many entered the U.S. in the luggage of business travelers and tourists who brought them here from foreign locations.

"Since they are mostly found in urban areas, New Jersey with its many cities and towns provides a greater source of locations, particularly apartments, for bed bugs to feed off the population," said Douglen.

"The good news, if there is any," said Douglen, is that bed bugs do not transmit disease although their bites are very itchy. Moreover, the pest management industry has developed a variety of treatments to rid an infested location of the insect. Since there are no off-the-shelf products that consumers can purchase, Douglen advises that, "At the first sign of an infestation, the next call people should make is to a pest control firm."

Founded in 1941, the Association maintains a website at www.NJPMA.com providing a listing of its member firms and general pest related information.

Leonard Douglen

Executive Director

New Jersey Pest Management Association

Livingston, NJ

1-800-524-9942