They’re tiny, don’t spread disease and are, for the most part, completely harmless, but the humble bed bug has New York city in a state of panic.
From the Empire State Building, to the Nike Store on 5th Avenue, to the swankiest of hotels and the most modest of bedsits; a pandemic of bedbugs is sweeping the city. This has made headline news across the world and has led to Michael Bloomberg, New York’s Mayor, approving the creation of a bedbug “advisory board” to “evaluate, study, identify and develop appropriate strategies” against the tiny terrors.
Although at the moment, we feel safe on the other side of the Atlantic pond, the problem is about to become international.
Experts agree that the prime method of bedbug transmission is travel: you go somewhere, sleep on an infested bed or sit on an infested couch or chair without even realising it and pass the bugs on. Bedbugs don’t just hang out in beds. They nestle in clothing and suitcases and can live on train and cinema seats, on furniture and take over office buildings by burrowing in crevices, nooks and crannies.
New York has proven that places with lots of people crammed into high-density urban areas are bedbug paradises and bedbug infestations in London and the Midlands have increased threefold in the past decade.
So how do you know you’ve got bedbugs and more importantly, how do you get rid of them?
Spotting an infestation:
There are six stages of life for Cimex lectularius. The easiest to spot is the adult, which is flat, plump, reddish-brown and about 1/4-inch long — tinier than an apple seed. Often missed, though, are their young, which are pale white and about the size of a pinhead.
Adults swell up once they have bitten you and are full of your blood.
Easier to spot are their eggs and droppings, which can leave reddish or brown streaks on bed sheets, clothing, uniforms, upholstery or carpets.
Many people have no reaction to bedbug bites at all, which is why they often go completely unnoticed, but reactions to bedbug bites can range from looking like a light heat rash, to welts or hives that you would associate with reactions to more extreme stinging insect bites
Be wary of second-hand home and office furniture and mattresses. Horrifyingly, bedbugs can survive for more than a year without feeding, so just because that office furniture you bought second hand hasn’t been in use for a few months, doesn’t mean you’re not at risk!
If you check into a hotel, visit an office or stay as a guest in a home which you suspect is infested, the best time to check is at dawn or early in the morning when offices start to fill up with workers.
First, remove the bedspread, sheets or detachable upholstery and using a small torch look along the edges of carpets or in the nooks and crannies of settees and office chairs. Bedbugs like to sleep about five to 10 feet away from their meal, so you’ll find them near to where you would be sleeping or sitting.
It may be wise to leave any luggage you have brought with you in the hall or in another room while you check, to be sure that you’re not letting any of the tiny terrors hitch a ride on your belongings!
If you spot evidence, ask for another hotel or meeting room. Although infestations are often so virulent, that it may actually be easier to check out entirely or move to another floor for your meeting.
It’s actually worth checking what a hotel’s infestation policy is before you arrive, in case you wish to change or cancel your booking.
Coming home:
Since bedbugs cannot survive extreme heat or cold, most experts recommend taking all your clothes and putting them in the tumble dryer for an hour or more on a high setting as soon as you get home.
If you do spot a bedbug at home or in the office, trap it under a piece of sellotape and put that in a jar to show an exterminator or your doctor. If you discover a bug, address it immediately. If you delay, one fertilised female can infest a home or office in a matter of months.
Good and vigilant hygiene is key to avoiding transporting bedbugs to your home or business if you think you or any of your team may have been exposed to these hardy pests.
If you are a building owner, occupier or an employer you have a statutory obligation to provide and maintain a clean and healthy environment for your employees and customers and at Albany, we can provide you with specialist commercial cleaning services or advice to help you achieve the levels of cleanliness you, your customers and your team expect.
