Health Ministry

Nite, Nite!  Sleep Tight!  Don’t let the bedbugs bite!

Probably we’ve all heard this rhyme, or said it to our kids.  In fact, bedbugs have practically been eliminated in the United States since WW II due to the use of insecticides such as DDT – until recently.  The EPA just held the first ever Bedbug Summit.

With the increase in travel, particularly foreign travel, the incidence of bedbugs is on the rise, especially in hotels, where travelers stay, in dorms, because students tend to be travelers, or in apartments.  They hitchhike on clothing or in luggage, not usually on our bodies.

They aren’t microscopic, but about ½ the size of your little fingernail.  They feed at night so you are unlikely to see them, and they inject an anesthetic agent into the bite so you don’t feel the actual bite.  You may see a welt like a mosquito bite, or may see small spots or smears of blood on sheets or nightwear.  They don’t usually carry disease, but the ick factor is important.  It is pretty distressing to think of bugs feeding on you at night.

If you return from a place that might harbor bedbugs, you might want to remove your clothing at the door and wash and dry it at a high temperature, along with other clothing you bring home with you.  Seal your luggage in a plastic bag and inspect it thoroughly.  If you think your home might be infested it will probably be necessary to call a professional exterminator.  The choice of insecticides for an area where you sleep is best left to a professional.

And, maybe, we ought to ditch the rhyme!

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