Bed bugs are invading businesses, local hotels, and homes in Hampton Roads at an alarming rate.
The Health Department reported the number of infestations this year as nearly 10 times what it was three years ago. Bed bugs usually live in beds, come out when people are asleep, and feed on blood.
Bed bugs ran a Virginia Beach family out of their bedroom. "When you don't sleep, you become psychotic after two days. You don't know if you're up or down. You're just crying and undealable," said Linda Phillips, who believes the bugs followed her home from a motel in Bedford, Virginia.
It cost Phillips $5,000 to treat her family's large two story home of the bugs.
An exterminator took WAVY.com into a bedroom to show where the beds hide. Adults are about the size of apple seeds and babies look like moving grains of sand. New ones hatch every day, and exterminator Corey Newell said it doesn't take long for the bugs to take over.
Bed bugs hide out in dark crevices like picture frames, night stands, and light sockets.
Health officials said if you see them - act fast and be prepared.
Environmental Health Manager Erin Sutton said they inspect hotels once a year. After that, they only check out complaints.
"We do the left side room and the right side room, and the up room, and the down room because they do travel well through walls and baseboards," said Sutton.
To reopen a room, the hotel must submit written notice from an exterminator that it's bug free, but that is not always a guarantee.
"If a company is offering a guarantee, that's something you should probably watch out for. They're probably not being honest with you," said Sutton.
Bed bugs are just hard to kill, so Sutton recommends inspecting mattress and headboards before you sleep in a hotel. Sutton also recommended to never put suitcases or purses on the bed.
"Heat is one of the best things for bed bugs, so set your suitcase out in the sun for a day," said Sutton, "The people with the little white vests come and take you away."
There are many ways to treat bed bugs, and the Health Department said a combination of chemicals and heat above 120 degrees seems to work best.
Professional examinations can cost up to $5,000, so experts said if you do it yourself, be prepared to throw out things like furniture and carpeting.
By: Bradley Skierkowski
Sourced by: WAVY TV
Showing posts with label Bed bugs again?. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bed bugs again?. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
545 beds for children built during blitz
Americorps project helps children who need a good night's sleep
Nearly 1,000 volunteers came together in Frankfort for a 24-hour blitz that ended Sunday at noon to build beds for needy school-age children.
When the sawdust settled at the AmeriCorps Build-A-Bed project, about 545 beds were ready to be donated across Kentucky, said project spokesman David Bachert. an AmeriCorps remedial reading teacher.
Every bed and mattress will be accompanied by a care package that includes a set of sheets, a handmade quilt, a night light, books, a stuffed toy and toiletries, Bachert said.
This was the second year for Build-A-Bed. Last year, volunteers assembled a total of 50 beds at five locations around the state. This year, for greater efficiency, they centralized their work in a hangar at the Kentucky National Guard headquarters in the capital.
Volunteers want to help low-income children get the good night's sleep that other people might take for granted, Bachert said. Sleep deprivation can lead to health problems in children, he said.
"There are a lot of kids in Kentucky who have to share beds," Bachert said. "Or they maybe don't have a real bed, they sleep on the floor on an air mattress. Or they lost their bed to bed bugs or in a fire or something like the flooding we saw last week."
AmeriCorps will truck the beds to 18 drop-off locations across Kentucky, where additional volunteers can deliver them to local families.
Bachert said children were selected for the program based on referrals from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Red Cross and other agencies.
Sourced By John Cheves / herald-leader
Nearly 1,000 volunteers came together in Frankfort for a 24-hour blitz that ended Sunday at noon to build beds for needy school-age children.
When the sawdust settled at the AmeriCorps Build-A-Bed project, about 545 beds were ready to be donated across Kentucky, said project spokesman David Bachert. an AmeriCorps remedial reading teacher.
Every bed and mattress will be accompanied by a care package that includes a set of sheets, a handmade quilt, a night light, books, a stuffed toy and toiletries, Bachert said.
This was the second year for Build-A-Bed. Last year, volunteers assembled a total of 50 beds at five locations around the state. This year, for greater efficiency, they centralized their work in a hangar at the Kentucky National Guard headquarters in the capital.
Volunteers want to help low-income children get the good night's sleep that other people might take for granted, Bachert said. Sleep deprivation can lead to health problems in children, he said.
"There are a lot of kids in Kentucky who have to share beds," Bachert said. "Or they maybe don't have a real bed, they sleep on the floor on an air mattress. Or they lost their bed to bed bugs or in a fire or something like the flooding we saw last week."
AmeriCorps will truck the beds to 18 drop-off locations across Kentucky, where additional volunteers can deliver them to local families.
Bachert said children were selected for the program based on referrals from the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Red Cross and other agencies.
Sourced By John Cheves / herald-leader
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Residents say bed bugs return to senior housing in Stamford
STAMFORD -- Bed bugs have again infested a downtown senior housing complex where officials last year thought they had won a long-fought battle with the blood-sucking insects, residents said.
Charter Oak Communities, the city housing authority, declared victory over the vermin at Stamford Manor last November after dozens of complaints prompted the quasi-public agency to systematically exterminate every floor of the Main Street building. The problem first became rampant in summer 2007, residents have said.
After a lull, some Stamford Manor residents now say the problem is reemerging at the building housing seniors and people with disabilities.
"That's the main conversation here is about the bugs," Stamford manor resident Darge Harris, 54, said. "It seemed like everything was OK, but they're back."
Harris, who still has blackened scars from the widespread bed bug scourge last year, said he started noticing bites again about four months ago. Several attempts to notify the management at the building have been thwarted, he said.
The woman in charge of taking maintenance requests has ignored his complaints, Harris said.
"She keeps telling me that I should clean my apartment," he said. "That was insulting to me, because it's like they're saying I'm dirty."
Nothing is out of place in Harris's fourth-floor apartment as he shows the studio where he said the insects are keeping him up at night. The floor is swept, the stove is a spotless white, and teacups sit in a perfect row on a kitchen counter. A white cushion drapes over the sofa, so that insects will be more visible, Harris said.
Harris points to blood stains on the bed spread. The stains are proof that the parasitic insects are in the apartment, he said.
"Someone should be able to do something about this," Harris said. "I'm saying, as a human being, I cannot continue living with bugs."
Harris, who is HIV positive, said his doctor wrote a letter last year stating that the insect problem was detrimental to his health because of the stress it was causing him.
Charter Oak Executive Director Vin Tufo said the authority has received "sporadic" bed bug complaints from Stamford Manor residents, but the problem does not appear as widespread as last year.
"The problem last year looks like it pretty well abated," Tufo said. "It seems to be under control."
Tufo said there have been about "half a dozen" bed bug reports in the last few months. Charter Oak has sent an exterminator -- Knock Out Exterminating -- about once every two months to treat apartments where residents reported problems, Tufo said.
Harris and other Stamford Manor residents said they believe neighbors are introducing bugs into the building by bringing in used furniture and trash. Residents sometimes discard items in the corridors and stairwells, and they remain there for days, Harris said.
"People bring stuff from the streets," said one resident, who did not wish to be named. "That's the major problem we're having, people just leave junk out in the hallways."
The resident, who did not want to reveal his identity because he feared it would cause trouble with building management, said maintenance often does not respond to such problems, even when residents report them.
Tufo said he had not heard of any residents discarding items in the building, but said Charter Oak would investigate if officials knew of such a case, especially if it contributed to bringing bed bugs into the building.
"If it was causing an exacerbation of the problem, we absolutely would step in," Tufo said.
Amy Lehaney, a city health inspector, said the last confirmed case of bed bugs at Stamford Manor was verified on June 3, when a resident brought in a bed bug. Charter Oak sent confirmation of extermination on July 3. Not all bed bug complaints reach the Health Department, as Charter Oak asks residents to make reports to the housing authority first.
The city received a sample from a resident at Stamford Manor on Nov. 13, but laboratory tests found it was a squash beetle, not a bed bug. Squash beetles are a type of lady bugs.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash contributed to this article
Sourced By: Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer
Charter Oak Communities, the city housing authority, declared victory over the vermin at Stamford Manor last November after dozens of complaints prompted the quasi-public agency to systematically exterminate every floor of the Main Street building. The problem first became rampant in summer 2007, residents have said.
After a lull, some Stamford Manor residents now say the problem is reemerging at the building housing seniors and people with disabilities.
"That's the main conversation here is about the bugs," Stamford manor resident Darge Harris, 54, said. "It seemed like everything was OK, but they're back."
Harris, who still has blackened scars from the widespread bed bug scourge last year, said he started noticing bites again about four months ago. Several attempts to notify the management at the building have been thwarted, he said.
The woman in charge of taking maintenance requests has ignored his complaints, Harris said.
"She keeps telling me that I should clean my apartment," he said. "That was insulting to me, because it's like they're saying I'm dirty."
Nothing is out of place in Harris's fourth-floor apartment as he shows the studio where he said the insects are keeping him up at night. The floor is swept, the stove is a spotless white, and teacups sit in a perfect row on a kitchen counter. A white cushion drapes over the sofa, so that insects will be more visible, Harris said.
Harris points to blood stains on the bed spread. The stains are proof that the parasitic insects are in the apartment, he said.
"Someone should be able to do something about this," Harris said. "I'm saying, as a human being, I cannot continue living with bugs."
Harris, who is HIV positive, said his doctor wrote a letter last year stating that the insect problem was detrimental to his health because of the stress it was causing him.
Charter Oak Executive Director Vin Tufo said the authority has received "sporadic" bed bug complaints from Stamford Manor residents, but the problem does not appear as widespread as last year.
"The problem last year looks like it pretty well abated," Tufo said. "It seems to be under control."
Tufo said there have been about "half a dozen" bed bug reports in the last few months. Charter Oak has sent an exterminator -- Knock Out Exterminating -- about once every two months to treat apartments where residents reported problems, Tufo said.
Harris and other Stamford Manor residents said they believe neighbors are introducing bugs into the building by bringing in used furniture and trash. Residents sometimes discard items in the corridors and stairwells, and they remain there for days, Harris said.
"People bring stuff from the streets," said one resident, who did not wish to be named. "That's the major problem we're having, people just leave junk out in the hallways."
The resident, who did not want to reveal his identity because he feared it would cause trouble with building management, said maintenance often does not respond to such problems, even when residents report them.
Tufo said he had not heard of any residents discarding items in the building, but said Charter Oak would investigate if officials knew of such a case, especially if it contributed to bringing bed bugs into the building.
"If it was causing an exacerbation of the problem, we absolutely would step in," Tufo said.
Amy Lehaney, a city health inspector, said the last confirmed case of bed bugs at Stamford Manor was verified on June 3, when a resident brought in a bed bug. Charter Oak sent confirmation of extermination on July 3. Not all bed bug complaints reach the Health Department, as Charter Oak asks residents to make reports to the housing authority first.
The city received a sample from a resident at Stamford Manor on Nov. 13, but laboratory tests found it was a squash beetle, not a bed bug. Squash beetles are a type of lady bugs.
Sourced By: Staff Writer Devon Lash contributed to this article
Sourced By: Magdalene Perez, Staff Writer
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