Monthly Archives: March 2014

ANCHORAGE, Alaska Blood-sucking insects are on the rise in Alaska, and it's not even mosquito season.

The state Department of Health and Social Services issued a bulletin Tuesday announcing a proliferation of bedbugs, the apple seed-size pests that can double in number every 16 days.

The biting bugs are more of a public nuisance than a health hazard, the bulletin said. Bites are at first painless but can turn into itchy welts. Some people do not develop welts.

Signs of an infestation include molted exoskeletons and white eggs or eggshells about one millimeter long. Bed bug excrement looks like small rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets, the bulletin said.

Bedbugs can arrive with people back from trips outside, or new residents.

"They're the ultimate hitchhikers," said Tony Barrett, environmental health program manager for the municipality of Anchorage. They arrive and lay eggs in a couch or bed, he told the Anchorage Daily News (http://bit.ly/1fHEy7j ).

"Bed bugs don't care if it's a four-star hotel or a no-star hotel," he said.

Anchorage received 68 bed bug complaints in 2013, down from 84 in 2012. However, in 2007 and 2008, the city took just one call each year on bedbugs.

Ken Perry, general manager of Pied Piper Pest Control in Anchorage, has been dealing with bedbugs since 1987 but has seen high rates only recently. The company takes five calls per day on the pests.

"We've always done bed bug work," Perry said. "Maybe one a year or two a year, it's always been there. It's never completely disappeared. But then, we started seeing a huge increase in 2000, predominantly in the travel industry."

Link:
ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Complaints of bedbugs increase in ...

Travelers should be vigilant in protecting themselves. Before settling into a hotel room, inspect in and around the bed for bed bugs. Courtesy photo

Published on: Wednesday, March 19, 2014

NewsUSA, Special to The Sentinel

Choices. Choices. There are countless options of what souvenirs to bring home from summer vacations. The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) lightheartedly recommends opting for tchotchkes or t-shirts and notbed bugs.

"Summer is prime time for bed bugs," notes Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for NPMA. According to a recent survey, Bugs Without Borders, by NPMA and the University of Kentucky, nearly half of respondents in the pest management industry suggest infestations occur most often in the warmest months. Henriksen suggests, "Since people tend to travel more and enjoy added leisurely pastimes during the summer months, it's likely a greater number of people unknowingly transport the bugs home from their travels and recreational excursions."

Check out NPMA's Summer Guide for Avoiding Bed Bugs:

Hotels and Motels. Travelers should be vigilant in protecting themselves. Before settling into a hotel room, inspect in and around the bed for bed bugs. Keep suitcases off the ground, and don't put them on the bed. Store luggage in plastic bags. When returning home, wash and dry all clothes on hot cycles.

Trains, Busses and Taxis. According to the Bugs Without Borders study, 21 percent of pest professionals treated transportation systems for bed bugs. When on public transportation, keep bags and luggage off the floor or in plastic bags if possible.

Movie Theaters. Theaters across the country have experienced bed bugs, and with so many great new releases hitting the big screen this summer, it's worth remembering a few precautions. Keep purses, bags and sweaters in your lap, and inspect yourself and all belongings upon returning home.

Libraries. Bed bugs must have something in common with bookworms because reading rooms and the spines of books are often harborage areas for these pests. Inspect all books carefully prior to check out.

See the rest here:
Bedbugs: An Unwanted Souvenir