Bed bugs a tough issue to fight – The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER For the past five months, single mother Kathleen Bashian and her two young sons have been suffering from an infestation of bed bugs crawling in their Woodstock Lane apartment, but they cant afford to exterminate the bloodsucking pests.

Ever since leaving an abusive relationship four years ago, Bashian has struggled to avoid homelessness, and the apartment seemed like a chance for a new beginning.

However, when she moved in last February, she said she noticed an abundance of cockroaches.

It was very obvious that proper treatments hadnt been taken for pest control, Bashian said. I didnt have a choice. It was either that or a shelter, and the shelter was all booked up.

As unpleasant as the cockroaches were, Bashians family soon discovered a pest far more difficult to eradicate: bed bugs.

In September, Bashians aunt came to visit and was soon covered with red bite marks. Bashians sons also started to get bitten. She said her sons are now often covered head to toe in little bites.

I have to give my kids melatonin so that they can fall asleep, because of the anxiety [they feel] because they know what happens at night, Bashian said. They get feasted upon.

Bashians landlord gave her sprays to get rid of the bed bugs, but she said they have been of little use. She added that the landlords maintenance staff also used alcohol to try to kill the bed bugs.

They came with [rubbing] alcohol and wanted to douse everything with alcohol to the point where you couldnt breathe, Bashian said. I had my [pet] lizards there, and it was basically killing them. So I basically started telling them enough is enough.

Bashian got her own pest spray that was supposed to be safer for breathing, but it didnt work.

Ive spent hundreds of dollars on laundry alone and hundreds more on these pesticides ..., Bashian said. I spray every nook and cranny I can, and its not going away. And my resources are gone. Im done. I dont have any more money to even do laundry like I need to.

Bashians experience with bed bugs is not unique.

Lee Hewitt, owner of Winchester-based Lees Pest Services, says bed bugs are an epidemic in the area, and that his company sees hundreds of cases each year.

But many are unable to afford the cost of extermination. He said the average cost to kill bed bugs in this area is $250 a room, and that each room in the house should be treated.

According to Hewitt, bed bugs were nearly wiped out in the mid-20th century, but there has been an increase in their population over the last 15 years, which he attributes in part to the Environmental Protection Agency banning some of the chemicals that were effective in killing them.

The reason there is such an epidemic now is because treatments are being done wrong, Hewitt said. Treatments are very expensive, and the people that have bed bugs cant afford to get rid of them, so it keeps spreading.

One of the common mistakes people make in trying to get rid of the bugs, Hewitt said, is they only try to target certain rooms or areas of their building.

Every single crack and crevice in that house needs to be treated, Hewitt said. Clothes need to be taken out of the dressers and closets. You cant treat spots.

Hewitt said bed bugs dont walk into houses; they are carried in. He said they usually feed on people while they are sleeping.

Everyone is at risk for getting bed bugs when visiting an infected area, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But those who travel frequently and share living and sleeping quarters have a higher risk of encountering bed bugs and possibly spreading them.

The CDC says bed bug infestations typically occur around or near the areas where people sleep. According to WebMD, bed bugs can enter homes undetected through luggage, clothing, used beds and couches and other items. Very small in size, they tend to live in groups in hiding places such as mattresses, box springs, bed frames and headboards.

Bed bugs are flat-bodied, about the size of an apple seed, WebMD explains. They can leave traces, like spots of blood on sheets and pillow cases, dark or rusty spots of bug excrement, and a musty, offensive odor.

David Goodfriend, acting director of Lord Fairfax Health District, said that because bed bugs dont carry diseases, the health department doesnt keep track of their presence and only gets involved if the situation deals with a facility it regulates.

Where we would more likely get involved is if people noticed it in a hotel that they were staying at in our region, Goodfriend said. Im not aware that weve had any recent complaints about that at all. Its not a reportable disease. There is not a requirement for anyone to notify us about it.

While bed bugs dont spread disease, the CDC says their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can increase the chance of a secondary skin infection.

When it comes to bed bugs, you cant treat one room, Hewitt said. They go from place to place. Wherever you go, thats where they are going to go with you, so the whole house has to be treated.

According to Hewitt, some chemicals dont kill bed bugs but merely chase them into hiding. He said bed bugs can lie dormant up to 16 months without a blood feed.

No one chemical works, Hewitt said. Instead, a combination of pesticides needs to be used to create the perfect cocktail.

Hewitts method of killing bed bugs involves spraying a residual in the house. Then he uses an insect growth regulator to disrupt how insects grow and to prevent bed bugs from reproducing. He then uses pyrethrin, which is a group of insecticidal compounds present in pyrethrum flowers.

Basically, [pyrethrin] is used as a flusher. It affects their neurological system in a way where they take off running, Hewitt said. It causes them to run and it kills them.

Afterward, Hewitt uses an actisol unit to finish the job. The actisol unit is a machine that mixes a low volume of insecticide with a high volume of air and atomizes the mixture. This mixture chases out anything inside the walls.

Its a piece of machinery that acts somewhat like a fogger, but it breaks the chemical down to its smallest particle Hewitt said.

Bashian said she was told her apartment would have to be heated to 125-130 degrees in order to kill the bed bugs, and that it could cost $1,000 to do the job, which she cant afford.

Hewitt doesnt think heat treatments are the best option. If they are done, he said anything that will melt such as CDs, candles and plastic will have to be removed prior to treatment.

According to an article from the University of Minnesota, heat treatments involve a pest management professional using special equipment to raise the temperature in the home infested with the bed bugs.

The article states that bed bugs and eggs die within 90 minutes at 118 degrees Farenheit or immediately at 122 degrees. During a heat treatment which usually takes between six and eight hours the air temperature in the room typically ranges from 135 to 145 degrees.

Since heat treatments do not offer any residual effects, the university states a persons home could quickly become reinfested after a heat treatment if prevention steps are not taken.

Terminix.com says that heat treatments are effective, but expensive and that it is common for homeowners to still have bed bug activity after structural and whole room heat treatments. Because of this, the heat treatments are usually combined with applications of pesticides.

Hewitt said he would would like to push for some kind of government assistance to help people get rid of bed bugs, since many cannot afford to do so.

It cant be done cheaply, Hewitt said. The chemicals are expensive, and people have to be willing to cooperate.

Its just really sad, Bashian said, that someone in poverty has to endure the mental anguish of living like they are worthless. Its damaging. I feel like the scum of the earth and Im such a bad mom because I have my kids getting eaten every single night and theres nothing I can do about it. And I cant find a place I can move to and afford.

Many organizations wont help unless she is actually homeless, and Bashian said she does not want to be homeless.

There are hundreds more like me, and their story doesnt get told, Bashian said. No one wants to live like this.

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Bed bugs a tough issue to fight - The Winchester Star