Click Free Pest Control Quote
to fill in a form to obtain a free pest control quote today.
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The Huntsville Housing Authority is working to contain a bed bug outbreak at its Johnson Towers senior apartment building.
Spokeswoman Wendy Reeves said two residents on different floors of the building reported a bed bug problem last week. A subsequent door-to-door inspection uncovered the tiny pests in approximately 20 of 120 apartments, Reeves said.
While maintenance crews have already sprayed those apartments, Reeves said the Housing Authority plans to treat the entire eight-story building on Seminole Drive west of downtown. Residents of affected apartments will also be given special mattress covers designed to eliminate hiding places for bed bugs.
"We have a very aggressive plan in place," Reeves said Tuesday. "We want the whole building professionally treated so we manage this effectively."
Opened in 1965, Johnson Towers is home to about 130 elderly and disabled public housing residents.
Reeves said residents will have to vacate their apartments for about six hours following the pesticide treatment. To kill any lingering bed bugs, residents will also be instructed to wash all their clothes and bedding in hot water.
Even curtains will have to be taken down and tumbled in a warm dryer, she said.
Bed bugs were nearly eradicated from this country in the mid-1900s but have made a strong resurgence due to increased international travel and resistance to available pesticides.
While not known to transmit disease, bed bugs feed on the blood of humans. Their bites can cause an allergic reaction that sometimes leads to more serious skin infections such as impetigo, ecthyma and lymphanigitis.
Mattress seams, bed frames, headboards and dresser drawers are among their favorite hiding places.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, controlling bed bugs in multi-family housing is difficult because they can easily travel between units through holes in the wall or on the bodies of residents.
Joey Harris, an entomologist with Cook's Pest Control in Decatur, said bed bugs are on the increase in North Alabama but remain a "spotty problem."
"I've been in this business for 28 years, and for 25 of those years I had never seen a bed bug," Harris said Wednesday. "The last three or four years, we're seeing them more and more frequently."
Harris said Cook's has treated bed bug infestations in homes as well as businesses, and they are as likely to be found in wealthy neighborhoods as poor ones.
"It's not a socioeconomic pest," he said.
View post:
Bed bugs reported at Huntsville Housing Authority's Johnson Towers apartment building
- WGNO Reports on Inspector Hound, Bed Bug Dog - September 6th, 2011 [September 6th, 2011]
- Landlord Tortures little girl with bed bugs - September 24th, 2011 [September 24th, 2011]
- BED BUG DOG - Inspections - Video - October 15th, 2011 [October 15th, 2011]
- Louisiana family battles bed bugs - February 7th, 2012 [February 7th, 2012]
- Huntsville Housing Authority still monitoring bed bugs at Johnson Towers senior apartments - February 7th, 2012 [February 7th, 2012]
- Huntsville, Ala., offers look at rocket science, history, gardens and more - June 17th, 2012 [June 17th, 2012]
- Report Bed Bugs | Bed Bug Reports | Bed Bug Hotels and Apartment ... - November 3rd, 2013 [November 3rd, 2013]
- Birmingham AL Dermatologist Doctors - Bed Bugs Bites, Signs, in ... - November 5th, 2013 [November 5th, 2013]
- Bed Bug Registry Database Alabama, Usa, National Bed Bug Registry ... - November 5th, 2013 [November 5th, 2013]
- Bed Bug Registry Database Alabama, Usa, National Bed Bug ... - November 27th, 2013 [November 27th, 2013]
- Bed Bugs - RentLaw.com - January 11th, 2014 [January 11th, 2014]
- Alabama Bed Bug Law - January 16th, 2014 [January 16th, 2014]
- Birmingham AL Dermatologist Doctors - Bed Bugs Bites ... - January 24th, 2014 [January 24th, 2014]
- Bed bug problem plaguing downtown Montgomery apartments - February 27th, 2014 [February 27th, 2014]
- Alabama Bed Bug Law - ColeRepair.com - May 8th, 2014 [May 8th, 2014]
- Exploring Solutions on How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs in ... - November 19th, 2014 [November 19th, 2014]
- Anchor Pest Control Leads the Industry with K9 Bed Bug ... - November 20th, 2014 [November 20th, 2014]
- KCK assisted living facility battling bed bugs - WSFA.com ... - November 20th, 2014 [November 20th, 2014]
- Orkin's 50 worst cities for bed bugs - Alabamas13.com WVTM ... - November 28th, 2014 [November 28th, 2014]
- President's Prescription: Bed bugs - WAFF-TV: News ... - January 12th, 2015 [January 12th, 2015]
- FSI K9 Services - Bed Bugs - January 19th, 2015 [January 19th, 2015]
- Bed Sized Bed Bug Trap LLC Develops New Trap with the Goal ... - January 21st, 2015 [January 21st, 2015]
- Myrtle Beach, Florence among top cities with bed bugs ... - January 24th, 2015 [January 24th, 2015]
- Bed Bugs - CEDAR-ALCEDAR-AL - Welcome To Our Online Store ... - February 6th, 2015 [February 6th, 2015]
- Bed Bugs Won't Give You Chagas Disease (probably) | WIRED - August 9th, 2015 [August 9th, 2015]
- How to Get Rid of Bed Bugs - Get Rid of Bed Bugs Today - October 22nd, 2015 [October 22nd, 2015]
- How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs Mobile, Alabama - Pest Control - March 7th, 2016 [March 7th, 2016]
- Cost of Getting Rid of Bed Bugs - Estimates and Prices Paid - March 7th, 2016 [March 7th, 2016]
- Hotel Obligations for Bed Bugs | USA Today - March 26th, 2016 [March 26th, 2016]
- Getting Rid Of Bed Bugs - bedbugcontrolbirmingham.com - April 3rd, 2016 [April 3rd, 2016]
- Alabama officials warn: Don't let the bedbugs bite | AL.com - May 2nd, 2016 [May 2nd, 2016]
- How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs Birmingham, Alabama - May 2nd, 2016 [May 2nd, 2016]
- Do I Have Bed Bugs? | Rentokil - May 9th, 2016 [May 9th, 2016]
- Bed Bug Control for Alabama, Mississippi & Louisiana ... - May 12th, 2016 [May 12th, 2016]
- Caretaker charged after 96-year-old dies from bed bug bites - WAAY - February 26th, 2017 [February 26th, 2017]
- Bed Bugs in Clothing - Orkin.com - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Don't bring bed bugs home from vacation - Alabama's News Leader - March 12th, 2017 [March 12th, 2017]
- What do Bed Bugs Look Like? - Orkin.com - June 5th, 2017 [June 5th, 2017]
- #ICYMI: HOA battle forces man from home, and an epic freak out over bed bugs - whnt.com - June 10th, 2017 [June 10th, 2017]
- Meet New York City's bedbug-sniffing dogs - Metro US - July 6th, 2017 [July 6th, 2017]
- Bed Bug Treatment in Alabama | Bama Exterminating - July 16th, 2017 [July 16th, 2017]
- Bed Bugs : How to Get Rid of Bedbugs - Orkin - July 20th, 2017 [July 20th, 2017]
- The Alabama Landlord: Bed Bugs - August 13th, 2017 [August 13th, 2017]
- Cleveland Tops Terminix's Newest 'Top 20 Bed Bug Cities' List - PCT Magazine - August 26th, 2017 [August 26th, 2017]
- Alabama, United States Bed Bug Registry Map Bed Bug ... - January 6th, 2018 [January 6th, 2018]
- Bed Bug Pest Control for Huntsville AL | Scout Pest Control - February 6th, 2018 [February 6th, 2018]
- Alabama Bed Bug Removal - alabama-pestcontrolco.com - March 15th, 2018 [March 15th, 2018]
- Bed Bugs: What You Need To Know - Pest Control | Bama ... - December 17th, 2018 [December 17th, 2018]
- Bed Bug Control in Gulf Shores Alabama - Home Safe Pest ... - May 7th, 2019 [May 7th, 2019]
- Bed bugs, fire hazards and mold: Inside Alabamas worst ... - July 24th, 2020 [July 24th, 2020]
- Exterminators turn to new treatments to get rid of bed bugs - December 22nd, 2021 [December 22nd, 2021]
- How Do Bed Bugs Reproduce? | Terminix - June 28th, 2022 [June 28th, 2022]
- How To Get Rid of Bed Bugs - The Ultimate Guide for 2022 - July 8th, 2022 [July 8th, 2022]
Click Free Exterminator Quote
to fill in a form to obtain a free exterminator quote today.