City Council Puts Bed Bug Problem Under Microscope

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By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) There was plenty of squirming in City Council chambers this morning, as lawmakers convened a hearing on the vexing problem of bed bugs and how hard they are to exterminate in a city of row homes.

The problem is real, and its only getting worse, said Martin Overline of Aardvark Pest Management.

Overline was one of the exterminators who came before city council bugged by bed bugs. He told of one recluse whose home he visited.

I saw literally hundreds of bed bugs in his front window, he said. Thats just in his window, thats not even counting whats in his bedroom. He wouldnt allow nobody in his house. But unfortunately for the neighbors and the rowhouses next to him, three on each side now have activity in their homes now from bed bugs from this gentleman.

Bed bugs are wingless insects that feed on human blood and can be found not just in beds and box springs, but even in drawers, couches and electrical outlets. Dr. Palak Raval-Nelson, director of Environmental Health Services for the city Health Department, said eradicating bed bugs is no easy task.

You have to de-clutter, you have to find the source of the bed bugs, she said, and wherever possible find somebody to help you with the problem.

Michelle Niedermeier of the Philadelphia office of the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management program testified that many residents dont know what to do.

Residents often seek the cheapest and most readily available materials, including insect foggers, boric acid dust, bleach, detergent, rubbing alcohol and moth balls, Niedermeier said. All of these are ineffective in managing bed bugs and many can be harmful or even dangerous.

Michelle Niedermeier (center) of the Philadelphia office of the Pennsylvania Integrated Pest Management program. (credit: Mike Dunn)

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City Council Puts Bed Bug Problem Under Microscope

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