Bedbug problem expected to stick around in York County

This photo from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a common bedbug. York officials said there is a worsening problem with the parasites in the city. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

B.J. Riley, an exterminator, has watched women break down and cry when he tells them what needs to be done to get rid of bedbugs.

All clothing must be removed from the house. Picture frames need to be taken down from the walls and bagged. Treatments will be spread over 30 days, and the costs could range from $1,000 to $2,500 with no guarantee that the problem will be resolved.

"It's so emotionally overwhelming," Riley, president of B.J. Riley Pest Control, said.

York, like many urban areas, is facing a bedbug problem, Steven Buffington, deputy director of Permits, Planning and Zoning, said in an email.

And it's getting worse. How much worse is hard to tell because an "unwarranted stigma" is causing many cases to go unreported, and therefore, untreated, he said.

But despite the perception that bedbugs are caused by filth, the reality is that anyone is susceptible to them.

The parasites have been found at five-star resorts and bed-and-breakfasts, and although they were once associated with developing countries, they're now rapidly spreading through the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"They're not associated with uncleanliness, per se. If you travel and stay in motels or hotels you can get them. If you buy untreated used furniture you can get them," Buffington said.

While York officials are taking additional steps, such as providing special training for property maintenance inspectors, to handle the problem, the issue runs beyond city lines. Riley has handled infestations in single-family homes, apartment buildings and duplexes across the county.

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Bedbug problem expected to stick around in York County