Brian Neal enjoyed four nights of bite-free sleep before the bed bugs in his bedroom discovered that he had moved to a mat in his living room. Neal foiled the bugs a week ago by moving to the bathroom, where he sleeps in the tub with a towel to seal the door. If the bugs find him again, he said, his next move will be to the kitchen table.
"You can't know how excruciating it is mentally," he said, describing his constant anxiety over the blood-sucking insects as "torment."
"I am running from them in my own house and it takes a lot of effort. I can't have visitors come over because I don't want anybody picking them up and taking them home with them," he said.
Since discovering bed bugs in his Henry Towers apartment three months ago, Neal, 55, said there's been no relief from a problem that affects at least several of the more than 80 units. He understands the dilemma of the landlord, who initially told him that extermination of the building is too costly. However, new information from his landlord is that heat-treatment equipment is on order, he said.
Tony Kulig, owner/manager of the low-income housing for the elderly and disabled, declined to comment.
Minot Housing Authority handles Housing and Urban Development and voucher paperwork for Henry Towers, but otherwise does not get involved in its operation, said Tom Pearson, director. Bed bugs typically aren't an issue that affects eligibility to participate in federal programs because the pests are common and can be addressed with treatment, he said.
Neal hopes that by calling attention to the situation, residents can find community resources to help. Residents may need both volunteer and financial help from the community to operate extermination equipment and take other measures, he said.
Experts at the University of Kentucky state that laundering and drying clothing at high temperatures will kill the bugs. Mattresses can be encapsulated, but sometimes the best course is to properly discard furnishings that have become infested.
Dorothy Wagar, 89, a Henry Towers resident, said she cannot afford to replace furniture to ensure eradication. Since investing $50 in chemical bug sprays, she hadn't spotted a bug in her apartment for a few days, which isn't a guarantee but helps lessen her anxiety.
Rick Bergeson of First District Health Unit's environmental health section said bed bugs aren't a health issue because they don't carry disease, but their bites can swell and itch. The health unit has received several complaints about bed bugs over the past year as the pests have become more common across the United States and locally.
"It seems that heat treatment is becoming the standard because pesticides are not working," Bergeson said.
Heat of 120 degrees that penetrates areas where the bugs have taken refuge will kill the creatures. Temperatures below freezing also kill them, although the cold must be sustained for several days.
According to the University of Kentucky, bed bugs were common in the United States until the widespread use of DDT during the 1940s and 1950s. Changes in modern pest control practice and less effective pesticides have led to a recurrence. They have been encountered in hotels, health-care facilities, dormitories, shelters, schools, modes of transport, movie theaters and office buildings. Once introduced, they often spread throughout a building and can be picked up and carried to other locations.
The level of cleanliness has little to do with most infestations, the university reported. Pristine homes, hotels and apartments have plenty of hiding places and warm-blooded hosts, making them vulnerable.
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Unwelcome guests drive Henry Tower residents buggy
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