World, Bed Bug Registry Map – Infestation Reports

As Rock County Health Department Environmental Health Director Tim Banwell celebrates 25 years with the department this March, he said overall health of the county has improved although bed bugs, hoarding and radon are still posing challenges.

Banwell has seen miracles in his long career. People no longer smoke in restaurants and taverns, they put up smoke detectors and wear their seat belts. And restaurant operators heat their foods to the appropriate temperatures.

However, as health consciousness improves, there are some health challenges as old as time. And one is bed bugs.

We do have them in our community, Banwell said.

Bed bugs have become more resistant in third world countries due in part to the continued use of DDT and strong pesticides. With world travel being high, the little critters have made their way to the United States, with Banwell getting a few calls on them every month.

Hes heard about them most recently in apartment buildings, homes and the occasional motel. They are typically beige colored to tan and resemble an apple seed, although flatter. Because they are similar to mosquitos, feasting on blood, they can be a rust color as well. Often people will not know they have been bitten by bed bugs because their saliva has an anesthetizing effect. However, people can get welts a few days after they have been bitten.

The bugs can hide in beds, or crawl away and hide in radios, bookcases, furniture, file cabinets, electric switch plate openings and more.

They can hide all day. At night they will crawl and find the person sleeping in bed, and theyll attack them, Banwell said.

The good news is bed bugs can be eradicated with the help of a professional pest control operator. They may enlist the help of a dog to sniff around to locate the bugs, because people only have a 30 percent chance of finding an infestation by their eyesight alone. Banwell said pest control operators will usually use a combination of sprays and heating infected rooms to 120 degrees.

The dry heat will kill them, Banwell said.

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Health hazards: Bed bugs, radon, hoarding

Posted on: 10:02 pm, March 26, 2012, by Myra Sanchick, updated on: 09:56pm, March 26, 2012

MILWAUKEE A Milwaukee mother says her developmentally disabled son was bitten by bed bugs repeatedly, and wasnt able to tell anyone whats wrong because he cannot speak. Now, this mother is mad not at the bugs, but at those who never told her about the problem.

Albert hasnt been able to speak since meningitis almost took his life at the age of three. Now, at 22 years old, Albert couldnt tell his adoptive mother what was bothering him. He wont eat. Hes acting out. He wont go on the van ride, which he loves. Hes beating his head on the van. Hes throwing chairs. I said oh my God, he must have been itching, Delores Sallis said.

What was bugging Albert, according to his mom, was bed bugs he contracted at a group home he stays at a few times every month. When Delores dropped off Alberts luggage a little more than a week ago at the Thurston Home on Milwaukees north sidethe manager came out to ask me did you know we have an infestation of bed bugs? I said no, and she said you should have been notified. I said, well, I havent. I was stuck. I was at a loss for words, Delores said.

Delores says the manager told her Albert had been staying in the room that was most infested. Delores took Albert home, and says he wont go back. This is not fair to him. My son is 22 years old, but he has the mind of a three-year-old, and thats just not fair to him, Delores said.

The state of Wisconsin tells FOX6 News they had an anonymous complaint about bed bugs in the group home in September. Inspectors verified it, and the group home hired a service to take care of the problem. A spokesman for the group home says they are still contracting with that service, and says all families should have been notified. He regrets Delores Sallis wasnt.

This is my pride and joy sitting here. By him not being able to hear or speak, theres some things I dont catch onto too fast, and I hate it because theres nothing I can do, Delores said.

Albert is now getting home care, and the bed bug bites have subsided. The state says the home is in compliance as it tries to get rid of the problem. The group home spokesman says hes not sure when the entire problem will be resolved.

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Mother of disabled man says she wasn’t notified about bed bugs