VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
It's a real nightmare if you wake up to bed bugs, and it's happening to more and more people in the tri-state every day.
A local pest control business says for the last two years their treatments for bed bugs have increased by 400%, and the Vanderburgh County Health Department says many residents don't even believe the bugs exist.
The health department says they get calls everyday from residents asking for help with their bed bug problems.
"Bed bugs really bring about mass panic," said Keith Goy, the Vector Control Supervisor with the Vanderburgh County Health Department.
Although the tiny reddish brown insect may make you itchy, the health department says they don't spread disease.
"They generally bite three times in a row per bed bug. When they bite you, they secrete a numbing agent so you don't actually know they are doing it, and the bed bugs are waiting for you to be at rest, either sitting or watching TV or sleeping and that is when they are going to feed on you," Goy said.
The health department says they actually get a lot of phone calls from people who think the expression, 'don't let the bed bugs bite' is a myth, but it is actually very real, so they want to make sure people know what bed bugs look like.
They are about a quarter of an inch and if you think your home has them you can find them in between your mattress cushions, along the seam of the mattress or even behind the headboard.
"They like tight spaces so wherever they can be snug, and feel secure, that is where they tend to be," Goy said.
Kevin Pass, owner of Action Pest Control says they have so much business they had to invest half a million dollars in equipment to treat bed bugs.
"It is a worldwide epidemic of a resurgence of bed bugs," Pass said.
Last year, Action Pest responded mostly to homes. This year, they've had a lot of calls from apartment complexes.
One resident at LexBrook Apartments, who didn't want to go on camera says their units have just been sprayed twice for bed bugs and thinks finally the problem might be clear.
"They were all up in the couch, we had to get new furniture," the resident said.
Bed bugs normally come out at night, and Goy says if you see them in the daytime, you can be sure you probably have a severe infestation.
"Then you have so many that they are actively looking for something to eat," Goy said.
Goy says bed bugs can lay five eggs per day per bug and can live up to a year without feeding.
Besides looking for the bugs themselves, there are other signs they might be living in your home.
"They do leave fecal marks, they actually smear fecal marks, or if they've been feeding on you there will be blood droplets. Then also after they feed, they will molt their skin, so they will leave their skin shell for you to see," Goy said.
Where to look for bed bugs:
- Behind a bed's headboard
- On the mattress
- Inside the hollow areas of a bed
- In the coils of a bed
- Inside a box spring
- Behind peeling wallpaper
- Behind walls and baseboards
- near the edge and underneath of rugs and in closets
- Within curtains, draperies, and shower rods
- Within electrical equipment like lamps, clock, radios, smoke alarms, irons, and phones
- Within and on the exterior of sofas and chairs or their upholstery (especially around seams and zippers)
- Within and on the exterior of furniture, cabinets, and drawers
- Around access panel doors
- Within popcorn ceiling cavities
- At wall floor and wall ceiling junctions
What to look for:
- Fecal stains
- Blood spots
- An uniquely sweet raspberry-like or musty odor emitted by the bed bugs
- The bed bugs or eggs themselves
- Cast exoskeleton skins from molting
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