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Bed bugs on the ropes
By Sam Burr
Bed bugs are on the run in Somerville and authorities are pushing the tiny critters further and further away from the city’s hotels, schools and homes.
Over the last couple of years, the bugs have been bothering Somerville, on a much smaller level than other epidemics such as a recent New York City infestation. But, nonetheless, the city wants them out and state Rep. Denise Provost, D-Somerville, said the results are encouraging.
“I haven’t heard about any problems recently,” she said.
Bed bugs are small, land based insects that survive solely off of blood. The creatures hide in their prey’s quarters and wait for them to come home and fall asleep- then they attack. In urban scenarios the bed bug’s primary victims are humans, so their attack site is naturally the human’s bed. Thus, their name.
Victims will wake with many unexplainable bites, but the bed bugs will be long gone, hiding in any crevice that they can fit into. Since they’re at most 1/4th of an inch long, hiding places are rich in numbers.
Richard Pollack, entomology expert and head of the Laboratory of Public Health at Harvard University, said, “They’re not a big deal. Bed bugs are annoying, but they’re not too dangerous.”
The bed bugs are literally not a big deal. From their miniscule size to their tendency to avoid light, they easily pass under the radar.
“If you can read a paper and see the period at the end of a sentence, then you can see a bed bug.” said Pollack.
The average citizen squirms when they hear the phrase bed bugs uttered, regardless of their level of fear towards them, talking about bed bugs just seems dirty. Out of 11 Somerville businesses, only one had an employee who consented to being quoted- Cynthia Hynes of Teel Square Laundromat on Broadway.
“I’m surprised,” Hynes said. “If they had cleaned their linens and taken proper precautions, none of this would have happened.”
Bed bugs only come out during the night and their diminutive size allows them to wander completely undetected.
“I know that they’re active at night, when you’re sleeping,” said Provost. “Can’t do much about that.”
Bed bugs are more of a nuisance then a threat, much like the average mosquito. They also haven’t been found to transmit any sorts of diseases to humans. The most aggravating trauma that the bed bugs cause is their bite marks.
“There are ways of knowing when a Bed Bug’s bit you,” Pollack said, speaking about the symptoms of a bed bug attack. “Look on your sheets, walls, or anything around your bed for small amounts of blood.”
Regardless of whether the bugs can spread diseases, most residents don’t want to live with them. In Somerville, those wishes have been respected recently.
“There has been one incident in the last year involving the Somerville Housing Authority,” Provost said. “Somerville and the health department have implemented a committee to prevent any future bed bug situations.”
Act immediately if symptoms of a bed bug attack appear. Procrastinating will only lead to more attacks, said Pollack.
“Call a licensed pet patrol officer,” said Pollack.
Any licensed exterminator is prepared to handle bed bugs as well. They are not scarce and can be found in any phone book.
Sal Celestino, a licensed New York City exterminator who has been taking care of the home dwelling pests for over 40 years, said, “My job is to kill them. Just spray the right chemicals on the mattress and carpet.”
Not just any chemical will do. Fenitrothion, an especially toxic insecticide can be used, but the much safer option, Dursban, is the industry standard. But even toxic chemicals such as these are not sure shots.
‚ÄúDursban or fenitrothion. They dry the bugs out,‚Äù said Celestino. ‚ÄúBut it‚Äôs not always effective.‚Äù The bed bugs will die if they come into contact with the chemicals, but considering their size, it is likely that a few will survive. If one of the survivors is a female — able to produce hundreds of eggs in here lifespan — then a newborn tribe of pests will be sucking blood from their sleeping victims in at least one day following conception. The chemicals don‚Äôt always work, said Celestino.
“Throwing the mattress out is the only way to make sure the bed bugs die,” said Celestino. “It’s less expensive to throw the mattress out and it’s more effective.”
If a mattress is lying on the street, then there is a chance that it’s infested. Eventually the bed bugs inhabiting the homeless mattress will die, stranded on their cot like a man on a boat lost and trapped at sea- considering that nobody takes them home.
“Bed bugs travel on carpets, mattresses and material of that sort. They don’t travel on people. That’s a myth,” claimed Pollack. “I wouldn’t take any mattresses off the street.”
Pollack insists the pests aren’t that bad and won’t be taking over Somerville any time soon.
“When they bite, there’s no pain,” he said.
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