by Peter Yezukevich

The problem of bedbug infestation in Somerville has reached the tipping point. Noreen Burke of the Somerville Board of Health announced recently that the Board has formed a collaborative relationship with the Harvard Extension School in order to address and solve the situation.

“We have a student from the Harvard Extension School working with us now in order for us to come up with an action plan for the infestation,” said Burke. “Soon we will be able to report the results, to better educate the citizens on bedbugs.”

Cimex lectularis, or bedbugs, are flat, reddish-brown bugs about a quarter inch long that feed on blood. They commonly reside in household mattresses and furniture, as those places make for easy contact with humans. In urban areas of Boston such as Allston, the problem has been exacerbated by the tendency on the part of residents to remove infested items from their homes, rather than having them destroyed. In turn, other residents tend to pick up the random chair or mattress on the street, and the cycle begins again.

Over the past year, the infestation has grown in Somerville, leading to action by neighborhood activists. Somerville resident Leonina F. Heringer is one such activist. Impassioned and vocal, Heringer envisions a plan wherein the exterminators in Somerville are armed and ready to make their mark on bedbug infestation.

“Give cans of red spray paint to exterminators, instead of boxcutters,” said Heringer. “I doubt anyone would take a mattress (from the street) that has red paint on it, for it resembles blood.” Heringer said that an alternative to paint could be ketchup.

Heringer also said that although there are less then 20 reported cases of bedbug infestation in the city, those reported cases only reach the Board of Health after it is too late. “We have to convey that the cases that are reported are the ones in which the landlord fails to exterminate right away when the tenant reports it,” said Heringer.

“We all need to engage in a campaign to prevent and to curb this epidemic. It is not just in the region or the state, but in Rhode Island, New York, Chicago, California, Australia and other parts of the world,” said Heringer.

That may be just what is about to happen. With the Board of Health’s announcement, it looks like the City of Somerville is finally tired of letting the bedbugs bite.