Bedbugs

Whats Bugging You?Bed BugsThe Pennsylvania State University

Housing Services

Everett Jan Mason

VIDEO2IN THIS SESSION WE WILL DISCUSSBrief History & Nature of the Bed Bug

How to Identify the Signs of an Infestation

Current Treatments

Penn States Housing Response Plan

Travel Tips and Steps to Protect Yourself

BED BUG HISTORYHas always been an issue

Virtually eliminated in US

Rising numbers since 2001

Skyrocketed in last 5 years

2009 EPA held 1st ever Bed Bug Summit

THEYRE BACK BUT WHY?Increased international travel

Change in general pest control methods

Reduced available products for control

Lack of research and development

The Ultimate HitchhikersSo Where Can You Pick up a Bed Bug?

6TRAVEL

7WHOS BEEN SLEEPING IN MY BED?

BON VOYAGE

Clothing Stores

ENJOY OUR FEATURED PRESENTATION

At Work

BED BUG BASICSFeed only on blood

Feeding lasts 3 12 minutes

Nocturnal

Can detect and avoid chemicals

Cryptic

Crawl up to 20 feet to feed

WHATS HOT AND WHATS NOTBelow ~55 F Development stops

Above ~99 F Development stops

Die at Temps > 113F or < 32 F

(122 for one minute will kill)

Thrive at temps between ~68 F - 80 F

LIFE CYCLE

I lay between 1 and 12 eggs every day!Starting as an egg, it takes me 30 days to become an adult!Ill molt 5 times before I become an adult!Ill live about 10 months and lay between 300 and 500 eggs!I may live up to a year without feeding

Lets start with one female bed bug

In one month, there will be 61 bed bugs.In two months, there will be 1890 bed bugs.206 Months = More than the population of China living in your bedroom

What to Look For

JUST A LITTLE GUY

IDENTIFICATIONNot as big as you might think

1.5 mm 1 cm long, flat, oval, with no wings

Brown to Dark Red (Adult)

Tan (Newly Hatched)

Bed Linen & Back of a Head Board

Seams of a Mattress

Bed Bug Waste

Notice the Pattern

Bites are Often in Rows of 3s Or in Small Clusters

Rows of Threes

Media coined this as Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

An example of clusters.Where to Start?

PENN STATES RESPONSE STRATEGY

Isolate students and their belongings in the room where bed bugs are suspected to be inContact Pest Control immediately to inspect and determine if bed bugs are presentResidence Life contacted to arrange for new housing location for residents if bed bugs detectedClothing and bedding are treated in dryersPest Control to treat room over next 2 daysMattresses are removed, to be replaced after treatmentPest Control will return to re-inspect/re-treat in 2 weeks

Once a report is received isolate the students and their personal belongings in their room to avoid transferring bedbugs within the building or within the community. Get the Pest Control company on site immediately to verify, educate the students, and treat as appropriate. Education addresses the entomology of bedbugs including such things as the life cycle, treatment, health implications, etc. Education also includes students in adjacent rooms and appropriate inspections and preventative treatments as necessary. The students clothing is run through the clothes dryers on high heat for 30 minutes to help eliminate any hiding population. Bedding should be run through dryer separately. Do not overload dryer so as to allow even heat. Mattress are removed and replaced after treatment Suggest to the student that they visit the health center for any appropriate treatment. This is a precautionary step meant to reassure students and parents. According to the Mayo Clinic web site, treatment of bedbug bites usually involves steps the effected person can take on their own, but in more severe cases they may need to see their doctor. To date, bedbugs aren't known to spread disease to humans. Bedbug bites are similar to mosquito bites in that they inject an anticoagulant to keep the hosts blood flowing as they suck, along with an anesthetic agent to keep the host from feeling them when they're at work. Life cycle implications once treatment has occurred we will not know for 4 to 6 weeks if all bedbugs were destroyed. Due to this we relocate students to another room if possible so we can quarantine the effected space and continue to treat the room as necessary. If possible the effected room is not used again until we are confident eradication in that space has occurred. Also, offer dryers for employees to run their clothing thru dryer as a precaution. 33Treatments Within the RoomThoroughly VacuumRemove bag from vacuum and seal in trash bag.

Remove all posters, pictures, and mirrors. Maintenance employee will remove light & socket covers, bolsters, bulletin boards, etc

Treat and bag the mattress and then we will remove.

Treat room & all items.

VACUUM THE CARPETThoroughly vacuum the carpet areas

Can occur before or after the heat treatment

Dispose of the vacuum bag

35STEAM TREATMENTPull the carpet back from baseboards

Steam along all edges at the junction of carpet and wall

36RESIDUAL APPLICATIONApply residual insecticide along junction of wall and floor

Apply Diatomaceous Earth behind all wall plates

37HEAT CHAMBER

122for1 Minute

Reducing Time & LaborHeat Treatment of the entire room.

Final Inspection

Bed Bug Dogs

While we have not yet used bed bug dogs, a local apartment complex recently used dogs to check out a building to make sure bugs did not infest other areas of the building after one apartment had bugs. One day cost them $1000.

PSU looked into the cost of checking all of our rooms after students depart in May (6000 rooms @ 14$ per room) Cost would be $84, 000!

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So, After 32 bed bug cases in 4 years what have we learned?

Bedbugs freak people out!44You can run, but you cant hideBe proactive

Educate

Be a partner

Given the current bedbug situation, if you havent already experienced bedbugs at your campus, you will. Be proactive.

Educate your students. (Distribute poster) Give them the tools they need to prevent bedbug infestations. Include a blurb in the newspaper or newsletter before they leave for breaks: encourage them to check their hotel rooms and take preventive measures such as leaving their luggage in their trunk and drying their clothes in high heat.

When you have a bed bug event, encourage the residents affected to be open with their friends and family. Since the bugs are hitchhikers, it is very possible that they took one home with them, or over to their friends apartment. Bed bugs are not signs of uncleanliness there is no shame in being the unlucky one who provided a nice home for these pests.

Be prepared for the brief flurry of panic there will be false alarms, media attention, and questions. However, once you get through the initial firestorm, your residents will actually feel MORE comfortable because they have the information they need to feel in control of the situation.

At the start and end of semesters, remind students not to take furniture mattresses, chairs, sofas from unknown sources. That new-looking mattress by the curb might just come with a few surprises.

Partner with your community to prevent the spread of bedbugs. Work with off-campus apartments by sharing information and encouraging an educational approach.45Getting The Word Out

Educating Employees

Bed Bugs are aCommunity IssueThe best time to develop a bedbug plan is BEFORE you ever see a bedbug.

Who will respond? What are the chances that the first person a student tells about the problem shes been having is her RA or housekeeper? Pretty good, right? If that happens, does the RA or housekeeper know what to say or do? Part of our plan is making sure everyone knows what the plan is and what their part is in it.

When will the call come in? If a student calls in the middle of the night, how will that affect the way you respond? When will you inspect and treat? Will you wait? Once youve begun treatment, whats your timeline? When will you re-inspect and retreat? If youve moved the students, when can they return to their room?

How are your students feeling at this point? Some will take this in stride; many will feel disgusted and violated. It is not a comfortable feeling for most people. And, throw in possible displacement, technicians going through their things, and the time they have to spend dealing with this issue, most students will be frustrated and unhappy. How are you going to respond to their concerns and their fears? The best way you can help them is by staying calm, giving them the information they need to feel some measure of control, and applying your plan efficiently and as pain-free for them as possible.

Where will the student live? Will they stay in the room? Do you have a temporary room for them? What happens if you have multiple events at one time? Do you have enough temporary rooms? What happens if they cant move? Understand that some students will be so freaked out that they will never want to move back to that room. What will you do? When discussing options with your students and their parents, be realistic about the options you can offer. If possible, have a contingency plan for the students who react at the extreme level.

What information will you give the students and parents? Have a handout or email ready. Give them the information they need to feel in control of the situation info about the bug, the steps youll be taking to eliminate the problem, what they can do to help. Keep them informed about what youre finding in the room at initial inspection, at retreatment. Stay in touch with them, make sure theyre doing okay.

Remember, were not only treating the bed bugs, were treating the students, our residents, and what we say and do, how we approach the situation, will determine the success of our plan.

49Centre RegionBed Bug Coalition14K Housed on Campus at University Park / 42K are enrolled

CRBBC was formed in Dec. 2009

Began with monthly meetings

Mid April 2010 workshop held its first Workshop

90% of the regions student housing represented

Personal Protection5 Stages of PreventionResearch

Plan Ahead

Investigate

Use Caution

Protect the Home

51ResearchCheck out your destination

TripAdvisorThe Bedbug RegistryBedbugger.comPlan AheadThink the entire trip out

Bring Only What You Need?

Bring a Flashlight

Plastic bags for Laundry

Large Lawn Bags to bag Suitcases

InvestigateGet your flashlight out

Leave your bags in the car or at the door

Dont stop at the bed

Keep Items off Floor and Bed

Do you need to unpack Everything

Dont Leave Clothes Lying Around

Use Plastic Bags for Laundry

Returning HomeStraight to the Washer/Dryer

Leave bags in the Trunk

Heat, Freezers, & Pesticides

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Seek Professional Help

Avoid The ScammersDo they know how to treat bed bugs?

Get a written estimate

Stay away from monthly treatments

Are they Licensed Pest Management Company? All Done!

QUESTIONS???????????Jan Masonejm140@psu.edu62