By Vicki Smith, LION TotalCare®

“Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite” is no longer just a phrase uttered to children as a bedtime tradition. After near eradication in the USA, the bed bug has made an amazing comeback. In 2010, every major metropolis reported infestations! The bed bug has returned as a nuisance because the effective but toxic pesticide DDT is no longer used and they have become resistant to currently available pesticides. Also, increased domestic and international travel, and the importation of goods means bed bugs and their eggs have plenty of opportunity to journey from place to place.

Although the bed bug of lore is associated with unkempt beds and dirty homes, the fact is that bed bugs are little hitchhikers that hitch rides in handbags, clothes, luggage, planes and even ambulances. They hide in dark, protected places like folds of fabric, upholstery, wood, paper and even in the cracks of walls. However they are nocturnal parasites that live on blood and their preferred meal is human blood. So they can potentially be found at almost any public place – schools, stores, homes, hotels, churches and the firehouse.  And your bed is their dining place.

Adult bed bugs are brown to reddish brown in color. They have a flattened oval appearance and a beaklike piercing – sucking mouth. Typically they are 3/16 to 1/5 inches long.

Since they are nocturnal, they feed mostly at night when the host is asleep. They inject their sharp beak into the host and will feed from 10 – 15 minutes. Their bite is painless, so it is possible to receive hundreds of bites without waking up! However each feeding site will display a small, hard, white welt and the welts are generally clustered. They can become irritated and inflamed, and itch for several hours or several days depending on your sensitivity.

Firefighters and paramedics can provide bed bugs a convenient mode of travel simply because you enter the public places where they reside. The unwary firefighter can bring the pests back to the firehouse.

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So how do you avoid firehouse infestation when you are likely to respond to calls to infested homes, businesses, and schools?

Although you are unlikely to see live bugs out in the open because they are nocturnal and hide between meals (which can last them for several months), you should be familiar with the environmental signs. First, of course, are you responding to a dwelling with a high rate of occupant turnover? A sign of an infestation are dark spots on sheets, mattresses, bedclothes and walls. Dark spots, eggshells and shed skins accumulated in hiding places like between baseboards and carpet, around doorframes and windows, and other tight, dark spaces is a telltale sign. A sickening, sweet, musty odor may be present in a severe infestation.

Some precautionary measures to take if you suspect an infestation is wearing shoe covers over your footwear and tucking your pants legs into your socks. Dispose of the covers after use by sealing them in a plastic bag and throwing them away. If shoe covers are not appropriate for your response, inspect your footwear before returning to the firehouse.  Store your footwear in a sealed bag and place them in a hot dryer for 15 minutes.  Of course, please check with your footwear’s manufacturer. Your bunker gear and uniform should be sealed in a plastic bag. Do not take plastic bags containing potentially bug infested clothing into living quarters. Clean bunker gear according to the manufacturer’s instructions and wash and dry your uniforms.

You don’t have to enter a bed bug infested dwelling to bring them into the firehouse.  Bed bugs can be transported in used furniture, clothing and bedding. So use care when bringing used (and even new) items into the firehouse. Inspect furniture for bugs and eggs. Place new and used clothing and linens into sealed bags until they can be washed and dried. Also general maintenance to the firehouse like caulking cracks in the building exterior and repairing or screening openings where alternate hosts like birds, bats and rodents can enter will reduce the chances that bed bugs are transported in.

Eradication once infested typically involves multiple treatments by a licensed pest control operator – they’re resistance to many pesticides and they hide in nooks and crannies. Additionally, you may be required to dispose of infested mattresses and furniture. A housekeeping regimen may be instituted which includes daily vacuuming, encasing mattresses and upholstered items, and storing clothes in plastic bins.

It isn’t easy to get rid of bed bugs, so the best defense is education on precautionary measures and awareness. Once a firehouse or any building becomes infested, eradication is time consuming, expensive and complex.