Bedbug Inspections

Tips for Health & Pest Control Professionals

Investigating a complaint

 When investigating a complaint, you can speed your investigation and reduce the risk of spreading the infestation if you come prepared.  Bring only the items you need (see below), preferably in a waist- or shoulder-pack and carry it at all times.  Leave any additional gear or equipment outside until needed.  The use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as protective suits or shoe coverings is highly recommended, especially in the case of a heavy infestation.  Try not to come in direct contact with infested areas.

Equipment for inspection

• flash light (LED lights are preferred because of the light color and intensity)
• camera
• forceps
• gloves
• vials with alcohol to preserve kill and preserve specimens along with additional empty vials to collect dead specimens, cast off skins, etc.
• small plastic bags to hold the vials of samples
• labels and a pencil for recording
• tools for dismantling furniture (Please ask the owner to dismantle bed frame and/or headboard)
• sticky tape to catch live bed bugs

large plastic bag for your equipment bag.  Should you find the area to be heavily infested, you may want to enclose your equipment bag to reduce the risk of contaminating other areas, such as your vehicle

Initial Steps:

Before conducting a full investigation, there are several tell-tale signs that indicate you may be dealing with bed bugs.  Initially, we suggest you look for the following:

1.    Bite marks on the resident:  Different individuals react differently to bed bug bites.  Most of the population will have welts or bumps that itch, caused by an allergic reaction to bed bug saliva. Sometimes these will occur in a row or clustered.  Arms, shoulders, back and neck are the most common body areas where bites occur. These can be easily misdiagnosed for other skin conditions or other insect bites such as poison ivy, scabies, chicken pox, general skin allergies, chigger and tick bites.  In order to confirm a bed bug infestation, it will be necessary to collect bugs and submit them for identification.

2.    Excrement:  Bed bugs leave behind fecal blood spots or specks that stain mattresses, framing or walls.  You can ask the owner if they remember seeing this type of stain or advise them to look for spots found on the bed sheets, comforters and blankets.  In particular, ask them about the corners of mattresses, under seams, ticking, labels or tags where bed bugs might congregate in larger numbers.

Smell:  In the case of a particularly heavy infestation, the room may have a distinctive sickly sweet, musty odor. 

Thorough Inspection Procedure:

 As you enter the infested premises, scan the walls, ceiling and any other light colored surfaces for signs of bed bugs. These may be obvious if it is a heavy infestation.  Your investigation can start at the bed but should not be limited to that area.  Pay close attention to the mattress, bed frame, box spring and the wall-facing sides of headboards.  Live bugs may be difficult to find because they prefer to remain hidden during the day and will crawl quickly into cracks and crevices when disturbed.  More frequently, you may find signs of their presence, such as cast skins (from molting), dead bugs, fecal spots or eggs.

 As you conduct your investigation you should collect specimens and have them submitted for positive identification by trained experts.  Collect specimens in the vials of alcohol or tape skins/dead bugs to a piece of labeled piece of paper.  Mail the specimens as indicated on the report form (see ***), ensuring that you document the incident with date of first complaint, details about the room(s), treatments previously applied as well as the contact information and possible source of infestation.

Preventing the spread of bed bugs

 If a bed bug infestation is confirmed, advise the owners to seek professional help, especially in the case of a severe infestation and to strictly follow treatment guidelines to eliminate the infestation and the spread of bed bugs to other areas.  Advise the owner that after treatment, the area should be cleaned of all signs of infestation, so as not to cause confusion at subsequent inspections.  Special care should be taken to seal cracks, crevices and other areas where bed bugs were found.

 Conduct a follow up inspection in a week to 10 days, since eggs take 7-10 days to hatch.  In the case of a heavy infestation, more than one follow up visit is recommended. 

 Following are some additional recommendations that may be help your clients to reduce the risk of re-infestation.

 Used mattresses or rental furniture:  Advise your clients to check used or rental furniture before bringing onto the premises.  Before purchasing a used mattress, they should make sure that the item has been sanitized by a licensed sanitizer and that each item has a yellow tag.  They should never pick up used mattresses or furniture from the side of the road or by a dumpster.  These items could have been exposed to or infested with bed bugs.

 New mattresses or furniture: Your client should be aware that all new mattresses or furniture should arrive sealed in plastic from the manufacturer.  New mattresses must have a bedding tag certifying that they are made by a licensed manufacturer.

 Encasements or enclosures:  Recommend the purchase of mattress and box spring encasements, available at department stores or online.  These should completely enclose the mattress and/or box spring, leaving no gaps or holes. The zipper should have small teeth and seal completely.  This practice will contain any bed bug eggs not completely removed from the mattress and well as ensure that a new infestation does not find suitable shelter.

 Clutter:  In all circumstances, apartments, hotels, etc, clutter should be eliminated to deny bed bugs hiding places.

 Communicate:  Make sure that all parties involved are aware of what to look for and who to notify should the initial signs of bed bug activity be noticed.  In a private residence, all family members should be aware and vigilant for possible bed bug activity.  For hotels and rental property, housekeeping and maintenance staff should be trained on what to look for to detect bed bugs in the early stages.

Additional Online Resources:

 Public Health Pest Management, North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources – see pages on Bed Bugs, Control Recommendations and Recommendations for Travelers

http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/phpm/Bedbugs.htm

NCSU- Bed Bugs

• http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/bedbugs.htm
• http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/notes/bed_bug.html

UKY - Dr. M. Potter http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef636.asp

Wikepedia bed bugs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedbug

Department of Medical Entomology, ICPMR, Westmead Hospital http://medent.usyd.edu.au/bedbug/