Libraries can be dangerous – in all kinds of ways. That’s because a biologist says it’s possible for tiny bed bugs to hitch a ride between the pages of a library book. WBAY, a local TV station from Green Bay, Wisconsin, interviewed the biologist as part of a story on how bed bugs can invade your home.
Let’s look at bed bugs and how they can use your suitcase or library book like their own personal Uber service into your living quarters. Once there, they are very tough to eradicate without professional assistance.
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are tiny insects that feed on the blood of mammals – including humans. There are just two primary types of these creatures, according to Medical News Today, Cimex lectularous and Cimex hemipterus. The Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine reports bed bugs were found in Egyptian tombs dating back 3,500.
Humans had primarily eradicated bed bugs, but then the EPA eradicated the dangerous chemical DDT and they started to make a comeback. Today, the popularity of worldwide travel has been bringing the bugs all over the world. In the United States it’s a big – and increasing – problem.
Where Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs like to hide in tiny spaces, not unlike your family cat. Unlike your cat, they don’t sneak out at night and feed on blood. (If your cat does this you have a really big problem.) Also, these creatures are no larger than the very tip of your smallest finger, making them hard to detect.
It’s always a good idea when traveling to never lay your suitcase on a bed. If there are bed bugs in the mattress they may crawl inside your travel kit and hitch a ride home.
Too, since we now know bed bugs can hide in the pages and around the spine of library books, it’s always a good idea to flip through the pages of the book and check around the spine before bringing it home.
Finding Bed Bugs
The question is always – How will I know if my house is infested? Bed bugs love living in mattresses and they come out to feed while you are asleep. If you wake up with itchy red welts on your body, pick up your mattress and look in the nooks and crannies for bugs. Especially look at the head of the bed around the outside seams.
Bedbug eggs will look like translucent poppy seeds. The adults will be white or pale brown in color. If they’ve fed, the bodies will turn orange (yes, that’s your blood in there). These loathsome little creatures leave shed skin and droppings, too, that can be detectable if you know where to look.
Removing Bed Bugs
Eliminating bed bugs from your home takes a professional treatment to be sure they’re gone. They are very difficult to eradicate without the help of a professional. Studies are being done at Ohio State University using the bed bugs own chemical signals to deter them from nesting. We also use a common insect-control agent to completely kill the infestation.
So, the next time you travel, even if it’s just to the library, make certain you’re aware of what may be a stowaway in your possessions. If you think you may have bed bugs, please don’t hesitate to call us. We can help.
