Welcome to Living Well, coming to you from Family and Consumer Sciences of Virginia Cooperative Extension. Healthy families are the cornerstone of healthy communities. Family and Consumer Sciences puts research-based information to work in people's lives, helping families find answers for living well, raising kids, eating right, and spending smart.

Bed Bugs Make a Comeback

What is a bed bug?

A bed bug is a small rust-colored insect about the size of an apple seed that cannot fly. They feed on human blood and produce small red, itchy welts. Because of their size and ability to hide in crevices, mattresses, and cushions, bed bugs are difficult to see. Use a flashlight to look for small black blood stains or molted skins in or around seams or tags of mattresses or cloth furniture. Use a hot hair dryer to force them out of hiding spaces behind the headboard or along baseboards.

How can I keep bed bugs out of my home?

• When travelling, inspect the bed frame and mattress in your room.
• When returning, inspect your luggage in the garage first and wash all clothing.
• Avoid purchasing used furniture.
• In laundromats, don't fold clean laundry on tables also used to sort dirty laundry.
• In theaters keep your handbag on your lap, not on the floor or empty seat.

How do I get rid of bed bugs?
(No one method is effective)

• Wash bedding and clothing with a strong detergent and dry at a high temperature (130º F) in a dissolvable laundry bag.
• Steam clean mattresses and box springs and enclose in a bed-bug proof mattress encasement.
• Hire a pest management professional.

Pesticides can be extremely harmful to people and pets when used incorrectly. Dini Miller, pest management expert at Virginia Tech notes that "insecticide bombs and commonly used repellants or antibacterial sprays are not effective against bed bugs." Seek the help of a reputable pest management company for ridding your home of this problem.

Bed bugs "hitchhike" from place to place on luggage, furniture, and clothes. A clean house is no guarantee against bed bugs, although clutter makes it more difficult to identify and get rid of them.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) provides an extensive list of fact sheets and presentations in both English and Spanish on preventing and controlling bed bugs including "Bed Bug Prevention Methods," "How to Identify a Bed Bug Infestation," "Non-Chemical Bed Bug Management," and "Bed Bug Treatment Using Insecticides." See http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/pesticides/bedbugs.shtml.

Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/bedbugs/

National Institutes of Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bedbugs.html