Don’t let the bedbugs bite: Infestations increase in dorms nationwide, expert says cleanliness not a factor

 

By Travis Walker and Stephanie Ingolia

Bedbugs are becoming a problem in dorm rooms across the nation and the bad news: They are hard to prevent.

“We can’t really prevent (bedbugs) because there are so many ways of bringing them in,” said Ben Crutcher, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services at UK.

During the Spring 2008 semester, there was a bedbug incident in Blanding Tower, Crutcher said. That is the only case of bedbugs in a UK residence hall that Crutcher has heard of, but there have been a number of incidents in the UK-owned Cooperstown and Shawneetown apartments, he said.

The bedbug problem is not specific to UK’s campus, it is a “global problem and issue, and an increasing problem in college dorm rooms across the U.S.,” said Mike Potter, an extension entomologist at UK.

“There are many different colleges and universities that have had issues,” Potter said. “It’s also a growing problem in hotels, apartments, single-family homes and many other types of dwellings.”

Bedbugs can live in the bed, mattress and box spring as well as other areas, like carpet edges, couches and other furniture, Potter said.

And while the bugs show up in beds around the world, Potter said an infestation has nothing to do with  poor cleaning habits. Bedbugs can infest even the cleanest of places, Potter said.

“Bed bug infestation has nothing to do with hygiene or cleanliness,” he said. “You can have bedbugs in the finest hotels. It’s in no way correlated with poor hygiene.”

Because bedbugs are so difficult to prevent, Crutcher said UK focuses on eradicating them swiftly after an incident occurs. The university has implemented a bedbug task force that is headed by Potter, with the purpose of ensuring the proper procedures are taken when a bedbug incident occurs.

“We wanted to make sure we were treating them properly,” Crutcher said.

While it is hard to prevent an infestation of bedbugs, Potter said there are things college students can do to reduce the risk of bringing them into their rooms.

“First off, (college students) need to be vigilant when they travel, like if they stay in a hotel or go on spring break,” Potter said. “They should get in the habit of doing a brief check of their bed or being aware of the possibility of bedbugs. It may seem like a lot of effort but it’s worth it.”

The bug, which had become far less common at one point, is being seen more often these days, Potter said.

“This bug used to be extremely common years ago and then pretty much was eliminated, but now it’s making a comeback,” Potter said. “It has a habit of biting people at night while they’re sleeping.”

But while a bedbug is a nuisance, it is not a health issue, Potter said.

“The positive thing about bedbugs is that they are unable to transmit diseases,” he said. “It’s mainly the annoyance and irritation of the bite, although for many this can be a very emotional experience.”

For more information on bedbugs and what to look for when traveling, find a bedbug fact sheet on the entomology department’s Web site (http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entomology.php).