Sleeping With The Enemy (bed Bugs)

AFTER virtually disappearing for decades, bed bugs have made a comeback throughout the nation, with particularly bad infestations in densely populated apartment buildings.

Encouraged in part by the banning of DDT, the insects have become so prevalent that the Environmental Protection Agency held a National Bed Bug Summit in April.

Rather than wait for a Washington task force to do something, though, people with an infestation probably want to take immediate action. So this column is all about what consumers can do to avoid being bitten twice — first by the vermin and then by a venal exterminator.

While in most cases an infestation is more a skin-crawling nuisance than serious health problem, in some people severe reactions to bed bug bites can include asthma, generalized hives and even a life-threatening allergy attack that requires emergency treatment. Regardless of the medical consequences, though, bed bugs can be expensive to banish.

It’s not unusual for the typical afflicted family to spend $5,000 or more on inspections, exterminator fees, cleaning and storage, according to Jody L. Gangloff-Kaufmann, an urban entomologist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University. Landlords of large apartment buildings have been known to spend as much as $80,000 to get rid of the pests, she said.

The insects, which are about the size of an apple seed and resemble ticks, are hard to detect and even harder to kill. The most successful efforts include a combination of a thorough cleaning and sorting, along with repeated professional applications of pesticides and other bed bug treatments.

But the bed bug boom has attracted fraudulent exterminators peddling money-wasting treatments that do not work. And because even reputable exterminators charge a wide range in prices and offer a variety of services, it can be hard to know what’s worth the money and what’s hype.

Here, then, is some calm advice from experts on what you can expect to spend and what you should — and shouldn’t — pay for.

Source and More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/health/11patient.html?_r=1&ref=health