Bed bugs go untreated in Neptune, NJ

Challenge

When bed bugs are not out for their blood meal while we are sleeping or resting, bed bugs play “hide and seek.” These insects find the smallest nooks and crannies around the home in which to hide. If you were not actively looking for them, you would never know they were there. Bed bugs look for locations where their is pressure on the sides of their bodies. It is their way of knowing that they are safe and protected. 

Recently, a two-person team of bed bug specialists were sent to the home of an elderly couple in Neptune, NJ. As often happens, bed bug infestations with elderly residents are often not detected quickly and these infestations can become heavy and well-entrenched. Why are the elderly particularly susceptible to bed bug infestations that go undetected for months on end? They often have poor eyesight, diminished mental capacity, or may even be on corticosteroid medications that suppress the tell-tale signs of redness, welts, and itchiness associated with bed bug bites.

Here, the bed bug problem may have been allowed to go untreated for a year! Upon arrival, we were informed that the couple had a live-in aide for about a year and, after her departure, the fill-in aide had informed the couple’s children that their room was infested with bed bugs. Prior to our arrival, they had removed a heavily infested love seat. We informed them that when infested furniture is being moved, the bed bugs can fall off and find new harborage areas. Discarded furniture should be properly treated and even wrapped in sink wrap while it is carried out of the home to be discarded.

Solution

It was time to start our inspection and treatment. We started in the bedroom and, specifically, the bed itself. They happened to have an adjustable bed, and with all of the mechanical components for positioning the bed offers bed bugs even more hiding locations. Here, the infestation was so severe that it did not take long to find the evidence. Bed bugs, especially when populations are heavy, will look for other harborage locations close to their human host. It is critical to treat the entire surroundings, not just the frame and bedding itself.  

We thoroughly hepa-vacuumed the entire room, bagging the contents immediately thereafter to take with us. We also removed all fo the electrical outlets (a favorite hiding spot of bed bugs) to apply a dust and we also applied a liquid treatment to the infested areas. As shown in the photos, the entire bed frame was heavily infested. We will be returning for a two-week follow-up to re-inspect and apply additional treatments as necessary. Bed bugs are a resilient insect that requires multiple visits until there is no more signs of bed bug activity.