Huge bed bug infestation in Ocean, NJ

Challenge

Whenever I am dispatched to resolve a bed bug infestation, I tend to be asked the same questions. One of the most asked is why have bed bugs become such a problem in our area. Our own behavior is partly to blame.  People with bed bug infestations start Googling the Internet for home remedies such as spraying isopropyl alcohol or sprinkling large quantities of diatomaceous earth, which, if improperly applied, is a significant inhalation hazard. These remedies are ineffective at best and harmful to people at worst. Also, the bed bug over-the-counter products offered at hardware stores and pharmacies are not much better. I’ve had customers who have tried to treat bed bugs as a DIY project, wasting hundreds of dollars and losing valuable time, allowing the infestation to spread and become more entrenched. Finally, when at their wit’s end, the bed bug victim’s finally contact a pest control professional experienced with proper protocols for eliminating bed bugs, something that they should have done months ago before the minor bed bug problem mushroomed into a large infestation. Now, back to the question of why bed bugs are such a problem. Every day that an infestation goes untreated is another day for the infestation to spread. The infested person walks out of the house with bed bugs on their clothing, or purse, or briefcase and sits next to an unsuspecting victim on public transportation or a restaurant or a movie theater giving an opportunity for the hitchhiking bugs to  jump ship to infest someone else. Bed bugs have become a crisis because people unnecessarily delay treating the infestation properly and professionally. 

The transmission of bed bugs among people is analogous to the transmission of contagious diseases. Take, for instance, the resident of this Ocean Township apartment in the photo. For an infestation to be this severe, this person likely lived with a growing bed bug infestation for over a year without resolving it. Every day, he potentially transferred 1, 2, 3 or more bedbugs to the public at large. Wherever he went throughout the day, whether to the supermarket or to the barber shop, the bed bugs followed. 

This picture shows a severe infestation that went on for far too long. The light brown coating is a vile blend of shed skins, white eggs, and dark fecal stains mixed in with live nymphs and adults. This infestation was so severe that the bugs were competing for food (which, for these parasites is human blood) and hiding spaces. The bugs were everywhere and anywhere: in closets, inside shoes, and in the bathroom.

Solution

This was so bad an infestation that we recommended disposal of furniture and a heat treatment to not only this unit, but to surrounding units as well in order to kill the bugs. In high density housing like apartments, dormitories and nursing homes, bed bugs easily spread from one unit to the next.