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Bedbugs discovered at Lipscomb Hall

Written by Harold Loren, Contributor to The Shorthorn

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 08:33 PM

Don't let the bedbugs bite

Ten steps to help prevent bedbugs from becoming residents in your home:

1. Inspect antiques and secondhand furniture before putting them in the home.

2. Regularly employ an exterminator.

3. In tropical areas, use bed nets with permethrin to prevent infestation.

4. Inspect any room before sleeping while traveling.

5. After returning from a trip, check the luggage for insects.

6. Change bed linens at least once a week and wash them in at least 97 degree hot water.

7. Vacuum at least once a week, paying special attention to areas surrounding bed and furniture posts.

8. Caulk, or fill in, holes in floors and walls.

9. Dismantle and treat with insecticides or discard any old furniture, including bed frames and mattresses. Use insecticide sprays containing dichlorvos, permethrin or malathion around cracks and crevices. Lawn and garden insect control sprays may contain these insecticides. Professional inspection and extermination may be best.

10. Eliminate any neighboring bird and bat habitats that may serve as a bedbug refuge, especially following an extermination attempt.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Replaced beds, washing bills and itchy welts are the only signs of a recent bedbug case at Lipscomb Hall.

“It took a few days of scratching my arms for me to realize what was going on,” nursing student Herschel Tian said. “I had no idea of what it was. I’ve never experienced this before.”

Herschel said he began feeling the itchy discomfort around June 6, about two weeks after moving in. The bites became so prevalent that he chose to sleep on the Central Library’s fifth floor. He only came to realize it was bedbugs after hearing fellow students discuss it with each other.

Bedbug bites tend to generally consist of a raised red bump or flat welts and are often accompanied by intense itching. It can take a while to establish their existence. UTA procedures require a certified pest control operator to make the determination and set the appropriate solution. UTA has an ongoing yearly contract with TERMINIX Pest Control.

“We have procedures in place for any type of extermination on campus.” said Don Lange, Facilities Management associate director. “Unless there are special circumstances — like a medical reaction report or some other type of emergency — we tend to handle bedbug-related incidents on Tuesday or Friday.”

Lange said there doesn’t seem to be a pattern for bedbugs, but it happens. Wyl Parker, Management Services assistant vice president and Housing director, said bedbugs appear around this time of the year in this part of the country.

Bed bugs are small wingless insects that feed solely upon the blood of warm-blooded animals, according to the Harvard School of Public Health . They are most active at night and flatten their bodies to conceal themselves in cracks and crevices around the room. Favored hiding sites include the bed frame, mattress and box spring.

Pest control professionals provided students at Lipscomb Hall with information packets. Instructions inside included washing all clothes and linens in hot water of at least 97 degrees.

They were also instructed to vacuum their area as much as possible. Clutter offers additional places for bugs to hide and increases the difficulty in eliminating bedbugs once established.

Pre-med psychology sophomore Matthew Harper said he estimates it took about four days for the problem to be resolved from the time he reported it to the Resident Assistants at Lipscomb Hall. His entire mattress needed replacing.

“Having two of our washing machines down made it difficult for everyone to wash all of our clothes and sheets and such,” Harper said. “And we all incurred an additional cost to do so, but the R.A.’s were responsive to the problem and did the best they could for us.” Jovita Simon Lipscomb Hall resident director declined to comment.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 August 2009 10:34 AM )

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