What Californians should know about blood-sucking bed bugs

Bedbug populations are growing after a short hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That’s because people are traveling and gathering again, according to pest control professionals. These blood-sucking insects find new homes by riding on people’s clothing and pets, and crawling into luggage, purses and backpacks.

“We could tell when folks started traveling again: The bedbug calls started coming,” said Kaylin Bullert, Service Manager at Big Time Pest Control in Redding.

While motels generally suffer the worst infestations, bedbugs can move in anywhere: Schools, planes, theaters and homes. That’s because we create an environment they like as much as we do, pest control experts said.

What bedbugs really are and what they do

Bedbugs are an ancient pest that feed on human and animal blood, according to public health department officers.

While they only grow to four or five millimeters ― the size of an eraser on a number 2 pencil ― most people can see bedbugs with the naked eye, if you know where to look, said Lynn Kimsey, Professor of Entomology at U.C. Davis and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

They leave plenty of evidence by pooping it out.

Blood is full of iron, and animals can get iron poisoning consuming it. “That means they have to get rid of iron as fast as they can,” Kimsey said.

We don’t usually know we’ve been bitten until after the fact, when we feel their bites and see their scat: Tiny black spots on sheets, chairs or luggage, she said.

You can't feel it when most blood feeding insects bite, Kimsey said. You feel it later, “when your immune system starts to react to the foreign protein in their saliva. Chances are by the time you realize you got the bite," the animal is nowhere near you, she said.

While their bites can itch, and can be dangerous for people with acute allergic reactions to them, bedbugs aren’t known to spread disease, according to Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson Amy Koslosky and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, humans can transmit bacteria, Kimsey said. Human fingernails are "dirty" and scratching could trigger an inflammatory process. Scratching those bites “is the single worst thing you could do."

Instead, apply antiseptic creams or lotions and take an antihistamine, the CDC recommended.

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Why bedbug populations may be spreading

The problem isn't just a post-pandemic one. Bedbug populations have increased nationwide since 2000, in part because more Americans are traveling, the CDC reported.

A lack of knowledge about preventing infestations is another reason the bedbug population is growing.

“If one apartment has an infestation, that will eventually spread to all (connecting) apartments. The apartment owner needs to fumigate the entire building,” Kimsey said.

Good news for people living in dry climates like the Sacramento Valley: While they can live in near freezing to hot climates with temperatures up to 122 degrees, bedbugs prefer humid places, according to University of Michigan and University of Nebraska reports.

The bad news is they like indoor climates humans create, ones regulated by heat and air conditioning to 70 to 80 degrees, according to pest control sites.

Complaints to government agencies about bedbugs are rare in rural areas, where people live in greater proximity to each other.

Few inspections conducted by Shasta and Siskiyou counties turn up bedbugs, county officials said. The ones that do ― often hotels, motels and bed and breakfast inns ― are not taking the bedbug issue seriously or try to eliminate a bedbug infestation themselves rather than call in professional pest control companies, said Senior Environmental Health Specialist Nate Moore with Shasta County Environmental Health. Residential complaints to exterminators are much more common, according to North State pest control professionals. “From May 2022 to May 2023, we completed 186” bedbug inspections, compared to 10 bedbug inspections between May 2016 and May 2017,” Bullert said.

It’s a myth bedbugs only show up in low-income housing and motels; insects don’t discriminate. “I have personally witnessed infestations in low income” and pristine “upper-income homes,” said David Silva, owner of Professional Exterminators of Redding.

“You could get one female that lays a couple of eggs in your luggage, purse, etc. and you’re on your way to a full-blown infestation," Bullert said.

How to identify bedbugs and what to do if you find them

Bedbugs can be hard to find and they burrow into walls and hidden spaces.

People sometimes mistaken other insects for bedbugs, including fleas and cockroaches, according to pest control website Pestworld.org.

“One of the easiest ways to identify a bedbug infestation is by the tell-tale bite marks on the face, neck, arms, hands” and other body parts while sleeping, the CDC reports. while sleeping. Bite marks may take as long as 14 days to develop, according to the CDC.

Other clues, according to the CDC: Bedbugs in the folds of mattresses and sheets, rust–colored blood spots and blood-filled fecal matter on mattresses and furniture and carpets, shed exoskeletons and a sweet musty smell.

Steps to avoid getting bedbugs include unpack luggage in the garage or outdoors, never in a bedroom. If you see evidence of the pests, clean your clothes and anything else you were carrying and be sure to shower.

Since the insects can live in second-hand furniture, be sure to inspect used items before you buy them, Bullert said.

For cleaning tips, go to Michigan State University’s bed bug advice page at canr.msu.edu/news/keep_bed_bugs_from_moving_in_after_travel.

Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook. Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Bed bug populations are growing. Here's what Californians should know.