Bed bugs are causing a hysteria all across the United States.  Now residents are worried that a recent infestation reported at a college campus in Ohio will have the bed bugs swimming across the river and invading their homes.  People are putting up sand bags, razor wire, and have machine gun emplacements stationed all along the river front to stay of this bed bug invasion.  There is talk about bringing in the National Guard to help in the fight against this bed bug invasion, that may come from across the river at any time.  Just kidding, but with the hysteria that is going on about bed bugs it could happen.

A recent announcement that bed bugs have been located on the campus of Maysville Community and Technical Center have some residents worried the bugs may also spread across the river to Brown County. However, Rusty Vermillion, Brown County Health Department Director, said the tiny bloodsucking bugs have been a problem in Brown County for several months already, and urged residents to understand the facts about bedbug infestations before making rash decisions to throw out couches and beds.

“It’s a major problem here already,” Vermillion said. “Back during the spring we were getting three to five calls about bed bugs a day. It’s a major problem not just in Ohio but all over the United States now.”

“Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati are all in the top 20 most infected cities list,” Vermillion said.

Unfortunately, Vermillion said bed bug infestations have a tendency to cause people to panic.

“The main problem we get is people calling after they’ve already thrown out their mattresses and their couches,” Vermillion said. ” Bed bugs are not known to be carriers of any diseases, unlike cockroaches. We have information here at the health department to help people stay calm and to not panic when they find bed bugs in their home. Don’t throw anything away until you see where the infestation is.”

According to information from the Brown County Health Department, bed bugs are known hitchhikers who will attach themselves onto purses or clothing and travel to a new location. Adult bedbugs are a reddish brown, flattened, oval wingless insect. Bedbug bites resemble mosquito or other bug bites and are often misdiagnosed by the public until the infestation spreads to other areas of the house.

“It’s not a hygiene issue,” Vermillion said. “They just spread very quickly and are resistant to most pesticides.”

Check for bedbug infestations by looking for blood stains, droppings and eggs on mattress seams and tufts, pillow cases and upholstered furniture as well as in crevices and cracks in furniture and the baseboard of walls.

The moral of this bed bug invasion story is to take a deep breadth, calm down, and don’t throw out any belongings until you have them inspected by a licensed bed bug inspection company.  If any of your items, such as mattresses are found to be infested by bed bugs there are procedures, such as, heat and chemicals that will kill the bed bugs.