Healthwatch

Students Take Precautions After Bedbug Infestation

TOWSON (WJZ) ― A recent bedbug infestation at Goucher College displaced dozens of students and revealed a troubling problem.

Healthwatch reporter Kellye Lynn explains bedbugs are becoming more common, but there are precautions you can take to prevent them.

Increased travel could be contributing to a rise in bedbugs.

Experts say the insects arrive from other countries in luggage, clothing and furniture.

They are tiny, creepy crawlers. The six-legged creatures hide by day and feast on your blood at night.

"It's almost like waking up and someone had popped a bunch of pimples," said one bedbug victim.

At Goucher College in Towson, bedbugs leave students itching, scratching and scrambling for replacement housing.

In June, there was a horrific find at a camp in Westminster, Carroll County.

"Hundreds of eggs and hundreds of adult bedbugs," said a camp official.

Bedbugs are insects that feed on animals and people. They leave behind small, red bumps or, in severe cases, large blisters like skin inflammations.

"It was just something you don't want to do. I mean they're nasty," said a student.

Despite the name, bedbugs don't only hide out in beds. You can find them in crevices, in walls and furniture.

Apartment dwellers and animal owners are more likely to encounter bedbugs. Dogs and cats can carry them into the home.

"Every time you tell someone we have them, they start to itch," said a student.

To relieve the itching, apply a topical cream like Cortisone, and avoid scratching which can lead to an infection.

Bedbug bites usually clear up within two weeks.

If you think you have bedbugs, closely examine mattresses, walls and furniture at night when the bugs are the most active. Look for tiny specks of blood on sheets and behind wallpaper.

Getting rid of them will likely require professional extermination.

Some experts think the resurgence of bedbugs in the U.S. could also be due in part to the reduced use of the pesticide DDT which kills most insects but can be harmful to humans.

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