Poplar Bluff Housing Authority 'probably never going to get rid' of bed bugs

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Bed bugs are an itch Poplar Bluff public-housing officials and local hotels have found hard to scratch.

Poplar Bluff Housing Authority has treated dozens of its apartments for bed bugs in the past year and recently began a new extermination effort at Twin Towers.

Officials say three years into the fight, they have accepted this national pest has taken up permanent residence here.

New tenants, travelers and furniture continue to reinfest the housing authority's 189 senior apartments and 286 family units, despite every effort to eradicate the parasites, said Kenneth King, executive director of PBHA.

"It's an ongoing problem," King said. "We're fighting it as much as possible. We're probably never going to get rid of them."

The housing authority treated primary sources of infestation at 18 family units and seven senior units in 2015. One family unit and six elderly units have been primary sources of infestation to date in 2016, according to officials.

The apartments above, below and on both sides also have to be sprayed each time a primary source of infestation is determined, King said.

Treatment of another unit at Twin Towers started in February. It can take up to six weeks and three treatments to resolve the issue, King said.

The problem is not limited to the housing authority and is not an issue of cleanliness, according to Butler County, Missouri, Health Department.

Private residents and hotels across the country also are struggling to contain the pests, said Chris Grider, environmental public-health specialist.

Grider confirmed several hotels in the area have dealt with bed bug problems in recent months. The health department is required to do annual bed-bug inspections of all lodging facilities, a practice that began about five years ago. This typically is done in the spring or early summer, according to the health department.

The health department also follows up on any complaints, Grider said.

Franchise hotels have policies to address problems quickly, he said. Staff also are trained to look for bed bugs, he said.

Infestations are not the result of a poorly cleaned living area, Grider added.

"It has nothing to do with housekeeping," he said. "You can have a perfectly clean room, and somebody can bring them in."

Bed bugs can travel in the suitcases of visitors from another state or latch onto new furniture transported in the same moving vehicle used to remove an old mattress or couch, officials said.

The creatures typically feed at night and are so small, their almost transparent bodies can be hard to spot, Grider said.

People typically notice red bumps on their shoulders, arms and legs before they realize the parasite is present in their home, he said.

Bed bugs can hide in the edge of a mattress, cracks in the wall, under the corners of carpet, among items on a shelf, under a framed photo on a wall or in the clutter of a closet.

Grider advised people to contact an exterminator to treat an infestation.

"It's something that we have to let the professionals do," he said. "There is nothing (at the stores) that will get rid of bed bugs."

Bed bugs can go up to 140 days without food, according to information the housing authority provides to residents.

The housing authority provides for treatment and retreatment of its properties.

"It's important to get in during the early stages of the infestation," King said.

Residents are responsible for preparing the home for exterminators, which can be a lengthy process. Failure to follow the steps laid out for treatment can result in termination of the resident's tenancy, according to the housing authority. No one has been evicted for this reason, officials said, adding family or home aide workers typically are there to help residents prepare for the exterminators.

Treatment requires the home be thoroughly cleaned. All furniture has to be moved three feet from the walls. All shelves and dressers have to be emptied, according to the document given to residents. Bedding, curtains and stuffed animals have to be removed and cleaned.

In some cases, mattresses or other furniture may have to be thrown away if it is deemed too infested to treat.

The housing authority uses a silcone-based sealant on any cracks, crevices or entry points in walls, particularly within a 20-foot radius of where bed bugs have been found.