How Bed Bugs Spread in Northern New Jersey
Bed bugs have reached epidemic proportions in New York City and northern New Jersey and spread across the U.S. Bed bug infestations are now regularly reported in all 50 states. Many people wonder how these tiny, blood-sucking insects manage to spread so quickly once they gain a toehold in a northern New Jersey community.
Adroit hitchhikers, bed bugs are thin and tiny. They can easily slip into suitcases or through zipper teeth to hide inside backpacks, purses, suitcases or briefcases. Bed bugs usually harbor near beds, creeping out at night to prey on the blood of their sleeping human victims. After feeding they hide in tiny cracks and crevices along mattress welts, in bed frames, under nightstand drawers, behind baseboards and in other dark places. Backpacks or suitcases placed on or near beds make ideal hiding places. Bed bugs and their tiny sticky eggs can even hide on the clothing you wear.
Bed bugs are spread from home to school, hotel to home or apartment to apartment on clothing and possessions, by cleaning carts, via shared laundry facilities and in storage boxes. Infected used furniture picked up off the curb or purchased in thrift and second-hand stores is a known source of bed bug infestations. Moving vans can also spread infestations. If a van carries a bed bug infected load, insects hiding in the van will infect future loads. To prevent spread, some moving lines now disinfect vans between loads.
Next time: How to get rid of bed bugs