TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) - Bedbugs, the nighttime bloodsuckers, could be sharing your mattress right now, and you may not even know it. Jake Herring with Bama Exterminating Company explains that the bug's bite doesn't always affect people the same way, so looking for a line of red bumps isn't always the best way to detect the problem. Herring says that the bugs are also smaller than a dime, nocturnal, and know just where to hide during the day to avoid detection. The young bedbugs that have not yet fed on blood can be almost completely clear. Herring says they will darken to a deeper brownish-red after feeding, and that they can survive up to one year between feedings. Exterminators believe a bedbug infestation can double within thirteen days. The bugs are also notorious hitchhikers, travelling from one place to another on someone's clothing or pet and creating a new infestation.
That's why Herring and the other employees of Bama Exterminating Company are excited to have a unique training opportunity. Using zipping bedbug mattress covers, they were able to transfer a live infestation from a Tuscaloosa home to their offices. The infestation is contained to two mattresses that employees plan to use to train their exterminators. Herring says the company wants to take the program even further by using the mattress to teach property managers and group homes and assisted living facilities more about bedbugs. Exterminators believe early detection is the key to prevent an infestation from spreading. Using the infested mattress, they can point out live bugs, eggs, and the types of things a bedbug will leave behind when they go into hiding like blood spots and fecal matter.
