RED BANK – The saying “Don’t let the bedbugs bite” has taken on a new meaning for seniors living in a Wall Street housing complex.
Residents living at Wesleyan Arms, a six-story complex with 60 one-bedroom apartments for seniors, have encountered a menacing problem in the building – bedbugs.
“It does exist. The manager … [is] in fact addressing it aggressively now. It did take hold in the building. They’re throughout the county,” said a concerned Wesleyan Arms resident of the bedbug infestation in the building.
According to the resident, the bedbug infestation first occurred in the third week of October.
Bedbugs are a type of common household and structure-infesting pest and are reddish-brown in color, wingless, onefourth of an inch in length, shaped like a figure eight, appear oval and flattened from top to bottom and have piercing or sucking mouthparts, according to the Middlesex County Public Health Department.
“We’re assisting residents as needed both during and after this extermination process,” said Cynthia Jacques, vice president of Housing for United Methodist Homes (UMH), in a statement released Nov. 15. “We continue to provide whatever is necessary to eradicate this problem and to assure that our residents, employees and guests have a secure environment in which to live, work and enjoy.”
Bedbugs can be found initially in the folds of mattresses and adult bedbugs are normally found in the cracks and crevices near sleeping areas during the day and then come out at night to feed, while bedbug eggs can be found behind loose wallpaper, according to the Health Department.
The resident said an exterminator came to the building, gave a presentation on the insects and sprayed the building.
“You just don’t come in and spray once and they’re eliminated, they don’t even
and they bite
say elimination, they say control,” said Monmouth County Regional Health Commission (MCRHC) Health Officer Sidney B. Johnson. “If they get a blood meal, they only feed once a year.”
According to the Health Department, control of a bedbug infestation is best achieved through sound sanitation practices such as vacuuming the mattresses and the rest of the dwelling frequently, cleaning and sanitizing the dwelling and cleaning all bedding and clothing in hot water.
In addition, mattresses and box springs can be permanently encased within special mattress bags, according to the Health Department.
Johnson said bedbugs are not just an issue in Red Bank.
“There’s been a resurgence of bedbugs here in the last several years,” said Johnson of the bedbug problem in the area recently, and he alluded to the restrictions on the amount and types of pesticides that can be used as a factor in their reappearance.
Johnson also said bedbugs are not a health issue because they do not transmit disease but that the insects do qualify as pests.
According to the Health Department, bedbugs are insects that feed on the blood of humans and other warmblooded animals and are most frequently found in dwellings with a high rate of occupancy turnover such as apartment complexes hotels, dorms, shelters and prisons.
“Bedbugs are carried by people in clothing, furniture, luggage and more, and are found in congregate situations,” said Jacques in the statement.
Johnson said health officials will educate individuals on how to recognize bedbugs, where they can be found, signs of infestation and what can be done to control the infestation.
Signs of a bedbug infestation may include bloodstained sheets and bedding, dark-colored excrement spots on areas where the bugs hide during the day. Heavily infested areas have a musty odor similar to that of large cockroach infestations, according to the Health Department.
“An infestation of bedbugs does not necessarily mean your dwelling is not clean and/or sanitary,” according to the Middlesex County Health Department fact sheet.