Bed Bugs: Are they rebounding?
Recently a story out of an Ohio airport reported that a plane had to be evacuated due to a massive bed bug infestation with passengers reporting finding bed bugs aggressively crawling on them. Even though I have treated passenger planes on rare occasions here in Evansville I have never seen an infestation as described by the passengers. How did this happen and how might they have gotten this severe where no one noticed before? Well, there are several possibilities. Although it is possible that someone introduced large quantities while on the plane there is no evidence to support this. We know this happens occasionally as a case similar to this occurred in 2020 in Pennsylvania. A young man was caught with bed bugs in pill bottles at a men’s clothing store. Unfortunately, he had already released several hundred before he was caught causing the store to spend thousands of dollars on treatments to rid the store of the infestation. The most likely scenario on the plane was that the infestation had just been ignored for way too long. Bedbugs do not commonly occupy open areas during initial infestations but as the infestation grows seeing them foraging for a blood meal out in the open is common. Normally, during the initial infestation, especially the ones we encounter in the Paducah, Owensboro and Evansville “mystery” bites are the most common thing we get called out for. As the infestation grows in homes people may see bedbugs around couches and beds. If it continues further without proper treatment a situation occurs where “traumatic” insemination begins to push the females away from the most common harborage points. This occurs because over time the male sexual organ has evolved into more of a spike that it’s original design. The male uses this to inject semen directly into the females abdomen which caused them to disperse. So, imagine if it sometimes takes several days, weeks or months or recognize what you have in your own home, how long it would take staff to discover an infestation in which it is common to have different crews on a daily basis. So, what are the consequences of these major infestations of airplanes or any public transportation for that matter. First of all, this is a major “super” spreader event. Each person who was a passenger on this plane has to potential to infest their own home, the homes and workplaces of anyone they closely encounter in the airport, infest the home of the individuals picking them up as well as the homes of the ride services they chose to get to their final destination. Bedbugs are the ultimate hitchhiker. They have a crawl like hook very similar to what a tick possesses. They use this device to latch on to you as you make contact with their resting area. I do not have any knowledge of protocols being used in our Paducah, Owensboro and Evansville airports but some major carriers have very specific protocols involving the prevention and control of infestations on an airline. Firstly, when a bedbug infestation is suspected many carriers take the plane out of service immediately and complete a top to bottom inspection to determine the cause of the complaint. If an infestation is confirmed then a treatment is performed to eliminate the infestation. One thing to remember is that I have found that no airline has in their protocol to contact you if bedbugs were confirmed on a flight that you had taken. So, you can bring them home and never have any knowledge that there was a problem. As I always do, I recommend immediately placing clothes in the dryer that you took on your trip as bedbugs commonly infest suitcases and clothing as you travel. So, back to the original question, are bedbugs making a resurgence? It seems this may be the case. This year our Paducah, Owensboro and Evansville branches reported a 19% increase in bed bug infestation. Nationwide, infestations on airlines are becoming more common. In the early 2010’s when bedbugs were making their big comeback after years of being a non-issue planes were one of the first places we began to hear of their continued existence. It is looking like history is repeating itself.
