September is Bed Bug Awareness Month, but firefighters in Montgomery County became aware of the hazards of bed bugs a little early. Two fire stations in the county will complete a three-part treatment for bed bug infestations this week after discovering them in the last six weeks, according to Assistant Fire Chief Scott Graham. He would not specify which stations had the infestations because he said the problem is not a public health hazard.
Some firefighters had been bitten, and a visual inspection confirmed that the bugs were there, he said. They began a chemical treatment immediately.
A third fire station was infested in the spring, said Graham, but that problem has been eradicated.
Graham said the ordeal has led the department to educate firefighters and other personnel about bed bugs and how to avoid them. For example, firefighters are being asked to avoid sleeping bags and wash their bed linens every shift. They also will be purchasing mattress covers, vacuuming around their bunks and performing routine physical inspections.
“Bed bugs are certainly not something that just crawl in or fly in on their own,” said Graham, explaining that people must have brought the bugs to the stations.
Susan Jones, an entomology professor at Ohio State University, said bed bugs can be a common problem at fire stations.
“It just comes with part of the territory that you’ve got first responders going in people’s homes,” she said.
Bed bugs are external parasites that feed on blood but stay on a person’s body for only a short time, she explained. Of those who are bitten, 70 percent will have an allergic reaction. Often the bites are mistaken for mosquito bites.
There hasn’t been enough research to know whether bed bugs transmit diseases.
However, many people suffer from psychological problems as a result of bed bug infestations, Jones said. They have trouble sleeping and get stressed out, often because of how expensive the bugs are to get rid of.
Graham said he didn’t know how much money was spent on exterminating the bed bugs at the fire stations.
Jones also warned that even though the bed bugs might be gone now, the treatment process might not be permanent.
“They are going to be bringing bed bugs back with them all the time,” she said. Depending on which types of chemicals were used to eradicate the problem, the treatment might last for several months at most.
Firefighters also need to be aware that they could very easily bring the bugs home with them, said Louis Sorkin, an entomologist at the American Museum of Natural History and the head of entomology consulting firm Entsult Associates.
“It’s a contagious insect,” Jones said. “When we have the flu or a cold, we stay away from other people … with bed bugs, you get a big infestation of bed bugs and you will be transferring those pests with you.”
