Bedbug activity increasing

People around Philadelphia may soon need to take “Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bedbugs bite” as serious advice.

Last month, pest control service Terminix released a report which ranked Philadelphia as the second-most bedbug-infested city in the United States, behind New York City.

According to Jen Rizzi, Facilities and Real Estate Services spokeswoman, isolated incidents have been reported in Penn’s college housing over the past few years, with the latest just this summer. There are no confirmed cases on record currently.

Off-campus housing has also seen a rise in cases. In the past three years, the Office of Off-Campus Services has seen an increase in questions about bedbugs, as well as an increase in suspected cases.

“Prior to that, bedbug complaints were quite rare,” Rizzi said. She added that both on- and off-campus housing services provide information to students on how to prevent infestations and treat the pests.

Campus Apartments spokeswoman Laura Van De Pette said the company has “not had cases that [she was] aware of.”

Terminix spokesman Clint Briscoe said cases had been low in years past, but the company has seen a “dramatic increase” in the number of reported cases in Philadelphia, as well as in all 45 states the company serves.

“One of our Philadelphia branches is seeing as many as one dozen bedbug cases a day. A few years ago they would see a handful of bedbug cases a month,” he said.

The insects, which feed on animal and human blood, are typically found in places where they are most likely to come into contact with humans, such as bedding, clothing drawers and cushioned seating.

A report by Terminix officials said after World War II, bedbugs were nearly eradicated from the United States. However, numbers have risen in the last several years because of international travel, among other factors.

According to a Penn Business Services-issued fact sheet, the small, reddish-brown insects migrate by attaching themselves to clothing or other mobile objects such as suitcases. Adults can grow to a quarter of an inch long and can live for up to 18 months without feeding.

Earlier this week, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., announced it was treating four dorm rooms for bedbugs.

In August, a Montgomery County woman announced plans to sue Aaron’s rent-to-own store in Norrristown, Pa. for allegedly infesting her home with bedbugs for over a year, by way of a second-hand bedroom set.

New York, Terminix’s number-one bedbug city, has had some of the worst recorded incidents in the last several months. Franchises of Niketown, Victoria’s Secret, an AMC movie theater, Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister have all seen temporary closings because of bedbugs.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.