Salt Lake Valley Health Department busts bedbug myths

SALT LAKE CITY — The phone at the Salt Lake Valley Health Department is ringing with calls from residents who want to know more about the creepy crawlers invading apartment buildings and hotels across the country, not to mention a few famous New York City landmarks.

The perpetrator creating the curiosity and fear?

Bedbugs.

"Anyone is going to get them; it's a matter of where you are traveling or who is visiting, and it has nothing to do with housekeeping," said Diane Keay, environmental health supervisor with the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.

The mere thought of bedbugs can make the skin crawl, and a recent resurgence of the tiny pests has everyone bugged. An infestation in the Big Apple has made national headlines. Bedbugs have migrated west as far as Fresno, Calif., with stops in Detroit, Denver and communities in Utah. News of bedbugs and how they travel have fueled several myths and legends about the tiny pests. The health department receives phones calls every day from those with questions on how to exterminate or prevent the bugs.

The old phrase, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite" isn't just a warning confined to the bedroom. "They live where they can get blood; they want a meal. So, look for other places in the house where people spend a lot of time, very quiet. The kids play room is probably not a problem, but the couch where people watch television, the home office where people are online. Those are possible places of infestations," Keay said.

The health department said the most common call from residents is about vacuuming and if it will get rid of the unwanted bugs. "Vacuuming does not kill the bedbugs. The bedbugs are sucked inside, and they can crawl right back out; so you want to make sure that that bag is sealed between uses," Keay said.

Online articles and e-mails continue to circulate urban legends and not-so-accurate information. One such e-mail making the rounds supposedly originates from a "friend whose son is an entomologist." The e-mail cautions its reader to put any newly purchased clothing in the dryer for 20 minutes to kill any bedbugs and their eggs that may have hitched a ride on merchandise shipped from over overseas. Keay said the forwarded e-mail is part truth and part falsehood.

"It's not a very likely scenario to have that sort of situation. Most of that stuff is being transported over a long period of time, where they would not have any access to anything to eat." However, the clothes dryer will kill bedbugs and their eggs if the dryer is heated to 113 degrees.