Online exclusive: Accidental infestation

Just imagine: You’re sleeping in and feeling great on a warm Saturday morning. In a little while, you will get out of bed on your own accord and go about your day in comfort. This morning would be so perfect, except for one thing. Today your routine has been rudely interrupted by a pest that is no stranger to campus life: the notorious bedbug.

The bedbug is a tiny insect that is oval in shape and brown in color. The only thing on this little parasite’s menu is your blood. It gets worse, too; according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the little bastards can go an entire year without feeding, which is probably one reason they can take so long to notice.

Left with irritation and dirty sheets, one is left to wonder, “How did this happen to me?” Is it possible that those bed bugs hitched a ride into your apartment on that cool orange-shag carpet chair you picked up off the street from a Craigslist listing? It is possible. The EPA describes bedbugs as “very successful hitchhikers.”

Just earlier this month, The Vue apartments, a popular complex in the midst of campus, was plighted once more by the nefarious insects. While residencies such as The Vue have become experienced in dealing with bedbugs, there is another problem to consider—the insects have a habit of coming back.

It’s true that every few months a case of infestation will arise in an apartment building near campus, resulting in its residents’ evacuation and the building undergoing a process somewhat like chemical warfare combined with heavy cleaning.

It is not just Portland State, though; The Oregonian has reported on widespread bedbug problems all across Multnomah County.

Perhaps a contributing factor to the recurring bedbug problem is our love of chic furniture and wool clothing. Make no mistake; these things are not going away just to keep bedbugs at bay. After all, it is nobody’s fault that a bedbug’s favorite place to live in and feed on is the warm and fuzzy linings of our futons.

We just don’t think to look for them. Unfortunately, we seem to only catch bedbugs after they have already become a problem. In our defense, if someone gets a shag pillow from some dude’s garage sale, they might not think to steam clean it before using it.

The name bedbug also implies that the insect takes residence only in beds. This is not the case, as it turns out. Your cool orange chair you got from the guy down the street could also carry bedbugs, among numerous other places. Southwest Portland resident Rabia Yeaman started a website dedicated to information regarding bedbugs to help others control the problem after his own nasty encounter. Yeaman’s site explains that bedbugs are certainly not limited to the bed.

The reality is that if a piece of furniture gets bedbugs in it, they can hide out until they’re good and ready to come out again. If you pick up a mattress from someone’s garage for $10, you may have found yourself a sweet mattress for a deal, but you may also have brought the infestation in with you.

This is why the EPA suggests using special covers around mattresses and box springs. This can trap the buggers in and with any luck they will die—or you can set the mattress on fire.

Some may think that it’s just a matter of keeping clean, but Ben Duncan, program development specialist for the Multnomah County Health Department, was quoted in an Oregonian article earlier in September saying that bedbugs were not a matter of cleanliness. Information provided by the EPA and Multnomah County also state that a bedbug infestation is not a reflection of cleanliness or hygiene. So if you keep a clean house, you’re still at risk of getting bedbugs.

Ultimately, this becomes an issue of careful inspection. Knowing seems to be more than half the battle, and a careful inspection of your new Craigslist furniture could be the key to keeping control of an infestation. So remember, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite—if they do, hit them hard with steam and heat treatments.