Can Pets Spread Bed Bugs?

The good news is that bed bugs aren't interested in pet food or pet waste. They only want blood, and they strongly prefer to bite humans because it's difficult for them to extract fluid through fur. The bad news is that ANY warm blooded animal living in your home can act as a magnet to lure bedbugs out of hiding and disperse them to areas they normally wouldn't go.

The steps you take to protect your bedroom against infestation will almost certainly drive bed bugs to other areas of your home in search of food. Factors such as body heat and pheromones will guide bed bugs to areas where pets congregate and relax. That's bad news for you and good news for your local pest control operator. The difference between treating one room and treating multiple rooms can equal thousands of dollars.

Bed bugs can and will feed upon animals if human counterparts are unreachable due to factors such as pesticides and bed protection measures. Pets who display scabs or bald spots from flea and mite irritations are all the more susceptible to bedbug bites. The most vulnerable place on a dog's body is the belly because it's not as furry as other body parts, and it often comes in contact with the ground. A bed bug can hitch a ride from the yard to your home using your dog's exposed skin as a vehicle, but this is a relatively small concern because bed bugs only stay on their hosts long enough to feed. It's far more likely for pets to transport bedbugs within the home.

Your Pets and Bed Bugs

The resurgence of bed bugs over the last decade has left many people worrying about every little itch that they get. However one victim of bed bugs that often get overlooked may be suffering more than you think. The victim we are talking about are your pets.

Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs don't only feed on humans. In fact they feed on anything that has blood. Although they may prefer human blood, if no other food source is available, they won't hesitate to feed on your beloved pets.

Some situations where bed bugs may end up feasting on your pets would be if you're never home. With no readily available food source, bed bugs may turn to your pets to get their weekly meals. Although your cat or dog's fur may slow bed bugs down, they will still be able to feed eventually. Fortunately bed bug bites do not cause any major harm to dogs; however it can make them uncomfortable.

A dogs fur can also act as a carrier for bed bugs, similar to your clothing. If you have an active dog, it can potentially spread bed bugs to your neighbors or other strangers.

If you have any concerns of bed bugs, don't hesitate to get a canine inspection. Dogs are excellent at finding bed bugs with their noses and are the most accurate form of bed bug detection. 

Staph Super Bugs?

Hate insects? Afraid of germs? Researchers are reporting an alarming combination: bed bugs carrying a staph "superbug." Canadian scientists detected drug-resistant staph bacteria in bed bugs from three hospital patients from a downtrodden Vancouver neighborhood.

Bedbugs have not been known to spread disease, and there's no clear evidence that the five bedbugs found on the patients or their belongings had spread the MRSA germ they were carrying or a second less dangerous drug-resistant bacteria.

However, bed bugs can cause itching that can lead to excessive scratching. That can cause breaks in the skin that make people more susceptible to these germs, noted Dr. Marc Romney, one of the study's authors.

The study is small and very preliminary. "But it's an intriguing finding" that needs to be further researched, said Romney, medical microbiologist at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver.

The hospital is the closest one to the poor Downtown Eastside neighborhood near the city's waterfront. Romney said he and his colleagues did the research after seeing a simultaneous boom in bed bugs and MRSA cases from the neighborhood.

Five bed bugs were crushed and analyzed. MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, was found on three bugs. MRSA is resistant to several types of common antibiotics and can become deadly if it gets through the skin and into the bloodstream.

Two bugs had VRE, or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, a less dangerous form of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Both germs are often seen in hospitals, and experts have been far more worried about nurses and other health care workers spreading the bacteria than insects.

It's not clear if the bacteria originated with the bed bugs or if the bugs picked it up from already infected people, Romney added.

Bed Bugs - Recent Study on Disease Transmission

There has been a major increase in bed bug incidence in North America and Europe in recent years and aside from being an extreme nuisance and the destroyer of property and sanity of many lives, now bed bugs carrying two types of drug-resistant bacteria have been found by Canadian researchers.

The bed bugs were found to be carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE).

Further studies are needed to characterize the association between S. aureus and bed bugs. Bed bug carriage of MRSA, and the portal of entry provided through feeding, suggests a plausible potential mechanism for passive transmission of bacteria during a blood meal.  Because of the insect's ability to compromise the skin integrity of its host, and the propensity for S. aureus to invade damaged skin, bed bugs may serve to amplify MRSA infections in impoverished urban communities.

The phenotype of the MRSA found in the bed bugs is identical to that found in tests of many Eastside patients with MRSA infections according to the report.

These findings suggest that bed bugs may act as a "hidden environmental reservoir" that promotes the spread of MRSA in overcrowded and impoverished communities.

Bedbugs Becoming Immune

The first comprehensive genetic study of bedbugs, the irritating pests that have enjoyed a world-wide resurgence in recent years, indicates they are quickly evolving to withstand the pesticides used to combat them.

The new findings from entomologists at Ohio State University, reported Wednesday online in PLoS One, show that bedbugs may have boosted their natural defenses by generating higher levels of enzymes that can cleanse them of poisons.

In New York City, bedbugs now are 250 times more resistant to the standard pesticide than bedbugs in Florida, due to changes in a gene controlling the resilience of the nerve cells targeted by the insecticide, researchers at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst recently reported.

Recent studies show that bedbugs around the world have developed a resistance to the chemicals used to control them. Scientists are now studying the molecular biology of these pests to develop more lasting control measures.

New findings from entomologists at Ohio State University, reported Wednesday online in PLoS One, show that bedbugs may have boosted their natural defenses by generating higher levels of enzymes that can cleanse themselves of common pyrethroid-based pesticides.

The findings add to a growing body of evidence from molecular-biology studies that bedbugs have recently evolved at leastthree improved biochemical defenses against common pesticides. Bedbugs today appear to have nerve cells better able to withstand the chemical effects, higher levels of enzymes that detoxify the lethal substances, and thicker shells that can block insecticides.

"These bugs have several back doors open to escape," said evolutionary entomologist Klaus Reinhardt at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, who was familiar with the new research butn't involved in the projects. "Simple spraying around of some pesticides may not [be enough] now or in the future."

In an era of antibiotic-resistant infections and herbicide-resistant weeds, the ability of bedbugs to survive once-lethal doses of insecticides is the newest evidence that efforts to eradicate pests that plague humankind may make some of them stronger. It is a key reason for the spread of bedbugs in the past decade, several researchers who study them said.

Well-adapted to homes, hotels and dormitories, these tiny blood-sucking parasites usually hide in mattresses, bed frames and furniture upholstery. Bedbugs feed every five to 10 days, leaving painful welts on the skin and sometimes triggering allergic reactions.

Laboratory tests in the U.S., Europe and Africa show today's bedbugs can survive pesticide levels a thousand times greater than the lethal dose of a decade or so ago. "There is a phenomenal level of resistance," said bedbug entomologist Michael Siva-Jothy at the University of Sheffield in the U.K. "It has evolved very recently."

Since the pesticide DDT was banned starting about 40 years ago, people usually have treated bedbug infestations with pesticides based on a family of compounds called pyrethroids, usually deltamethrin or lambda-cyhalothrin, synthetic versions of chemicals found in chrysanthemum blossoms.

There are few chemical alternatives, because the residential market for insecticides is relatively small, and the cost of development, safety tests and regulatory approval is relatively high, several researchers said. Since the bugs don't transmit any serious infectious diseases, there also is little medical funding to research new control measures.

Foggers, "bug bombs" are no match for bedbugs, scientists say!

Got a bedbug infestation?Many people turn to do-it-yourself "bug bombs" or "foggers" to rid the creepy crawlers from their bedrooms, but a new study shows the products that have been sold for decades might not even work.

"There has always been this perception and feedback from the pest-management industry that over-the-counter foggers are not effective against bed bugs and might make matters worse but up until now there has been no published data regarding the efficacy of foggers against bedbugs," said study author Susan Jones, an urban entomologist with the Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, said in a news release. "If you use these products, you will not get the infestation under control, you will waste your money, and you will delay effective treatment of your infestation."

Ohio State University researchers tested three commercially sold foggers, Hot Shot, Spectracide, and Eliminator for the study, published in the June 3 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology. After testing the brands on five different groups of live bedbugs for two hours, the scientists saw the foggers had little if any effect on the insects.

Jone said bedbugs hide in cracks and crevices such as under sheets and mattresses, or deep in carpets where foggers won't reach. Bugs that do come in contact with the mist may be resistant to the pesticide and can survive, she said.

The bottom line? You might be wise to leave it to the pros.

"Bed bugs are among the most difficult and expensive urban pests to control. It typically takes a professional to do it right," Jones said. "Also, the ineffective use of these products can lead to further resistance in insects."

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also says to steer clear of bug bombs or foggers, saying they can make the problem worse by scattering bedbugs throughout your home.

Bedbugs feed off blood and survive for months without a meal, according to WebMD. Infestations often occur in hotels, nursing homes, hospitals and cruise ships where lots of people sleep. People can be allergic t o the bites, experiencing itching or in rare cases life-threatening anaphlyaxis.

Maintaining Childcare Facilities to Prevent Bed Bugs

• Bed bugs like to hide in cracks and crevices so… seal cracks, crevices, and moldings with paint or caulk; secure loose tiles; remove carpeting when possible; repair holes, peeling wallpaper, and chipping paint.

• Fix storage and clutter issues in common areas. Store items (e.g. bags, blankets, toys, coats, books) in sealed plastic containers when possible.

• Train key employees, such as maintenance staff and teachers, so they know procedures for reducing the risk of infestation and transportation of bed bugs and what to do if bed bugs are discovered.

Keeping Childcare Facilities Clean from Bed Bugs

• Keep all areas as uncluttered as possible.

• Store all student and staff personal items separately in sealed plastic containers when possible.

• Clean regularly, paying extra attention to lost-and-found areas, upholstered furniture and/or bedding, wall mounted items (e.g. clocks, pictures, mirrors, etc.) and bookcases.

• Purchase and dedicate equipment for bed bug control, including vacuums and steam cleaners (steam must heat to at least 170oF). Empty and discard bags or collecting containers immediately. Clean and maintain the equipment regularly.

• Regularly wash and heat-dry all bedding, dress-up clothing, or other items for
at least 20 minutes (most ‘dry-clean only’ items can be put in the dryer as long as they are dry).

• Regularly inspect the facility: be careful and methodical using care to avoid spreading bed bugs to other areas.

Can my pet carry bed bugs?

Bed bugs don't live on pets or spend as much time on your pet as the more common pests (such as fleas, ticks, lice and mites), but they can bite your pets. 

 

We also know that bed bugs are very efficient hitchhikers and can be transported to your home via luggage, clothing, bedding, furniture, etc., so it's possible that bed bugs could also hitchhike in your pet's fur or its bedding or clothing.

Are flea and tick preventives effective against bed bugs?

Only products labeled with bed bugs as a target pest should be used. If bed bugs are not listed on the label, the product may not be effective. 

 

And unlike fleas and ticks, bed bugs live in your home, not on your pet. Using the wrong pesticide or using it incorrectly to treat for bed bugs can make you, your family, and your pet sick. The EPA has a search tool to help you find the right product.