Health hazards: Bed bugs, radon, hoarding

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As Rock County Health Department Environmental Health Director Tim Banwell celebrates 25 years with the department this March, he said overall health of the county has improved although bed bugs, hoarding and radon are still posing challenges.

Banwell has seen miracles in his long career. People no longer smoke in restaurants and taverns, they put up smoke detectors and wear their seat belts. And restaurant operators heat their foods to the appropriate temperatures.

However, as health consciousness improves, there are some health challenges as old as time. And one is bed bugs.

We do have them in our community, Banwell said.

Bed bugs have become more resistant in third world countries due in part to the continued use of DDT and strong pesticides. With world travel being high, the little critters have made their way to the United States, with Banwell getting a few calls on them every month.

Hes heard about them most recently in apartment buildings, homes and the occasional motel. They are typically beige colored to tan and resemble an apple seed, although flatter. Because they are similar to mosquitos, feasting on blood, they can be a rust color as well. Often people will not know they have been bitten by bed bugs because their saliva has an anesthetizing effect. However, people can get welts a few days after they have been bitten.

The bugs can hide in beds, or crawl away and hide in radios, bookcases, furniture, file cabinets, electric switch plate openings and more.

They can hide all day. At night they will crawl and find the person sleeping in bed, and theyll attack them, Banwell said.

The good news is bed bugs can be eradicated with the help of a professional pest control operator. They may enlist the help of a dog to sniff around to locate the bugs, because people only have a 30 percent chance of finding an infestation by their eyesight alone. Banwell said pest control operators will usually use a combination of sprays and heating infected rooms to 120 degrees.

The dry heat will kill them, Banwell said.

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Health hazards: Bed bugs, radon, hoarding

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