The Hall County Housing Authority is trying to address problems with bed bugs in apartments at Centennial Towers. (Courtesy)
GRAND ISLAND – Artena Thompson, executive director of the Hall County Housing Authority, said that a lack of cooperation from two residents at Centennial Towers has limited the ability to get rid of bed bugs in their apartments.
Hall County Commissioners discussed the issue at their Dec. 16 meeting and said that they wanted to have some Commissioners meet with representatives of the Housing Authority to discuss concerns about bed bugs at Centennial Towers. Thompson said Dec. 18 that representatives from the Housing Authority would meet with Hall County Commissioners in a closed session on Jan. 13.
Bed bug issues are limited to apartments for two residents: a man who is a veteran and a woman.
Commissioners said at the Dec. 16 meeting that another issue in apartments is cockroach infestation.
Thompson said that the veteran is disabled and is unable to remove items from his apartment prior to when an exterminator would work at the apartment. The Housing Authority requires residents to be responsible for removing items from their apartments prior to when an exterminator arrives.
The Housing Authority is working to have the veteran move to apartments for veterans. But for that to occur, the veteran has to be clear from bed bugs.
Thompson said that the veteran and the woman continue to interact with each other. Because one or the other person may have bed bugs on their clothing, the bed bugs continue to be transferred from one apartment to the other apartment.
Thompson said that the Housing Authority is doing its best to assist the two people and remove bed bugs from their apartments. She said that the Housing Authority is doing its part to address the situation, but that residents have to cooperate with the Housing Authority so that their apartments no longer have bed bugs.
Thompson said that bed bug exterminators come to Centennial Towers quarterly. If a resident has bed bugs in an apartment, the exterminators will then visit that apartment monthly.
“This is a problem that I want to be controlled,” Thompson said.
Another method used to get rid of bed bugs is exposing them to heat. She said that the Housing Authority purchased a device that will expose an item to heat to kill bed bugs.
She said that another problem occurs if after a resident removes items from an apartment, there could be an item such as an upholstered chair that is infested with bed bugs. The resident needs to dispose of the item, but if that does not occur, then bed bugs just return to the apartment when the item is brought back into the apartment.
She said that Centennial Towers has concrete construction, so there aren’t openings between apartments where bed bugs could go to another apartment.
Jeremy Collinson is an environmental health manager with the Central District Health Department. The Health Department was contacted to get information about how to get rid of bed bugs and cockroaches in residences.
Collinson provided links to two websites concerning bed bugs and links to three websites concerning cockroaches.
The first link is a page on the University of Nebraska Lincoln’s Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
Bed bugs “wingless, oval-shaped and small, with adults approximately the size of an apple seed (1/4” long). Unfed bed bugs are flattened and orange-red in color. Engorged (fed) bed bugs are a deep red and more elongated.”
“It’s also important to note that while bed bugs do bite, they do not spread disease,” the website said.
“A single female may produce up to 250 eggs in her lifetime. Once hatched, bed bug nymphs molt five times before they reach adulthood. In some circumstances, bed bugs can survive for up to a year without a blood meal. Thus, putting items in storage and trying to starve them out is not recommended,” the website said.
“The majority of bed bug treatments require at least two visits or applications to kill any bugs that have recently hatched or survived the initial application,” the website said.
“Residual insecticides (insecticides that last past initial application) in the form of dusts or liquid sprays are recommended for use in cracks, crevices and wall voids, all of which are areas bed bugs commonly aggregate when not actively feeding. Liquid sprays are generally applied to baseboards, ceiling-wall junctions, and other cracks and crevices. Dust formulations are applied to wall voids behind wall outlets and under baseboards. Common dusts used are diatomaceous earth and silica dust, the latter of which has shown to be more effective in bed bug control,” the website said.
Heat can also be used to eliminate bed bugs, the website said. Bed bugs spend their time in cracks and crevices close to where people sleep.
A University of Nebraska Lancaster County Extension publication discusses cockroach management in Nebraska. There are three approaches to getting rid of cockroaches. The first is using traps. The second is using low-risk bait stations. The third is an insecticide spray. Cockroaches need food, water and shelter to survive. Sanitation and exclusion are two practices to prevent cockroaches.
Because of their connection to filth, cockroaches are potential vectors of food poisoning microorganisms. Cockroaches may trigger serious allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.
