The phrase, "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," hits close to home for some Penn students.
A few weeks ago, a Hamilton College House resident who had recently traveled to Thailand reported an infestation of the 5 to 7 millimeters-long, blood-feeding pests in his dorm room.
Bedbugs, which feed at night -- leaving victims with welts similar to mosquito bites -- are most prevalent in college dormitories, hotel properties and places with mobile populations, according to Cindy Mannes, the director of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association.
The pest-control industry has seen a "huge resurgence in bedbug populations," she said. "We used to get one to two calls a year; now other agencies and our own get one to two calls a week."
The Hamilton resident said he knew he had a problem when he woke up one morning and saw the critters.
"I only saw one or two bugs around my bed," the student said. "When the exterminator came he found about 10."
Marty Overline, the University's exterminator and a self-proclaimed "urban hunter," said that compared to other areas in Philadelphia, Penn has seen relatively few bedbugs.
"Penn's been very fortunate -- two calls [regarding bedbugs] in the past 15 years," he said. "Some Philly hotels get two calls a week."
The pests -- which live between wooden floorboards, behind peeling paint, or in furniture, bed frames or mattresses -- can survive without a meal for a year or longer.
"No hotel, no property wants to admit they have bedbugs. I reiterate to students and their parents that it is not a cleanliness issue ?? somebody brought them in," Mannes said.
Overline had to dispose of the mattress, bureau and other wooden furniture in the Hamilton room. He then vacuumed three times and drilled holes in the walls in order to apply insecticidal treatment.
"Doing all of that together solves the problem -- not just spraying some pesticides," Overline said. "It's a multi-step process."
Betsy Robinson, the Locust area director of Facilities Services, confirmed that Penn does have a slight bedbug issue. She said that Overline is the University's main line of defense against bedbugs.
The resident said the situation was handled adequately.
"It took a couple of days to get their attention, but once they found out exactly what was wrong, they worked quickly."
Overline stressed that the parasites do not constitute a health threat.
"If there is anything positive about bedbugs, it is that they do not transmit diseases," Overline said.
