Bedbug infestation causes concern in Isles

Advertiser Staff and News Services

"Sleep tight and don't let the bedbugs bite," sounds like a cute thing to say to people before they go to bed, right?

Well, some national and Hawai'i researchers, pest-control experts and health officials say there may be something to that warning.

A University of Florida researcher says America's hotels are increasingly playing host to some unwelcome guests: bedbugs.

Phil Koehler, an urban entomologist with the university's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, said Tuesday that the blood-feeding insect is being found more frequently in cities that have an influx of international tourists.

According to pest-control experts, increased tourism has contributed to the problem because bedbugs are transported in luggage from overseas.

In Florida, pest-control companies have reported a tenfold increase in bedbug service calls since 1999.

In Hawai'i, some local experts say they have seen a nearly 5 percent increase in bedbug service calls in the past two years.

Linda Sheehan, administrator manager for Diversified Exterminators in Honolulu, said her company receives one or two phone calls every month concerning bedbug infestations.

Mark Hiyane, manager of Xtermco Pest Control, said he has seen business calls for extermination of bedbugs increase 3 percent to 5 percent this year compared to last.

"It's really picked up the last couple of years, and yes, even at some of the better hotels," said Hiyane, who has worked at Xtermco for 22 years. "Bedbugs are pretty widespread now."

The United States had a record 51 million international tourists in 2000, up from 48 million in 1999 and 43 million in 1995, according to Commerce Department figures.

"The thing about bed bugs is that anybody can pick them up in their suitcases, or traveling bags," said Norman Sato, supervisor of Vector Control for the Department of Health in Hawai'i.

Experts say Hawai'i's temperate climate and large numbers of international visitors increase the chances of bedbugs.

"The bugs are active all year since Hawai'i is temperate," Sato said. "So, you have to be careful how you treat it and how thorough the exterminator was."

Adult bedbugs are about the size of a small ladybug and are flat, oval and wingless.

They are brown unless engorged with a meal, when they turn a mahogany red. Adults feed regularly but can live six months without eating.

Harold Harlan, senior entomologist with the National Pest Management Association in Dunn Loring, Va., said that although bedbugs can harbor about 20 human pathogens, they do not transmit disease.