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Bed bugs have attacked the residents of another nursing home, and experts are not surprised. A recent study conducted by officials with the National Pest Management Association found that the three locations where bed bugs are most likely to show up are hotels/motels, apartments/condominiums and single family homes. According to Bill Todaro, entomologist for the Allegheny County Health Department, in addition to the three above mentioned locations, other commonly infested buildings include nursing homes, college dorms, schools, day care centers, office buildings, hospitals, and public transportation vehicles. These are the last places where anyone wants to find bed bugs, but unfortunately, these are also locations that see a relatively high amount of different visitors from all walks of life, making the accidental transport of bed bugs into these locations likely.

Both nursing homes and senior living communities are particularly hard hit by the worsening bed bug scourge that is sweeping the world, particularly the United States. For example, several bed bugs were recently spotted at the Merrimack County Nursing Home in New Hampshire, and unlike many other bed bug infestations, pest control professionals are having a difficult time locating all the bed bug invaders within the building. In fact, trained bed bug-sniffing dogs are being used to track down the blood-sucking insects before any more elderly residents fall victim to their irritating bites.

The administrator of the nursing home, Matt Lagos, claimed that a total of seven bed bugs were located in a hallway and a resident’s room recently, and at least one elderly inhabitant has already sustained numerous bites from the insects. While seven bed bugs may not seem significant, a few staff members have claimed that three additional residents have been affected by the bed bug presence, and they fully expect further casualties. It has also been reported that staff members have even spotted the dreaded insects crawling within the hallways of the facility. While the nursing home’s administration may be downplaying the true extent of the infestation, search dogs that are trained for sniffing out bed bugs are being dispatched to assure that each and every one of the insects is tracked down and destroyed.

Considering the relatively high amount of bed bug infestations emerging in residential care facilities and nursing homes, do you fear for the safety of any elderly relatives that you know to be living in such facilities?