Bedbugs are invading the country.
The minute, blood-sucking pests have made themselves at home in hotels, dorm rooms, houses and apartment buildings — hiding out before attacking their unsuspecting victims, usually while they sleep.
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More than 40 states have reported bedbug cases. The infestation has become so bad that some people are moving out of their homes, such as residents in some Boston neighborhoods.
“We have seen a resurgence in the last 18 months to two years,” said Cindy Mannes, director of public affairs for the National Pest Management Association, which has 6,000 members worldwide.
American Pest Management in Takoma Park had not dealt with bedbugs until about three or four years ago, when the company treated only a handful of cases, said Richard Kramer, director of technical services.
That escalated to about 40 to 50 cases in 2002. Last year, the company’s bedbug cases reached into the hundreds — mainly in apartment buildings and private homes in the Washington area, he said.
“They are spreading rather rapidly,” Mr. Kramer said. “It’s a nice added revenue stream for the business.”
Boston’s Allston and Brighton neighborhoods, which have about 70,000 residents, have had at least 150 apartment buildings infested with bedbugs in the past 18 months.
“It’s a widespread problem,” said Juan Gonzalez, director of community organizing at the Allston Brighton Community Development Corp. “This is more or less like an outbreak. Some apartments have it under control, but in other areas it is spreading.”
Bug experts say several factors have caused the infestation of a bug that hasn’t been around since the World Wars. An increase in international travel has brought more bugs nestled in suitcases and on clothing. Also, exterminators no longer use the pesticides that controlled bedbugs and other pests in the past.
Bedbugs, scientifically known as Cimex lectularius Linnaeus, hide in the tiniest crevices from mattresses and the seams of bed linens to behind wallpaper and inside electrical boxes. The quarter-inch-long bugs feed primarily on humans at night, when they are sleeping.
Victims can’t hide from the bugs, Mr. Kramer warns.
“They can detect a body in the next room, and they’ll more than likely find you,” he said.
Some people may not realize they have bedbugs. Some have no reactions to the bites, while others may have swelling and redness where they were bitten. The critters, which are not known to transmit disease, leave behind tiny droppings of blood and give off a sickly sweet odor.
Bedbugs made their mark during both World Wars when unsuspecting soldiers returned home carrying the nocturnal creatures.
“They are great hitchhikers,” Mrs. Mannes said.
The problem has escalated over recent years. When exterminators started changing pesticides in the 1990s, nothing was used to ward off the bedbugs. For example, exterminators now use bait to get rid of roaches, which does not affect bedbugs.
As international travel increased, particularly over the past decade, more bedbugs have been carried into the country. In 2002, nearly 41.9 million foreign visitors traveled to the United States, according to the Department of Commerce. Two years earlier, nearly 51 million international travelers came to the United States.
Hotels — even upscale properties — have had bedbug problems for years. Bug experts say it’s not a sanitary issue but rather a case of it being too easy for the bugs to latch on to victims and their belongings and be carried from one place to the next.
“As an industry, we don’t see it as a rising problem,” said Tia Gordon, a spokeswoman for the American Hotel & Lodging Association. “It’s a constant, and hoteliers are always making sure they are adequately dealing with bedbugs.”
Mrs. Mannes said travelers should check their bed linens and, if they find any signs of the bugs, they should be moved to another room in the hotel. She also suggests vacuuming the outside of a suitcase upon returning home to eliminate the spread of the bugs.
Bug officials said professional pest control is needed to fix the problem. Store-bought pesticides will only push the bugs from one place to another.
“They can be controlled, and they can be eliminated,” Mrs. Mannes said.
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