Nathan Jeffers/photo

Pictured is the Twin Rivers Tower apartment complex, where a bedbug scare is now under control and nearly over.

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POINT PLEASANT — A recent outbreak of bedbugs at the Twin Rivers Tower apartment complex may have alarmed some residents at first, but now that sense of panic is starting to subside.

Resident manager Libbi Stewart spoke with the Point Pleasant Register on the matter, and stated that only ten percent of their 108 apartments were infected and that 90 to 95 percent of the bedbugs were now gone.

Stewart said the bedbugs were first noticed in July earlier this year, when a resident found one and reported it. Stewart continued, saying they already have a monthly extermination, and the exterminator happened to be present on the day of the report and identified the bedbug. Stewart said the exterminator sprayed for the bedbugs and has continued to spray once a week in order to remove them.

In addition to having the exterminator, Stewart said they had given residents bedbug proof mattress covers, as well as putting bedbug traps, much like a roach motel, in every room. Stewart also said the company that owns the apartment complex, Colonial American Development Corporation, is paying for the removal of the bedbugs and the residents didn’t have to pay anything. She added the company will also be replacing some furniture, if needed.

Stewart also noted that having bedbugs was not a reflection of cleanliness. She continued, saying they are unsure of where the bedbugs had come from. Stewart added since many of the residents are on fixed incomes and often visit yard sales and thrift stores, it could have possibly been from something a resident had brought in from somewhere else.

Stewart also stated that getting rid of bedbugs is not a short process, according to the exterminator who said it could take three to four months for the removal. Stewart did say the residents whose apartments had been infected and treated have noticed the absence of the bedbugs and that they had not come back.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bedbugs often occur around the areas where people sleep. Common areas are apartments, shelters, rooming houses, hotels, cruise ships, trains, and dorm rooms. Bedbugs hide during the day in the seams of mattresses, box springs, bed frames, headboards, dresser tables, behind wallpaper and other cracks and crevices.

The CDC also stated bedbug bites can vary from person to person, and even though bedbugs are not know to carry disease, responses can vary from no physical signs of the bite, to a small bite mark, to a severe allergic reaction. It was also stated that it may take up to 14 days for the bite marks to develop. In addition to bite marks, some of the ways to identify a bedbug infestation include finding the bedbugs’ exoskeletons after molting, finding bedbugs in the fold of mattresses and sheets, finding rusty–colored blood spots due to their blood-filled, and a sweet musty odor.