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When Takoma Park pest management company American Pest gets a call about bedbugs — as it does more frequently these days — executives often turn to Gizmo.

The mixed-breed canine can sniff out the pesky critters far more quickly than humans can find them, said W. Wayne White, a board-certified entomologist and director of technical services for American Pest. Gizmo, who has been doing this for about a year and a half, was trained at a canine academy in Florida to specifically find bedbugs.

"More companies are adding dogs," White said. "Using a dog is the most effective way to go into a large building and figure out which room might have bedbugs."

Gizmo and his counterparts, plus their human masters at pest control businesses, have been increasingly busy combating bedbugs. While the old nursery rhyme, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite," is becoming a more familiar and relevant phrase in residences and hotels, the biting insects also have turned up in commercial offices, movie theaters and even landmarks including the Empire State Building in New York.

Representatives from Maryland offices of pest control companies say there has been a substantial increase in calls to treat the critters that feed on human or animal blood, causing itchy bumps. Fortunately for bite victims, bedbugs aren't believed to carry diseases, as ticks can.

"It's a growing business for us," said Charlie Barton, service manager of the Rockville branch for Orkin. On the residential side in Montgomery County and Washington, the service areas for Orkin's Rockville office, calls concerning bedbugs increased by more than 50 percent from 2008 to 2009, he said.

Orkin, with headquarters in Atlanta, ranked second on Pest Control Technology Magazine's most recent list of the nation's largest pest management companies, with 2009 revenues of $1.07 billion, up 5 percent from 2008. The top company was Terminix International of Memphis, Tenn., with $1.09 billion.

American Pest, which has been in business for 85 years and covers Maryland, the greater Washington area and parts of Pennsylvania, was ranked 62nd with revenues of $8.6 million, an increase of 5 percent from the previous year. The only other Maryland company on the list was Home Paramount Pest Control of Forest Hill, ranked 16th with $46 million, up 10 percent from 2008.

Global business

helps bring them back

Bedbugs once were effectively controlled in the U.S. with the pesticide DDT, which was banned for health and environmental reasons several decades ago. But the increase in global business with its international travel has been a key factor in bringing bedbugs back in large quantities.

"A lot of international travelers do bring these back in their luggage and personal items," Barton said.

Barton advises travelers to remember the acronym SLEEP: Search a hotel room for evidence of bedbugs; lift pillows and bedding to look under them; elevate luggage off the floor; examine personal items; and consult a professional if you believe you have been bitten.

Other possible factors behind the "alarming" resurgence, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are bedbugs' increased resistance to available pesticides; lack of knowledge regarding control of bedbugs because of their prolonged absence; and the continuing decline or elimination of effective vector and pest control programs at state and local public health agencies.

"Fifteen years ago, we rarely saw bedbugs," White said. "Now, we see them every day." He estimated bedbugs account for about 20 percent of American Pest's business on the commercial side, with a smaller portion of its residential activity.

The pests are turning up in more unusual places such as airports and movie theaters. Major clothing retailers and offices in New York City have shut down this summer for bedbug treatments. Even so, New York didn't make Orkin's top five hot spots for bedbug activity. According to its treatment data, the busiest cities are Cincinnati, Columbus, Ohio, Chicago, Denver and Detroit. Washington, D.C., was sixth and Baltimore 10th. New York did top a similar ranking by Terminix, followed by Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati and Chicago. Washington was ninth on Terminix's list.

Nationally, Orkin, which has more than 400 locations and about 8,000 employees, has seen bedbug treatments in commercial properties more than triple from 2008 to 2009. About 10 percent of commercial buildings have bedbugs, according to a survey this year by Orkin and the Building Owners and Managers Association International.

About 20 percent of exterminators found bedbugs in office buildings nationwide, according to another recent survey by the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky. In 2007, fewer than 1 percent of company representatives said they found the pests in offices.

Bedbugs aren't some microscopic creatures that can't be seen, Barton said. "They are about the size of an apple seed," he said. "They are very visible."

Although bedbugs can be "maddeningly difficult" to control, that doesn't mean they can't be eradicated, White said. American Pest mostly uses conventional chemical treatments but is experimenting with alternative methods such as heat and freezing them.

"Heat is our friend when it comes to bedbugs," White said. "If you put clothing on the hottest cycle in a dryer for 30 minutes, that will kill bedbugs."

In some cases, encasing a mattress will be effective, Barton said. The heat treatment works when the temperature of a room can be raised to more than 125 degrees, which also can kill other pests such as roaches, he said.

Bedbugs have been found in wealthy neighborhoods and hotels, as well as less well-to-do ones, Barton said. They do tend to bite people and animals with less body hair, he said.

Online resources increasing

As bedbug sightings proliferate, online resources have as well. One is the Bedbug Registry, a free, searchable database that has taken some 20,000 reports of bedbug sightings at hotels and apartment buildings in the U.S. and Canada from individuals since 2006. The site is administered by Maciej Ceglowski, who had a "traumatic experience" with the critters in a San Francisco hotel.

Numerous Maryland hotels and apartment buildings are listed on the site. Some have had more than one report. The subject also is increasingly popular with general travel sites such as TripAdvisor.

The Hilton Garden Inn Baltimore, which has two reports on the Bedbug Registry along with many positive general reviews on TripAdvisor, makes hotel cleanliness and safety a "focal point of our operations in order to continue providing guests with a great experience," Dawn Ray, a Hilton spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.

"Our hotel guest rooms are cleaned regularly by trained staff," Ray said. "We are proud of our efforts in this area, which are reflected in the satisfaction and loyalty of returning guests to our hotel and our brand."

The Bedbug Registry cautions that "because our bedbug reports come directly from users, we can't guarantee their accuracy. If you feel a location has been reported in error, you can file a dispute."

Baltimore city has a comprehensive bedbug control program. Professional treatment of bedbugs ranges from about $300 for a one-time treatment to $900 for multiple treatments, according to a city health department news release. Treatments at commercial offices can run thousands of dollars, according to reports.

Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, said her agency focuses on inspecting food service establishments and nursing homes, not hotels. From anecdotal reports, housing and code enforcement units, which are under the purview of the Department of Housing and Community Affairs, have received more calls about bedbugs so far this year than last, she said.

Some cases have led to lawsuits, such as a Fox News employee in New York who sued her workplace's building owner, management company and others in 2008 over bedbug bites.

The most surprising place American Pest has found bedbugs is a waiting room of an area hospital, White said.

"You expect to find them in hospital beds where people sleep," he said. "But this shows they don't require humans to sleep somewhere. As long as they have someone sitting for an extended period, they can feed."

kshay@gazette.net

This report originally appeared in The Business Gazette.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offer the following tips for dealing with bedbugs:

-There has been an increase in individuals and representatives of companies saying they can control bedbugs with unrealistic promises of effectiveness and low cost. Some have misused pesticides. Do not allow anyone to use a pesticide indoors that is intended only for outdoor use.

-Deal only with a company licensed by the state agricultural department. An online pesticide regulation database is at www.mda.state.md.us/plants-pests/pesticide_regulation/

pesticide_db.php or call 410-841-5710.

-Ask for an inspection and a written proposal that outlines the pest control program before hiring a company.

-A comprehensive approach that includes prevention and nonchemical treatment of infestations is the best way to avoid or eliminate a bedbug problem.

-State bedbug fact sheet: cha.maryland.gov/ofpchs/comm_srv/pdf/Bed_Bugs_Fact_Sheet_Maryland_DHMH.pdf

-Bedbug Registry, a free, public database of bedbug sightings at hotels and apartment buildings in the U.S. and Canada: bedbugregistry.com