Bedbugs. Just writing the word makes my skin itch. In the past, the only time anyone heard of bedbugs was that nursery rhyme song to us as children. In fact, we successfully eradicated bedbugs in America for the last 50 years thanks to our over use of DDT pesticides. Now they’re back and they’re hungry.

Over the last decade, the number of bedbug infestations continues to escalate, especially in big cities. Bedbug reports from New York City are so intense that entire apartment buildings shut down due to infestations. New York tenants call these infestations “house herpes.”

The spread of bedbugs has to do with globalization. If you’re on a trip, and stay in a place with a bedbug infestation, these insect can latch on and follow you home. Unfortunately, even the cleanest home could get bedbugs. Being dirty has nothing to do with bedbug infestations. If a bedbug hooks onto your clothes, or hops in your suitcase, you can unknowingly bring home a new pet worse than a gremlin when it eats after midnight.

What do bedbug infestations look like?

The first sign of an infestation are bedbug bites. You’ll find itchy red dots all over your body. Some people break out in a full-blown rash from these bites, but that’s not always the case. Run warm water over any bite marks to reduce the itching sensation.

As crazy as it sounds, bedbugs don’t live inside beds. You’ll find them around mattress seams, but they can live almost anywhere. An obvious sign of bedbugs are dark speckled dots around your sheets, as if you spilled pepper all over your bed. That’s dried blood, which is a sign that the bugs are digesting their food between your sheets.

How do you stop a bedbug infestation?

The second you find bedbugs in the house, call an exterminator. Find a professional with proper certification and experience exterminating bedbugs.

You don’t have to throw out your furniture. Moving infested furniture is a bad idea because you’re spreading bedbugs throughout the house. Use a steam cleaner to kill bugs and eggs living underneath the upholstery.

Sleeping in another room of your house won’t help. Bedbugs use heat to find their next meal. They will follow you wherever you go, dropping eggs along the way.

You should change your sheets and bedding often, but it won’t solve the problem. In hotel infestation reports, they find clusters of bedbugs behind headboards and the backs of picture frames. One remedy is to cover bed legs and table stands with petroleum jelly. This will stop the bugs in their tracks.

Be a good neighbor, and tell anyone living around you that you have bedbugs. Infestations spread like wildfire. Let those who live around you know about the problem and you’ll save them money and time battling those tenacious bugs.