FW exterminators busy killing bed bugs

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - Some Fort Wayne exterminators say bed bugs have been keeping them busy, but that hasn't necessarily been good for business.

According to a study from the National Pest Management Association and the University of Kentucky, exterminators across the country have seen a 57% jump in bed bug calls in the past five years.

Locally, some exterminators are calling the problem an "epidemic."

"It's not little nusiance ants in the sugar bowl. It's not cockroaches in the kitchen," says Rob Jackson of Jackson Pest Management. "I'm spending days and hours and hours in houses as opposed to to just a couple of minutes."

He says he's hearing more complaints about bug bites; more than half are actual bed bug infestations. Many people don't even know what has infested their home until Jackson tells them.

"(They say) 'I got something biting me. What is it?' I say bed bugs and their mouth drops open and they say 'Bed what?,'" explains Jackson.

The extra business doesn't necessarily mean extra cash. Jackson says exterminators are having to buy new products specially designed to kill bed bugs. The problem is also time costly.

"Some of my other business could suffer, because I may spend five hours in one house as opposed to hitting five other houses that may take me an hour or 20 minutes a piece," explains Jackson.

He believes the only way the community can keep the bugs from spreading is to learn more about them and how to detect them early on.

For more information about bed bugs, visit the Allen County Health Department's website .