When we first wrote about bed bugs in 2010, it started as a larkon a slow afternoon.

Since then, the creatures have developed into an epidemicinfestation. The mere mention of bed bugs strikes fear in thehearts of old and young alike.

No one wants to be exposed to these disgusting insects and mostpeople will go to almost any means to rid their homes, premises oreven cars of their habitation. Unfortunately, the methods somepeople use to rid themselves of bed bugs are not only unorthodox,but also reckless and irresponsible. The results of these haphazardattempts to eliminate bed bugs has had some devastating results tonot only the bed bug 'owner' but to surrounding property andpersons. There's a lot to know and learn about bed bugs and theirtreatment, and insurance coverage.

Related: Making repairs

What are bed bugs?

Many of us have never seen a bed bug. This may be because bedbugs are almost as flat as a piece of paper, and are able to remainhidden inside mattresses, beneath carpets, behind wallpaper, and inthe crevices of baseboards. In years past, bed bugs were primarilyfound in the bedrooms of private residences, but over time, bedbugs have multiplied exponentially because they can be picked upalmost anywhere, including in offices, stores, gyms, schools, andhotels. It is even possible that the seats in a taxi or rental car,at the movies, or on an airplane or subway are infested with thisinsect. They're great at hiding and have been known to hitchhike inluggage, backpacks, personal belongings or even on a person. Onceindoors, they can be very difficult to control without the help ofan experienced pest specialist. 

Bed bugs (often misspelled as bedbugs) are small, oval-shaped,wingless insects that belong to the Cimicidae. The life cyclestages of a bed bug are egg, nymph, and adult. They are nocturnalinsects and avoid sunlight. Infant bed bugs are so tiny andtranslucent that they can hardly be seen without a magnifyingglass. Adults grow to 5 to 7 mm long (about the size of an appleseed), are darker and thus easier to see. The reason they arecalled bed bugs is that they hide in the crevices of mattresses,bed frames and box springs. Eggs are laid along the edges of oraround buttons on the mattresses. Eggs can also be glued to roughsurfaces.

Why are bed bugs so prolific?

Property that is clean and properly maintained does not mean itwill be free of bed bugs, because bed bugs can go for months, evenup to a year, without feeding. They can also wander in betweenwalls, through electrical outlets or other holes through whichwires and cables pass. A bed bug can crawl up to 100 feet (30meters) in a night to find a meal. Left alone, a few bed bugs cancreate a colony of thousands within weeks.

Because they are small and difficult to see, they can oftentravel unobserved until they have developed into an infestation.Bed bugs might travel from a neighboring apartment to yours.Alternatively, you might go shopping for clothing at a store thathas carpeted dressing rooms and bed bugs may infest clothing thatyou toss on the floor while trying on garments. If you travel on abusiness trip or vacation, then you might stay in a hotel with bedbugs in its mattresses, and these insects remain in the seams ofyour pajamas, leading to an infestation in your home or business.Bed bugs can inhabit almost any surface, and have even been foundin a prosthetic leg!

Related: Bed bug benefits?

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Are bed bugs infectious?

Bed bugs feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals and insects,but they prefer human blood. They typically bite the upper body,and when they feed, they inject a tiny amount of saliva into theskin. Repeated exposure to bites over a period of several weeks ormore may sensitize people to the saliva, with additional bitesresulting in mild-to-intense allergic responses. According to theCDC,the best way to treat a bite is to avoid scratching the area, applyantiseptic creams or lotions, and take an antihistamine.

The good news is that bed bugs are not known to transmit anyinfectious diseases. However, they can cause mental health issues –the inability to sleep and hallucinating about bed bugs.

Is there insurance coverage?

Other than the existence of the bugs themselves, which isbothersome, they do not do much damage. They do not chew onfurniture, rugs, walls, or mattresses, just humans. However, undera standard homeowners policy, damage from birds, vermin, rodents,or insects is excluded from the dwelling coverage. Personalproperty coverage is covered for named perils, and there is nonamed peril for bugs infesting the furniture. Insureds are noteligible for medical payments under the form.

However, bed bugs often are contracted when staying at a hotel,motel, inn, or from another public location. Since bed bugs canhide and live a long time without feeding, proving that they camefrom a specific place at any given time is difficult. However, ifthe claimant could prove that the bed bugs originated from, forexample, the Fleabag Hotel, would there be coverage?

Related: How to accurately calculate repair, replacementcosts

The CGL provides coverage for injury or damage for which theinsured is legally liable. The injury has to be caused by anoccurrence and take place in the coverage territory. The injurymust also be reported immediately to the insured, and damagesbecause of injury can be covered for care, loss of services, ordeath resulting from the injury. Coverage for property in the care,custody, or control of the insured is excluded, so the bugs gettinginto the suitcase sitting in a hotel room is excluded.

Medical payments coverage, however, is a separate issue. Thereis coverage for treatment for the claimant's bites if they occurredat the hotel. Medical payments are triggered by accidents on thepremises that the insured hotel owns or rents, or because of theinsured's operations. Most hotels do not intentionally have bedbugs, so their existence on the property is accidental. That meansthere is coverage for the claimant's treatment. 

Some property owners and business owners have failed to end bedbug infestations and as a result, there have been cases of bed buglawsuits across the country. The largest verdict to date wasawarded to a woman from Annapolis, Maryland in a bed bug lawsuitagainst her landlord. Ms. Faika Shaban was not informed at the timeshe leased an apartment that there was an open code violation for abed bug infestation at the residence. After she reported theinfestation, she was illegally evicted and her possessions tossedinto the street. Ms. Shaban was awarded $800,000 in 2013.

(Photo: Shutterstock)

Bed bugs then and now

Bed bugs have preyed on humans for a very long time.Archaeologists believe that bed bugs have fed on humans for atleast 3,500 years based on fossilized bed bugs that have been foundat dig sites. By comparing mitochondrial markers (basically, DNA)in bed bug populations around the world, it is determined that theyoriginated in caves in the Middle East where they fed on bats. Thebed bugs likely didn't leave the caves; rather cave dwellersentered the caves and thus became their first victims. Alittle-known fact is that the Romans used to brew bed bugs anddrink them as a cure for snakebites. The bugs were almost totallyeradicated in the U.S. during the 1950's by the use of DDT;however, that pesticide was banned in 1972 due to the adversehealth effects it caused in humans.

Today, bed bugs are the fastest growing pest control emergencyin the developed world. It is estimated that one in five Americanshave had bed bugs or know someone who has. This resurgence in theincidence of infestations has led to its increased focus by the EPAand individual state legislatures. As of July 26, 2017, lawsaddressing bed bugs have been adopted in 22 states and oneterritory. The laws address bed bug infestations in rentalproperties (Arizona, California, Florida, Nebraska and NewHampshire); hotels (Alabama, California, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada,Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia); institutional facilities(Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin); schools (New Yorkand Utah); railcars (Illinois); and migrant labor camps (Iowa,Nevada and Pennsylvania). The states of Arizona, Kansas and Texaslist bed bugs as a public health nuisance. Rhode Island requirescommercial pesticide applicators who use restricted pesticides tokill bed bugs to carry proper certification. The U.S. VirginIslands classify bed bugs as vermin.

The federal government Housing and Urban Development (HUD) hasissued guidelines that prohibit a landlord from charging tenants insubsidized housing for the cost of bed bug treatment.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers alist of frequently asked questions with answers on their websiteBed Bugs FAQ . There are also additional resourcesavailable on the website, including a video on how to inspect a bedfor bed bugs.

Related: Reality bites

Treatments that don't work

Bed bugs are difficult to kill. There is currently no effective'over the counter' pesticide, and bug bombs or total releasefoggers designed to kill flying insects only scatter bed bugs.

Generally, it is an established fact that bed bugs will die inunder ten minutes if exposed to temperatures above 115F (46C)degrees. This has led some individuals to attempt their owneradication of bed bugs by using chemicals and negligently settingtheir mattresses on fire. One man even set his rental car ablaze bydousing the bugs with alcohol and lighting a cigarette, causingadditional damage to two other cars from the intense heat of thefire. Three additional incidents serve as a stern warning not totry killing bed bugs by spraying them with alcohol at or near anopen flame.

In Ohio, a 13-year-old boy tried to kill a bed bug by dousing itwith alcohol and lighting a match, resulting in an apartment blazethat displaced eight people and caused $300,000 in damage. In thesame state, in a multi-family home a woman sprayed rubbing alcoholon the insects near a candle or incense, and the ensuing blaze sentat least three people to the hospital, displaced 10 people, andsustained $250,000 in damage. In Kentucky, an apartment renterdoused her couch in alcohol attempting to kill bed bugs,subsequently dropped a cigarette on the sodden furniture, andstarted a fire that left 30 people homeless, four of whom weretreated for smoke inhalation.

In 2006 and again in 2009, firefighters in New York City werecalled in to track down mysterious strong smells of accelerants inapartment houses. The firefighters reported finding mattressessoaked with gasoline or kerosene, and even children who'd beenswabbed down with these compounds in attempts to thwart the bugs.No fires resulted, but they easily could have, given that gasolinefumes can be touched off by as little as turning on a light switchor dragging one's sock-covered feet across a carpet.

Even the experts can sometimes get it wrong. In May 2011, atwo-family home in Cincinnati was destroyed after a heater beingused by an exterminator to destroy bed bugs (by raising the home'stemperature to 135 degrees) set a carpet on fire, resulting in ablaze that burned down the house.

While less dangerous, other treatments that do not work to killbed bugs include placing your bedding in trash bags, using bugbombs, turning up the thermostat, using grills, propane heaters orother portable heat sources to raise the temperature inside abuilding, or turning off the heat inside a building.

What to do with bed bugs?

The best way to control bed bugs is not to bring them to yourhome, school or business. People are the number one transmitter ofbed bugs. If you leave a potentially infested building, check yourclothing, coat, luggage, purse, backpack or other bags because bedbugs are great hitchhikers. This also applies to children leavingschools and daycares. If you think you may have bed bugs, there ishelp. You may contact your county's Cooperative Extension Office toanswer your questions and provide information. In addition, theNational Pesticide Information Center offers information andadditional resources on controlling bed bugs on their website:http://npic.orst.edu/pest/bedbug/control.html. Theyadvise first off not to panic, as quick, rash decisions may lead tounneeded, costly and dangerous actions. Remember that you are notalone in this battle; many people have or have had bedbugs. 

Karen Soprrell, CPCU, is an editorwith FC&S Online,the authority on insurance coverage interpretation and analysis forthe P&C industry. It's the resource agents, brokers, riskmanagers, underwriters, and adjusters rely on to researchcommercial and personal lines coverage issues. She can be reachedat [email protected].