For many households, bedbugs are more than the villain in a bedtime rhyme. They are a regular nighttime visitor, leaving behind painful welts and making life miserable for the unfortunate victim of their attacks. Bedbugs have become increasingly common across the City, according to tenant organizers at the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO). In Rogers Park, more than 30 buildings have had recent incidents involving bedbugs, leading the Housing Committee of Partners for Rogers Park to take up the issue as part of a new educational campaign.

Bedbugs are small parasites, typically found in sleeping areas. They prefer to feed at night, drawing small amounts of blood through the skin of humans and animals. The bites can appear similar to a mosquito or spider bite and a person may suffer several bites before ever realizing the source. By then, the bedbugs may have begun to reproduce, creating a much more serious problem. While public health officials downplay any direct health risks, they point out that bedbugs can cause pain, emotional distress, and place people and animals at increased health risk from toxins used to eradicate bugs.

Bedbugs can gain access to homes in different ways. Used furniture, mattresses or bedding, and clothing are all common ways for bedbugs to hitchhike into a home. Some published reports also cite public laundry facilities as places where bugs can travel from one person’s laundry to another’s. Bedbugs can migrate from one unit to another within a building as well, which is why treating them requires a comprehensive solution. According to the Safer Pest Control Project, a nonprofit organization in Chicago working to raise awareness of this problem, landlords or tenants who use sprays or bug bombs can actually make matters worse by pushing bugs from one unit into another.

Under the City of Chicago building code, pest problems in more than 1 unit of a building are considered the responsibility of the landlord. Discussions are underway about whether and how to modify city ordinances to more explicitly describe the landlord’s responsibilities where bedbugs are concerned. In the meantime, Lakeside is working with other members of Partners for Rogers Park and Safer Pest Control Project to educate tenants and landlords about how best to deal with bedbugs.

Some quick tips:

• Bedbugs want to be close to their host, so most bugs are in or around beds. If you suspect bugs, search along seams, inside box springs, or even in the bedside table and headboard.Bedbugs’ bites can leave small drops of blood on sheets, so check bedding thoroughly.

• If bedbugs are found, notify the landlord at once. The landlord needs to hear from tenants so he or she can take action immediately. Early intervention is critical to getting rid of them. The tenant and landlord will need to work together to thoroughly eradicate the bugs, seal leaks and cracks where they can enter, and take other steps to prevent their spread or return.

• Landlords should consult with certified pest control experts. Safer reports there is a real shortage of trained pest control companies and using a poorly qualified company can make matters worse. They are holding a workshop on bedbugs on July 29.

For information on PRP’s bedbug-busting campaign, contact Bibian Guevara, Lakeside’s Rental Housing Advocate, at (773) 381-5253. To learn more about the Safer Pest Control Project, visit their website.