Director: David Fiess, MPA, REHS • Phone: (260) 449-7459 • FAX: (260) 449-7460 • Email: dave.fiess@co.allen.in.us
Location: 2242 Carroll Rd, Fort Wayne, IN 46818 • Hours: 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m., Monday - Friday
Meet the Staff: Tom McCue, REHS, Asst. Director; Francis Koch, Env.Technician; Pat De Haven, Secretary; Seasonal Mosquito Technicians

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are six-legged insects that feed on our blood while we sleep.  They are flat, oval-shaped, and about 1/4 inches in length.  Bed bugs like to hide in the cracks and crevices of our homes and hotels/motels.  They are found in the creases of mattresses, under bed frames and nightstands, behind wall-mounted headboards and moldings just above the floor, and in light switches and alarm clocks.

Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, but their large red welts on our bodies could cause intense scratching which could lead to infection. 

Bed Bug

Helpful Information

 

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More Articles:   General Information • FAQ • Animal Bites & Rabies • Children's Environmental Health Protection • Cockroaches • Indoor Air Quality • Meth Labs • Mold • Mosquitoes • Mosquitoes - Biology • Mosquitoes - Diseases • Mosquitoes - Prevention & Control • Pests & Other Vectors • Radon • Rats & Mice - Biology & Diseases • Rats & Mice - Control • Ticks • Unsanitary Conditions • Unwanted Refrigerators & Freezers • Integrated Pest Management

Photo Gallery

Click thumbnail to see large image.
  • This engorged American Dog Tick was pulled off a human. To prevent tick attachment, wear light-colored clothing, long pants with the bottoms placed into the top of socks, and apply a DEET-product to your clothing. Check your clothing and body after exiting a high grass or wooded area.
  • De-rimmed tires breed mosquitoes and can provide drinking water for rats. Culex species, ones that can carry WNv, and Ae. triseriatus, carrier of LaCrosse Encephalitis, use tires as a habitat when in the larval form. The sun heats the black rubber allowing for increased mosquito production, even when it is cool out. Tires should be properly disposed of or covered to prevent mosquito breeding.
  • A female Culex mosquito laying an egg raft, which can consist of 200-300 eggs.
  • Mold needs water to grow. Remove the water source and there won't be a mold problem.
  • The American dog tick is the largest tick in Indiana and can carry Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
  • Sticky traps are a great tool to catch cockroaches.
  • Rats like to eat grease, as can be seen in the pan on the stove.
  • Educating the public on Vector-borne diseases is an on-going effort.
  • Ae. triseriatus, a carrier of LaCrosse Encephalitis, lays her eggs in treeholes and containers.
  • Mosquito larvae
  • Cockroach infestation in kitchen cabinet.
  • Mosquitofish can be placed into ornamental ponds to eat mosquito larvae. The fish only get to be an inch in length.
  • Un-maintained swimming pools are perfect for breeding the mosquitoes that can carry West Nile virus.
  • Double whammy for mosquito breeding - uncovered boat with un-rimmed tire in it.
  • Notice the pop can the rats tried pulling into a burrow.
  • This rat ate poison bait stored in a secure station.
  • Bed bugs do not transmit diseases, but their bites can become infected if scratched too much.
  • Ingredients taken from a meth lab that was found in a house.
Did You Know?

Rabies may have inspired the vampire legend (Reuters, Nov 1999).

 

Fort Wayne - Allen County Department of Health
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