Associated Press

NEW YORK — One of every 15 New Yorkers battled bedbugs last year, officials said this week as they announced a plan to fight the spreading infestation.

The bloodsucking pests, which are not known to spread disease but can cause great mental anguish with their persistent and fast-growing infestations, have rapidly multiplied throughout New York and many other U.S. cities in recent years.

Health officials and pest control specialists nationwide report surges in sightings, bites and complaints. The Environmental Protection Agency hosted its first-ever bedbug summit last year.

In New York City, the pests have been discovered in theaters, clothing stores, office buildings, housing projects and posh apartments.

The stigma of having bedbugs — whose bites leave itchy, red welts — and the elusive nature of the pests make it impossible to fully understand the problem, experts say.

But in 2009, for the first time, Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration included a question about bedbugs on its community health survey. More than 6 percent of New Yorkers who responded said they had battled the pests in the last year.

The figure would equal roughly 400,000 adults in the city, the health department said.

Data previously has been limited to government statistics on complaints and surveys of private pest-control companies, which also have reported nationwide spikes.

The Bloomberg administration fielded 537 complaints about the bugs in fiscal 2004. In fiscal 2009, there were nearly 11,000. Continued...

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“This is happening globally, and I don’t think anybody has figured out exactly why,” said Daniel Kass, the city’s deputy commissioner for environmental health. “So what we’re left with is managing them and keeping them from spreading. They’re going to be with us for some time.”

Bedbugs are about the size of an apple seed and burrow into many more places than beds. They can slip into floor cracks, wall outlets, picture frames, lamps — any tiny space.

People who have bedbugs often never see them. The most obvious signs are bites, blood on bedsheets and their waste, which looks like black pepper. They are known for being extremely difficult to eradicate and can go a year without feeding.

Many people are unaware they have the bugs, officials said, and end up spreading them by carrying them on their clothing or discarding personal items that have the bugs. Experts recommend looking for bugs with a bright flashlight, and using a hot hair dryer to flush them out of hiding places and cracks.

Bedding, linens, curtains, rugs and clothes from infested homes must be washed in hot water. Mattresses, furniture and floors must be vacuumed, and vacuum bags should be immediately disposed in sealed plastic bags.

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