EVERETT — The bed bugs are back.
The tiny wingless insects that feed on warm-blooded animals have returned to the Snohomish County Jail’s Work Release Center.
They feast when inmates sleep. Some have reported being bitten dozens of times.
The jail had an infestation a year ago, one that started in the summer of 2013. During that stretch, one inmate needed medical treatment after being bitten on the eyelid. Another who was serving time on a drunken driving conviction filed a grievance reporting he had more than 100 bites.
The jail staff is trying to address the problem, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. It is working with a pest control company to try to solve the most recent biting bout. The contractor recently used a chemical treatment.
Jail staff also are looking at where the bugs may be lying dormant to see if there are other possible solutions, Ireton said.
“The bedbugs are persistent, but so are we,” she said.
In the past, the county has spent several thousand dollars trying to eliminate the bug problem, but the rice grain-sized pests are resilient parasites that can go months without a meal. They have a knack for hiding in mattress seams, box springs, bed frames and dressers.
When they feed, they inject an anesthetic and a blood-clotting agent so their targets don’t at first realize they’ve been bitten. The mark can take a few days to appear.
It often can take multiple treatments to get rid of them.
Bed bugs aren’t known to spread disease, but can cause insomnia, anxiety and allergic reactions. Scratching the bites can cause secondary skin infections.
At the height of the previous infestation, trustees reported seeing bugs crawling on books and in their bedding. They wore extra clothes at night to limit the areas where they might get bitten.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.
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