As bed bugs continue to crawl into Northeast Ohioans' homes, Cuyahoga County has announced plans to spend $200,000 on the pest's extermination in 2018. About a $50,000 increase from this year.
However, the money is specifically designed for the bed bug assistance program, started by the Department of Health and Human Services/Division of Senior and Adult Services in 2004, which works to kill the bugs in the homes of seniors and the disabled who meet specific qualifications and ask for help.
Terminix, the same company Cuyahoga County plans to pay to kill the bed bugs, recently reported that Cleveland has the worst infestation problem in the country. Another study by Orkin also ranked Cleveland in the Top 20, along with Cincinnati and Columbus.
Scientists and bed bug experts can't pinpoint the exact reasons the blood-suckers have come back with a vengeance (they were thought to be almost eradicated in this country), but factors include insecticide resistance and more people travelling abroad.
So far this year, 114 homes have been treated by the assistance program, the county reported.