TIME

One morning a few months ago Sheila White and her boyfriend, Keith O’Neill, woke up with itchy pink raised welts on their arms and legs. Since they often spend hot nights with their windows open, they thought the problem was mosquitoes. But when the bites got worse and no flying culprit appeared in their New York apartment, the pair turned to the Internet. The real perp? Bed bugs. Those childhood warnings to not let the bed bugs bite are taking on new meaning in beds from New York to Los Angeles—and many beds in between. Although the insects do not transmit disease, living with these bloodsuckers can be traumatic. And the problem is growing in both cities and the suburbs. Today, the infestations are “nearly an epidemic in Manhattan and other U.S. cities,” says Robert Pineiro, a supervisor for Terminix in White Plains, New York.

“Of all the insects that invade your home, bed bugs are the worst, because they are hard to control and even harder to prevent,” says Richard Pollack, Ph.D., an entomologist at the Harvard School of Public Health. The bugs hide close to their warm-blooded prey in mattresses, box springs, floorboards and clothing. They usually remain out of sight during the day, making them hard to find and difficult to completely eliminate. Even when you’re bitten, the anesthetic the bugs inject numb you to the fact that it is happening. The only trace they’ll leave—apart from the welts—is blood-or feces-stained sheets.

Coming to a subway near you:

A city bedbug expert has seen bedbugs on the subway benches at the Union Square subway station and the Fordham Road station, according to the NY Post. The Post also adds that Edward Brownbear also saw a bedbug, “in one case, catching a ride on an unsuspecting straphanger’s caboose at Brooklyn’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn station.” Quick, everyone buy disposable jumpers to wear during commutes!

Great, I have guests coming in from the city next week…..guess I’ll have to fumigate them first!