According to an article in the Portland Tribune, reports of bed bugs are on the rise in Portland, Ore. An increased number of reports at homeless shelters, hotels, apartments, hospitals and college dorms has served as a call for action. Since bed bugs are a stigma in Portland, people and businesses are less likely to report or acknowledge a problem.

"We know the importance in tracking the problem and knowing what the growth rate is," said Ben Duncan, bed bugs program specialist for Multnomah County Health Department’s environmental health section. "[However] there’s very little regulation or mandatory reporting."

Homeless shelters and low-income housing providers have been the first to put a bed bug plan into action. Home Forward (formally Housing Authority of Portland) built a “warming room” in which the homeless place luggage and possessions before moving into new public housing.

Unfortunately, experts said that not all sectors have been on-board with anti-bed bug efforts. Many feel that if all affected parties (movie theaters, hospitals, hotels, etc.) participated, that efforts would be more successful to eradicate bed bugs in the community.

Click here to read this full article.