Bed bugs are often spread in many ways. A person may buy new or second-hand furniture that is infested. Bed bugs are also very good at hitching rides on items such as suitcases during travel. Sharing of belongings and laundry are also good examples of how bed bugs may easily spread.
Bed bugs do not occur only in poor and insanitary conditions. They can be found in very clean environments. Excessive clutter and harborage in a room or structure, however, can make their spread and multiplication faster and more intense.
Once established in a building, the bugs can easily move throughout the structure. Typically, they will crawl along pipe and wiring runs, conduits, and HVAC system ductwork, making it easier to infest other areas of the dwelling. This is especially difficult for apartment buildings to locate where the initial problem came from and how many units have been affected.
According to a study carried out several years ago, the type of building that sees the greatest amount of bed bug complaints is apartment buildings. Around 63 percent of all bed bug complaints are lodged by apartment dwellers, while 15 percent of complaints are lodged by managers at homeless shelters, followed by 11 percent of complaints lodged by staff at boarding houses.
