Fort Dodge and Webster County officials are coming together to help combat a problem with a creepy insect that makes skin crawl.

The Webster County Health Department led a meeting on Friday discussing how to combat bed bugs in residential properties in Fort Dodge, and how to educate the public on them.

The meeting was held in the basement of the Northwest Bank building, 723 First Ave. S., where the Health Department offices are located.

Nine people were in attendance.

No actual plans were finalized, but a discussion on potential ideas took place for a little more than 30 minutes.

Kari Prescott, director of the Webster County Health Department, said she has spoken to both the Webster County Board of Supervisors and Fort Dodge Mayor Matt Bemrich, and both said they’re willing to budget money to help support an initiative to combat bed bugs.

In fact, the Board of Supervisors are going to be taking action very quickly, she said.

“The Board of Supervisors will approve us on Tuesday to use some limited funding through general assistance,” she said, adding that Bemrich said he’ll speak with the Fort Dodge City Council about budgeting money to fight bed bugs.

However, Prescott said Bemrich told her they won’t be able to get money until they’re in the next budget year, which begins July 1, 2019.

Neither Bemrich nor any members of the Webster County Board of Supervisors were present at Friday’s meeting.

Prescott suggested having a joint fund having between $8,000 and $10,000 to start with.

She added that the Health Department has also started a bed bug hotline, where people can call in and report any issues with bed bugs. Reporting parties list their address, name, phone number and contact information.

The Health Department intends to use this data, in part, to determine how big of a problem bed bugs are in Fort Dodge and Webster County, Prescott said.

The hotline can be reached at (515) 227-7150.

Another big part of the efforts to combat bed bugs is a potential educational packet that the Health Department is looking into creating.

Modeled after a flyer created by the Iowa Department of Public Health, the proposed packet would include information on prevention, sanitation and data on actual bed bugs.

Tony Jacobsen, president of the Fort Dodge Area Landlords Association, said he believes that packet would be beneficial to tenants. He believes landlords would be supportive of it being given to tenants as part of the information they’re given when they start renting property.

“Me, as a landlord, I’d be like, ‘I’m very proactive. I want to make sure you don’t have bed bugs and don’t end up with an infestiation, so I’m providing you with this information about bed bugs right now.'” Jacobsen said. “And that might be something they’d (landlords) be willing to do.”

He went on to say that education is important, because he wonders if some people may not even realize they have bed bugs.

“I would bet a lot of people who have bed bugs, most probably don’t even know they have them,” he said. “At least in the beginning until it’s a severe infestation.”

It was also suggested that any information given to tenants or made available to the public contain a section with frequently asked questions about bed bugs.

Prescott said the Webster County Health Department will be the “central hub” for combating bed bugs.

She added that the department has been reaching out to other county health departments to see if they can provide help.

“We have a few that have some experience with this,” Prescott said. “We’re going to glean their information.”

Another meeting will be held after January to further discuss the plans.

Bed bug prevention

• Check luggage and clothing carefully after travel, looking for bed bugs and bug droppings.

• Launder clothing

immediately and scrub luggage with a stiff brush after return to remove any eggs.

• Carefully examine any second-hand furniture, bedding or beds before bringing home.

-Information provided by the Iowa Department of Public Health