Now that the flu scare is abiding, here comes the bed bugs. They are those little critters that come out at night and feed on you while you’re in bed sleeping. And according the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, you won’t even know it until you feel the effects later.

According to UNL, bed bugs have become such a problem that University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is trying to teach people more about them. Extension has joined with the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department to present the workshop “Bed Bugs: What You Need to Know” on May 21 at the Lancaster County Extension Center, 444 Cherrycreek Road.

The workshop is open to the public but is targeted toward landlords and property managers, said Barbara Ogg, extension educator.

“That group isn’t as aware of how difficult it is to treat these and how fast they spread,” Ogg said.

Bed bugs, a one-fourth-inch long reddish brown insect, hide in cracks and crevices of mattresses, box springs, sofas and chairs, Ogg said. Females can lay three to five eggs a day, and the white eggs about the size of a pin head can be difficult to see.

Usually people don’t know they have a problem with bed bugs until after they have been bitten, Ogg said. The nocturnal bugs crawl onto sleeping humans and bite, feeding on blood. The bite is painless but the result is red, swollen, blotchy skin that will itch for several days.

A resurgence in bed bugs was noticed in the United States in the late 1990s and the problem has been growing, Ogg said. It can be an especially difficult problem in apartment buildings, where the bugs can be brought in by one person and affect nearly everyone, crawling from unit to unit.

Travelers sometimes pick up bed bugs while staying in hotels. The bugs will crawl into suitcases and be brought to homes. They also can be brought into the home through the purchase of used furniture.

“Landlords and property managers need to be able to recognize the problem and take subsequent management tactics, including thorough treatment by a pest control company,” Ogg said.