TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -- Now the capital city is getting even more national attention, with the Today Show, here once again, this time talking bed bugs.

You saw the story a week ago on 13 News (and it's posted below!) about Schendel Pest Service's heat treatment being used to eradicate the blood suckers in Kansas.

Locally, pest control companies say our bed bug calls in have increased 500 percent in recent months.

The Today Show segment aired on Wednesday morning's show.

Scroll down for the August 30th story, and for bed bug tips!

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) -- Bed bugs have been creeping across the nation. Officials report a five hundred percent increase in bed bug cases nationwide in recent months. Kansas is no exception.

In Northeast Kansas, local pest control companies have seen an enormous increase in cases, from about a call a week, to ten a day.

Pest control experts blame international travel for bringing bed bugs back with a vengeance. Since DDT has been taken off the market, they're harder to kill, and bugging us more than they have in seventy years.

There's a new four-legged fighter, though. Her name is Patches, and she's the bed bug's latest enemy. Patches and her owner Mark Lillis are the only certified bed bug sniffers in Kansas, trained to track those blood suckers with 98 percent effectiveness.

If your home falls victim, heat treatments are on the cutting edge of eradication. They raise your room's temperature to 120 degrees. Technicians say the treatment is fool-proof, but to avoid the thousand dollar expense, try these tips:

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Before you travel, you can log on to www.BedBugRegistry.com, to see if your hotel has any reported bed bug cases.

At your hotel, pull back the sheets to examine the seam of the mattress. Look for bugs the size of apple seeds or any small dark stains.

Don't store your luggage on the ground, or even safer, seal it in a plastic bag.

And wash all your clothes in water hotter than 120 degrees before you bring them inside.

Advice to help you sleep tight... with no bed bug bites.