Honolulu ambulances are frequently infested with bedbugs — and the problem is only getting worse, according to an article on the ABC News website.

To keep the pests under control in emergency vehicles, the city is expected to spend $25,200 over the next fiscal year — a nearly 50 percent increase from its bedbug budget over the current fiscal year.

Ambulances that have bedbugs are taken out of commission for as long as three hours while the vehicle is cleaned. Replacement ambulances are brought in, but there still is a potential risk to patients, EMS spokeswoman Shayne Enright said.

Paramedics have advanced tools at their disposal to avoid bed bugs, including a spray to kill them on contact, checking in with a database of known infestations, a plastic covering that keeps bedbugs from leaving patients’ clothing, and a special suit that patients or paramedics can wear to keep the bedbugs from spreading, according to the article.

Read the article.