As if MRSA and the flu do not pose enough of an irritation, nursing homes may be contending with a new pest: bedbugs. 

The little creatures have been appearing in commercial areas, such as nursing homes, hotels and apartment complexes, according to a story in The New York Times. Dealing with them is a pesky problem. The cost of applying pesticides to kill them ranges from $750 for a few rooms in an office building to $70,000 for a large apartment complex.

Also, bedbug-related litigation has been growing since 2003. Lawsuits can range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.