9/11/2011 Bedbug Infestation Way Up In Central Ohio Reported From Grove City Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force Summit

Until about 10 years ago, a bedbug was nothing more than a character in a nursery rhyme. How things have changed! 

Reports of bedbug infestations in Central Ohio are up and so was the attendance at Friday’s Central Ohio annual conference on bedbugs.

Close to 400 people gathered in Grove City for the 4th annual Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force Summit. 

What they learned is that bedbugs in Ohio are more resistant to household insecticides than bedbugs in other parts of the country.

“That is definitely one of the main reasons why the problem is a little worse in Ohio jurisdictions than in other areas of the country,” said Gene Harrington, vice-president of National Pest Management Association.

Ohio State University entomologist Dr. Susan Jones has been testing over-the-counter aerosol products that claim to kill bedbugs.

“They don’t work against bedbugs. This is a product that people are buying, and it says bedbugs right on the bug bomb, but you’re wasting your money,” Jones said.

The bedbug resistance to most insecticides can be traced to genetics. Their short life-cycles speed up the process of developing a resistance to the chemicals. Dr. Jones says the bedbugs have changed genetically.

“They have up-regulated their genes so they can really detoxify these materials,” Jones said.

Jones says her team of researchers is in the early stages of trying to develop a way to interfere with the bedbug genes that resist insecticides.  

She says there’s plenty of research to be done but that federal research dollars are in short supply.

For now, Paul Wenning, chairman of the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force, says the only pesticides that work on bedbugs are those used by the professionals. “It has to be done by a licensed exterminator; they have to know what they’re doing; and they have to apply a mix of chemicals – not just one,” Wenning said.

Meanwhile, Ohio has a request pending with the United States Environmental Protection Agency to allow the state to use a highly effective chemical called propoxur against bedbugs. The US EPA has thus far been reluctant to approve propoxur for indoor use out of concern for possible toxicity to children.

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7/21/2011 Bedbug Treatment: A Breakdown Of Effective Killing Methods Including Pesticides, Heat, Freezing & Vacuuming

Treatment Options

Though insecticides may be the treatment of choice for killing bed bugs, other options do exist, according to Henriksen.

“There are several different methods that are effective in killing bed bugs. Heat is one of them. Others include steaming, freezing, vacuuming, and use of properly applied pesticides. You are getting a lot of information on the temperature at which bed bugs can be effectively killed because a lot of research is still being done in that area. The most current data that we have shows that all stages of bed bugs…will be killed at 122 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Factors considered when evaluating treatment methods include the extent of the infestation, the type of location that will be treated, and any budget parameters.

Treatment costs can fluctuate dramatically by protocol and region, says White.

Dr. Stephen Kells, associate professor and Extension and Research Entomologist at the University of Minnesota, who is conducting research on bed bugs, says humans have lived with bed bugs since the days of cave-dwelling.

Through research, he has found that freezing works well for smaller household items, like books. In order for the treatment to work the temperature has to be near or at freezing for approximately 6 to 10 days.

Steaming is another option, though not by utilizing a carpet steam cleaner. Instead, a steam generator must be used and the temperature must be between 160-180 degrees Fahrenheit in order to control bedbugs.

When treating with pesticides, Dr. Kells recommends multiple product types including dust, short action, and residual. “The reason is each has a specific area of use. Residual is used outside of rooms, dust to fill voids in the wall, and short action for beds and mattresses,” the professor says.

Treatment Considerations

The NPMA has released best management practices for bed bugs in an effort to address appropriate treatment protocol. “They offer guidance to our industry in terms of the parameters under which good and effective bed bug work can be done”, says Henriksen.

For instance, Henriksen says it’s not a good idea to throw away a mattress known to have a bed bug infestation.

“We don’t recommend anyone throw away their mattresses. In some cases that may need to be done. But if it is done it should be done only in consultation with the pest management professional. If someone goes and throws away their mattress, if done improperly, it can actually spread a bed bug infestation. Those bugs will walk off that mattress or crawl off that mattress as you are dragging it through your home.”

Henriksen says many things can be saved and effectively treated.

Dr. Kells recommends asking questions of any pest management company retained for bed bug treatment. If a pesticide will be used, questions should include:

• Is it registered with the EPA?

• Is the pesticide labeled for bedbugs or for treating their habitat?

• Is it labeled for indoor or outdoor use, landscaping, farms, or barns?

In addition, he’s seen issues arise when tenants try to remedy problems themselves. Using the wrong product or application method leads to increased costs in the cleanup of a contaminated apartment. Dr. Kells recommends landlords or their insurers oversee the treatment protocol.

In the case of the Ohio residential fire, Dr. Kells believes the manufacturer’s own directions might not have been followed. He said the pest management professional used garage-style direct-fired heaters with a propane cylinder and placed them inside the home. “The actual unit made by the manufacturer for properly heating up a house during bed bug treatment requires that if a propane burner is used, it is positioned outside of the house,” Dr. Kells said.

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6/16/2011 As The BedBug Problem Grows So Do The Issues: Landlords, Cities & Insurers Must Figure Out How To Deal With

An alarming invasion of bed bugs in homes, hotels, schools, hospitals and other facilities has led to a renewed call for lifting of a government ban on a pesticide once used to combat the bugs and moves in several states to require property/casualty insurers to cover the costs of clean-up.

The resurgence of the critters has also prompted renewed research into the best treatment and prevention methods.

Though around for centuries, by the mid-1900s bed bugs were almost completely eradicated in the U.S. due to a variety of pest control products used to treat infestations. Some now question whether this latest bed bug tipping point can be contained.

According to Missy Henriksen, vice president of the National Pest Management Association (NMPA), there are a variety of reasons for the dramatic increase in bed bugs, including increased travel and mobility of society. Other factors include changes in pest control, resistance towards pesticides, and changes in the pesticide application process.

The NPMA and the University of Kentucky studied what has been done on bed bugs to date. Released last summer, this study found that 95 percent of pest management professionals reported treating bed bugs in the past year. In 2000, that figure was below 25 percent.

“We also found as part of that, that bed bugs certainly aren’t just in beds any longer,” said Henriksen. “We’ve seen news stories that indicate that as well. Bed bugs are being found now in schools, in movie theaters, in office buildings, in hospitals and medical facilities, they are being found in cars. Anywhere where people are, you will find bedbugs. Bed bugs need people for their very survival. They are hitchhikers and they will travel with people on their belongings and take up residence in new locations.”

They are also in municipal buildings. Firefighters in Des Moines, Iowa last month called in a bed bug-sniffing dog that found bugs in an office, on two chairs, on stools and on four mattresses at Station No. 4. The firefighters, who eat and sleep at the station during their 24-hour shifts, said they worried about accidentally taking some of the little pests home.

Chemical Controversy

Last month, a two-family Ohio house was destroyed when a heater being used to kill bed bugs set a carpet on fire, according to officials. The exterminator blamed an equipment malfunction for the fire.

The fire renewed a controversy over the use of a pesticide, Propoxur, which has been successful in treating bed bugs. The product was taken off the market in 2006 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because of health risks, including nausea and vomiting experienced during exposure to the product. The EPA says it is a danger to children’s nervous systems.

At a press conference in Ohio, Republican U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt and Democratic state Rep. Dale Mallor called on the EPA to solve the growing problem of bed bugs and allow Propoxur back on the market.

“The loss of this home, in my opinion, is the result of the EPA’s inaction to approve of a product that is effective at controlling the bedbugs,” Schmidt said.

Oho officials have twice requested an exemption for the state from the federal ban on Propoxur, but the EPA has thus far refused to grant the exemption.

Bed Bug Legislation

To address the issue, the federal government convened the second annual National Bed Bug Summit in Washington, D.C. in February. Part of the agenda included what states and cities are doing to control the problem and the effective use of heat and non-chemical treatments.

Eleven states are considering bed bug legislation this year. Maine adopted a bed bug related law last year. New York is considering requiring insurers that underwrite property/casualty policies in the state to cover costs associated with bed bug infestations.

Maine’s bed bug law requires a landlord to inspect a unit for bed bugs within five days of being notified by a tenant of an infestation possibility. Within 10 days of determining an infestation is present, the landlord must contact a pest control agent and take reasonable measures to treat the infestation. The pest control agent must carry liability insurance that is current and effective at time of treatment.

In addition, before a unit can be rented, a landlord has to disclose whether a unit is currently infested with or treated for bed bugs. The landlord has to provide, if requested, information as to when the unit or adjacent units were last inspected for and found to be free of bed bugs.

South Carolina enacted the Bed Bug Prevention and Sanitation Act and Hawaii added a bed bug question to the state’s real estate disclosure form.

Larger municipalities such as Detroit, San Francisco and New York City are also reviewing the issue.

Continue Reading More: As The Bedbug Problem Grows So Do The Issues

5/18/2011 Ohio Politicians On Bedbugs: Legalize Propoxur; Pair Is Advocating The EPA To Allow Product Back On Market

Two politicians from opposite sides of the aisle teamed up to fight bed bugs in a press conference held Tuesday morning.

During the press conference, Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt and Democratic State Representative Dale Mallory called on the EPA to solve the problem.

The pair is advocating that the EPA allow a product called Propoxur back on the market. It was taken off the market in 2007 because of potential health risks.  But Schmidt says Propoxur could have prevented fires like the one Sunday in Carthage, when heaters used to kill bed bugs burned the house down. At that house, exterminators used a technique that heats a home to 135 degrees in order to kill bedbugs. In this case, the heater destroyed this family’s home.

So what do the experts think about Propoxur, is it the solution to bed bug woes?

Glenn Sherzinger of Good Thing Pest Control says, “No matter what product you use its good treating technique and understanding the insect and knowing exactly where to place the product that is key to solving the problem.”

Propoxur was pulled from the market a few years ago because of health concerns caused by exposure to the chemical, like nausea and vomiting.

“Is it a harmful product? I don’t believe so but any chemical used improperly can be harmful,” said Sherzinger.

So Sherzinger says if Propoxur were brought back to the market to fight bed bugs, it should be left to the experts, and not stocked on the shelf at a hardware store.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has also asked the EPA to allow the use of Propoxur by exterminators.

Continue Reading More & Watch Video: Ohio Politicians On Bedbugs: Legalize Propoxur

4/22/2011 Bedbugs Boosting Sales At United Industries: Outbreak Lead To Company Developing More Products

A pest in the bedroom has been a boon for United Industries.

Uttering the word “bedbug” is enough to send shivers through the spines for many people at the thought of the minuscule blood-sucking insect living in mattresses, behind baseboards and under carpets. While bedbugs are not known to transmit diseases, the insects are a nuisance Americans don’t want in homes or businesses.

When bedbugs began to mount a resurgence nationally in late 2007, United got to work developing a product to combat the tiny reddish-brown insect that spans between 1 and 7 millimeters.

United, a local division of Madison, Wis.-based Spectrum Brands Holdings, drew on its portfolio of 260 registered products with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — more than any other consumer pesticide company, United touts. It quickly settled on the chemical compound pyrethroid to kill both bedbugs and fleas and launched an aerosol spray under the Hot Shot brand name in January 2009.

“Our portfolio … gave us access to a quick entrance in the market, and we were able to go from product concepts to a launch in six months,” said Randy Lewis, United’s vice president and general manager. He’s based in the division’s operational headquarters in St. Louis County.

Because of increasing demand, United’s Hot Shot bedbug line has expanded to five products, including a portable 3-ounce spray introduced this year for bedbug encounters at hotels or wherever bedbugs bite.

United’s bedbug line is the company’s fastest growing product under the 56-year-old Hot Shot brand, which also includes products that kill ants, wasps and roaches.

“There’s something about an insect in your bed, while you’re sleeping, that’s feasting on your blood,” Lewis said, describing the deeply negative emotional response people have to bedbugs, which in turn drives sales.

United’s bedbug products’ revenue tripled last year compared with 2009, and the company is developing two new products that will be available at Lowe’s, Wal-Mart and Home Depot stores next year.

United does not disclose revenue by brands, but the division’s net sales increased 6 percent in its 2010 fiscal year to $341 million, compared to 2009.

United first had to overcome embarrassment some consumers had buying the product.

“There was a reluctance at first from consumers who didn’t want to put it in their cart, ” Lewis said. “We’ve gotten past that stigma.”

United’s products, which sell for between $3 and $10, are designed for those looking for a cheaper option than calling an exterminator, said John Pailthorp, United’s division vice president of marketing.

To help these do-it-yourselfers, United invests the bulk of its marketing dollars on in-store displays and what it calls “product knowledge sessions” at retail locations to show consumers how the products work, he said.

United faces competition in the bedbug category, with more than 300 products registered by the EPA to kill bedbugs. United estimates its market share exceeds 70 percent, based on Nielson data and internal management estimates. Its major competitors include Ortho, which is owned by The Scotts Co., and Homax’s Black Flag brands.

FEEDING ROACHES

In an office building with windows overlooking the Earth City Expressway, a nearly empty laboratory room was filled with a fog-like substance earlier this week. United research chemist Christy Van Preter peered through a window to observe the height of a plume from the company’s bedbug fogger product, which is designed to reach crevices that are difficult to reach with liquid sprays.

Chemists and research biologists test the products at the new research and development center that United Industries moved to this month from a smaller location a mile away in Bridgeton.

United spent about $1 million on the R&D, marketing and sales operations center in Earth City over the past year as well as about $7 million to increase capacity and other manufacturing upgrades at its 330,000-square-foot manufacturing complex near Page Avenue and I-170 in Vinita Park, where all of the bedbug products sold nationally are made. United’s other brands include Spectracide, Repel and Cutter, which also are produced locally.

United has been bulking up its workforce, adding 47 jobs at its St. Louis facilities in 2010, and an additional 18 jobs in 2011, bringing its total St. Louis area workforce to 286. The increase is because of increasing sales of its bedbug and other products.

United doesn’t use live bedbugs in the product testing at its R&D lab. It leaves that work to a third-party contractor that specializes in insects, such as fire ants and bedbugs, that pose high contamination risks.

But the division does have lab rooms stocked with roaches, spiders and mosquitoes for testing purposes. On one wall of a lab room, a rack of shelves are stacked with nearly a dozen 2-feet-high orange plastic containers filled with hundreds of roaches. This week, Travis Wood, a research biologist at United Industries, placed more than a dozen cockroaches in glasses affixed with lids. “Time to feed the roaches,” he said, describing his plans for the afternoon.

No silver bullet

The EPA is in the midst of collecting data nationally on bedbug infestations, but Kris Lancaster, an EPA spokesman, said St. Louis isn’t among the top 10 infested cities in the U.S.

Based on sales of its bedbug products nationally, United says St. Louis ranks in the middle of the top 200 metropolitan markets for bedbug product sales.

Bedbugs have been staging a comeback ever since the pesticide DDT — which killed mosquitoes and bedbugs — was banned in the U.S. in 1972. The increase of people traveling internationally in recent years also is a contributing factor in the re-emergence of bedbugs, particularly in urban areas, said Mark Lesher, environmental scientist with the EPA’s Kansas City office.

“It started at large travel hubs such as New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and has been moving west to Chicago, and places like Denver,” Lesher said.

In 2009, government agencies including the EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention convened a bedbug summit to study the problem and look for solutions. The second summit was held in February.

So far, no single solution has been identified to eradicate bedbugs.

“There’s no magic bullet right now that can solve the problem,” Lesher said.

The EPA recommends first using non-chemical methods to try to kill bedbugs, including washing and drying bedding and clothing in high temperatures, and turning up the heat in infested rooms to 120 degrees for up to six hours.

If an insecticide is used, Lesher said consumers should look for products that list bedbugs on the label. Lesher also recommended visiting the EPA’s website, cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/bedbug/, to search for the appropriate EPA-registered product.

Still, some bedbugs have become resistant to chemicals in bedbug products.

“You might find a population in Springfield, Mo., that is resistant to the chemical that works fairly well in other areas,” Lesher said.

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4/17/2011 EPA Launches New Bedbug Product Search Tool

With the invasion of bed bugs into American homes, many consumers will try anything to get rid of the pests.

But not all products work.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports an increasing number of marketers are making unrealistic claims as to their products ability to control bedbug.

The EPA has a new tool to help you find out if a product you see really works.

Here’s a link to the EPA’s Bed Bug Search tool:

http://cfpub.epa.gov/oppref/bedbug/

4/7/2011 EPA Gives $550k Grants To Fight Bedbugs: 5 Grants To Be Given To State Organizations In Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, & Missouri

Targeting social service agencies that serve low-income, minority and immigrant neighborhoods, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $550,000 in bed bug-control education and prevention grants, the agency announced Thursday.

According to a news release, the five grants will be used in communities where the plague of “bed bug pressures are significant but resources to address the problems are limited.”

Over the next 24 months state organizations from Texas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, and New Jersey will facilitate programs aimed at helping prevent widespread bed bug infestations.

For example, the EPA website lists the Maryland Department of Health and Hygiene as receiving $142,440. The money will go to develop and provide training as well as technical and material support to residents, service providers and retail firms that combat bed bugs in the 12 poorest ZIP codes of Baltimore and as well as county health offices throughout Maryland.

The grant would include training for the migrant workers of Caroline County, who are extremely vulnerable to bed bugs, the EPA said. The educational outreach programs seek to reach groups that serve transitional housing managers, vendors of second hand goods, healthcare providers, and local pest product providers, the EPA said.

Also listed on EPA website is a grant for New Jersey’s Rutgers University of $99,688. Rutgers will lead a statewide bed bug educational outreach program for low-income communities. The effectiveness of anti-bed bug programs will be measured through monitoring of all apartments in those communities and documenting pesticide usage over one year.

Due to the influx of bed bugs around the United States last year, the EPA hosted a national bed bug summit in early February.

The grants are a step to further educate the public about bed bugs. Last summer in New York several high end hotels, clothing stores Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, Niketown, and Victoria’s Secret, as well as an AMC movie theater in Times Square shut down due to a serious invasion of the insects.

The goal is to seek new approaches in managing bed bug problems. EPA spokesman Dale Kemery said, “Lessons learned from the grants will be available for use by other communities.”

Bed bugs, according to the EPA, are brown insects about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch long that feed on the blood of humans through biting. They are known to live up to a year without feeding.

Typical steps for ridding and preventing bed bug infestations include correctly identifying the bugs, and then physically removing the bugs through cleaning, applying appropriate pesticides, and reducing clutter.

Continue Reading More: EPA Gives $550k Grants To Fight Bedbugs

3/9/2011 Bedbug Victim At Bedbug Convention Confronts Bedbug Infestation: Evaluates Latest Bedbug Fighting Products

In 2008, my Brooklyn apartment got bedbugs. After two failed extermination attempts, I went insane and moved out after throwing away everything I owned except for a laptop, an iPod and two garbage bags of clothes that had been washed in antiseptic. I wrote about it for ShelterPop, and it was clear from the story that the bedbugs had left me on edge and generally not “OK”. More recently, ShelterPop asked if I would cover the National Bed Bug Prevention Media Showcase — yes, this is a real event — and I agreed. That was a poor choice.

I walked into a storefront in Soho and found five tables set up in a wide open room, every inch of which was painted bright white. Reps from various pesticide companies were on hand to present the latest in bedbug prevention technology.

I first met Steve Bessette, President of EcoSMART Technologies, the company sponsoring the bedbug showcase, and entomologist Dr. Gretchen Paluch. They proudly presented EcoSMART’s bedbug spray as a natural solution made almost entirely from essential oils extracted from plants like rosemary and thyme. In fact, they have a pesticide exemption from the EPA as there is nothing toxic to humans in any of their products. To stress the point, they had the plants displayed on their table.

Dr. Paluch explained that the oils attack the bedbugs’ central nervous system and are powerful enough to kill the bugs on contact. While being completely harmless to humans, applying the spray to a mattress can repel bedbugs for up to eight hours at a time. That seemed all well and good, but as someone who’s had bedbugs before and had great difficulty killing them, I would have much preferred if their table looked like this:

When I had bedbugs, I wanted them dead at any cost. Safety for myself and those around me became a very distant second priority; I wanted something that could kill me, but diluted down to a bedbug-killing level. So while the botanical spray from EcoSMART seemed like an effective way to keep bedbugs away from me when I stayed in a hotel, it wasn’t a weaponized solution for an infestation in your home. As I left the table, Dr. Paluch offered me a dead bedbug entombed in plastic. It now resides in my freezer.

At another table was a product made by a company called BugZip. They make plastic bags that you can put your luggage in while on vacation so that bugs from a hotel infestation can’t hitch a ride on your suitcase and follow you home. Smart.

Then I met Genma Holmes, or “The Bug Lady,” a former model and now head of a pest control company in Atlanta. Terrible nickname, awesome lady. She had set up a number of diagrams showing some of the most common bed bug hiding places: Behind bed boards, under the seam of a mattress, in your FREAKING ALARM CLOCK. Also, the alarm clocks pictured in the diagrams were all cleverly displaying times such as 1:00 and the infamous 2:25 A.M. moments at which one is likely to wake up scratching themselves. The Bug Lady and I had a good laugh about that, and we’re now Facebook friends.

At the last table were two brothers, Daniel and Scott White. Like the others at the show case, they had bedbug prevention products like a ClimbUp Insect Interceptor and a bed bug proof mattress cover. But, unlike the others, these guys had actual experience in extermination, and Scott had even been through an infestation himself.

Excited to finally be talking to people with an actual bedbug eradication background, I launched into questions about other rumored bedbug exterminating tactics. They had answers.

“What’s the deal with bedbug sniffing dogs?” Apparently, the dogs can be effective in locating bedbugs, but they’re only as good as their trainer.

“How about the freezing option?” Freezing bedbugs can also work, he said, but it only kills on contact; if you miss a spot where bedbugs are hiding, they will remain there. “And heat?” Heat can be a good option too, but it’s expensive. A treatment where they heat your whole apartment in order to kill the bedbugs can cost up to 50 percent more than a regular extermination. “And is it appropriate to freak out when you get bedbugs, throw away all your belongings and stay crazy for the next three years?” Maybe not so much.

I left the showcase with mixed feelings. It’s encouraging to see that there are people working to fix the ever-expanding bedbug population. But here’s the scary truth: If I ever got bedbugs again, there is not one singular and surefire way to get rid of them. The consensus of all the experts at the showcase seemed to be that bedbugs aren’t going anywhere any time soon, and until there is a better solution, containment is about the best we can hope for. In other words: Take a deep breath. Bedbugs just might kill us all.

Continue Reading More & To Watch Video: Bedbug Victim At Bedbug Convention Confronts Bedbug Infestation

2/4/2011 New York City Asks Feds For Money On Bedbug War: City Wants Federal Govt. To Dive Into Fight

NEW YORK — After battling a rising — and itchy — tide of bedbug infestations, the City Council wants the federal government to dive in to the fight.

With the Environmental Protection Agency convening a National Bedbug Summit Tuesday, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and several council members called on federal officials to put money into initiatives to fight the minuscule, resilient creatures.

“Given the difficulty of exterminating bed bugs, we are calling upon the (EPA) to conduct further research and development of effective pesticides,” the council members said in a letter to the EPA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Scientists have said the critters have become more resistant to certain pesticides.

The letter also asked the EPA to regulate how pesticides are used to kill the bugs and called on HUD to allocate funds for bedbug extermination in public housing, where residents are particularly vulnerable.

The council has given the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene $500,000 to research and educate the public on how to combat the bloodsucking pests, which are each about the size of an apple seed and have been found everywhere from the city’s high-end clothing stores to its movie theaters.

Experts have theorized that the surge in New York and elsewhere around the country may be partly due to an increase in global travel and the banning of certain pesticides. In 2009, a city Health Department survey found more than 6 percent of New Yorkers — one in 15 adults — said they had battled the pests in the past year.

“In particular, urban centers are affected by bed bugs, and we must come together to create a comprehensive and integrated response,” the council’s letter said.

The EPA had no immediate comment in response to the letter. HUD did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

—Copyright 2011 Associated Press

2/4/2011  National BedBug Summit Looks For Answers: 2 Day Summit Looks To Find Solution To Pesky Critters

In an attempt by the federal government to find better and more efficient ways to get rid of bed bugs for good, a two-day national bed bug summit began Tuesday in the nation’s capitol, MyFoxDC.com reported.

The pesky critters that started popping up in homeless shelters and housing projects have infiltrated movie theaters and the most posh retail stores and hotels in the past few years, especially in New York City. The last summit that took place two years ago, called the “Federal Bed Bug Working Group,” was unable to successfully find a solution to the problem. The National Bed Bug Summit this year hopes to overcome the uphill battle.

Richard Cooper, Vice President of Bed Bug Central and research entomologist said that when he first started his career bed bugs were so rare they were hardly ever even seen.

“I had to do a double take (when I saw it). I couldn’t believe that I was actually seeing a true bed bug,” Cooper said.

Bed bugs are difficult to kill, and associated with dirt or filth, although Cooper says crumbs and food have nothing to do with it.