10/1/2011 Do-It-Yourself Bedbug Extermination Proves To Be Dangerous To Health

A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says some Americans are poisoning themselves by using do-it-yourself treatments to get rid of bed bugs.

A North Carolina woman died after spraying pesticide on her legs, chest and hair when nine cans of a bug-killing fog released in her home didn’t work. A kindergartner in Ohio experienced diarrhea, headaches and vomiting after the floors in his home were “saturated” with insecticide.

All told, researchers identified 111 cases in seven states of people getting sick in amateur attempts to combat a resurgence in the bed bug population; a majority of cases – 73 percent – were of low severity.

Jeff Mehaffey, a sales representative at Augusta’s Horne’s Pest Control, suggests calling a professional for treatment as soon as bed bugs are suspected. “They’re going to be everywhere,” he said.

Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown insects about 1 to 7 millimeters in length. Their flat shape and size allow them to hide during the day in tiny crevices. They can travel 100 feet in one night, but they usually live within 8 feet of where people sleep.

While bed bugs are not known to spread disease, their blood-sucking bites can cause severe itching.

“A lot of people aren’t willing to devote the amount of time” it takes to getting rid of bed bugs, said Mehaffey.

Professionals pull apart bed frames, bag up clutter and spray the proper amounts of pesticide into every nook and cranny to fully rid a house of bed bugs. A common mistake that homeowners make with poisons is failing to dilute the solution or follow other directions, Mehaffey said. It’s also critical that treatments also get rid of any eggs that might be present or the infestation will reoccur.

The CDC suggests several methods of getting rid of bed bugs without professional help: heat treatments, sealing cracks and crevices, vacuuming and “judicious” use of effective chemical pesticides.

“Although bed bugs may sometimes be controlled by nonchemical means alone, this approach is often very difficult, potentially less effective, and usually more resource intensive,” the CDC said.

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9/21/2011 Bedbugs Infest Ohio Homeless Shelter: Toledo’s Cherry Street Mission Latest Victim Of Critters

Since spring, bedbugs have infested the Cherry Street Mission, which provides shelter and food for Toledo’s needy.

The pesky bugs have already been a problem in Ohio hotels and college dorms.

Exterminators have been brought in at least twice.

A man who lives there but did not want to be identified was bitten several times overnight on his arms.

“It’s like a burning, like a sting, like an open wound, you know what I mean?” he said. “The bad part is you open it up. Once you open it up, it spreads. You know the itching, the red marks and all that.”

The bedbugs are concentrating in the third floor bedrooms.

Blankets provide a great place to hide, and they can move from clothing to clothing, guest to guest.

“For a while one of our bunk rooms had carpet in it and we figured out that it was a giant bedbug hotel. And so we took out the carpet,” Steve North of the Cherry Street Mission said.

North says the shelter is above capacity, 170 men a night, and bedbugs are likely transferred as they come and go.

Besides the exterminators, they’ve even tried putting mattresses in freezers to freeze the bugs to death!

They keep coming back.

And it’s not just the Cherry Street Mission that is affected.

“I know for certain one of my staff members here in the men’s facility has been bitten by bedbugs himself, and that they have shown up at his house,” North said.

Guests have been told to use a bleach and water mixture to spray under their beds and their bed frames.

The Mission promises to continue treating the problem.

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9/14/2011 Bedbugs Invade Cleveland Nursing Home: ManorCare Nursing & Rehab In Euclid Beach Fighting Off Critters

Experts called bed bugs an epidemic in Northeast Ohio, and one place that was affected was a local assisted living facility on Cleveland’s east side.

“They told me they were looking for bed bugs,” said tenant Edward Jones.

Jones lives in the ManorCare Nursing and Rehab, Euclid Beach facility along with 140 other people. Staff members changing sheets first noticed the tiny blood suckers a few weeks ago and called in a dog trained to sniff them out.

“He looked around in my room and took off,” said Jones.

Five rooms had the bugs and were treated, but that didn’t get rid of them.

“It’s a really hard thing to get out of the way,” said Alonzo Winston, whose wife lives inside. “You’ve got people coming in here all of the time. If you had one group of people that stayed here for the year, you probably wouldn’t have bed bugs.”

Exterminators didn’t find any bugs in his wife’s room. But on their second sweep through the building two weeks ago, they found bugs in three additional rooms and had to treat them too.

On a third visit from the exterminator last week, the building was clean.

“There’s only so much you can do,” said Winston. “That’s all I can say. I think they’re doing the best they can.”

In a statement, ManorCare executives said they “followed the company’s infection control plan that includes precautionary measures with follow up inspections and ongoing employee education.”

ManorCare workers told NewsChannel5 no one was bitten but they plan to evaluate a routine bed bug check in the future.

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.

Continue Reading More/Watching Video: Bedbug Infestation Way Up In Central Ohio

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.

Continue Reading More: Bedbug Treatment A Breakdown Of Effective Killing Methods

7/5/2011 Cincinnati Ranks First In Bedbugs: Tops Orkin’s May List Of Bedbug Service Calls

7/1/2011 How To Protect Yourself Against Bedbugs This Summer

If you’re worried about encountering bed bugs this summer, or — poor you — you’re already coping with them, you’re in good company. One in five Americans has had bed bugs or knows someone who has, and 80 percent are afraid of encountering them in hotels, according to a survey by the National Pest Management Association. And for once, a public health panic is reasonably well-founded; bed bugs are indeed turning up in hot spots all over the country, with new infestations in major cities hitting the news with regularity.

I’ve been reporting on bed bugs for quite awhile. I’ve covered how to protect yourself from bed bugs when you travel, including a new spray product reputed to fend them off from hitching home in your luggage, and how to get rid of bed bugs if you are unfortunate enough to bring them home with you. I’ve even offered additional bed bug prevention tips for frequent travelers.  In fact, I’ve become something of a reluctant expert in the science of bed bugs and bed bug-prevention. So now I’m going to tell you what you really need to know about bed bugs that no one else is telling you.

1. Know Your Danger Spots. If your summer vacation is going to take you touring the National parks of the West or Southwest, you probably don’t have to take more than routine precautions against bed bugs. They really haven’t made it out to the hinterlands in great numbers yet. But if your summer travel is going to take you to a major cities, particularly one in the midwest or eastern seaboard, watch out. The list of contenders for the “top 10″ danger zones in constantly changing as new pest reports come in, but Cincinnati, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and, perhaps surprisingly, Denver and Los Angeles consistently make the list. Boston and Baltimore made a recent list issued by pest management company Terminix, which also included Dallas and San Francisco for the first time. Other midwestern cities with major bed bug problems include Dayton, Cleveland, and Columbus, Ohio (in fact the entire state of Ohio is under siege, according to pest management experts), Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Louisville, Kentucky. Another list added Houston and Las Vegas to the list of western cities newly introduced to the bed bug disaster. (Thanks to Terminix, Orkin, and ChemtecPest for these lists.) If you want to know how bad bed bugs are in your summer vacation destination, look it up in the bed bug registry, which keeps up-to-date reports which can even be searched by hotel. Warning: gross-out factor high. Be aware, however, that you may be looking at reports from a year or more ago, in which case the particular hotel may have cleaned up its act.

3. Travel Prepared. The last thing you want to do is arrive and start worrying about bed bugs. Take the worry out of travel by bringing protective supplies, including plastic bags to store your clothes in (those air-lock travel bags do double-duty by making extra room in your suitcase, as well as keeping bugs out.) Don’t be tempted to hang your clothes in hotel closets or leave them strewn over chairs, unless you’re 100-percent certain the room’s bug free; bed bugs are now known to favor upholstered furniture and yes, they can climb walls. Put your suitcase on a luggage rack and pull it out from the wall. If you’re going to New York, Ohio, or anywhere else where bed bugs are known to be, well, practically everywhere, you ca also bring a household remedy reputed to keep them at bay. (No guarantees here.) These can include Vaseline, which some say you use to coat the legs and rails of the bed so the bugs can’t climb up, and an herbal spray, Rest Easy, that promises to repel bed bugs. I travel with it and spray it around the edges of my suitcase and all over the luggage rack, just in case. Or you can take the extreme measure being recommended by some and bathe the bed rails, headboard, and the edges of the mattresses in a mixture of rubbing alcohol and floor cleaner. (Seriously, people recommend this but it smells so vile you’re probably better off staying home.) When I come home from a trip, I wash everything I’ve brought with me and dry it in a hot dryer and leave my suitcase stored in a plastic garbage bag for two weeks, also with “just in case” in mind.

There’s a lot more to say about bed bugs, but I’ve probably disgusted you enough for one day. More posts to come, including how to get rid of bed bugs once you’ve got ‘em. Still excited about that summer vacation? Just kidding.

 Continue Reading More: How To Protect Yourself Against Bedbugs This Summer

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

6/8/2011 Just How Effective Is New BedBug Spray?  Ortho Home Defense Max BedBug Killer Is Supposed To Kill Before Infestations Set In

In response to a growing bedbug population, Scotts Miracle-Gro has come out with a product to help people fight back.

The product, Ortho Home Defense Max Bedbug Killer, is designed to kill bedbugs before they reach the infestation stage, the company said. It’s also recommended that the spray be used with other treatment methods.

Bedbug complaints in central Ohio totaled 450 in 2009, the most recent year for which numbers are available. That was up from 50 in 2005, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Some experts recommend always using a professional first.

“Bedbugs are the most difficult bugs to deal with in an urban environment,” said Susan Jones, an Ohio State University entomologist. “Once an infestation takes hold, they can be hiding in so many different places.”

The spray isn’t meant to take care of any and all bedbug problems, said Rami Soufi, who leads the company’s control-product line.

“Our product is positioned for those whose son or daughter is coming back from college, and they see a bedbug,” he said. “If they see bedbugs in multiple locations of homes or in corners, at that point the infestation is out of hand and they need to consult a professional.

“The cost in involving a professional is very expensive. It will probably run into $100 to $200 a visit,” Soufi said.

The Ortho product is $7 or $8, and for an occasional instance, “definitely suffices,” he said.

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5/20/2011 Ohio Bedbug Complaints Double In Public Housing: Lucas County Parqwood Apartments Amongst The Worst

Bed bug complaints in public housing have doubled since last year, according to the Lucas County Health Department.

It’s so bad at one apartment complex that residents have been displaced and now crews are doing routine inspections with a specialized dog! However, it’s a problem that can easily be prevented.

Bed bugs are such a problem at Parqwood Apartments that special dogs were brought in to inspect each unit. Paul Bollinger, regional manager of Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority, says, “Very similar to a drug dog or a cadaver, very same concept. There taught to sniff certain things, and the bed bug has a unique smell that’s only picked up by a K-9.”

This is the second time in less than a year that dogs have been used to inspect every apartment. “Been dealing with them for the past 24 months. The last 18, we’ve gone exclusively to doing heat treatments as opposed to chemical,” says Bollinger.

Since September, nearly 70 apartments have received heat treatment. During that time, residents were displaced. According to the Lucas County Health Department, complaints have gone up 50 percent since last year!

“It’s an issue of re-entry. We’re comfortable that when a unit is heat treated that it’s pest free, so our problems come back from reentry.”

In many cases, bed bugs are carried into a home after vacation, but authorities from lmha aren’t blaming hotels. “If they’re shopping at second hand stores, garage sales and getting used items from friends and family, if they’re not diligent in inspecting those items, they’re not bringing them back in, then we’re working against each other.” For those of you second-hand shoppers out there, simply putting clothes in the dryer on high heat will kill bed bugs. Experts also suggest getting a steamer, which will allow you to kill them on furniture.

Continue Reading More & Watching Video: Ohio Bedbug Complaints Double In Public Housing