12/13/2011 Tropical Insecticide Blamed For Bedbug Re-Emergence

New results suggest that insecticide use in the tropics is to blame for the re-emergence of bed-bug infestations.

Exposure to treated bed nets and linens meant that populations of bed-bugs had become resistant to the chemicals used to kill them, researchers said.

The findings could help convince pest controllers to find alternative remedies to deal with the problem.

The results were presented at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene’s 60th annual meeting.

Since almost vanishing from homes in industrialised countries in the 1950s, populations of the common bed-bug have become re-established in these regions over the past decade or so.

These mostly nocturnal feeders are difficult to control, not only because they are adept at avoiding detection by crawling into creases of soft furnishing but also because they have developed a resistance to many of the chemicals that have been used to kill them.

Findings presented at the gathering in Philadelphia showed that 90% of 66 populations sampled from 21 US states were resistant to a group of insecticides, known as pyrethroids, commonly used to kill unwanted bugs and flies.

One of the co-authors – evolutionary biologist Warren Booth, from North Caroline State University in Raleigh – explained that the genetic evidence he and his colleagues had collected showed that the bed-bugs infecting households in the US and Canada in the last decade were not domestic bed bugs, but imports.

“If bed-bugs emerged from local refugia, such as poultry farms, you would expect the bed-bugs to be genetically very similar to each other,” explained entomologist and co-author Coby Schal, also from North Carolina State University. “This isn’t what we found.”

In samples collected from across the eastern US, the team discovered populations of bed-bugs that were genetically very diverse.

This suggested that the bugs originated from elsewhere, and relatively recently because the different populations had not had time to interbreed, Dr Schal explained.

He suggested that the source for the new outbreaks was warmer climes, where the creatures would have probably developed a resistance to chemicals.

“The obvious answer is the tropics, where they have used treated bed nets [and] high levels of insecticides on clothing and bedding to protect the military,” Dr Booth told BBC News.

He explained that although bed-bugs were essentially eradicated from industrialised countries in the 1950s, they continued to thrive in Africa and Asia.

“Its very likely that it is from one of these areas where insecticide resistance evolved,” he said.

‘Home-grown’

However, UK-based pest management specialist Clive Boase questioned that hypothesis.

He said bed nets, to protect against mosquito-transmitted malaria and dengue, were only used in parts of Africa that were hot, where the tropical bed-bug (Cimex hemipterus) was found.

But, he added, it was not the tropical bed-bug that was the problem in the US and UK; instead it was their temperate cousin, Cimex lectularius.

Dr Boase explained that comprehensive records showed that infestations of bed-bugs in Europe were less pervasive in the 1970s and 80s, but they were still present.

By continually exposing these populations to insecticides, which came on the market in the late 1970s, these creatures likely developed resistance, he said.

“We don’t have to invoke stories of disease control programmes in Africa; all the evidence here in the UK is that our problem is home-grown.”

Dr Boase wondered that if the US had similar long-term records whether the researchers would have reached a different conclusion.

Evolutionary biologist Richard Naylor from the University of Sheffield agreed: “I am kind of surprised by [their interpretation].

“It doesn’t seem that difficult to develop resistance or lose it; in lab cultures, if you stop exposing [bed-bugs] to pyrethroids it drops out of lab populations very quickly,” he said.

Mr Naylor asked that if the US bed bugs had been exposed to the chemicals elsewhere in the past, “why would they still be resistant?”

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12/7/2011 Bedbugs Special Genetic Trait: Withstanding Incest

Bedbugs aren’t just sleeping with you. They’re sleeping with each other.

Researchers now say that the creepy bugs have a special genetic gift: withstanding incest.

It turns out that unlike most creatures, bedbugs are able to inbreed with close relatives and still produce generally healthy offspring. That means that if just a few bedbugs survive in a building after treatment, they repopulate quickly.

Coby Schal and Ed Vargo are entomologists at North Carolina State University, and they presented preliminary research on genetic diversity in bedbug populations on Tuesday in Philadelphia, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

“We kept discovering the same thing. Within a given apartment, or even a given building, there was extremely low genetic diversity,” said Schal. “In most cases there’s just a single female that founded the population.”

Schal said that was a surprise, since an animal or insect population with limited diversity will usually build up and then crash, because genetic defects tend to magnify with inbreeding.

“But somehow bedbugs are able to able to withstand the effects of inbreeding, and do quite well,” he said.

The new research is important, said Zachary Adelman, an entomologist at Virginia Tech University who wasn’t part of the North Carolina State team.

“No one had looked at these things,” he said of the genetic makeup of bedbugs. “It’s pretty exciting.”

And pretty depressing.

The researchers also found that while the community within a building tends to be similar, there are many different strains of bedbugs throughout the East Coast, suggesting that new colonies also get introduced through foreign travel or commerce.

“That means they’re coming into the country from lots of different places,” which means that the bedbug problem isn’t going to stop anytime soon, said Adelman.

The findings may also help explain another part of the bedbug boom.

Bedbugs — and other insects — develop resistance to insecticides. Schal said that if a treatment kills anything less than 100 percent of the bugs, the survivors will not only repopulate, but pass on the resistance they’ve developed to future generations.

“The insecticides really need to be robust” to do the job, Schal said.

Bedbugs are wingless, reddish-brown insects that bite people and animals to draw blood for their meals. Though their bites can cause itching and welts, they are not known to spread disease.

Another researcher notes that you have to discover a problem before you can treat it.

Rajeev Vaidyanathan of SRI International, a nonprofit research firm with headquarters in Silicon Valley, said he’s working on a quick, easy test so people can discover bedbugs before they get bitten.

Vaidyanathan said current technology comes down to spotting live or dead bedbugs, or using dogs to sniff them out.

“Both are often ineffective and tedious,” he said.

So Vaidyanathan is trying to developing a biochemical test to identify bedbug-specific proteins that they leave behind, even when only a few bugs are present. Homeowners would swab a section of their home, and dip it in a special compound.

“A home pregnancy kit type of read-out. If there’s a color change, you have a bug,” he said, but it’s too early to say when or if the idea will make it to market.

Vaidyanathan also pointed out some other forces behind the spread of bedbugs.

“The problems we are seeing with bedbugs in North America did not happen overnight,” said Vaidyanathan. “We have the highest concentration in the history of our species of humans living in cities. Bedbugs do not have wings; they are nest parasites, so our own population density has helped them to thrive.”

Continue Reading More: Bedbugs Special Genetic Trait Withstanding Incest

9/19/2011 How Infested Are Philadelphia’s Police Stations? According To FOB President John McNesby Pretty Bad

Philadelphia’s police union says some of the department’s facilities are in disrepair and holding cells in one precinct have a bedbug infestation.

Fraternal Order of Police President John McNesby tells the Philadelphia Daily News the lodge has filed a grievance against the city, seeking repairs.

McNesby says the union had to send an exterminator to some officers’ homes because they brought fleas home with them from work. He says he has photos, videos and bills to present to an arbitration panel.

A spokesman for Mayor Michael Nutter says the city is aware of the state of the facilities and has earmarked nearly $11 million for repairs and upgrades over the next five years.

The Daily News report (http://bit.ly/pM4e4k ) says the union wants independent inspections for all police facilities.

7/17/2011 Why BedBugs Won’t Be Stopped

Seems like everywhere you go someone in the media is talking about bedbugs. Most recently, a study compiled by Terminix, a pest control service company, ranked the top most infested cities in 2011. Among those in the study include: Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and, edging out all of the competition at number one, New York.

So, why are these little bloodsucking critters not going away? It would seem that with all the news stories, we as a public would know the precautions needed in place so that we don’t find ourselves battling a case of the bedbugs. Well, we would be mistaken.

Our bedbug problem has been around in large numbers since 2000. It has grown and effected more homes, offices, theatres, planes and retail establishments in 2010 than any previous year.

There are so many answers as to what we should do. Knowing that the information you receive from a pest control professional can vary due to experience and education, here are some things to keep in mind when calling a “professional.”

1. Are they licensed and insured?
2. Do they take the time to answer your questions and give you great customer service?
3. How are their online reviews? (Remember you can’t make everyone happy all the time.)
4. Do they have a guarantee on their work?
5. Can they supply you with the labels to the chemicals they are using upon arrival to treat your home or office? (In New York, it’s law, and you should research what they are putting into the atmosphere within your home.)

We can also take several pre-emptive measures to help place a barrier around our homes, offices and automobiles so that, if and when, we come in contact with bedbugs, they won’t hitchhike over to our place:

• Purchase mattress encasements. (They even have crib encasements now)
• Open packages from retailers (both on and off line) outside or in a garage.
• Be wise when you stay in a hotel. Watch my video on hotels and bedbugs here.
• Don’t bring used furniture into your home.
• Buy a bedbug spray that specifically says bedbugs on the can or bottle.

Number five on our pre-emptive measures checklist is one of the most important steps you can take to help keep the bedbugs out. Creating a barrier around your home, office and automobile is a triple threat cocktail to kill whatever comes into these areas.

Bedbug sprays come in all sizes and shapes. I recommend Pronto Plus® bedbug spray, as it’s effective in providing the coverage and barrier on the items you choose to apply it to and won’t leave you coughing for hours. Always research and find the solution that is right for your current situation and remember to read the labels of any product you spray or use in your home.

So now I ask you, why are bedbugs still growing in numbers all across America? We all have a responsibly to protect our families, friends and even our coworkers. Take the time to educate yourself about how these little critters work, especially if you are living in or visiting New York.

Continue Reading More: Why Bedbugs Won’t Be Stopped

7/14/2011 Bedbugs Found In Philadelphia Police Station: Second Northeast City Police Force To Be Infested This Week

Police officers across the city are being warned of a frustratingly stubborn enemy that has infiltrated their workplace: bedbugs.

An infestation was discovered last week in the building in Mayfair that houses the Second and 15th Police Districts and the Northeast Detective Division.

The bedbugs came to light after inmates in several holding cells were bitten, said Roosevelt Poplar, vice president of the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 5.

An exterminator treated the infested areas twice, and the department’s administration is closely monitoring the situation, said Lt. Raymond Evers of the Public Affairs Unit.

Joan Schlotterbeck, the city’s public property commissioner, said that one inmate had brought the bugs to the building and that an exterminator believed the infestation was confined to three cells.

Those cells have wooden benches that are different from those in other units, she said. They will be removed.

The cell block has been evacuated. Cells will be power-washed, crevices will be sealed, and the walls will be repainted, Schlotterbeck said.

“At this point, we believe we’re doing everything we can,” Schlotterbeck said.

Poplar said the entire building at Harbison Avenue and Levick Street should have been treated for bedbugs. About 500 officers work out of the building, he said, and the bugs may have hitched rides with inmates who were transferred.

“These bugs, they can be carried on people,” he said. “They can be carried in a car, to another district. The holding cells have people coming in and out all day long. We’re talking about potentially thousands of people who could be affected by this.”

Officers will be asked to report any signs of infestation. Employees who wish to take extra precautions can wash and dry their clothes as soon as they get home from work, Schlotterbeck said.

Poplar said several officers had told him that they might have unknowingly carried bugs home in their clothing. “These guys are under enough stress as it is without worrying about taking bugs home to their families,” he said.

The bedbug resurgence began about 10 years ago in hotels and apartment buildings in large cities nationwide. The bloodsucking insects are known for resilience. Clothes and other belongings must be heated to extreme temperatures to kill them, and the bugs can hide in wooden furniture or baseboards for a year without food.

Though New York City has been seen as the center of the scourge, the problem is on the rise here. Terminix, the national exterminating company, this year ranked Philadelphia fifth among U.S. cities for bedbugs, with New York still in first.

Continue Reading More: Bedbugs Found In Philadelphia Police Station

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

5/27/2011 How NYC Became Americas Most BedBug Infested City: Problem Has Plagued Hotels, Subways, Retail & Even NYPD Police Cars

It probably isn’t much of a surprise, but bedbugs are taking a bigger bite out of the Big Apple so far this year, according to one exterminator company.

For the second consecutive year, Terminix ranked the city first in the nation for bedbug infestations, edging out Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia.  (In better news for New Yorkers, a rival ranking by competitor Orkin ranked the city only the seventh worst for bedbug cases.)

Terminix’s city rankings are based on the number of customer complaints and infestations discovered by employees of the company’s 350 U.S. branches. The company wouldn’t release specific data on just how many bedbug complaints it gets, but it said the problem is multiplying.

Bob Young, an entomologist and Northeast and Midwest division manager for Terminix, estimated that he has logged two to three times more bedbug calls over last year, following high-profile cases in which bedbug invasions forced several Manhattan businesses to close temporarily.

Is any borough of New York more infested than the others?

“Manhattan,” said Young, who is based in New York. He the added: “Clearly, Brooklyn and Queens. The Bronx. Even in the rural areas. They’re all over the place. These things, they hitchhike.”

Business for bedbug exterminators boomed last year. Bedbugs start at $500 a room, and off-site fumigation of personal belongings can add another $1,000, Young told WSJ columnist Anne Kadet last year. High-end residential jobs involving art and antiques can cost as much as $20,000.

This summer projections for bedbug activity probably won’t help New Yorkers feel more at ease. ”It’s a larger and larger problem each day,” Young said. “College students seem to bring them home with them.”

Young, who has been with Terminix for 15 years, said he started seeing the critters hit New York in the early 2000s. Since then, complaints have risen ten- to fifteenfold, he said, as the public becomes more aware of their presence.

Last year, bedbugs shut down the flagship Niketown store on East 57th Street, the Hollister Epic store in SoHo and a Victoria’s Secret on the Upper East Side, among other locations. And the insects made a debut at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

This year? “They’re even in police-department squad cars,” Young said.

Continue Reading More: How NYC Became Americas Most BedBug Infested City

5/24/2011 2011 Most Bedbug Plagued Cities List: NYC Takes Top Spot According To Pest Control Giant Terminix

New York, for the second year in a row, according to a study just released by pest-control giant Terminix. Not really a surprise, since NYC is a populous metropolis with well-publicized infestations everywhere from apartment buildings to businesses such as department stores, magazine offices, even Lincoln Center.

Terminix reports an increase in bed bug infestations in most states during the past year, in part because consumers are more aware and on the lookout for the tiny pests, Terminix entymologist Paul Curtis told me.

The company’s list of most bed bug-plagued cities, based on customer complaints validated by Terminix and infestations discovered during pest calls:

1. New York
2. Cincinnati
3. Detroit
4. Chicago
5. Philadelphia
6. Denver
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Los Angeles
9. Boston
10. San Francisco
11. Columbus, Ohio
12. Dayton, Ohio
13. Baltimore
14. Louisville, Ky.
15. Dallas

This is the second year Terminix has put out a list. Baltimore, Dallas and San Francisco appear on it for the first time this year, replacing Indianapolis, Cleveland and Minneapolis.

Bed bugs have always been around, especially since strong chemicals such as DDT were banned, says bug expert Curtis. But today, “People are more aware and communicating” about the issue,” though “there’s still a stigma attached to having bed bugs,” he says. Businesses such as hotels are loath to let customers know about infestations, because that would deter potential clientele. So it can be very difficult to gather accurate information on the extent of bed bug infestation.

I asked Curtis whether it’s true that you can get bitten in seats on planes, trains and buses or in theaters. “There’s no question,” he said. “This is an insect looking for a dark place with a human host, looking to get a blood meal” And bed bugs are “consummate hitchhikers,” moving around easily on people and in bags, he says. Plus, they inject an anesthetic when they bite, so you may not feel it. Some people don’t get bite marks, he says. In other cases, a bite may not show up for a few days, making it hard to tell where you got it.

What to do? Be really careful bringing traveling bags and clothes into your home, he says. “When I get home I put my clothes in a plastic bag. They go into the washer and then the dryer on high (heat kills bed bugs). I vacuum my luggage.”

In hotels, Curtis always strips covers off the mattress and inspects it and the area behind the headboard and under box springs for dark spots (bed bug fecal matter), blood (from a feeding), the bugs themselves (which can range from head-of-a-pin size to appleseed-like), or for rows of tiny eggs.

He does not use hotel drawers and keeps his luggage on a rack as far away from the bed as he can. Bed bugs like to “harbor close to their food sources,” he says. So watch out for beds and upholstered seating. If you want to get extreme, you can place suitcases in big plastic bags that zip closed and you can leave luggage in the bathroom, which is less likely to harbor bed bugs. “But there is no silver bullet” for eradicating them, he says. Heat, cold and multiple treatments are often tried, especially since bugs can lie dormant for a long time.

Terminix has a bed bug learning center online, with answers to many questions about the critters. Other pest control companies, such as Orkin, have posted tips for bed bug detection and treatment.

The good news is that bed bug bites generally don’t cause harm and that “30%-40% of people never have a reaction to them,” Curtis says. Many never realize they were bitten.

Prevention is the key to avoiding extensive and expensive treatments of homes and businesses (which can mean throwing out mattresses and replacing carpets). You also can look at bedbugregistry.com, which contains about 20,000 user-submitted reports, to see if any infestations have been reported at hotels where you’re planning to stay. I checked out a couple of fleabags where I have stayed (and one where I refused to check in because the room looked sketchy), and both had client reports of bed bug bites. In those cases, I was surprised to see how unsympathetc and unhelpful users say management was in responding to the issue.

Continue Reading More: 2011 Most Bedbug Plagued Cities List, NYC Takes Top Spot

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.

Continue Reading More: Bedbugs Boosting Sales At United Industries

2/14/2011 Seven Bedbug Mistakes: Common Reactions That Make An Awful Problem Worse

What’s the first thing people do when they think they have bed bugs? They panic. A natural reaction, considering they’ve been the nighttime dish on a blood-sucking buffet. “The moment you discover bed bugs in your home, it is normal to feel violated, disgusted, and a sense of urgency to get rid of everything you own and get out of your house,” says Jeff Klein, owner of A3 Superior Pest Control in Milford, who’s seen his bed bug clients in the Philadelphia area nearly double in the last six months. “Unfortunately, these steps only worsen the infestation and prolong the length of the bed bug treatment process.”

Here, the common mistakes people make when they discover their home has been infiltrated by the bedtime beasts—and why it only makes the shudder-inducing problem worse.

Mistake No. 1: They stop sleeping in the bug-infested bed. “As difficult as it is, it’s imperative that you continue sleeping in your bed once you discover bed bugs,” says Klein. “Many victims decide to begin sleeping on the couch, and this is not a solution. Bed bugs are fast movers, and can travel up to 30 feet in six minutes. Bed bugs are also attracted to the carbon dioxide that we emit when we exhale—and will come to you wherever you are sleeping.” Which means sleeping on your couch will do nothing but spread the infestation to your couch.  “Confined bed bug infestations are the easiest to treat—do not worsen the problem,” stresses Klein.

Mistake No. 2: They don’t buy mattress covers. “If you are infested with bed bugs, most likely the infestation is based in your mattress and box spring,” says Klein, noting that it may take up to three days for a pest control professional to come to your home. In the meantime, purchase bed bug covers for both your mattress and box spring. “This will not end your infestation,” says Klein. “However, this will prevent live bed bugs from coming out, prevent other bed bugs from getting in and significantly reduce the amount of bed bugs that are free to feed on you during the night.”

While Klein regularly recommends Protect-a-Bed mattress covers to clients, there are lower-priced options available at stores like Target. “The most important thing to remember when using other brands is that it’s imperative to make sure the zippers are sealed,” says Klein. “Cover the zipper with masking tape to make sure bugs cannot get in or out. A bed bug can get through any opening where that a single sheet of paper can fit.”

Mistake No. 3: They sleep at a friend’s or relative’s house. “You do not want to be the one to give bed bugs to someone you care about,” says Klein. “Take comfort in knowing that bed bugs do not spread disease, and that thousands of others have successfully eradicated the same problem.”

Mistake No. 4: They hide it from their landlord. “It is crucial that you notify your landlord immediately once you discover bed bugs,” says Klein. “Because it is difficult to track the source of bed bugs, they may have come into your apartment from a neighbor. In this case, surrounding units—or the entire building—may need to be treated. “ Also, depending on your lease agreement, your landlord may handle the cost of bed bug treatment.

Mistake No. 5: They try to treat the problem themselves. While professional treatments aren’t cheap—A3 charges $1-$3 per square foot—it’s the best way eradict the problem. Do-it-yourself treatments tend to spreads bed bugs within the home and, if you live in an apartment building, among neighbors. “Chemicals like sprays and bombs that can be purchased in hardware stores are not strong enough to kill bed bugs, but bed bugs are averse to the chemicals and will scatter into other areas of your home or through the walls to your neighbors,”  warns Klein. When choosing an exterminator, make sure to ask for references from customers and that the company will guarantee its work. “Typically, a guarantee is for 30 or 60 days following treatment,” says Klein. “If they do not offer a guarantee, go elsewhere.”

Mistake No. 6: They don’t insist on an inspection. “When the pest control operator arrives, he or she should ask questions about what you have seen and the symptoms you’ve experienced,” says Klein. “They should also do an inspection of your home, especially in the bedroom. If they do not inspect the bedroom before they begin discussing treatment options, go elsewhere. Honest professionals will want to make sure you truly have bed bugs before they begin treatment.”

Mistake No. 7: They don’t ask for a K9. “Due to their exceptional sense of smell, dogs are 95-percent more accurate in detecting bed bugs than trained technicians,” says Klein, who currently uses two K9s that have been certified with the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA). “It’s important to make sure bed bug dogs are NESDCA-certified,” says Klein. “These dogs follow a code of ethics, are re-certified annually, and are trained only to find live insects and their eggs.”

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