9/26/2011 Washington Area Rescue Dog Sniffs Out Bedbugs

9/9/2011 DC Area Firefighters Battling Bedbugs: Three Montgomery County Firehouses Infested

Bed bugs are a scourge on society. They have spent the last few years moving into our homes, our hotels, our dorms, and even our airports. Now they are going after the people who protect us. They are going after our heroes. They are nipping at firefighters in their fire station bunks.

Three Montgomery County stations just finished fighting off the itch inducers this summer with professional artillery. The last of several high-tech fumigation interventions commenced yesterday, and fire officials hope to never see or feel or think about the pests again. Firefighters will be required to wash their sheets more, among other preventive steps.

County fire officials refuse to identify the stations infected. I assume this is because they don’t want residents served by those firefighters to worry that bed bugs will be transferred during visits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says: “Bed bugs are usually transported from place to place as people travel.”

This raises the question: How did the fire stations become infested to begin with? Tim Burn, spokesman for the International Association of Fire Fighters, says his organization does not have reports of bed bugs being a nationwide problem for firefighters, though an Iowa fire station fought some off in May.

“We don’t know how they were brought in,” said Montgomery County assistant fire chief Scott Graham. “God knows how they got there.”

But Eric Bernard, head of the county’s volunteer firefighters, suspects bed bugs are now another hazard of firefighter life.

“We go into all sorts of environments — hotels, jails, people’s houses,” he said. “We go into places that might have a problem with bed bugs, and we bring them back. If we find a patient in bed, we are kneeling on that bed to treat them.”

Not to worry, though. Firefighters aren’t scared.

“Yes, there has been an annoyance factor,” Bernard said. “But our firefighters are not gonna let a few bed bugs bother them.”

Continue Reading More: DC Area Firefighters Battling Bedbugs

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

5/25/2011 Bedbugs Found For Second Time At Washington DC Hospital: United Medical Center Dealt With Already This Past March

The D.C. Department of Health confirmed that United Medical Center is dealing with its second case of bed bugs since March.

DOH spokesperson Dena Iverson said a patient complained about being bitten on Tuesday, May 17. She said a pest control technician came to the hospital that day.

Iverson said bed bugs were found in two rooms. While those rooms were treated, “[the hospital] moved everyone out of that area,” she said.

According to a source who declined to be identified, as many as six rooms may have been treated as a precaution.

Just two months ago, on March 7, UMC said a patient was discovered with bed bugs in the hospital’s psychiatric unit. Extermination began on March 8. In that incident, hospital staff said bed bug sniffing dogs detected the bugs in only one patient room. However, four rooms in total were treated as a precaution.

According to Iverson, the rooms received a chemical treatment rather than a heat treatment. She said using chemicals is equally effective as using heat to kill bed bugs. However, chemicals take longer because they require a different application method.

Iverson also said the bugs were tested for MRSA. The test results are still pending.

Scientists in Canada recently found the pests are able to carry the dangerous staph infection MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

It is unclear where in the hospital this latest outbreak was located. United Medical Center has not returned calls or emails for comment.

D.C. law does not require hospitals – or any business, for that matter – to disclose bed bug incidents to health officials or the public. However, DOH officials say they were notified by UMC.

DOH has also offered to train UMC staff on how to identify and respond to bed bugs.

Iverson said “hospitals are like hotels.” With frequent visitors and close sleeping quarters, environments like hospitals and hotels can create ideal conditions for a bed bug infestation.

According to Iverson, the rooms have received a chemical treatment to kill the bugs. She said using chemicals is as effective as the more traditional heat treatments. However, chemicals take longer because they require a different application method.

Iverson also said the bugs found last week were tested for MRSA. The test results are still pending.

After studying hospitals in Canada, scientists recently found that bed bugs are able to carry the dangerous staph infection MRSA or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Continue Reading More: Bedbugs Found For Second Time At Washington DC Hospital

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

3/18/2011 Bedbugs Invade Washington DC Hospital: United Medical Center Psych Patient Linked To Bedbugs

3/15/2011 Bedbug Bill Gets Support of NPMA: Applauds Rep. Schmidt for Introducing Bed Bug Management, Prevention and Research Act

Fairfax, Va. — The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) announces its support of HR 967, the Bed Bug Management, Prevention and Research Act of 2011, introduced by Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH). The measure was introduced in response to the dramatic resurgence of bed bugs in the United States in recent years and aims to find ways to help Americans cope with this pest.

Specifically, the bill authorizes a federal bed bug research funding program to resume research that has been neglected for 50 years; requires efficacy testing for minimum risk pesticides to protect consumers from products that don’t effectively manage bed bug infestations; adds criteria the EPA must consider for the registration of a public health pesticide so as to help provide professionals and consumers more safe, affordable and effective tools; and establishes a Bed Bug Prevention and Mitigation Pilot Program to provide subsidized treatments for those on fixed and lower incomes.

“The bed bug invasion of America is real and severe and many Americans are turning to the government for help,” said Bob Rosenberg, NPMA’s senior vice president. “NPMA is pleased Representative Schmidt is taking a strong lead to assist the public in managing this pest. Our members will visit their Congressional representatives this week to encourage support for this important legislation.”

“Pest management professionals are on the front lines of the bed bug war, but cannot go at it alone. It is important the government, the public and the pest control industry work together to minimize infestations through education, building awareness and assistance. This bill sets the stage for this crucial cooperation,” added Rosenberg.

According to NPMA, 95 percent of pest professionals reported treating bed bugs over the past year, up from 25 percent of professionals in 2000. Moreover, bed bugs have been identified as the single most difficult pest to treat by the pest control industry.

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.