Friday, August 31, 2007

Get rid of bed bugs

Will we ever get rid of bed bugs? Why is it so hard to get these critters under control? I think it is mostly because of the fact that we have become such a chemical paranoid society. These days exterminators use IPM. They flash their flash lights and put out their glue traps and monitor their monitors. Hardly any chemical is used. So why are they so resistant to our chemicals? These are battle worn bugs that have been around for a trillion years. They aren't going to go without a battle, and that is just what we are trying to give them. Hopefully we will come up with a proven battle plan to rid our beds of these bugs that seen to have taken over.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Bed Bug Help

Is there any place people can go for bed bug help? It seems like a select few pest control companies have decided to tackle the problem, but I wouldn't call your neighborhood bug man to come out and treat for bed bugs. Don't get me wrong, there are some one man operations who may be very knowledgeable on the topic and can help you with your bed bug problem, but chances are they will not have the time to dedicate to a proper treatment. I have heard how some pest controllers are sub contracting out the work to larger companies simply because they don't want to deal with the headaches. The problem is new and fast spreading and it is because of this that people from New York City to the farms of Nebraska are searching for help in their battle with bed bugs. The do it yourself products are even a hit or miss deal. So what's a person to do? First thing I recommend is educate yourself. Then make bedbugs your hobby. Learn everything there is to learn about them and follow other people's blogs. See how they are getting help with the problem, if any at all. Get the Google news stories about bed bugs, they will even send the stories right to your inbox if you want them to. Eventually the scientists will come up with a solution for bed bugs. The bedbug help everyone is so desperately seeking will appear and the problem will become as simple as a flea infestation with am easy fix. We'll look back on this dilemma and hopefully learn one important lesson that we should have already learned. History repeats itself, it's only a matter of when!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Effective Bed Bug Control? Best Yet?

Is there finally a product that will be effective in the control of bed bugs? According to Cedarcide industries, the makers of a product called Best Yet, they have found the diamond in the rough when it comes to bed bug control. Up until now treating for bedbugs have been hit or miss at best, with many bed bugs showing resistance to the products on the market today. This product is made out of the cedar oil of the Texas Red Cedar and a carrier created from liquid quartz. Best Yet sounds like it can be a useful tool in the control of bed bugs, among other insects. As more information comes across my desk I will be sure to report on it. Best Yet bed bug control could be the panacea we are all looking for. It's worth a try.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Some Q&A about bedbugs!

There are a million websites out there with articles about bedbugs. Whether it be bedbug lawsuits, bed bug control, or which hotel chain has the little blood suckers, they all cover one topic in detail and that is the topic of bedbugs! So if you have stumbled upon this blog or if you visit on a regular basis I have some questions.
When did you first learn you had bedbugs?
Where do you think you picked them up from ?
What control measures have you tried?
Which control tactics worked or didn't?
Have you hired a pest control company and did they eliminate your problem?

Time to vent people!

Comment and discuss.

Killing bed bugs with heat and cold

Can you kill bed bugs with heat? According to a company called ThemaPureHeat, it is possible and it is just what they do. By venting in hot air to your home and raising the temperature to 150 degrees, they are able to kill of all stages of bedbugs. The heat is pumped in for an hour heating up and penetrating the areas and things that bed bugs live in.
Cold will also kill bedbugs, but it needs to be below 32 degrees and for a period of two weeks or more, so it is not very practical and there are stories of bedbugs surviving cold winters in the mountains and when the campers return in the spring they get eaten alive by very hungry bedbugs. Looks like heat might be your best try. I can't say for sure heat works, there are different opinions and schools of thought, but at least there is another option.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Bedbugs and dogs

Has anyone actually had a bed bug sniffing dog come through their apartment or home, or has any pest control operator used one for this task? Just curious to see how well they work.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

You want them dead...not to spread!

How does the spread of bed bugs become so rampant? Let's look at this scenario. Let's say that you have an infested mattress and you decide to get rid of it and have your house treated and then buy a new one. You go to the store and pick out your mattress and they deliver your new one and take the old one. Now the truck that picked up your old mattress is infested with bedbugs, and the new bed that they are delivering to the folks later that afternoon will get infested. So they then sue the mattress store who in turn replaces that infested mattress and in the mean time they throw away the old one. Along comes a guy who sees a new bed and mattress in the trash and throws it in the back of his truck and takes it home. Now that poor guy has been infested. All the time the children of these three families are going to school with bedbugs in their schoolbags and transferring them to the locker area where other children's schoolbags are infested. It's a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Bed bug spray reveiw

Since the beginning of the resurgence of the bed bug epidemic, enterprising individuals have been marketing bed bug sprays to the do it yourself consumer. The following gives a little information about which ones are out there. The first one that comes to mind is a product called Eaton Kills Bedbugs spray is a pyrethrin spray that comes in several sizes and can be used on mattresses as well as other areas in the home. This product is also backed by a solid company that has been a pest control industry partner for a long time. The next product I came across was Thwart Bedbug Control which has alot of positive feedback on it's website but I couldn't find ingredients or labels to see what it was made of which is a red flag in my opinion. Another one that can be found is Diatect Bedbug Killer that can be used as a dust or a wettable powder and is being marketed as a natural and non-toxic product. You are able to research the MSDS sheet and ingredients on their website which is a good thing. Another company is touting this product called PuraCleenRx™ Environmental Bed Bug Spray and they also have a dust product. I can't find any labels or msds sheets but it looks like they have a pretty comprehensive site about bedbug control. Another product that is in the professional realm and can also be obtained in the consumer market is Bedlam insecticide. This product comes with a full label and MSDS sheet and has had some good feedback as of late. As far as the success of any of these products is yet to be seen. If anyone has used them or if anyone has an opinion about these products please leave a comment in the comment area.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

My bed bug update

As I perused the bedbug news sites I came across some interesting articles. This one from the Village Voice offered some interesting perspective on where the story of bed bugs has been and where it is going. It makes me wonder where we can go to be safe as I read an article about how bedbugs were found on train sleeper cars from CNN.com. Over at CBS.com they report of a person who bought a nightstand from a flea market that was infested with bedbugs, they must not have read my earlier post called Bedbugs and Used Furniture. Yes, it is true we are in a war against these critters, problem is, a wooden stake through the heart won't kill these vampire, if it was only that easy.

Bed bugs in perspective

The word bedbug has become a buzz word in recent years with people going nuts over these vampires. People are using all kinds of home remedies and mixtures to kill them off, others are going sue happy slapping lawsuits on apartment building management and hotel chains. It's an epidemic that is spreading like wildfire. Dorm rooms, hotel rooms, cruise ships, apartments, train sleeper cars, airplanes, row homes, single homes, mansions, shacks, hospitals and churches. It doesn't matter who you are, how rich or poor you are, or where you live, because these bugs don't care how rich or poor your blood tastes, so long as it is blood. So do we just throw our hands up in the air and surrender, maybe learn to live with these buggers, learn to manage them instead of try to eliminate them? Maybe we fight them with words and education, teaching people how to avoid them or what to look for so as not to bring them home. The problem with this idea is how do you inspect your movie theater seat? How do you know that the guy before you, whose apartment is so infested with bedbugs that he is carrying tens of thousands of them in his shoes, didn't just see the movie that afternoon as you sit down in the same seat for the twilight show? It's a scary world. The pest control industry is working hard for a solution, and I believe they will come up with one, but until then we will just have to keep checking under our covers at night and not let the bed bugs bite!

How to treat for Bedbugs.

Treating for Bed Bugs can be as exhausting as the problem itself. You need to be thorough and precise, because if you are not you will fail. Preparation is the key, finding the right product is a close runner up. There are numerous DIY products out there for bedbugs, and the professional pest control market is adding products on a regular basis, but which ones work? Depending on how bad the problem is and if there is any resistance involved, it could be a hit and miss proposition. Whitmire has a boat load of can prays that could be useful in a crack and crevice situation and the professional residual products like the suspend and kicker combo or Phantom will be a good start as well. Other products like Bedlam and Eaton's Bedbug are good contact killers. Another good product is Sterifab for contact kill. It's an absolute must to get the cooperation of the person getting treated or for you to do the prep work if you are treating yourself. The best place to get the professional products is online websites that offer do it yourself pest control products for bedbugs. You can also get some DIY products at certain pest control companies who offer over the counter products. It's a good idea to have a team to treat. One person should strip all the beds and take the bedding to a laundry mat to wash in hot water and dry in a hot dryer in one bag. Throw that bag out and repack the clean bedding in a clean bag. You may also have to do this for your clothing depending on how bad the infestation is. With a team of two you should empty all contents from all drawers and take the beds apart. Treat the underside of the bed box spring, the mattress tufts and buttons with a product that is labeled, and the frame of the bed. Treat crack and crevice in all drawers and the inside and outside crack and crevices of the outside of the chest of drawers. Treat all cracks and crevices from the wall-floor seams to the door jambs and moldings. Treat behind any peeling wall paper and pull back carpeting. Treat all furniture and whatever else may have activity. BE sure closets are cleaned out as well and you treat them just as good. Detail is the key. It should take you a full day if done correctly, and unfortunately, it might require a follow up treatment or two.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Bedbugs are back!

Are you the kind of vacationer who bursts into their hotel room, cranks up the air conditioning, and plops their bags on the bed before running down tot he pool before dinner? If you are you are only asking for trouble. I advise you to leave your bags outside your room and do an inspection of your beds and surrounding pieces of furniture. Bedbugs can infest your belongs way before they start biting you at night so it would be smart to investigate before you take them home with you! Start by taking the covers down and look on the sheets. If there is what looks to be blood spots then you may have a problem. now pull back the sheets and the mattress cover to reveal the mattress itself. Pull back the tufts and look in the buttons of the mattress. Are their any black spots or moving bugs. They are bedbugs. Run out of the room! Others places to look would be around the head board, the bed tables and in the drawers of the furniture. Look around the floor of the bed where the wall meets the carpet. It only takes a few minutes to prevent this problem at home via your vacation. BE aware that even the closest examination might miss these critters. If you awake with welts of blood spots on your bed then they may be bedbug bites. This is not a post to scare you, but it is important to be aware. You can get bedbugs from a 5 star hotel, a cruise ship, or a flea bag motel. Keep a sharp eye. Bedbugs are back!