Saturday, December 12, 2009

What works for Bed Bugs

As we all know, bed bug infestations have reached pandemic proportions. I wonder out of all the people out there, who has had success with treatments or what is working for people out there with regards to being proactive. Sure kill treatments for bed bugs are non-existent. What are your thoughts?

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Do you check you hotel room for bed bugs?

The first thing I do on vacation when I check into a hotel is inspect. The head board is the first place to look. Slide it up and off the wall as most of them are mounted this way and lay it forward to look on the back. I bring a flashlight with me these days. Then I take the fitted sheets off and look under them and in the seams and buttons, then around the floor legs and night stand. Bed bugs can be found on the luggage racks, and on the areas they give you to hang your cloths. Check in dresser drawers too. Now that you looked. Unpack and have fun, but if you see anything like a bed bug, go straight to the front desk and let them know. Be discreet as they will most likely work with you. They want to fight the battle as much as the rest of us.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Can I Get Rid Of Bed Bugs?

That is the question of the century. Will I ever be able to eliminate my home or apartment of bed bugs? My thought is that until they come out with a silver bullet, the short answer is no, at least not with any traditional treatments. If you have some deep pockets you can fumigate the home, or bring in a company that specialized in heat treatments, but the regular Joe is out of luck. The products are not working and the nature of the bed bug hiding deep inside of furniture and the structure makes it almost impossible to get product to these hiding places. There are home remedies and professional products, none of which are working as aggressively as needed. I am sure there are cases of elimination that could be found out there, but my guess is that the opposite is true. Hopefully the manufacturers and the epa are working on some products that will kill bed bugs once and for all. Until then people will be using do it your self products and home remedies and in superior products or treatment methods, making the problem worse. Again...the answer to your question is a resounding No.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Bed Bugs, Moving, and not "catching" bed bugs.

Planning on moving any time soon and worried about bedbugs infesting your stuff from a moving truck? Unfortunately there is no way to really verify that a moving truck is bed bug free. Chances are, the possibility that the truck moved a bed bug infested client at some point along the line is pretty high. Another thing to think about is when you hire a moving company they give you boxes and packing supplies. These are often times "used" or recycled boxes. So what is a bed bug conscience person to do? First thing to do is when you hire a moving company. Ask. The sales representative may take offense, but so what. Responsible moving companies should start to think about bed bug abating controls to assure clients are not affected by secondary infestation. The next thing to do is when they deliver your supplies, ask them to leave them outside and check them before you bring them inside. When you finally move and settle, it would be worth it to bring in a bed bug sniffing dog to do a walk through. If there has been a bed bug invasion, the dog will find it, and finding a problem earlier than later is found to offer greater success in elimination. Good luck with the move, and sorry to add one more stresser to one of the most stressful events in your life.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Bedbug heat treatment

It looks like heat is going to be the way to go with the treatment option for bed bugs as time goes on. The incredible labor intensive procedures for treating bedbugs the traditional crack and crevice way, and the uncertainty of any success, along with the noncompliance of the customer, leaves no doubt in my mind that we need an overall treatment. Heat is this overall treatment. There is very little disruption to the home, it takes a day, and kills the stages of the bedbug from egg to adult.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Don't bring bedbugs home with you

Bedbugs are easy to pick up during a vacation if you are not careful and use common sense. Before plopping your suitcase down on the floor or tossing it on the bed, leave them in the hallway and have a look around. Check drawers for bugs, bug pieces, or droppings. Take the bed spread off and look at the sheets. Are there any spots on the sheets? Any blood type smears? Take the sheets away and look at the mattress around the tufts and buttons. Live bugs? Look behind or take the head board off and look at the seams and the sunken screw button. Live bugs or blood spots? Being careful and having an eagle eye can help keep you and your family bug free.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Best Way To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs

The best way to get rid of bed bugs is not to get them in the first place. With the summer travel season in full swing, it is important to remember that the bed bug problem is raging war on unsuspecting and ignorant families as they vacation. When you travel, whether it be on a plane train or automobile, or bus, or cab, you have to remember that there has been many who have come before you. Bed bugs are the king of hitch hiking and they are spread via trasportation. When you depart with your luggage at an airport or throw your bags under the bus in the luggage area, you are inviting trouble. What you must remember is that you must check your bags when you arrive at your destination, inside and out, for bed bugs. Start to bring a flash light with you where ever you go. Shine the light along the seams, in the pockets of the bag, etc. Look for bugs. When you arrive at your hotel, do the same. Take the bedding off, look for blood stains or spot, look at the mattress around the tufts and seams, and around the buttons of the mattress. Look around and at the head board. I even know people who bring a screw driver with them and take the head board off to inspect. Believe me, it is worth the time and effort to avoid getting a bed bug infestation because once you have them, you might as well learn to live with them, at least until an effective means of getting rid of them is discovered.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

How do I know if I have Bed Bugs?

Is there a way to tell for sure if I am being bitten by bed bugs? There are a few options to help you determine and answer this question. New traps on the market like the NightWatch and the CDC 3000 are good bets for a determination, although very expensive, but I wonder if people will balk at the price when being tortured by phantom bites. Then there is the option of hiring a bed bug dog. This is the probably the most effective way to get a negative or positive for the presence of bed bugs. I think that over the next few years we will be seeing alot of new traps and monitors come onto the market, but for now, our choices are limited.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

My neighbor has bedbugs...Now what?

If you live in a row home or an apartment and your neighbor has bedbugs then you might as well start preparing to get them yourself. One thing you can do to put the odds in your favor is to hire a pest control company to come out and drill holes in between each stud and inject a good pesticide dust into the wall voids. This should be done upstairs and downstairs. If you have wall to wall carpets then it would be a good idea to also pull the carpets away from the wall and and dust between the tack strip and the wall itself. I would recommend putting a mattress and box spring cover on the mattress and box spring just in case, this will save your bed in the event of an infestation. If you have a good relationship with your neighbors it is a good idea to unite and work together to solve the problem, if not, expect a long battle that you may lose.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Catch a movie, and a bed bug.

Gloom and doom? I think not. Bedbugs like entertainment as much as the next bug, and the fact that you can catch a bedbug at a movie theater is not that far fetched. I am sure that the theaters have pest control measures in place to react to any infestation, but the nature of the bed bug and the fact that they are hard to detect and kill makes them the perfect dark theater predator. Enjoy.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Bedbugs in my Sofa and furniture?

One question I get is can bed bugs live or bite on or in a sofa or other furniture? The short answer is yes they can. Bedbugs will hide and nest in anything. Was that clear enough. Anything. You could be sitting on a couch and bed bugs can be in the crevices of the couch and when your legs press against the bugs they will suck your blood. Same can happen in a movie theater seat and on a bus or air plane seat. It is important to know this because some people think that because bed bugs have the word bed in it , they simply are found on or around the bed. Not true.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Travel and Bed Bugs

Getting ready for a bed bug free vacation? Planning a trip and you don't want to bring bed bugs home with you? Can you really pick up bed bugs while you travel? You should answer yes to all these questions, and in order to have a bed bug free vacation you should be as careful and diligent as possible when traveling. If you are planning on having your luggage stored in a separate compartment like a bus or airplane luggage area, you will want to protect the bags with some kind of barrier. There are some products like Rest Easy Bed Bug Luggage Spray from JT Eatons, or another product called the bug zip that allows you to basically wrap the luggage in a plastic cover to keep bed bugs out. Upon getting to the hotel, be sure to check the head boards and mattress. Look for blood stains, spots, and live bugs. If you are going to unpack for a long stay, consider keeping clothing and shoes in zip lock bags. Crazy? Maybe. Smart. Definitely.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Bedbug Control-Ahead of the eight ball

One of the most important things in the control and ultimate elimination of a bed bug infestation is early detection. Once a bed bug infestation takes hold and establishes itself, the chance of even control becomes almost impossible, but catch the problem early enough, then you have a chance. How do you do this? How do you know? Well if you think you are getting bitten or suspect an infestation, then you should try to contact a pest control company that has a bed bug sniffing dog who will be able to identify the area the bugs are located. At his point you should try to set up treatment as soon as possible. Without the use of a dog or one of the new bed bug detection devices like the Nightwatch, it is almost impossible to find them until the are a problem, unless you are lucky enough to find them out in the open. So be sure to be diligent and remember that early detection is the key.

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Bedbugs Bite

Well not really...bedbugs suck. The phenomenon of bedbugs, I fear, will become on of the worst problems of our time by the very virtue of the fact that there is no silver bullet to kill them completely. The problem is , you can do the most thorough treatment, killing off all but one bedbug, and the problem will resurface again. Another problem is the fact that the chemicals are not working on them to kill them. If you spray them directly, you can kill them, but any residual chemical left behind is useless. So how do you protect yourself? You need to research and learn everything you can about the bed bug. You need to raise awareness of this insect. You need to do regular inspections to catch the problem early. That is one thing the experts agree with, if you catch the problem early enough, the possibility of elimination is greater. So crack open those books and hop on the Internet and go back to school. Bedbugs are here to stay.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Bed bug Dogs

Bedbug sniffing dogs are the way to go it seems if you need to find out for sure whether you have a bedbug problem or if a problem has been resolved. They can be extremely useful as a proactive measure in hotels to catch an bed bug problem early, which is your best bet for elimination, and can also be very useful in situations where you just can't be sure. I can see a future where bed bug inspection reports will need to be completed before buying a home or apartment, much like the modern day termite inspection. A bedbug dog would be the best use in this case. Cost is an issue, but this can come down if there is steady work. The dogs are expensive because there are only a few trusted schools that train these dogs, so be careful and ask that question if you hire a dog inspection service.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

EPA Bedbug Summit

What a fantastic two days I had early this week at the EPA sponsored bed bug summit. The best brains in the pest control industry were there along with representation from industry across the board. As we all know bed bugs can become a problem for any industry, not just housing, and we all put our heads together to offer our best recommendations to the EPA. The biggest issue that came up was funding, no one wants to pay for research and no manufacturer is interested in new chemistry. The EPA is not interested in bringing back old chemistry that worked, and the chemicals we have today barely work at full strength being sprayed on the bug, but not so much when the chemical is dry and left as residual. So what are we to do? As I always say...education is the key, and this seemed to be the consensus of the group. Public awareness is also a big recommendation. Bedbugs need to become as common as socks and shoes. Raising awareness and education is our best bet for now, catching the bed bugs early is our best bet for control. So go spread the word.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Bedbug Awareness

It looks like bedbug awareness is rising. Municipalities are coming up with protocol and this month in Washington DC there will be a gathering to discuss the problem that is bed bug infestation. Education, awareness, and determination will be our biggest tools in the parade towards eradication.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Bedbug Video Blog

Interesting blog with a compilation of Bed Bug Videos.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

The bedbug big three

In my opinion there are three things that the industry needs to be effective in bedbug control.
As of yet there has been no silver bullets that can directly and effectively treat and eliminate bed bugs, which is so unfortunate. The three tools that we would need would be a spray that is formulated using a different chemistry from the ones we presently have. Two would be a growth regulator specific to bed bugs that is potent enough to break the cycle. Three would be for a bed bug specific pheromone trap. These three things would work wonders in a treatment and they are three things we presently lack. I know there is work being done in the field of a pheromone trap, so we will see what the future holds. Hopefully these big three tools will be developed sooner than later.

Importance of bedbug mattress covers

Bedbug mattress and box spring covers are important tools in the treatment of bed bugs in an overall plan. Products like protect-a-bed for bed bugs help in saving the bed and preventing bedbugs from entrenching themselves in all the cracks and crevices of a mattress and the box spring. These bedbug covers help the treating pest control technician because it eliminates the need to have to treat the whole bed, saving him or her time and saving you money. Even if bedbugs are not a problem in your home right now, I would suggest putting them on, especially if you are more susceptible to getting an infestation, in the even you travel alot or work in environments that have problems.

Bedbug mattress and box spring covers help during an infestation because it allows the technician to treat the appropriate areas, and then seal the box spring and mattress from additional outside infestations and keeps any bugs left behind to perish.

To sum it all up, the investment in a product like protect-a-bed or other hyper allergenic mattress and box spring cover is well worth it.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Bedbugs and laundry

When faced with a bedbug problem, one thing that your exterminator should require you to do is your laundry. If he doesn't, find a new exterminator. When I say laundry I mean all the laundry. You have to clear out your closets and if the cloths require dry cleaning, then get them dry cleaned. You may be able to get away with simply running the cloths through the dryer for an hour at high heat. This will kill all stages of the bed bug. The same goes for shoes and sneakers. When the pest control person goes into your room it should be clear of any fabric. Bedding, pillows, drapes, curtails, all need the same treatment. This needs to be done for all bedrooms. When the cloths are done in the dryer them reload them in a brand new trash bag and seal tightly shut with tape. This should also be done for any coats or clothing in down stairs closets. Don't forget throw pillows from the sofa and stuffed animals. Sound like a gigantic project. Well it is. If you want to get rid of the bedbugs properly then you have to launder all these items. It will take time, effort, and coordination with the pest control person.

Bedbugs and traveling

Bedbugs can be picked up anywhere and unfortunately you are most susceptible during travel. Millions of bags go through the baggage system in an airport and hundreds of bags are put into the airplane luggage storage, not to mention the carry on area. This cycle happens daily if not several times a day for that airplane. All it takes is one of those bags to have bedbugs and the possibility of contamination is high. The same goes for trains and buses. You can also pick up bedbugs while simply sitting in a airplane, bus, or train seat after a person with bedbugs have sat there and get them. Same is true for cruises. All those bags are taken and stored and then placed outside your door. Who knows where those bags have been. The unfortunate truth is bedbugs are here to stay and it may turn into a situation where it is not a matter of "if" but a matter of "when" someone gets infested with bedbugs. You can limited your chances by educating yourself about bedbugs, know what and where to look for them after you have checked into a hotel or cruise. How about your bags you ask, well I'm afraid you are left to chance in this area. There are items for sale at online pest control stores that you can spray your bag with, but you have to ask yourself if you want to have your clothing laying in with chemicals. You can buy these products, one of them is a luggage spray made by J. T. Eaton, and spray the outside I suppose. Here's an idea, buy a large enough zip lock bag and place your luggage in this. What we really need is the bed bug silver bullet. Maybe one day we will find it.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Where can you find bedbugs?

Bedbugs can be found almost anywhere. They are in five star hotels, roadside motels, airports, airplanes, bus depots, buses, colleges, high schools, dorms, grade schools, and laundry mats. Bedbugs can be found in apartment buildings, homes, churches, work places, delivery trucks, outside, inside, theaters, movie theaters, restaurants, take-out joints, rug stores, and department stores. Bedbugs can be encountered just about everywhere. Beware.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Bedbugs 2009

Bedbugs have made a new years resolution for 2009, and that is to be just as much of a pain in the butt as they were in 2008, if not worse. Hopefully the new year will bring some new weapons to add to the arsenal, like some of the traps that should be coming to market soon. These bed bug traps will be able to help us make a determination of success or not in bedbug treatments. The bedbug traps will also help us in identifying bedbug problems where bed bugs are not physically seen during inspections. Now all we need is a good bedbug insect growth regulator and a knock out chemical to mix up to kick these bugs back to where they came from a generation ago!