Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Bed Bugs For Christmas

Did you get bed bugs for Christmas? Hopefully not. The reason I ask is because of all the news reports of bed bugs that were found in all the department stores in New York and how these bugs travel and spread on trucks. Think Deliveries. It is a sad day when you have to fear getting bed bugs via presents received during the holidays, but it is a legitimate fear. We need a solution to this epidemic and hopefully we will receive that next Christmas!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Moving Day and Bed Bugs

Over on my other blog, Pest Control Info, I wrote about a system for moving out utilizing a specially fit out moving truck that is insulated and fitted with commercial heaters. I also spoke of tenting and fumigating the truck to kill the little buggers. The problem that we are facing is the transport of these bugs from place to place. Delivery trucks, moving trucks, mattress delivery trucks, postage trucks, any means of transportation can be manipulated my bed bugs to get from point A to point B without our knowledge. Is there any way to stop this migration? It seems almost impossible. The industry would need to come up with processes and this costs money that they are not willing to spend. It is the biggest catch 22 in recent history. With the ingenuity and money that America has with the brightest minds in the world you would think that we'd have the problem beat by now. Instead we are meeting with agencies like the EPA trying to come up with solutions when what we need is funding and less stringent rules that the chemical manufacturers must follow to come up with safe and effective bed bug killing chemicals.
Just some ranting and raving for a Sunday morning.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Holiday Bed Bugs

Giving the gift of bed bugs this year? You might be if you are traveling to the many holiday cities that are famous for Christmas time cheer. Cities like New York or Philadelphia are notorious for bed bugs problems, and going to see a Christmas show can leave you feeling in the Christmas Spirit and full of bed bugs. It seems like bed bugs are impacting the economy as many people have already decided not to visit these attractions for just this reason. People are not visiting theaters, they are not going to the movies, concerts, they are even worried about visiting attractions like the empire state building. Aside from that, even if they do go, it is only for the day, because who would stay at a hotel in these bug cities? It seems like these bed bugs are everywhere, when will the government step in and start the ball rolling to get some new chemistry produced to begin the eradication process. Happy Holidays!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Housekeeping and Bed Bugs

Is your housekeeping service spreading bed bugs? Hotels, businesses, offices, dorms rooms, sea shore houses, they all have housekeeping services. In hotels they have carts that carry all the cleaning materials they need, and as we know bed bugs are notorious hitch hikers. As they cart goes from room to room, it is possible to spread these critters. Same goes with the house keepers that travel from office building to office building. All the supplies they bring with them can be spreading bed bugs from place to place. It is important to have your pest control inspector check these housekeeping supply carts and housekeeping supply closets and be diligent with training the housekeepers of what to look for and report what they find as soon as they see a bed bug. Training and education will be your best defense.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Start Your Bed Bug Fund Today!

Can bed bug treatments be covered by home owner's insurance? This is the questions that has been asked across the country and the unfortunate answer is no. This is tragic, especially since a basic bed bug treatment can cost close to twelve hundred dollars and if you get a heat treatment for your home you are looking at three thousand or more, depending on the size of your home. This is just the treatment cost. What if you are unsure if you have them and you want a definite yes or no answer? Hire a dog. This service where a dog goes through your home to inspect for bed bugs can run a few hundred dollars. How about mattress and box spring covers at a couple hundred bucks? How about laundry and dry cleaning service? How about the bed bug sequel? Sometimes you need to get another treatment after all the follow up services. After all is said and done, you can wind up spending close to five or six thousand dollars. Yikes!

One thing I have started to do is put money aside in case bed bugs rear their ugly head. It is a good idea to have such a rainy day fund because when bed bugs hit home, you are going to want to get rid of them sooner than later, and you may not have the funds to treat the bed bugs properly. It's a simple message. Invest in your future.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Bed Bugs in the News

You must be living under a rock these days if you have not seen or read a story about bed bugs. Stories of movie theaters in New York being closed because of bed bugs and the offices at CNN having bed bug problems are all the rage. It makes me think that we've gotten the word out like we have been wanting to and the public are more aware than ever about bed bugs, the problem is, unless they can afford a boat load of money to heat treat their home with thermal remediation or fumigate it, they may be trouble. The raise in awareness has put a spike in the amount of calls that pest control companies are receiving, many of them are just for simple inspections. The public wants to know if they have bed bugs. Can you blame them?
My hope is that all this public awareness will ignite a fire under the EPA to allow for some flexibility for the manufacturers of chemical that might actually work against these little terrors. I guess only time will tell.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Make A Million Dollars With Bed Bugs.

Let me count the ways.
  1. Bed bug prep business- Clean the clutter, bag the laundry, take the beds apart, take the outlet and switch plate covers off, vacuum. Do the grunt work.
  2. Heat treatment company. Sub out your services to other companies as well as advertise your own services.
  3. Fumigation coordinator. Contract with a fumigation company and a moving company. Pack and load all contents of an apartment, dorm, or entire home onto the truck. The company shoot the truck with gas. Movers unpack the contents back into the home.
  4. Laundry Service. Commercial laundry companies can market to pest control companies and facility management as many standard laundry services will not take infested items. You be the first in the area.
  5. Dry Cleaner Bed Bug Service. You can't launder the suits. Same as number 4.
  6. Bed Bug Dog Inspector. Buy a dog. Get it trained. Make lots of money.

There are many ways that people are making money in the bed bug control industry. If only our chemical manufacturers were doing the same selling the new product that has become the silver bullet for bed bug eradication. Oh wait. That has not happened yet. One day.

EPA versus Bed Bugs

I'm finally convinced that the EPA must be part of the bed bug conspiracy that is spreading across the USA in epidemic proportions. In a consumer alert presented today by the EPA they stated that pesticides should be limited and even went to far as to say, "Prevention and non-chemical treatment of infestations is the best way to avoid or eliminate a bedbug problem." Talk about being disconnected from reality. Non-Chemical treatment would indicate using heat or fumigation, both which are extremely effective, but enormously expensive. Prevention would indicate moving to a deserted island until the EPA approves and exemption or lightens up on regulating the chemical manufactures to allow for them to come out with some new chemistry. What I say to that is get used to eating coconuts! The EPA needs to start to realize that this is a real problem effecting the mental health and pocket books of people across the country. The reason people are over-using chemicals is because the chemicals the EPA has approved for bed bug control are not working as effectively as they should because the bed bugs are showing such a strong immunity. Can I get an Amen!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Feel free to remove by bed bugs.

Should you just start accepting the fact that you will be living with blood sucking vampires for the rest of your life? After all, you've tried all the do it yourself bed bug treatments out there, you've reported the bed bug problem to your landlord, you've followed the advice and followed the preparation sheet the apartment complex pest control vendor gave you, you've spent tons of money on mattress and box spring covers for bed bugs and bought those climb up interceptors and placed them on the bottom of your bed legs, you've been a good little boy or girl and fought the good fight, and still you are getting bitten and still you see bed bugs on your walls and ceilings. You are tired of being the outcast and tired of seeing your son's and daughter's sad eyes because they can't invite friends over or go over for play dates any more because heaven forbid you spread the bugs to their friends house. You are tired of meeting friends at restaurants because you can't have friends over for fear they get bed bugs from your place. It's a sad world and you want to scream, "feel free to get rid of my bed bugs!"
It's a sad day in America when we as a people can't get rid of a tiny bed bug. Sure, you can fumigate or heat treat the bed bugs, that is if you have several thousand dollars to pay, but who in America, especially these days, have that kind of money? A regular bed bug treatment where the pest control company comes out to spray can cost you from five hundred to twelve hundred or more dollars. The problem is two fold, one is there is a strong resistance to the chemical that the bed bug exterminators are using, thank you EPA for making the process of bringing back old chemistry or introducing new chemistry so expensive, and two is you have to have complete cooperation from your neighbors and adjacent apartment dwellers, and how does the eight-five year old lady next door do all that prep work the pest control guys wants done? Well that may be why you still have the bed bugs?
So as I said in the beginning, should we as a society just accept the fact that we will be living with bed bugs forever? Should we as a society become hermits so not to pick up a bed bug in the movie theater or on a plane? Instead, let's start to make some noise and get the EPA and other powers to be involved with process and begin to understand that we are being invaded from the inside out and being beaten at the game. Americans rise up!

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Preparation for a bed bug treatment

Let's face it, you are already stressed out enough over having found out that you have bed bugs feasting on your blood all night long. Now the pest control company hands you bed bug preparation list that looks five feet long. The long and the short of it is this. To get the best bang for your buck, you have to take this preparation sheet and own it. Think of this treatment as a new start. Spring clean. Clean out all the clutter in your closets, drawers, and bedrooms. Throw away all those old cloths. Now it's time for the laundry. Bag up all your laundry in trash bags, just enough to throw into your washing machine per bag and remember, do not overload. Now seal these bags. Load up the washer and take the bag outside to the trash. When that wash is done then the hottest setting dryer, now dry cloths into a new bag and the cycle continues until all cloths are washed. Do this for all cloths in closets, drawers, so the bedding, sheets, blankets. How about suits? Dry cleaner. How about sneakers? Bag all the sneakers and shoes that won't be bothers by heat and place in the dryer for an hour. Things like purses and leather shoes can be fumigated with Nuvan Prostrips. Your pest control person can help you get them or they can be bought online at any do it yourself pest control supply website. Usually you seal these items in a plastic bag for 2 weeks. The gas kills the bed bugs.
Now that the laundry is out of the way, move the furniture away from the walls and take off any switch plate and out let covers. Your pest control person should be dusting these areas. If they are not, fire them and do not allow them into your home.
By reducing clutter and doing the laundry, you are eliminating any bugs or eggs hiding and reducing the population. Another thing to do is take down your curtains and run them through the dryer as well. Bed bugs like curtain rods, and they may use the curtains or drapes as a place to rest also. If you have carpet, talk to your pest control person and see if they want you to pull the carpet away from the walls. I would recommend this as the bugs can hide in the area between the tack board and the wall. Any throw rugs should also be put in to the Dryer. Remember, never overload your washer or dryer. You want the heat to be effective and not trying to heat too much stuff.
Good luck and work with your pest control company, not against them.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Help yourself not get bed bugs

Bed bugs are becoming as common as the seasons, so it only makes sense to start to keep one eye open when traveling and sleeping at hotels and resorts. It is so important to check your room before bringing any luggage or bags into your room and check it thoroughly. GO so far as to taking the head board off the wall, if you are traveling with a partner, ask him or her to grab a side of the headboard and lift it off the wall. If you see nay signs of bug then leave it where it is and go right for the front desk. Checking areas like the mattress, side tables, behind and around the curtains. Check top and bottom and side to side. Am I crazy? No. Take the half hour to do a good inspection or times that half hour by a million and that could be how many half hours it takes to get rid of them at your home after you bring them home with you. Happy hunting.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Bed Bug Procedures fot Group Homes

Group Homes and Homeless Shelters in the Human Services field are in need of establishing intake and admission procedures to limit the risk of transporting the bed bug from place to place and thus spreading the problem farther and wider than it already is. You need to establish a supply kit of coveralls with attached boots. You should have a set of clothing ready for new admissions. You will need a good working large capacity dryer dedicated to bed bugs. You will need a bare room to act as an admission area and a changing room. When the new person comes to the facility, you should explain that it is procedure to put everything that comes in tot he facility into the dryer. You should wear the coveralls as a precaution and bag all the person's clothing and take it right to the dryer. Ask the new person to change into the clothing that you provide and place those cloths and shoes into the dryer as well. During the intake process, ask directly if there were any bug issues where the person was coming from. All this will help with limiting the risk of bringing bed bugs into a facility. Establishing good program procedures will help to keep bed bug problems from being introduced into the home and to help catch the problem before they become full blown bed bug infestations.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Bed Bug Traps Are Growing

Bed bug traps are starting to take hold and become more and more main stream as time goes on. Professional and expensive traps like the NightWatch are out there as well as several do it yourself versions where you build your own trap with some dry ice for CO2 and place them around. Another trap that has shown up on the radar is the Bug Dome which is a less expensive and lower profile trap that is retailing for around ninety dollars. I've found these Bug Dome bed bug traps for sale at the Stern Environmental Groups website so far. I am sure they will be popping up all over as time goes on. Now let's focus on killing these buggers.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

How about that CO2 bed bug trap


It's being called the bed bug trap with the pet food bowl, but Wan-Tien Tsai's simple bed bug monitor trap is all the rage. It's a easy as getting gallon water thermos with the flip up dispenser, a pet food bowl wrapped in cheese cloth on the outside, and some dry ice. The idea is simple enough, but should be used with extreme safety in mind and caution. God forbid a child picks up a dry ice cube and freezes his hand off, but this trap is something that can be cheaply put together and used in multiple locations to see what kind of activity is going on in the home. Bedbugs are distressing enough to make people try anything, but if used cautiously, it could be a cheap and useful tool.