Stopping Bed Bug Infestations, Hiring Exterminators, More Tips

 Bedbugs are back with a vengeance. Because of the lack of pesticides, the growth of this infestation is immediate and growing, so it's imperative that immediate action is taken or the bugs will overtake your home or business. The following article has put together some tips and direction for you.
   . . . June


-------------------------

Tips about stopping bed bug infestations, hiring exterminators:
By John North, Better Business 
Bureau 2:59 PM Saturday, October 2, 2010

Bed bugs are back with a vengeance, invading homes, movie theaters, retail stores and more. Ohio tops the list of state bed bug infestations this year, and Dayton’s one of the top 10 cities, according to ranking by Terminix, the pest control company

With several myths surrounding bed bugs, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers some insight:

• Bed bugs and their eggs can be seen with the naked eye.

• Bed bugs are attracted to warmth, blood and clutter, not dirt and grime.

• There are no cases indicating bed bugs transmit diseases.

• Bed bugs can’t be eliminated by pesticides alone, only through comprehensive treatment.

If your home or business is infested, consult an exterminator quickly. Get recommendations from friends and family and contact your Better Business Bureau for a list of BBB Accredited exterminators and reliability reports on ones you’re considering. Visit www.bbb.org

• Compare bids from several exterminators and consider value, not price.

• Understand the job scope before signing a contract, including the extent of the infestation, work involved, chemicals to be used and any side effects.

• Make sure the company is licensed, certified and insured. Ask if it’s a member of the National Pest Management Association.

Read More

BedBug University North American Summit ?

 According to the following article, for two days this past week, Chicago was host to what was dubbed the BedBug University North American Summit — a sold-out gathering of bug experts and firms in the business of killing bedbugs, which has become very big business indeed. All of these experts are trying to figure out how to get rid of these nasty bugs which are wreaking havoc in homes and businesses everywhere.
   . . . June


----------------------


Waging war on bedbugs
thestar.com:

For two days this past week, Chicago was lousy with talk of bedbugs.

The city was host to what was dubbed the BedBug University North American Summit — a sold-out gathering of bug experts and firms in the business of killing bedbugs, which has become very big business indeed.

Held at the brave Hyatt Rosemount hotel, the Chicago summit was “brought to you” by companies such as BedBug Central, USBedBugs.com, Protect-A-Bed and Bed Bugs and Beyond Fumigation Consultants.

A bunch of Buffy the Bedbug Slayers, if you will, and they received plenty of press.

“It’s war,” was how Greg Grabow, an Iraq War vet now in the business of baking bedbugs with big heaters, put it to a reporter from New York. “It’s battles within battles.” Another likened it to rousting Taliban fighters from the mountains of Afghanistan – really.

Bedbugs are in the news, it seems, nearly everywhere in eastern and middle North America as reported cases of infestations continue to rise, and not just in homes. Nike was forced to shut down a store in New York City last week.

Certainly, it’s a hot topic. To wit (as posed in a Tweet this week): Are bedbugs the new Justin Bieber?

On Sept. 29, Toronto will host a summit of its own, which will be decidedly different. The brainchild of Liberal MPP Mike Colle, the summit will be held not at a hotel but at a government room in the Hepburn Block of Queen’s Park.

The summit, which was open to the public but due to space limitations will be filled with people who have already reserved seats, will include presentations from city of Toronto staff, health officials, community groups, entomologists, pest control experts and landlord and tenant groups.

Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) introduced a private member’s bill this summer that would require landlords to provide prospective tenants with a “bedbug information report” prior to signing a lease. NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) has also introduced a bedbug bill that proposes landlords be licensed, and that they not be renewed if bedbugs are in their units.

However, Colle says he has since realized this is about more than tenants and landlords.

“This is something that is ruining people’s lives and the technicalities of it, whether it’s an infectious disease or not, is not relevant to people who can’t sleep, work and are stressed out beyond belief by these things, and it hits their pocket book,” said Colle.

Read entire article . . .


------------------------------------

Exterminators Are Treating Bedbug Anxiety As Well As The Bugs

 The bedbug invasion doesn't seem to be getting much better and that's frightening people, especially where the infestations are the worst, like New York city. Because of their growing resistance to pesticides, and the popular desire to use fewer pesticides unless necessary, the problem continues to grow. The exterminators are being kept very busy
   . . . June


------------------
Bedbug Anxieties Force Exterminators to Play Psychologist
Yahoo! News:

When exterminators arrive at bedbug-infested homes, they need to prepare themselves to vanquish more than just the pests. Waiting at the door are often hysterical homeowners, strung out from sleep deprivation, who need their anxieties eliminated along with the creepy critters.

Among the most personal of parasites, bedbugs inspire such terror because they attack during sleep, sucking out bits of blood and leaving itchy welts - and emotional scars - in their place.

The latest resurgence, heavily reported nationwide, in private dwellings and public landmarks alike, has unquestionably been a boon to the pest control industry's bottom line. But it has also required exterminators to don a second hat as on-the-spot psychologists for panicked clients

"Bedbug customers are uniformly pretty intense and most of them are exasperated," said C.W. Mayberry, service manager with Alexandria Pest Services in Alexandria, Va. "They want it gone and they want it gone now, but I have to explain that an instant fix isn't possible. I wish I had a magic wand, but I don't."

Treatment options
A typical treatment course consists of two or three pesticide applications over a two-week period, Mayberry said. Homeowners must also spend a significant amount of time before treatment bagging up personal belongings such as clothes and bedding, which should be machine-dried on the hottest setting for at least 20 minutes.

Hungry hitchhikers that they are, bedbugs - which do not carry disease - often spread by stowing away in travelers' luggage, and once established they hide around bed frames and mattresses, furniture, curtains and carpet edges.

Their presence, however, does not signal uncleanliness - a worry that seems to torment many hapless homeowners. Because of the stigma, pest professionals are often pummeled with a set of demands that offset their customers' embarrassment before even inspecting a home.


Read More . . .