During World War II, many governments used DDT to exterminate parasites in troops. DDT was effective against malaria-spreading mosquitoes, lice that transmitted typhus, and several species of arthropods. After the war, DDT was used as an agricultural insecticide but was banned in the US in 1972 due to its toxic nature. Its use continues in limited use to control the spread of disease.
DDT was also effective in controlling bed bugs. Once the most common parasite in the world, bedbugs were eradicated in America and many developed nations thanks to the toxic nature of DDT. However bedbugs survived in third world countries and are making their way back to developed nations due to increased world travel, immigration, and pesticide resistance. Many cities are discovering outbreaks of bedbugs, and bedbugs are now found in some of the finest hotels in the world. As well as hotels, they are often found in places with high turnover, such as dorms, barracks and apartments. College kids frequently bring them home for the holidays.
Bedbugs are wingless creatures that feed on human, poultry, and bat blood. They are approximately ¼ inch and are often mistaken for ticks. The bite is painless but results in small bumps that may itch. The bites are often lined up in a row known as the breakfast, lunch, dinner sign. They can be written off as other insect bites or a skin condition. There are no diseases associated with bedbug, and unless an allergic reaction occurs there is no need to seek treatment.
Infestations can be difficult to spot. Since they hide during the day, come out to feed at night, and can go for months without feeding, they may go unnoticed until they start feeding. During daylight hours look for their molted exoskeletons and small, black excrement. Bedbugs can hide in very small spaces in the home, and are very fond of mattresses. Excess clutter also makes great hiding spots for bedbugs.
Like all parasites, bedbug infestation can be difficult to control. Over the counter bug sprays are not effective and experts may need to be called in. CleanAir Treatments LLC out of Michigan recommends ozone as a green treatment for bedbugs. According to their website at http://cleanairtreatments.com/index.html, ozone is safer, more effective and faster than conventional disinfectants. Also known as activated oxygen, ozone is also effective against toxic mold, mildew and viruses without leaving behind a dangerous chemical residue.
Source: http://www.examiner.com
Monday, October 25, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Who Is Right Or Wrong About Bed Bugs
Let bedbug episode teach mom to go easier on daughter-in-law
Dear Carolyn:
Both of our sons came home for Thanksgiving with their families. We put up our older son and his family in a hotel and had our younger son, his new (second) wife and their 5-month-old baby stay in our basement guest room.
How I wish I had switched! On Friday morning, the new wife said she had bug bites. I said that twice in the past I had bites also and thought they were from bedbugs. We had done some Internet searching and gone to my dermatologist and discovered bedbugs are not medically dangerous and not the result of uncleanliness. We gave her hydrocortisone and sympathized with her.
That evening, they moved into the hotel. Our son said his wife was absolutely adamant that they get out of our home as soon as possible. She has the reputation of being a "strong" woman, and she earns a very high income, so she is able always to get her way.
My husband and I felt embarrassed and disappointed that she reacted that way, but we are aware that a first-time, 45-year-old mother probably had mother-bear hormones at play, and we don't blame our son too much for giving in to her demands.
But what did that accomplish? She washed everything they brought in hot water, as did I with everything downstairs. My husband thinks she threw away their suitcases. We will buy plastic cases for the bed, but what else can we do?
Our relationship with her is significantly impaired, and she wants me to tell her she did the right thing. I think she overreacted. Should I just chalk this up to normal in-law conflict and expect time to heal the wounds, or does this portend more trouble down the road?
Find out what Carolyn has to say at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011404092.html
Dear Carolyn:
Both of our sons came home for Thanksgiving with their families. We put up our older son and his family in a hotel and had our younger son, his new (second) wife and their 5-month-old baby stay in our basement guest room.
How I wish I had switched! On Friday morning, the new wife said she had bug bites. I said that twice in the past I had bites also and thought they were from bedbugs. We had done some Internet searching and gone to my dermatologist and discovered bedbugs are not medically dangerous and not the result of uncleanliness. We gave her hydrocortisone and sympathized with her.
That evening, they moved into the hotel. Our son said his wife was absolutely adamant that they get out of our home as soon as possible. She has the reputation of being a "strong" woman, and she earns a very high income, so she is able always to get her way.
My husband and I felt embarrassed and disappointed that she reacted that way, but we are aware that a first-time, 45-year-old mother probably had mother-bear hormones at play, and we don't blame our son too much for giving in to her demands.
But what did that accomplish? She washed everything they brought in hot water, as did I with everything downstairs. My husband thinks she threw away their suitcases. We will buy plastic cases for the bed, but what else can we do?
Our relationship with her is significantly impaired, and she wants me to tell her she did the right thing. I think she overreacted. Should I just chalk this up to normal in-law conflict and expect time to heal the wounds, or does this portend more trouble down the road?
Find out what Carolyn has to say at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011404092.html
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Raleigh Woman Fights Losing Battle Against Bed Bugs
Yolanda Young feels surrounded by creatures out for blood. She is so fearful that she sleeps with her lights on.
“I am frustrated. I am frantic,” Young said. She knew something was biting her, but wasn’t sure what.
Recently, Young took her 10-month old son Nathan to the pediatrician because he had several red marks on him.
Dr. Selam Bullock told Young the problem was bed bugs crawling around the dark corners of her home.
Bullock says judging by her waiting room, bed bugs are spreading in the Triangle.
“I kept seeing these kids coming in with these red welts on their bodies,” Bullock said.
Getting rid of the pests can be difficult. Young said her apartment has been sprayed twice for bed bugs but they are still around. She has also thrown out nearly all of her furniture.
“I ended up having to throw my couch away and I have to throw his (Nathan’s) bed away,” Young said.
But the bed bugs are still around and they are leaving tracks on her walls.
Entomologist Dr. Mike Wladvogel urges that people with bed-bug infestations turn to professionals to get rid of the pests. Bed bugs are resistant to certain pesticides, a problem that N.C. State is researching, he said.
Getting rid of an infestation doesn't come cheap. Most companies charge from $300 to $1,000 to treat the area.
Experts say complaints of bed bugs rose 50 percent in the Triangle last year.
“There is a significant problem,” Bullock said.
Bed bugs do not transmit infection, Bullock said, but people who scratch too much from the bites can cause an infection.
Source: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6883234/
“I am frustrated. I am frantic,” Young said. She knew something was biting her, but wasn’t sure what.
Recently, Young took her 10-month old son Nathan to the pediatrician because he had several red marks on him.
Dr. Selam Bullock told Young the problem was bed bugs crawling around the dark corners of her home.
Bullock says judging by her waiting room, bed bugs are spreading in the Triangle.
“I kept seeing these kids coming in with these red welts on their bodies,” Bullock said.
Getting rid of the pests can be difficult. Young said her apartment has been sprayed twice for bed bugs but they are still around. She has also thrown out nearly all of her furniture.
“I ended up having to throw my couch away and I have to throw his (Nathan’s) bed away,” Young said.
But the bed bugs are still around and they are leaving tracks on her walls.
Entomologist Dr. Mike Wladvogel urges that people with bed-bug infestations turn to professionals to get rid of the pests. Bed bugs are resistant to certain pesticides, a problem that N.C. State is researching, he said.
Getting rid of an infestation doesn't come cheap. Most companies charge from $300 to $1,000 to treat the area.
Experts say complaints of bed bugs rose 50 percent in the Triangle last year.
“There is a significant problem,” Bullock said.
Bed bugs do not transmit infection, Bullock said, but people who scratch too much from the bites can cause an infection.
Source: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/6883234/
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Getting Bed Bugs in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Below is what I wrote 6 months ago while waiting at the train station to leave Chiang Mai for Bangkok, Thailand. Steve is the guy who I was doing photography work with in Bangkok.
“Today has been a new one for me here in Chiang Mai. I came up here with a friend to shoot some photos of the area. We had been staying at a recently renovated hotel called The Mercure and were using it as a base for going out to sites in extreme northern Thailand.
We had gotten to Chiang Mai late evening and for 800 baht per night ($22.50 USD) it came with 4 stars and breakfast. Normally this would be over my budget but Steve wanted to stay there because he knew a friend who was a teacher from Bangkok that was bringing her class, 100+ students, to do a music show there for a week. She made all the arrangements and we were given the same discounted price as the school was getting. So for a little more and being such a nice hotel I was ok with it. After all I was thinking it’s ok sometimes to splurge and not stay in a $5, steamy hot, hostel room.
The second night we went to the night market and shot the flowers there, which Chiang Mai is known famously for. Steve wasn’t up for much walking that night and since it was my first night out I went out on my own to see the rest of the market. I got rained in and took cover at a little bar for a few hours, then made my way back to the hotel. It put me back kind of late but overall I had a good night and got some great pictures.
The next morning, I woke up with a whole bunch of sores on my upper body. Mainly along my arms/back and to me it looked like mosquito bites. The thing that got me was that the night before I never really remember the little zappers bothering me much. They itched like hell the next morning and I decided I would take some precautions when out at night again (something I hardly ever do).
I told Steve about the bites that morning and he said maybe they were bed bugs. Never really thought it was that but that night while laying in bed it had me freaked…was I sleeping with a 1,000 little body munchers??? It freaked me so much that I ended up sleeping in my clothes that night and every time a hair on my body twitched I was turning on the light. Made for a long night and the next day I just chopped it up as a “Steve story.”
We got out early the next day and headed further north to Changi Rai and spent the day shooting The White Temple (fantastic place by the way!). Got back and had a ton of pictures to edit. When done I decided to watch a season of Dexter and hit the sack. I’m lying there watching a movie on my laptop and somehow I saw this little bug the size of a pinhead move on the bed (I guess I have 15/20 vision). I got on all fours and scooped it up and put it into a glass. Was this me being paranoid? Had to find out so I started tearing the bed apart, first the sheets, then the under sheets, pillows flipped, then flipped the bed too and after 20min I had 8 bugs in my glass. A few the size of a small lady bug but there isn’t anything cute about them.
This was the evidence I was hoping I wouldn’t find. I knew 100% what had eaten me up 2 nights before. I went into the bathroom and started counting the bites…I stopped at 98!!! I wasn’t so much mad as I just didn’t want to be there. My plan was to go to the hospital and confirm for sure what it was, then confront the hotel about it the next day. One thing for sure was that I wasn’t lying in that bed again.
Stayed up for as long as I could but just couldn’t make it and ended up curling up in the corner of the room, on a chair like a crack head, using a bathrobe as a blanket. I felt like some bum on the street in my own hotel room that I was paying good money for the night’s stay.
Called Steve the next morning in his room and we went to the hospital. Within 5sec the doctor confirmed what I thought. She told me things like this happen but not to worry, as they carry no diseases that I wasn’t already vaccinated for. Total cost for doctors visit was about 500 baht ($15 USD) and with the cream and meds she prescribed for me it came to about 1,500 baht ($42 USD) total. Pretty cheap doctor visit and was happy about that.
Went back to the hotel and Steve told me the hotel would pay for all the doctor costs and move me into a new "clean" room. Screw that I thought! You don’t eat twice at a restaurant that gets you sick, because if it happens again it’s your own fault for knowing. I loaded all my clothes into one bag (had to get them all washed with some really hot scolding water, as I had bought some new ones on the way back from the hospital) and was ready to get out of that place. Steve kept trying to get me to stay but what sane person would and in the end I decided to just leave and head back to Bangkok early. We were supposed to leave the next day but I didn’t see the point of renting another hotel room (no way in hell I was staying in that hotel another night) just to ride back with him.
So as I write this now I’m at the Chiang Mai train station and getting ready for an over night train ride in a seat….errrr! It’s going to be murder but a seat was all they had left and the thought of sleeping in my safe bed was enough to merit the cost. ~ Written 29May09
Hope this doesn’t discourage people from traveling. I have been on every continent in the world (except for Antarctica), stayed in some really nice hotels to some really dodgy hostels and this is the first time anything like this has happened. It happened in a place I thought it wouldn't, as if it had occurred in a $4 hostel bed I could at least say it was a cheap room and that’s what I get for being cheap. It won’t stop me from traveling but I think I’ll invest in a silk blanket to give me a buffer zone. The joys of traveling outweigh anything like this but it’s not something I want to experience again.
The worst part for me wasn’t the scars I had to wear for a month…it was the physiological part that took hold of my mind. I didn’t sleep in my own bed back in Bangkok for the rest of the time and it really did take me about 3 months before I could get a good nights sleep again.
Sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite… brings a whole new meaning to me now.
Source: http://www.gobackpacking.com
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Scientific Reasons Why Bed Bugs Spread
In this episode Jeff will discuss the scientific article that was recently published in the American Entomologist and the Journal of Medical Entomology which discusses the bed bug reproductive process “traumatic insemination” and how this may influence the way bed bugs spread throughout an infested home.
Traumatic insemination is the process by which bed bugs reproduce in that the male pierces the females abdomen with his reproductive organ and injects his seminal fluid into the body cavity of the female which then circulates to the ovaries and fertilizes the egg.
For years bed bugs experts have noticed that when they are in an infested apartment, the bugs they typically see away from the aggregations of bugs (away from the sleeping areas) are typically female bed bugs. The theory behind this behavior has been that females will be continually “assaulted” by males who are trying to reproduce with the females and this aggressive reproductive behavior can lead to infection and death in females. The theory was that by fleeing the aggregations of males the females increase their chances to survive the reproduction cycle. The paper that was recently published from the University of Florida proved in laboratory tests that adult females were typically the life stage that was dispersing away from aggregations of bed bugs. This article started to put some scientific evidence behind this long-standing theory.
Traumatic insemination is the process by which bed bugs reproduce in that the male pierces the females abdomen with his reproductive organ and injects his seminal fluid into the body cavity of the female which then circulates to the ovaries and fertilizes the egg.
For years bed bugs experts have noticed that when they are in an infested apartment, the bugs they typically see away from the aggregations of bugs (away from the sleeping areas) are typically female bed bugs. The theory behind this behavior has been that females will be continually “assaulted” by males who are trying to reproduce with the females and this aggressive reproductive behavior can lead to infection and death in females. The theory was that by fleeing the aggregations of males the females increase their chances to survive the reproduction cycle. The paper that was recently published from the University of Florida proved in laboratory tests that adult females were typically the life stage that was dispersing away from aggregations of bed bugs. This article started to put some scientific evidence behind this long-standing theory.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Bedbugs: A Modern-Day Leprosy. Seriously.
A God loving man, Bart Campolo talks about how he who judge all those Bible people who shunned the lepers to protect themselves and their families find himself "just as normal as any other man on the street" after his encounter with bed bugs.
Read the story at http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/30/bedbugs-a-modern-day-leprosy-seriously/
Read the story at http://blog.sojo.net/2009/11/30/bedbugs-a-modern-day-leprosy-seriously/
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Bedbugs Back On The Rise In the U.S.
The National Pest Management Association has reported a 71-percent increase in bedbug infestation in the U.S. since 2001.
Bedbugs leave a bite similar in appearance to that from a mosquito, which takes 10 to 14 days to surface. Once the itching starts, the bite normally lasts for about a month.
While bothersome, a recent U.S. study found bedbugs rarely, if ever, transmit disease. Systemic reactions have been reported but are rare.
According to researchers, the name "bedbug" can actually be misleading.
"They don't stay in the bed," entomologist and bedbug expert at the University of Florida Phil Koehler, Ph.D., said. "They can be found just about everywhere in the room, and they can be found in sofas. They can be found even in wall sockets, and even inside wall void. Probably, about 30 percent are going to be found in other areas of the room you wouldn't even think of."
Standard treatment for the removal of bedbugs involves replacing furniture or using insecticides.
Researchers at the University of Florida have pioneered a removal system that costs about $300 to put together and keeps furniture intact.
"The idea is that it only takes about 113 degrees Fahrenheit to kill bedbugs," Dr. Koehler said.
The treatment involves building a Styrofoam box around a cluster of the infected furniture and heating up the area using an oil-based space heater. The air is heated to about 140 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit so the furniture reaches at least 113 degrees.
Dr. Koehler said it usually takes about two and half hours to reach the necessary temperature. The walls of the room are treated with insecticides to ensure all bugs are eliminated.
Source: http://news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=265850&SecID=2
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Get Rid of Bed Bugs For Less Than $20
Think you've got bed bugs? For $15, you can build your own bed bug detector with simple materials. You won't even need tools or special skills to assemble it, and it will work as well as professional exterminating equipment.
A "less than $20" solution developed by a Rutgers entomology professor Changlu Wang
which attracts the insects, who climb the fabrics to get at what they think is a live human, and become trapped in the grooves surrounding the inverted bowls.
A "less than $20" solution developed by a Rutgers entomology professor Changlu Wang
which attracts the insects, who climb the fabrics to get at what they think is a live human, and become trapped in the grooves surrounding the inverted bowls.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Rutgers University Researcher Studies Bed Bugs
You couldn't blame Rutgers University researcher Changlu Wang for not wanting to bring his work home with him. Wang, an entomologist, studies the feeding habits of the dreaded blood-sucking bedbug, which has made a comeback of late in the urban Northeast.
Wang is working with researchers from other universities to develop methods to detect, capture and eradicate the pests.
Q. Why has the bedbug made a resurgence?
There are several reasons. None is the deciding factor: increased international travel, a lack of effective pesticides, immigrant workers, insecticide resistance and a lack of detection tools. People don't find them early enough to stem an outbreak. … My interest is in developing some monitoring methods and tools. Visual inspection is often difficult and there are many by the time you see them.
Q. Is New Jersey vulnerable?
It's very common in New Jersey. There are lots of people in multifamily units and we are one of the most densely populated states. We've seen in apartment buildings that they can spread down the hall.
Q. What can people do to prevent an infestation?
Don't accept any used furniture until you're absolutely sure it doesn't have any bedbugs. Also be careful if you are visiting someone's home. Home health-care workers are very concerned; sometimes they can literally see the bedbugs crawl out of someone's sofa. If someone is visiting you, make sure there are no bedbugs in their luggage.
Some of the pesticides that were most effective, such as DDT, were banned for fear of their effect on human health.
Q. What chemical-free solutions are there to repel and get rid of the pests?
You can buy special bedding encasement; they will die because they cannot get out. You can put some barriers under furniture. Some companies also use hot steam machines to apply to furniture to kill the bed bugs. There are heat chambers. Some companies freeze them, but that is relatively expensive. It's difficult. No matter how careful you are, you probably can't get them all.
Q. Do you worry that your work will come home with you?
I've gotten bedbugs several times. I went to apartments with several thousands of them. But they can be easily killed if you quickly wash them and your clothes when you go home.
Maybe in the future we can develop a repellent.
Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/81947572_Rutgers_itching_to_eradicate_pesky_bedbugs.html
Wang is working with researchers from other universities to develop methods to detect, capture and eradicate the pests.
Q. Why has the bedbug made a resurgence?
There are several reasons. None is the deciding factor: increased international travel, a lack of effective pesticides, immigrant workers, insecticide resistance and a lack of detection tools. People don't find them early enough to stem an outbreak. … My interest is in developing some monitoring methods and tools. Visual inspection is often difficult and there are many by the time you see them.
Q. Is New Jersey vulnerable?
It's very common in New Jersey. There are lots of people in multifamily units and we are one of the most densely populated states. We've seen in apartment buildings that they can spread down the hall.
Q. What can people do to prevent an infestation?
Don't accept any used furniture until you're absolutely sure it doesn't have any bedbugs. Also be careful if you are visiting someone's home. Home health-care workers are very concerned; sometimes they can literally see the bedbugs crawl out of someone's sofa. If someone is visiting you, make sure there are no bedbugs in their luggage.
Some of the pesticides that were most effective, such as DDT, were banned for fear of their effect on human health.
Q. What chemical-free solutions are there to repel and get rid of the pests?
You can buy special bedding encasement; they will die because they cannot get out. You can put some barriers under furniture. Some companies also use hot steam machines to apply to furniture to kill the bed bugs. There are heat chambers. Some companies freeze them, but that is relatively expensive. It's difficult. No matter how careful you are, you probably can't get them all.
Q. Do you worry that your work will come home with you?
I've gotten bedbugs several times. I went to apartments with several thousands of them. But they can be easily killed if you quickly wash them and your clothes when you go home.
Maybe in the future we can develop a repellent.
Source: http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/81947572_Rutgers_itching_to_eradicate_pesky_bedbugs.html
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Bed Bug Video
The Entomological Society of America (ESA) is featuring a bed bug video on its YouTube channel:
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Opinion: Why it's Time For The Honest Use of Pesticides
We need to learn from our mistakes, take a hard look at the science and use DDT where and when it is needed: to save lives.
The bedbugs moved into my house. I was itching all night long and after about five futile attempts to blast them with pyrethroids, one of the few allowable pesticides, I was ready for something stronger. Anything really.
Compared to other pesticides, pyrethroids are less toxic to humans and apparently less toxic to bedbugs too. (Thanks to our zeal for abusing anything new, bedbugs in New York City, where I live, are more than 200 times resistant to pyrethroids compared with Florida bedbugs, according to a recent study.) All I wanted was my exterminator to sneak me some DDT or another banned chemical. I considered organophosphates — the ones that have been linked to cognitive impairments among children.
My bedbug fiasco — costly and time-consuming — got me thinking about the global balancing act of pesticides versus disease. The real issue is not about those of us in the developed world annoyed with bedbugs and lice (we dealt with those too), but the rest of the world who have to weigh the pros and cons of pesticides versus killer infections.
Pesticides work because they are poisons. The goal is to concoct a chemical that hits bugs but nothing else. A microbiologist told me that his oncologist friends are in the same bind. They say they can kill every cancer cell but they’d kill the patient too. The trick — for the bugs and cancer — is all about targeting. We’re not there yet.
For most of us, raised in the post-"Silent Spring" era (Rachel Carson’s 1962 blockbuster book that outlined the abuse of pesticides and launched the environmental movement), DDT has become the Voldemort of chemicals — he whose name should not be ... spoken.
Yet this same drug was once considered a miracle weapon. After World War II, death camp survivors were drenched with the stuff to prevent typhus and our farmlands were showered with it to protect crops. It did the trick but we quickly learned it also killed birds and wildlife. To top it off, our abuse of it spurred resistance — something the experts warned about all along. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1971. The chemical was labeled one of the so-called “dirty dozen” at the 1995 Stockholm Convention of Persistent Organic Pollutants slated for restriction, but not elimination. It was never banned globally.
The World Health Organization changed its tune a few years ago and started encouraging malaria-ravaged countries to use DDT indoors. The United States Agency for International Development, which for years did not fund DDT projects, started to sponsor a few of them here and there.
It’s important to remember that no one is talking about airplanes spraying pesticides the way we did half a century ago. They are talking about limited uses of chemicals inside certain homes with vulnerable mosquitoes — combined with a lot of other malaria-prevention techniques.
Continue reading at: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/091130/opinion-return-ddt
The bedbugs moved into my house. I was itching all night long and after about five futile attempts to blast them with pyrethroids, one of the few allowable pesticides, I was ready for something stronger. Anything really.
Compared to other pesticides, pyrethroids are less toxic to humans and apparently less toxic to bedbugs too. (Thanks to our zeal for abusing anything new, bedbugs in New York City, where I live, are more than 200 times resistant to pyrethroids compared with Florida bedbugs, according to a recent study.) All I wanted was my exterminator to sneak me some DDT or another banned chemical. I considered organophosphates — the ones that have been linked to cognitive impairments among children.
My bedbug fiasco — costly and time-consuming — got me thinking about the global balancing act of pesticides versus disease. The real issue is not about those of us in the developed world annoyed with bedbugs and lice (we dealt with those too), but the rest of the world who have to weigh the pros and cons of pesticides versus killer infections.
Pesticides work because they are poisons. The goal is to concoct a chemical that hits bugs but nothing else. A microbiologist told me that his oncologist friends are in the same bind. They say they can kill every cancer cell but they’d kill the patient too. The trick — for the bugs and cancer — is all about targeting. We’re not there yet.
For most of us, raised in the post-"Silent Spring" era (Rachel Carson’s 1962 blockbuster book that outlined the abuse of pesticides and launched the environmental movement), DDT has become the Voldemort of chemicals — he whose name should not be ... spoken.
Yet this same drug was once considered a miracle weapon. After World War II, death camp survivors were drenched with the stuff to prevent typhus and our farmlands were showered with it to protect crops. It did the trick but we quickly learned it also killed birds and wildlife. To top it off, our abuse of it spurred resistance — something the experts warned about all along. DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1971. The chemical was labeled one of the so-called “dirty dozen” at the 1995 Stockholm Convention of Persistent Organic Pollutants slated for restriction, but not elimination. It was never banned globally.
The World Health Organization changed its tune a few years ago and started encouraging malaria-ravaged countries to use DDT indoors. The United States Agency for International Development, which for years did not fund DDT projects, started to sponsor a few of them here and there.
It’s important to remember that no one is talking about airplanes spraying pesticides the way we did half a century ago. They are talking about limited uses of chemicals inside certain homes with vulnerable mosquitoes — combined with a lot of other malaria-prevention techniques.
Continue reading at: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/091130/opinion-return-ddt
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
WARNING: You Could Be Paying To Have Your Home Infested With Bed Bugs
In a special assignment report, Jennifer Baileys was contacted by a Rent-A-Center employee who says some people are paying to infest their own homes with bed bugs.
"The bug problem in Louisville is pretty bad," said "Jeff" who claims to be a Rent-A-Center employee.
"It was maybe one place a year, but now we're getting this one a week. There's no bleach spray, there's absolutely nothing done for bed bugs I took over a location and my first two days on the job was fighting bed bugs," said Jeff.
His job is not in pest control, "Jeff" says he is a manager of Rent-A-Centers in Louisville.
"Personally I wouldn't rent furniture," said "Jeff".
Fox 41 agreed to hide "Jeff's" identity and he provided proof of his employment with Rent-A-Center. "Jeff" said he contacted Fox 41 because he wants everyone to know the truth about the risk of renting furniture.
"They don't want you to junk the stuff, they want to make their money and that's what they're going to do whatever it takes to make their money," said "Jeff" who has worked at stores in Louisville that have been infested with bed bugs.
"Jeff" also claims few employees ever follow Rent-A-Center's bed bug policy.
"100 percent of the time it's not followed," said "Jeff".
As part of the Fox 41 investigation, Jennifer Baileys contacted Rent-A-Center's corporate office in Texas. Company Spokesperson Xavier Dominicis said no one at any of the stores in Louisville would be available to talk on camera and that Fox 41 would not be permitted inside any of the stores.
Dominicis did offer information about Rent-A-Centers bed bug policy. He said all stores use a product called Steri-Fab to fight bed bugs.
"This Steri-Fab do you feel that this really does work and knock out any potential problems," asked Baileys. "It's the best product on the market right now," said Dominicis.
OPC Pest Control in Louisville backs up that claim. Manager Kevin Mills said Steri-Fab will kill bed bugs when sprayed directly on the bug, but like all products on the market it will not fix the problem.
"It's just very difficult there's not really a product that's 100% guaranteed for bed bugs no matter what you do," said Mills.
Rent-A-Center employee "Jeff" said whether Steri-Fab works or not is irrelevant because he said employees like himself are not trained on how to use it and most stores do not even carry the product.
"So the Steri-Fab never gets used," Baileys asked "Jeff" "100% of the time never gets used," said "Jeff" "There's never time to stop and do it."
"Jeff" also claimed precautions are rarely taken in his stores to prevent the spread of bed bugs even when new products like mattresses come in.
"We put the old ones right up next to the new ones," said "Jeff" talking about loading and moving mattresses.
"Roaches, that's probably a bigger epidemic than bed bugs. As a matter of fact, there's no policy in place for roaches," claimed "Jeff".
Of course these are claims Rent-A-Center officials dispute. Dominicis says all merchandise is inspected when it comes into and leaves a store.
"When a piece of merchandise comes back it gets brushed and vacuumed that has an upholstery attachment and then after that it gets treated with a product called Steri-Fab," said Dominicis.
"The companies that rent or buy mattresses when they come in and pick up the old mattresses and put it in the same truck as used and new that it's possible that bed bugs could carry from one on to the new," said Mills with OPC.
Pest control officials said buying used furniture is not a good idea. Mills said if someone decided to rent furniture, check out the creases, edges and underneath. Turn it over and check it out with a flash light, but remember these little bugs are good at hiding and very difficult to get rid of.
"Over-the-counter type products are effective on bed bugs, the problem with anything over the counter including chemicals is it will kill a bed bug on direct contact, but getting to where the bed bugs hide and wait is the key," said Mills.
By: Jennifer Baileys - Fox41.com
"The bug problem in Louisville is pretty bad," said "Jeff" who claims to be a Rent-A-Center employee.
"It was maybe one place a year, but now we're getting this one a week. There's no bleach spray, there's absolutely nothing done for bed bugs I took over a location and my first two days on the job was fighting bed bugs," said Jeff.
His job is not in pest control, "Jeff" says he is a manager of Rent-A-Centers in Louisville.
"Personally I wouldn't rent furniture," said "Jeff".
Fox 41 agreed to hide "Jeff's" identity and he provided proof of his employment with Rent-A-Center. "Jeff" said he contacted Fox 41 because he wants everyone to know the truth about the risk of renting furniture.
"They don't want you to junk the stuff, they want to make their money and that's what they're going to do whatever it takes to make their money," said "Jeff" who has worked at stores in Louisville that have been infested with bed bugs.
"Jeff" also claims few employees ever follow Rent-A-Center's bed bug policy.
"100 percent of the time it's not followed," said "Jeff".
As part of the Fox 41 investigation, Jennifer Baileys contacted Rent-A-Center's corporate office in Texas. Company Spokesperson Xavier Dominicis said no one at any of the stores in Louisville would be available to talk on camera and that Fox 41 would not be permitted inside any of the stores.
Dominicis did offer information about Rent-A-Centers bed bug policy. He said all stores use a product called Steri-Fab to fight bed bugs.
"This Steri-Fab do you feel that this really does work and knock out any potential problems," asked Baileys. "It's the best product on the market right now," said Dominicis.
OPC Pest Control in Louisville backs up that claim. Manager Kevin Mills said Steri-Fab will kill bed bugs when sprayed directly on the bug, but like all products on the market it will not fix the problem.
"It's just very difficult there's not really a product that's 100% guaranteed for bed bugs no matter what you do," said Mills.
Rent-A-Center employee "Jeff" said whether Steri-Fab works or not is irrelevant because he said employees like himself are not trained on how to use it and most stores do not even carry the product.
"So the Steri-Fab never gets used," Baileys asked "Jeff" "100% of the time never gets used," said "Jeff" "There's never time to stop and do it."
"Jeff" also claimed precautions are rarely taken in his stores to prevent the spread of bed bugs even when new products like mattresses come in.
"We put the old ones right up next to the new ones," said "Jeff" talking about loading and moving mattresses.
"Roaches, that's probably a bigger epidemic than bed bugs. As a matter of fact, there's no policy in place for roaches," claimed "Jeff".
Of course these are claims Rent-A-Center officials dispute. Dominicis says all merchandise is inspected when it comes into and leaves a store.
"When a piece of merchandise comes back it gets brushed and vacuumed that has an upholstery attachment and then after that it gets treated with a product called Steri-Fab," said Dominicis.
"The companies that rent or buy mattresses when they come in and pick up the old mattresses and put it in the same truck as used and new that it's possible that bed bugs could carry from one on to the new," said Mills with OPC.
Pest control officials said buying used furniture is not a good idea. Mills said if someone decided to rent furniture, check out the creases, edges and underneath. Turn it over and check it out with a flash light, but remember these little bugs are good at hiding and very difficult to get rid of.
"Over-the-counter type products are effective on bed bugs, the problem with anything over the counter including chemicals is it will kill a bed bug on direct contact, but getting to where the bed bugs hide and wait is the key," said Mills.
By: Jennifer Baileys - Fox41.com
Thursday, June 10, 2010
A Family Vacation, Ruined by Bug Bites
Offending Party: Disney's All-Star Music Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
What's at Stake: $200 for a two-night stay
The Complaint: Denine Erlemeier and her family woke up after their first night in the budget-priced hotel to find themselves covered with red bites. A little research online suggested the marks may have come from bedbugs, the reddish-brown, blood-sucking insects that often live in mattresses and bedding.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/travel/article/0,31542,1955180,00.html#ixzz0py2AHQA7
Monday, June 7, 2010
Bed Bug Cases On the Rise in Singapore
When you travel overseas, you may be bringing back more than just a few tacky souvenirs. You may be harbouring bugs that end up infesting your home.
Local pest control firm PestBusters said it treated close to 250 cases of bed bug infestations in 2009. That's double the number of incidents in 2007. They attribute this to the increase in the number of people travelling.
PestBusters' assistant supervisor, Mohamed Amir Bin Yahya said, 'Nowadays, because of cheaper travel bed bugs are easily transported in. We've even had cases in 5 star hotels and big mansions.'
So travellers should take extra care to check that their luggage and personal belongings are free of such unwelcome guests before they enter their homes.
Even if you keep your home spick and span, bed bugs may still nest as these pests can be brought in from other external sources such as from a trip on the bus or the cinema.
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com
Local pest control firm PestBusters said it treated close to 250 cases of bed bug infestations in 2009. That's double the number of incidents in 2007. They attribute this to the increase in the number of people travelling.
PestBusters' assistant supervisor, Mohamed Amir Bin Yahya said, 'Nowadays, because of cheaper travel bed bugs are easily transported in. We've even had cases in 5 star hotels and big mansions.'
So travellers should take extra care to check that their luggage and personal belongings are free of such unwelcome guests before they enter their homes.
Even if you keep your home spick and span, bed bugs may still nest as these pests can be brought in from other external sources such as from a trip on the bus or the cinema.
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com
Saturday, June 5, 2010
2010 North American Bed Bug Summit
There’s an ongoing need for good information about bed bugs among pest professionals, and people who manage housing in various industries.
Bed Bug Central is hosting a North American Bed Bug Summit in Chicago on September 20-21.
PCT Online says:
Bed Bug Central is hosting a North American Bed Bug Summit in Chicago on September 20-21.
PCT Online says:
Bed Bug University’s North American Summit 2010 is designed to speak to industries that are feeling the affects of the bed bug resurgence most acutely. These industries include: university housing, pest management, military housing, shelters and group homes. Through interviews with industry partners and entomologists, [Bed Bug Central president Phillip Cooper] saw an urgent need for a national bed bug summit due to a lack of available information across the hardest hit sectors.
“We saw a need from a wide swath of industries for in-depth knowledge that they haven’t received from previous symposia,” said Cooper. “Earlier seminars were very well done, but we wanted to create a unique forum for learning that is unlike anything given in the past.”
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