Posted on July 17, 2010
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How To Kill Bed Bugs

Your day isn’t that good. You had a horrifying nightmare the night before. You peed in your bed. You’re already late on your appointment.

What an awful morning! This could be you though. Then, your right arm starts to get itchy. You hunt for the spot and relieved yourself by scratching.

The next minute, your left knee itches, then there’s another spot in your navel, your right elbow, your back, your butt. Oh my God! Your whole body is itching!

What a horrible position that could be! If you’ve experienced that, you probably have bed bugs in your bed or in your room.

As bed bugs cause you too much trouble and discomfort, you’ll surely be eager to ascertain how to kill bed bugs.

Killing bed bugs: knowing the aim

First, you may not want to act impulsively and kill bed bugs right away. You have to know a few little facts about them.

For a start, it will do that you know that bed bugs are lice (what else could they be, anyway?). Bed bugs are tiny little lice but when they fully mature, healthy and aging bed bugs can get as large as one fourth of an inch. Makes you want to kill them more, huh?

Bed bugs are so tiny, they don’t have wings. Thus, you’ll see them, if you get the lucky chance, crawling on places where they may flourish. Thankfully, they don’t have wings. Otherwise, think how rapidly they could encroach upon the whole city. You’ll also find it more difficult to kill them, if ever they had wings.

Here are some of other trivial facts about bed bugs that will further arouse your emotions and make you want to kill them more:

1. Bed bugs are one of the most relentless insects in the world. Even if you’ve successfully killed or annihilated them in your home, chances are, another flock of bed bugs will reappear.

2. Bed bugs don’t just hide in small and extremely tiny crevices or cracks in floors, walls, beds or furniture. They sleep in them. If you’re too possessive, kill them, will you?

3. Bed bugs are nocturnal. That means that they’re rarely seen during daylight, but they can be found creeping and wandering around at night. This is the time they hunt for food and suck blood from unsuspecting hosts or victims, like you. Kill them!

4. Bed bugs even without blood from nourishment can hold out and survive for at the most a year. They can hide inside that long period to ensure their survival.

5. Bed bugs are good travellers because they usually thrive in baggage, suitcases or luggage. Thus, it is not inconceivable that a bed bug check will find the existence of bed bugs in cruise ships, vehicles, aircraft, hotels and even motels.

6. Throughout their entire lifetime, female bed bugs can lay eggs three times. A female bed bug can lay around 300 eggs per batch. So they populate quickly, huh? Try to bring down that population by killing some.

7. Bed bugs’ eggs can be hatched inside 10 days. Amazing! That’s too fast. No question, they spread like bunnies! They multiply that rapidly, but the number reduced from their population is no match. Thus, you should strive and make sure you kill a substantial number of them.

How To Kill Bed Bugs: Doing The Action

After acknowledging the little know-whats, it will be time for you to finally start the mission—killing bed bugs.

Nobody will say the task of killing bed bugs will be easy. Killing bed bugs will always be challenging, because finding them and ascertaining their habitat and hiding bases will already be a tough act.

The best way to kill bed bugs is to prevent your hands from doing the crime. Hire a pest control professional, which can be regarded as bed bugs assassins or triggermen in the lingo of killing bed bugs.

Pest control professionals know what they’re doing and they know which weapon to use to ensure accomplishment of the job.

Thou shall not kill, according to the Bible, but you should. If killing means, killing bed bugs. Right?

Find Out How To Kill Bed Bugs With Ease And Reclaim Your Bed! Get A Complete Step By Step Guide On How To Kill Bed Bugs Below:
How To Kill Bed Bugs

Posted on July 17, 2010
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Bed Bugs; they are everywhere. One can encounter articles on bed bugs to the left and right; in science journals and online. Why is everyone so interested in bed bugs? Because they are pest, and if we have them in our homes, thus we need to know what they are and more importantly, how to get rid of them.

The first type of articles on bed bugs that you may encounter describes what a bed bug is. A physical description of the parasite can help give us differentiate it from other parasites. Thus, F.Y.I., adult bed bugs are 1/4 inch long and are reddish brown in colour, with oval and flat bodies. Often these articles on bed bugs provide photographs that make it easier for us to identify the insect…though harder to keep our dinner down.

According to various experts on bed bugs, there is not just one type of bed bug…no, there are many different types of bed bugs. Bad news. Aside from the common bed bug that preys on human blood, there are bed bugs that prefer animal blood like birds or bats. To allow a better understanding, articles on bed bugs offer a glimpse of the creature’s life cycle. Female bed bugs take their eggs and lay in hidden areas. They can give birth to 500 eggs during a lifetime. The eggs are very small, whitish, and may need magnification to be identified.

Ready for more in depth knowledge on bed bugs? Eggs are sticky when first laid; making it stick to whatever surface they are placed. When they hatch, they are no bigger that a pinhead. As these bed bugs grow, they shed their skins. Some say that this shedding can happen five times before becoming adults.

Experts on bed bugs suggest that the speed of the bed bug’s development rely on the right temperature, about 70 – 90° F. At that rate they can complete their transition from eggs to adult bed bug in a month.

Cool temperatures and limited access to a prey can delay the full maturity of the bed bugs. However, this does not mean that they die easily. Bed bugs have been compared to cockroaches in resilience. Bed bugs can survive months at a time not feeding. The adults can even stay alive for a year or more without a blood meal.

Bed bugs are nocturnal creatures. As parasites, they move unnoticeably within our homes, furniture, carpets, bed, etc… Although they can’t fly, they are very quick insects and can move with ease through almost every surface.

Bed bugs are patient parasites. When the bed bugs feed, they pierce the human skin with their beaks and suck the blood through. Unlike mosquitoes, bed bugs take their time in feeding. They get engorged after three to ten minutes. This slow method could be the reason why people do not wake up from a bed bug bite.

The most helpful articles on bed bugs are the ones that show us how to detect these pests in our homes. One sure sign that there are bed bugs under the sheets are dark brownish satins and spotting on the mattress. Experts on bed bugs identify this as the pest’s excrement or droppings.

The physical manifestations of a bed bug bite can be mistaken for other types of insects. But if tiny drops of blood on the sheets, pillowcases or walls accompany the itchy, swelling welt on your exposed skin, then you just may be sleeping with a pest on your bed.

Once you have confirmed that bed bugs do exist in your mattress, most experts strongly suggest that you throw your bed away. Spraying pesticides on the bed may be poisonous for the owner, if he intends to sleep on it afterwards.

Where one bed bug lives, there are hundreds more. Since articles on bed bugs say that bed bugs are hard to spot, you may want to hire pest control to check your entire home for any infestation. These bed bugs may also be living in your pet’s day bed or doghouse and are mistaken for ticks.

Nat Price is the owner and creator of http://www.superzyme.com/ He is a veritable expert on bed bugs and, more importantly, how to get rid of them. To find out more about these pesky creatures, visit http://www.superzyme.com/

Posted on July 17, 2010
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Bed Bugs!!! Avoid this hotel! warns TripAdvisor.com. Hoteliers are finding that notices posted on popular travel review sites can be disastrous for business. One upscale hotel saw its five-star rating on Yahoo! Travel plummet to one star overnight when guests reported sharing their bed with bed bugs. Increasingly, distraught guests whose sleep has been disturbed by the tiny blood-sucking pests are outing hotels on internet sites and filing lawsuits. BedbugRegistry.com is devoted to traveler accounts of bed bug attacks at hotels, complete with addresses and maps. Concerned hoteliers feel unfairly trapped. While hotels have a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of their guests, it’s usually guests who bring bed bugs into a hotel.

Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs travel into hotel rooms in guests’ luggage and set up housekeeping. Bed bugs are nuisance pests that feed on human blood. Difficult to detect, adults are russet brown and about the size of an apple seed, but nymphs are microscopic and nearly translucent. While bed bugs do not transmit disease, their bites can cause itchy, red welts, psychosomatic stress and severe allergic reactions. When their original meal ticket checks out, bed bugs burrow into crevices in or near beds, behind wall plates, inside clocks and under carpets to await their next victim. They’ll crawl along electrical and plumbing conduits and air ducts in search of new prey, infecting adjacent rooms. Maids may inadvertently spread bed bugs through an entire hotel wing on cleaning carts. It doesn’t take long for a few bed bugs to become a major infestation.

Increasing bed bug infestations in all 50 states prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to declare a bed bug epidemic in April. Pest management companies have reported a 71% increase in bed bug complaints since 2001, according to a survey by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). Hotel outbreaks have become so numerous that NPMA and the American Hotel & Lodging Association are cohosting a National Bed Bug Symposium August 25 in New Jersey and August 27 in Seattle.

You don’t have to stay in a flophouse or hostel to encounter bed bugs. Bed bugs are just as prevalent in luxury hotels and respected national chains. “Just because a motel (appears) clean and is expensive … it does not mean that they don’t have bedbugs,” Derrick Bender, a faculty assistant at the University of Maryland’s Cumberland Extension Office, told the Cumberland Times-News. While staying at an upscale $300-a-night Annapolis hotel this summer, Bender and his wife were attacked by bed bugs.

Juries and judges have been siding with bed bug victims when cases go to court. In the 2003 landmark case (Matthias v. Accor Economy Lodging), Toronto siblings received a jury award of $382,000 against Motel 6 after sharing a room with bed bugs. In 2006, a Chicago couple sued a Catskills resort for $20 million, claiming more than 500 bed bug bites left them physically and mentally scarred. “I was miserable,” plaintiff Leslie Fox told the Associated Press. “My skin felt as if it was on fire and I wanted to tear it off.” In 2007, New York opera star Allison Trainer sued the Hilton hotel chain for $6 million after suffering more than 100 bed bug bites at a Hilton Suites in Phoenix. “They were all over the bed and the comforter and the pillows, and I pulled the sheets off and they were just everywhere,” she told ABC News. In 2008, a guest at San Francisco’s Ramada Plaza Hotel received a $71,000 out-of-court settlement, the largest to date, after 400 bed bug bites left her with a disfiguring skin condition.

While some hoteliers have irresponsibly ignored guests’ complaints, in most cases the hotel didn’t realize the room was infested when guests checked in. A 2008 suit against the owners of the Milford Plaza hotel in Manhattan (Grogan v. Gamber Corp.) is expected to test the limits of hoteliers’ liability to their guests when bed bugs are present. A 2008 New York Supreme Court ruling allowed two Maryland tourists bitten by bed bugs during a 2003 stay to proceed with a $2 million negligence suit against the hotel and its pest control contractor. A request for punitive damages was denied, the court ruling that the hotel’s actions did not show “recklessness or a conscious disregard of the rights of others.” Three weeks before the Grogans checked in, the hotel’s pest control contractor was directed to exterminate bed bugs in rooms near the room later inhabited by the Grogans. At issue is whether the hotel and its pest control contractor should have considered the life span and migratory abilities of bed bugs when treating the infected rooms and treated a larger area. The case has the potential to significantly increase a hotel’s responsibility and liability in providing guests with safe, bed bug-free rooms.

“Those in the lodging industry who still improvidently use their unlucky guests to monitor for the presence of bed bugs run the risk of being held liable for significant damages in civil suits,” warns Timothy Wenk, an attorney with Shafer Glazer, LLP, a New York/New Jersey civil defense firm. Hotels must be proactive about discovering bed bugs on their premises, not merely react to guest complaints. The EPA now recommends that hotels institute regular preventive inspections to find and treat bed bug infestations in their early stages. “In addition to consulting with pest control managers,” Wenk recommends, “hoteliers should consider using bed bug monitoring systems in their rooms. If hoteliers can show that they deployed a monitoring system, they can later argue that they took reasonable and prudent steps to safeguard their guests from these blood-thirsty pests. Evidence of this type should be given great weight by judges and juries.”

Several effective bed bug monitoring devices have recently come on the market. Each has unique strengths and capabilities, so it’s advisable to consult a pest control professional before making a selection. Hotels that use bed bug-sniffing dogs to identify bed bug activity should consider using bed bug monitors to protect against infestation between scheduled canine inspections.

o NightWatch by BioSensory, Inc. is the just one of an effective new type of bed bug monitoring devices on the market. Extensively tested and vetted by Purdue University entomologists, it uses heat, CO2 and a pheromone lure to attract, trap and kill bed bugs. It has a small footprint and has a clock timer with an automatic “on” setting and a CO2 cartridge that lasts several days.

o CDC 3000 by Cimex Science is a discrete, portable monitoring and trapping device housed in a briefcase. Mimicking a human body, it lures bugs within a six-foot radius, annihilating them with CO2, making it safe around children and pets. This monitor has a CO2 cartridge that lasts about eight hours.

o Bug Dome by Silvandersson will soon be available from the Swedish company that developed eco-friendly bed bug eliminator Cryonite. Using an attractant to lure bed bugs into replaceable glue traps, it plugs into any wall outlet.

o BB Alert Active by MIDMOS, available in Europe, should reach U.S. markets soon. The small monitor uses replaceable packets of chemical attractant to entice bugs into a glue trap.

Hoteliers who fail to monitor and quickly eliminate bed bugs pay a devastating price in negative media attention, legal fees and lost customer loyalty. It pays to be proactive about protecting your guests – and your hotel – from these annoying pests.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376 or by email at info@sternenvironmental.com. Please visit us on the Web at http://www.SternEnvironmental.com or follow me at http://www.twitter.com/bedbugexpert

Posted on July 17, 2010
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Bed bugs are ruddy brown, tiny, flat and oval-shaped insect without wings which at night feast on human blood. Bed bugs are deemed to be night-time insects as they are mainly active at midnight.

Bed bugs are dispersing very rapidly in houses, motels, inns, buses, taxis and railway stations. You now speculate as to how many eggs the bed bugs can lie as they are spreading very quickly

Bed bugs are similar to other insects in that they reproduce very fast. And they lay many eggs too. You may now inquire, bed bugs lay how many eggs??

Bed bugs suck human blood. Several types of bed bugs feed both on humans and bats. Therefore if there are bats in your attic a possibility that your abode is infected with bugs is there. If you your attic are cured of bats occupancy, you can afterward effortlessly deal with the bed bugs invasion.

Bed bugs hatch from eggs. After hatching from the eggs they develop into nymphs

How many eggs are laid by bed bugs? In a year the feminine bed bug lays a minimum 300 (three hundred) eggs and 1000 (thousand) eggs during its lifespan. After mating it lays in a day a maximum of three eggs. In around ten days the eggs of bed bugs are hatched.

The life of a bed bug is lengthy. Bed bugs might also live eighteen months without eating. Picture that! Eggs of Bed bug can endure on any surface, but prefer paper, wood or cloth more than metals and plastics, whereas the nymphs can survive without feeding for nearly six months

Which are the probable spaces for female bed bug to lay the eggs? The Bed bugs will lay its eggs in tiny and slight cracks to guard the eggs from damage. Female bed bugs conceal the eggs under the beddings, on crevices in the headboard, beneath the crease in the nightstand next to the bed, within the other wooden furnishings and bedroom wallpaper in the vicinity.

The number of eggs laid by the bed bug determines the rate of invasion. A bed bug ridden mattress full of its eggs implies hundred’s of bed bugs are everywhere laying eggs, and they are being hatched daily

But if we destroy the bed bugs, the eggs of bed bugs also should be destroyed. If you leave the eggs unharmed, they can hatch and grow into either a male or female bed bug which can produce a thousand eggs. If there are more than a thousand female bed bugs there in your house, you will not know further how many eggs bed bugs can lay.

Eggs of bed bugs can be identified easily. They look like termite eggs. However unlike eggs of termites, bed bug eggs live near ruddy russet stains and have an unpleasant, sweet-like stench, actually a bit stale. The reddish dark stain is excrement or bed bugs faecus. Bed bugs alone have this type of excrement arrangement. However, the odor of bed bug comes from the odor gland of the bed bugs. They discharge the aroma for breeding and it also works as a protective boundary.

Eggs of bed bugs must not be squashed or mashed. Bed bug eggs must be destroyed by using insecticides. When you crush bed bug eggs, several eggs might not be crushed and they have another opportunity to procreate some more generations of bed bugs at your place.

Discover the finest spray to kill insects. Specifically use those meant for bed bugs eradication. On using the chemical spray for bed bugs, eggs and nymphs will be killed along with the adults. Though countless say that such chemicals to kill bed bugs are ineffective to free your home from bed bugs, nevertheless they are the best substitute to physical extermination of bed bugs (pounding and mashing of adult and egg bed bugs to spots) and the greatest replacement for DDT. In the US, DDT was used to kill every sort of insect from the year 1940 to 1950. While DDT was successful in doing away with pests, it is now prohibited in the US and some other countries due to its injurious effect on humans.

Abhishek has got some great Bed Bugs Elimination Secrets up his sleeve! Download his FREE 69 Pages Ebook, “How To Win Your War Against Bed Bugs!” from his website http://www.Wonder-Homes.com/113/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Posted on July 17, 2010
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If you’re in the hospitality industry, this is one website you don’t want to find yourself on. BedbugRegistry.com is a free public database that encourages people to report bed bug experiences, specifically at hotels. There’s a quick reporting form for listing the hotel name and street address which is translated into a dot-covered map of the U.S. showing the locations of each reported infestation. A list of the hotels and other infestation sites is provided to warn travelers. What the site doesn’t do is verify reports, nor does it indicate when a hotel has successfully remedied the problem.

The old adage there’s no such thing as bad publicity doesn’t carry any credence with hoteliers. They know that even a whispered rumor can have a disastrous effect on business. Websites that detail horror-laced reports of being eaten alive by bed bugs during an overnight stay in a hotel or motel play on growing public hysteria about these blood-sucking parasites. Fanned by a blitz of media attention, an accusation can instantly damage a hotel’s hard-earned reputation and frighten away guests.

According to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA), bed bug infestations have been reported in all 50 states. Nearly unheard of since near eradication by DDT-based insecticides in the 1950s, bed bugs are back and in ever-increasing numbers. Bed bug reports increased by 71% from 2000 to 2005 according to the NPMA. Most pest control companies now field dozens of calls a week each week. “The last 12 months have been particularly active,” said Cindy Mannes, NPMA director of public affairs. “They are showing up like never before in hotels, hospitals, college dormitories, and multifamily housing units as well as single-family homes.”

“Most hotel chains don’t keep track because the number is so insignificant,” said Joe McInerney of the American Hotel & Lodging Association said at the 2006 International Bed Bug Symposium when asked about the growing number of bed bug complaints in the hospitality industry. He noted that there are more than 4.4 million hotel rooms in the U.S., adding “you could count the number of cases per day on one or two hands.” Yet according to a 2004 survey of pest control professionals by Pest Control Technology magazine, hotels and motels were the most common sites of bed bug infestations, accounting for more than one-third of bed bug complaints. In a recent survey, one company reported that 24% of their 700 client hotels required bed bug treatments between 2002 and 2006. Brooke Ferencsik, spokesman for popular hotel review site TripAdvisor.com told USA Today, “We get a steady stream of bed bug reports and have hundreds of reviews” mentioning them. “Even if travelers aren’t experiencing [bed bugs], they’re becoming more aware and are looking out for them.”

The resurgence of bed bugs has created a particularly vexing problem for the hospitality industry. Rooms that were pest-free one night can be infected by a guest the next. Legal experts have noticed a boom in bed bug litigation with guests suing hotels for millions of dollars. “Not only can a hotel get a terrible reputation for allowing the creepy crawly bed buddies to exist, but they can also lose out on a lot of dough,” wrote a blogger on HotelChatter.com. Some lawyers are actually trawling for bed bug clients. A notice on InjuryBoard.com reads: “If you have been the victim of bed bug infestation, it may be important to contact an attorney who can help you protect your legal rights.”

The financial impact of a bed bug suit can be substantial. In the 2003 landmark case (Matthias v. Accor Economy Lodging); Toronto siblings who stayed in a bed bug-infested motel room received a jury award of $382,000 in their suit against Motel 6. In 2006, a Chicago couple sued a Catskills resort for $20 million, saying they were physically and mentally scarred after suffering 500 bed bug bites. “I was horrified to see all of those bites all over my body,” said plaintiff Leslie Fox. “I was miserable. My skin felt as if it was on fire and I wanted to tear it off.” In 2007, New York opera star Allison Trainer sued the Hilton hotel chain for $6 million claiming she suffered more than 100 bed bug bites at a Hilton Suites in Phoenix. Her story was widely reported in the press: “They were all over the bed and the comforter and the pillows and I pulled the sheets off and they were just everywhere.” Her attorney documented 150 bites and 23 scars. Just last month a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that two Maryland tourists bitten by bed bugs during a 2003 stay at the Milford Plaza could proceed with their $2 million negligence suit, though punitive damages were denied.

What you don’t see is hotels suing guests who bring bed bugs with them. Adept hitchhikers, they enter hotel rooms in guests’ luggage or on their clothing. Most won’t leave with the guest; they’ll nest in and near the bed awaiting the next occupant and their next meal. Bed bugs are not a sanitation issue. About the size of an apple seed, the tiny nocturnal pests are nuisance parasites that feed on human blood. They do not transmit disease but can cause considerable emotional distress. In about 50% of their victims, bed bug bites produce itchy red welts that may take two days to develop, complicating detection. Many hotel guests check out before an infestation is discovered. Prolific breeders, females can produce up to 500 eggs during their one-year lifespan.

Infestations can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms and those above and below an infested room. Bed bugs travel easily through vents, ducts, wall voids and electrical and plumbing conduits. They can be spread by housekeeping staff on clothing or carts. “A lot of people would be surprised by the hotels we’re finding bed bugs at these days,” said Dean Henry, a Seattle pest control technician. “People don’t expect to see them at the higher end places.”

Notoriously difficult to locate, bed bugs hide in tiny cracks and crevices on and near beds to be near their food source. They may harbor in the seams of mattresses; on furniture and drapes; behind wall hangings, baseboards and headboards; under the edges of carpeting; and inside light fixtures, electrical outlets and switch plates. Your best defense against bed bugs is daily inspection by a trained and knowledgeable housekeeping staff coupled with regular pest control inspections by a firm with an expertise in eliminating bed bugs.

1. Bed bugs are tough to kill. They have a hard cuticle for protection. Traditional treatment is to fumigate the room with chemicals known as pyrethroids, but pest control companies have come out with an arsenal of new services and products to fight bed bugs:

2. Specially trained dogs are being used to sniff out bed bugs. K-9 services provide initial detection and follow-up but not extermination. A trained dog can thoroughly investigate a room in two to three minutes, indicating areas to treat.

3. Cryonite kills bed bugs by freezing them with a non-toxic, environmentally-safe carbon dioxide vapor. The vapor is particularly effective in penetrating under furniture and into cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide. Unlike traditional pesticides, Cryonite kills bed bugs in all stages of development, including eggs, and is effective against pesticide-resistant bed bugs, German cockroaches, meal moths and other hard-to-kill pests. Since it leaving no poisonous residue, rooms can be used immediately after treatment.

4. ThermaPure uses giant heaters to heat rooms to a constant 120 to 140 degrees for several hours in an effort to bake bugs to death.

5. Bed bug proof mattress and box springs encasements protect your bedding investment from bed bug infestation.

The best way to keep bed bugs from getting your property listed on BedBugRegistry.com is through comprehensive education of housekeeping and support staff and professional pro-active prevention and through rapid treatment when bed bugs do appear.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376. Please visit us on the Web at www.SternEnvironmental.com.

Posted on July 17, 2010
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“Bed Bugs Invade America!” screamed the headline on a supermarket tabloid. “Tiny, Evil and Everywhere” shrieked the Washington Post. “Bloodthirsty Bedbugs Stage Comeback” thundered National Geographic News.

Read the headlines and you get the impression that bed bugs have invaded our shores in force and are chomping their way down Main Street USA. Until five years ago bed bug reports were virtually non-existent in the U.S. Then the blood-sucking insects started cropping up in homes, apartments, hotels and college dorms across the country fueling a media frenzy. Chastising fellow journalists, David Segal of the Washington Post pointed out in a February article, “more than 400 articles have wriggled into print, all making roughly the same point: The bloodsucking critters are back, and in numbers that amount to a scourge.” Segal claims that “the scale of this ’swarm’ has been overstated, maybe wildly so. … ‘The bugs are back’ is so perfect a trend story that it seems hand-forged by the trend-story gods. It’s what happens when you combine a creepy villain, primal fear and squishy statistics.”

In the March issue of Pest Management Professional, editorial director Frank Andorka made this rebuttal to Segal’s story: “Of course, many reporters are rooting for the bed bug: It’s great copy – a cryptic, bloodsucking insect that feeds on people when they are sleeping and is difficult to control. What could possibly be a better story than that? But just because it’s good copy doesn’t mean the stories aren’t true.”

So what’s the real story? Are bed bugs a genuine threat or is this so much media hype. Some argue that journalists are feeding the frenzied paranoia of a panicked citizenry. Others point to very real statistics that show a 70% increase in reported bed bug infestations in the U.S. in the past five years. In a national survey conducted for Pest Management Professional, University of Kentucky entomologist Michael Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. Only 37% said they encountered bed bugs more than five years ago.” Pest control companies that for decades had received no calls about bed bugs are suddenly receiving dozens. In large urban areas it’s not uncommon for companies to field 100 to 150 bed bug complaints a week, according to a National Pest Management Association survey.

After near eradication by DDT-based pesticides in the 1950s, bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) are on the rise. A worldwide scourge throughout human history, bed bugs, fleas and lice used to be regular nightly bedmates. Your grandmother’s bedtime mantra — “Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite!” – was rooted in the reality of pre-World War II life when bed bugs were commonly found in beds across the U.S. In the 1930s, people wallpapered their bedrooms with arsenic-laced wallpaper to kill bed bugs. Metal bed frames, considered less likely to harbor bed bugs, were the rage. Twice a year bedsteads were completely dismantled and scrubbed to keep bed bugs at bay. Until the insect-killing properties of DDT were discovered during World War II, no effective pesticide existed to eradicate bed bugs. Development of DDT-based insecticides after the war allowed America and most industrialized countries to stamp out bed bugs.

Discovery of DDT’s cancer risk to humans and lethal threat to wildlife led to its banning in the early 1970s. By the mid-1990s, reports of bed bug infestations began to surface in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Western Europe. With no lethally effective pesticide available, bed bugs have multiplied and spread. “Since the mid-1990s, numbers of reported infestations have almost doubled annually,” said Clive Boase, author of a bed bug study published by the Institute of Biology in London. Bed bug infestations in London have risen tenfold since 1996, Boase reported. According to National Geographic News, bed bug complaints to pest control companies increased 700% in Australia between 2000 and 2004 and 500% in the U.S. While these figures seem astonishing, keep in mind that if a pest controller received two bed bugs calls in 2000, an increase of 500% would equal 10 calls in 2004, not quite the “invasion” trumpeted in news reports. Still, last year bed bug infestations were reported in every state in the U.S., and reports are increasing exponentially each year. “This is a serious issue,” Potter recently told the New York Times. “This will be the pest of the 21st century.”

Scientists haven’t pinned down a single cause for the bed bug proliferation, but cite a combination of factors, including the increased ease of international travel, lack of potent insecticides, and discovery of pesticide-resistant bed bugs. The size of an apple seed, these wingless insects are nocturnal, hiding in tiny cracks and crevices on mattresses and near beds, and coming out at night to feed on human blood. Females typically lay 500 eggs during their six- to 12-month lifespan. Eggs hatch in four to 12 days, and larva begin to feed, reaching adult status in about a month. Three or more generations can be produced in a year. A few bed bugs can lead to a major infestation in just a short time. Easily transported, bed bugs often enter a home on luggage, clothing or used or rental furniture. They spread through multi-unit properties like apartments and hotels through air ducts, electrical and plumbing conduits and wall voids. New York City recently launched an education campaign when serious bed bug infestations in the immigrant community were linked to the sale of infested secondhand mattresses.

Not all bed bug complaints turn out to be bed bugs. “I get samples every day,” said Harvard University entomologist Richard Pollack, who noted that “fewer than half” turn out to be bed bugs. Carpet beetles, lice, fleas, ticks, chiggers, mites, even lint are often mistaken for bed bugs. False alarms are part of the territory, said New York City housing authority spokesman Howard Marder. “Experience shows that residents may have heard rumors about bedbugs, so if they wake up with a rash or an itch, they think they’ve got them. … If you make people aware of a problem, reports about it are likely to go up.”

Sometimes the power of suggestion results in delusory parasitosis, or Ekbom’s Syndrome, in which real environmental elements such as static electricity or dry skin cause severe itching that is incorrectly perceived to be caused by insects. Scratching can cause bleeding welts that only serve to “validate” victims’ claims of an insect infestation. Most incidents are related to seasonal changes in humidity triggered by the start up of heating or air conditioning systems.

For those who actually do have bed bugs, the experience can be traumatic. Bites leave red, itchy welts that can bedevil bed bug victims. While scientists assure us that bed bugs are merely a nuisance pest and do not transmit diseases, the thought of being nibbled on while they sleep is enough to send many victims screaming from their beds. “It’s horrible. They’re feeding on your family, your skin; their main meal is a human body,” a horrified Atlantic Beach bed bug victim told NBC 12 First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida. She said her two-year-old would wake up crying from the bites. Shannon (who refused to give her last name) spent hours shuttling her welt-covered children to different doctors before an entomologist correctly diagnosed the problem as bed bugs. In a typical reaction, Shannon threw out mattresses, beds, sofas and linens. She moved her family out and hired a pest control company to “tent” and fumigate their house. New technologies like Cryonite which freezes and kills bugs and eggs using non-toxic carbon dioxide vapor can be applied without going to such extremes. But when bed bugs bite, most people panic. They don’t care whether there’s a bed bug invasion sweeping America or not. One bug in their bed is one too many.

Author: Douglas Stern, Managing Partner
Stern Environmental Group
www.SternEnvironmental.com
Call Toll Free 1-888-887-8376
info@sternenvironmental.com
Bed bug extermination experts
serving New Jersey, New York, New York City, and Connecticut. It’s Time To Get STERN With Your Pests!

Posted on July 17, 2010
Filed Under By-Expert | Leave a Comment

Bed bugs are making a comeback nationwide and the pest control industry is seeking new technologies to combat the increasingly pesticide-resistant insects. Cutting-edge technologies at both ends of the temperature spectrum include Cryonite which uses a non-toxic carbon dioxide snow to instantly freeze and kill the noxious pests and giant infrared heaters that raise the temperature in a room and bake the bugs to death. The University of Minnesota is working on a trap that simulates a sleeping human, the bed bug’s favorite meal.

Perhaps the most popular weapon in the bed bug-fighting arsenal – possibly because of its sloppy kisses and wagging tail – is the dog. Dogs, which have been trained to sniff out weapons, arson, drugs, missing persons, termites and cancer, are now being trained to detect and pinpoint bed bugs and their eggs, helping exterminators target treatment areas.

The average dog has 200 to 250 million scent receptors in its nose. Its nasal membranes cover seven square meters. In comparison, human nasal membranes cover barely half a meter and contain only 5 million receptors. A dog’s scenting ability is so sensitive it can smell things that can’t be detected by the most sensitive scientific instruments. Depending on the dog and its training, a dog’s sensitivity to odors is 10 to 100 times greater than man’s.

“A dog’s nose is cutting-edge technology,” Carl Massicott, owner of Connecticut’s Advanced K9 Detectives, told the New York Daily News. “Our animals are 100 percent honest and trained to work for food and love instead of profits.” It’s the dog owners who are raking in the profits. Depending on facility size and travel time, the cost of K-9 bed bug detection is about $200 per hour. Typically K-9 services provide initial and follow-up detection but not bed bug extermination services. Dogs can help pest control experts determine what areas to treat and in follow-up can indicate whether all bed bugs have been killed.

A trained dog can thoroughly investigate a room and locate bed bug infestations in two to three minutes, less time than it takes a human technician who must rely on visual clues which can require a thorough inspection of the home. Typically, dogs can detect infestations within a three-foot radius but may not be able to narrow it down further. For example, a dog may indicate that bed bugs are under a piece of furniture but be unable to indicate whether the bugs are hiding in furniture joints or floorboard crevices. Dogs are trained to alert their handlers to the presence of bed bugs by swatting a paw or barking. Smaller dogs are favored for their ability to negotiate tight spaces.

Pepe Peruyero, owner of J&K Canine Academy, got started in the pest control business by training dogs to detect termites. A former law enforcement officer who worked with K-9 units in Gainesville, Florida, Peruyero assisted University of Florida entomologists in conducting rigorous scientific tests to determine dogs’ ability to detect insects. Those tests confirmed that dogs could detect not only termites, but several other types of insects, including bed bugs, and a business venture was born. Employing the same training techniques used to train drug- and bomb-sniffing dogs, Peruyero was able to develop training and testing standards for bug-sniffing dogs.

Today, business is booming. Last year Peruyero trained just one dog to sniff out bed bugs, but this year he has already trained 15 dogs and has another dozen or so dogs on the waiting list. His is one of only six facilities worldwide that train dogs to detect bed bugs. Training takes five days and includes training the dog’s handler. Handler and dog teams must prove themselves in simulated hotel room settings, detecting the presence or absence of bed bugs with 100 percent accuracy before graduation. To prevent dogs from spreading bed bugs while they’re working, handlers are taught specific grooming protocols that include brushing, cleaning and drying the dog immediately before and after a job.

Insect detection is a cutting-edge business opportunity. “We realize that bed bugs are on their way to becoming part of our daily lives,” said Mary Silverson, vice president of Hunter Detection Services on Florida’s Gulf Coast and new owner of one of Peruyero’s bed bug-sniffing dogs. Trained pest-detection canines cost around $8,000 and their upkeep, including food, veterinary care, handler’s salary and transportation, can range from $80,000 to $100,000 a year. To keep their sniffers sharp, dogs must run through their detection paces every single day.

Bed bugs are tiny, blood-sucking insects that feed on human blood. They are easily spread and difficult to detect as only about 50 percent of the people whose beds they share react to their bites. About the size of an apple seed, bed bugs hide in tiny crevices and cracks. They are most commonly found in mattresses, box springs, furniture, baseboards, carpeting, floorboards, behind wallpaper, and in electrical outlets near the bed. Although bed bugs are not known to carry disease, the itchy red welts they raise and the emotional toll of knowing you’re being nibbled on in your sleep can cause serious mental distress. Their slightly sweet scent, which has been likened to fresh red raspberries or coriander, makes bed bugs a natural for K-9 detection.

Well-trained dogs can enter a room and within two to three minutes alert their handlers to the tiniest trace of bed bugs. Dogs can be trained to tell the difference between live bed bugs, dead ones, cast skins, eggs and even bed bug fecal matter. Paired with cutting-edge pest extermination, bed bug-sniffing dogs can perform an invaluable service for hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, colleges and universities, apartment complexes, military barracks, camps, cruise ships, airlines, and anywhere bed bugs might be a problem. The dogs quickly locate bed bug trouble spots, allowing the pest extermination experts to efficiently target and eliminate bed bug infestations. Dogs can also be used in follow-up procedures after treatment to guarantee that all bed bugs have been killed.

The exclusive Jurys Boston Hotel is one of 10 Boston hotels that uses canine patrols to check its 225 guest rooms for signs of bed bugs. In its nearly four years of operation, Jurys has never had a bed bug incident. Only twice in those four years have the specially trained canine pest hunters barked, apparently detecting the scent of bed bugs or their eggs. In both cases, Jurys took no chances. They immediately fumigated the room for bed bugs and burned the mattresses. “At the first sign or suggestion of a problem, our reaction would be to treat the room with chemicals, no questions asked,” said general manager Stephen Johnston in an interview with The Boston Globe. Johnston calls in the canine patrol for a bed bug inspection every three months.

While guest comfort may be the primary reason hotels contract for pest control, avoiding potential law suits runs a close second. A couple from New Jersey sued the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers last fall after claiming they were bitten by bed bugs during a two-night stay.
Another couple who suffered a similar experience sued the Sheraton Four Points in San Francisco. It takes just one unwitting bed bug-carrying guest to infect a hotel room. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs can be carried into a hotel or home on clothing, suitcases, linens and used furniture.

The National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association was formed to develop and set training and certification standards for bed bug-sniffing dogs. Before you hire a K-9 patrol, ask the following questions:

Is the dog certified?

Can it differentiate between living and dead bugs?

Can it sniff out eggs?

How are the dog’s findings validated?

Remember, finding bed bugs is just the first step. Exterminating them is what’s important.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376 or by email at info@sternenvironmental.com – Please visit us on the Web at http://www.SternEnvironmental.com

Posted on July 17, 2010
Filed Under By-Expert | Leave a Comment

An ancient human scourge has returned to cause panic among home and property owners, home buyers and Realtors. Bed bugs have invaded every state in the U.S. and reports of infestations have increased exponentially nationwide over the past few years. In a national survey of pest control companies conducted by noted bed bug authority Michael Potter for Pest Management Professional, Potter found, “A whopping 91% of respondents reported their organizations had encountered bed bug infestations in the past two years. Only 37% said they encountered bed bugs more than 5 years ago.”

Until a few years ago, most pest control companies said it was unusual to receive even one or two calls a year about bed bugs. Since 2004, however, bed bug complaints have grown exponentially with pest control companies nationwide now averaging between 10 and 50 calls a week. In major metropolitan areas, some companies are fielding 100 or more bed bug complaints each week. Some experts are predicting that 2008 will be the Year of the Bed Bug. Cindy Mannes, spokesperson for the National Pest Management Association, said bed bugs have become a serious problem in every state, noting, “There are some who call it the pest of the 21st century.”

Bed bugs are an equal opportunity pest. Infestations have occurred across the country in the tony co-ops of the rich and famous, in fashionable condominiums, in luxury apartments and in upscale suburban homes. Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not caused by filth or dirt. Like lice and fleas, bed bugs are creatures of convenience. A nuisance insect, they are not known to carry disease, but they can cause considerable discomfort, both mental and physical.

All but eradicated in the U.S. following World War II, the banning of powerful DDT-based pesticides, coupled with increased international travel, has brought about a nationwide resurgence of the annoying insect. Potter, an urban entomologist at the University of Kentucky, calls bed bugs the pre-eminent household pest in the U.S., on a par with cockroaches and rats. “This is one serious issue,” he recently told the New York Times. “This will be the pest of the 21st century – no questions about it.”

If you’re buying a house or looking for a new condo or apartment, take to heart the old adage Buyer Beware. You may be moving into a home that has been invaded by bed bugs. Most states require home sellers to provide buyers with an accurate statement disclosing the property’s condition, including pest infestations. However, there are loopholes that should serve as a red flag to home buyers and their Realtors.

Most real estate disclosure statements are fairly broad and do not specifically ask about bed bug infestations. If any pest disclosure is specified, it’s likely to be termites. Because bed bugs haven’t been a problem in the United States for so many decades, few current state or municipal codes address them specifically. In many states, sellers can choose not to fill out the disclosure statement and instead pay a penalty which is credited to the buyer. For sellers with a bed bug problem, a several hundred dollar penalty may seem an acceptable price for making the sale.

Buyers and Realtors should be aware that real estate disclosure laws that apply to home sales often don’t apply to co-op and condo owners. Before you buy, check with the local building and health departments to find out what the regulations are in your area. Although some states are now considering adding specific bed bug regulations to their realty laws, at this point common law is generally on the side of the seller. As real estate attorney Edward Sumber of New York told the New York Times, “Under the doctrine of caveat emptor – let the buyer beware – the seller has no affirmative obligation to reveal circumstances about the apartment to the buyer.”

However, disclosure laws in most states require the seller to answer honestly if specifically asked whether his home or apartment has been infected by bed bugs or other pests. Additionally, real estate brokers are usually obligated to reveal a bed bug problem to the buyer if they know about it. Unfortunately, in most states sellers are not required to tell their real estate brokers about bed bug problems. Essentially, that means buyers must rely on the integrity of sellers and landlords anxious to make a sale.

Many buyers shopping for a new home, apartment or condominium are now hiring a pest control company with an expertise in bed bug elimination to inspect the property before they buy. Some Realtors are recommending that sellers have their homes inspected for bed bugs before putting them on the market as both a reassurance and inducement to buyers.

What are bed bugs?

Evolved from bird and bat nest parasites, Climex lectaularius, the common bed bug, is a tiny nocturnal insect that hides in dark crevices during the day and feeds on human blood during the night. Their oval bodies are flattened and wingless and a light to reddish-brown in color. Adult bed bugs are 1/4 to 3/8 inch long or about the size of an apple seed. Before feeding, the bed bugs are as flat as paper, becoming dark red and bloated with blood as they feed, much like a tick. As they puncture the skin to feed — usually for 3 to 10 minutes — they eject an anesthetic that can cause an allergic reaction and the symptomatic itchy, red welts that bedevil their hosts. However, welts may take a day or two to develop and not all bed bug sufferers react to their bites, which can delay detection.

A female bed bug can produce up to 500 eggs during its average one-year lifespan, laying about 5 eggs per day. Difficult to detect without magnification, the eggs are whitish, pear-shaped and about the size of a pinhead. The female lays her sticky eggs in bedding and carpets or cements them into cracks and crevices near the bed to ensure a food source when the nymphs hatch. Nymphs, which are lighter in color and look like slightly smaller adults, hatch in 4 to 12 days and begin to feed immediately. Bed bugs progress through five nymphal stages, molting after each stage. The whitish carapaces they shed are a telltale sign of bed bug infestation. It takes 5 to 8 weeks for nymphs to reach maturity. Since several generations of bed bugs can be produced in a year, all stages of growth can be found in an infested room.

Bed bugs feed every 3 to 5 days and must feed at least once to develop to the next stage and to reproduce. They often void while feeding, leaving telltale rusty or tarry spots on sheets and in hiding places. Bed bugs can survive for 1 to 7 months without a blood meal and have been known to live in an abandoned house for as long as a year. They give off a distinctive musty, sweet odor often likened to ripe red raspberries or coriander.

Bed bugs will readily travel 10 to 15 feet to feed but have been observed traveling more than 100 feet from their established harborage to feed on a host. Once established, infestations can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms or units through crawl spaces, wall voids and electrical and plumbing conduits. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs can easily enter your home on clothing, bedding, luggage, used furniture, cardboard boxes, etc. They can be brought home from a hotel stay or by sitting in a car, cab, bus, train or plane recently inhabited by an infested person.

What to look for

Bed bugs may be tiny but they leave telltale traces. Look most closely near beds and in bedrooms where bed bugs feed. Look for these telltale signs of bed bug activity:

• A heavily infested room may have a characteristic musty or sweet odor like the scent of fresh red raspberries or coriander; however, the odor may not be obvious.
  
• Look for active, crawling bugs on bed linens, carpet and furniture near the bed.
  
• Look for dark fecal and blood stains on bed linens; carpets and carpet welting; and in the seams, creases, tufts and folds of mattresses and box springs.
  
• You should also look for fecal smears or pea-sized pearly egg deposits behind headboards; along baseboards and door and window casings; around electrical plates; in plaster cracks; and under loose wallpaper, paintings and posters.
  
• Look for whitish nymph molts and old exoskeletons under area rugs, at the edges of carpets, and in under-the-bed storage containers.
  
• Beware of bats in the attic or eaves. Quite often bed bugs feeding on bats in the attic of a house will migrate to the living area in search of an easier food source, humans.

Buyer beware!

Bites, odor and voiding smears are indicators of a bed bug problem. However, these insects often go undetected when symptoms are not obvious. Bed bugs are also easily confused with other nuisance bugs like carpet beetles, bird and rodent mites, shiny spider beetles, parasitic wasps, even lint by the more paranoid, making definitive diagnosis a job for bed bug experts.

Before you buy a new home, ask the owner if there has ever been a bed bug problem. In co-ops, condos, apartments and any multi-unit residence, ask the property owner whether bed bugs have been reported in any unit. Before they buy, many home buyers are now requiring a pest inspection by a bed bug expert in addition to the traditional home inspection. When it’s buyer beware, it makes sense to protect yourself.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves commercial and residential clients in New Jersey, New York City, New York, and Connecticut. His firm is located at 100 Plaza Drive in Secaucus, New Jersey. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376 or by email at info@sternenvironmental.com Please visit us on the Web at http://www.SternEnvironmental.com

Posted on July 17, 2010
Filed Under By-Expert | 18 Comments

Isolating your bed basically means cleaning the bed bugs off your mattress and linens, and then building traps that prevent remaining bed bugs in the room from crawling up the legs of your bed and re-infesting it. Isolating your bed won’t get rid of your bed bug problem, but you will be able to sleep again at night.

Before We Get Started…
Your bed bug exterminator should get involved in this process. Exterminators have chemicals that kill any bed bugs hiding on your mattress, box spring, headboard and frame. So, depending on what your pest control tech tells you, some of these steps may not be necessary for you to do on your own. Again, clear the following plan with the expert before you begin.

What You’ll Need

• Zippered dust-mite encasements for your mattress, box spring and pillows. These are basically large
  
• bags that are designed to keep dust mites inside the encasement – but they also keep bed bugs inside. Find them at allergy supply stores.
  
• Wide duct tape.
  
• Contractor grade trash bags (not lawn and leaf bags, but the thick contractor grade trash bags, at least two or three mils thick).
  
• Wide double-sided tape.
  
• Bed lifts to raise your bed off the ground (these are little stands that you set the legs of your bed frame into to raise it off the ground). Find them at your local bedding/linen store. Note that if your frame is already fairly high off the ground (like a foot or more), you don’t need the risers.
  
• Four metal bowls large enough to place the bed lifts in (heavy duty plastic bowls are fine, too. Either way, they have to be unbreakable). Pet stores have nice metal bowls that are ideal for this.
  
• XXL Ziploc bags
  
• Food-grade freshwater diatomaceous earth. Also known as DE, diatomaceous earth is an abrasive mineral powder that kills bed bugs and other crawling insects by scratching open their skins, which dehydrates them (they die after a day or two). This stuff is razor wire for bed bugs – they will be able to crawl through it, but the damage they suffer is deadly. You can get DE everywhere: online, your local garden center (gardeners use it to kill pests, sometimes marketed as ant killer), or pet supply stores (food grade stuff is sprinkled on pets to kill fleas). Make sure you don’t get swimming pool grade diatomaceous earth – that is the wrong stuff. Also, get a dust mask while you are at Home Depot – you’ll wear it as you are dusting around your bed. A note about DE: While considered generally safe, you need to carefully read the label and follow all safety instructions. Wear a dust mask or respirator when applying.
  
• Murphy’s Oil Soap. Murphy’s is a wood cleaner made by Colgate-Palmolive that also has pesticide properties. You can find it everywhere. Buy the spray bottle.
  
• A new set of white sheets, pillowcases and covers. You are going to replace your existing bedding with new white linens, to better spot any fresh bed bug fecal spots or blood.
  
• New pillows: Your current ones might be infested, so let’s start over with new ones.
  
• Optional: Something that kills bed bugs on contact. Rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle will do it. You can dilute the alcohol with a bit of water to make it last longer – 9 parts alcohol, 1 part water.

What to Do

Step 1: Clean your Linens and Bedding

First you need to pull all the bedding off your bed – sheets, mattress cover, comforter, pillows and pillow cases. Everything. These are infested with bed bugs, so you need to immediately stuff them into the trash bags and tie the bags off.

Now wash every item in hot water. Don’t let those infested linens touch other linens or clothing items. Then dry them on high (at least 140 degrees) for 4 hours, or two complete drying cycles. When done, put each item into an XXL Ziploc and seal it.

Put your pillows in a contractor bag, seal it, and throw it in the trash. Cleaning a pillow thoroughly is tough, so you’re better off starting with a new one.

Step 2: Vacuum Your Mattress and Box Spring

You are now going to clean the mattress and box spring of any bed bugs, eggs, or larvae.

Get out you vacuum cleaner and clean EVERY INCH of your mattress. Scraping the end of the vacuum attachment vigorously over the harborage area is better than using a brush, because the bugs cling tightly to the surface, and the eggs are cemented to it. Clean every inch of the surface, the tufts along the edges, and the sides of the mattress. Lean it against the wall and vacuum the other side.

Clean the box spring just as carefully. Tear that flimsy dust cover fabric off the bottom, seal it in a plastic bag and throw it away. Vacuum the insides, making sure to get every bit of fabric, as well as the wooden frames and support.

When you are done vacuuming, remove the bag from the vacuum, seal it in a plastic garbage bag, and throw it out. The vacuum bag will have bed bugs in it, and you don’t want them to crawl out.

Step 3: Clean the Bed Frame

If you have a metal frame, you are in luck, because these are fairly easy to clean. Grab the vacuum and clean all the nooks and crannies. Pay special attention to inside corners, joints, the areas where the wheels attach to the frame – any dark little corners where bed bugs might hide.

Spray it down with rubbing alcohol to kill anything you missed. Use caulk or duct tape to fill in any holes or gaps between the metal pieces (bed bugs hide in the holes and joints).

If there are any hollow areas in your bed frame (sometimes, the legs are hollow), those are perfect places for the bed bugs to hide. Spray the interior with alcohol and vacuum them out.

If you have a headboard, you should get rid of it. The headboard is one of the most likely places the bugs will hide and lay eggs, and if you have one, I can pretty much guarantee you that it has bed bugs hiding on it. Put it in a plastic bag, carry it to the dumpster, spray paint the words BED BUGS on the package, and throw it in. (It is important to wrap the headboard in plastic before it leaves your bedroom. You don’t want any bugs jumping off in the hallway on the way to the door.)

If you have a wooden bedframe, you need to disassemble it, and wash it down with Murphy’s Oil Soap. Once you have the frame disassembled, vacuum it like you did with your mattress and box spring. You may need to use a stiff brush to dislodge any eggs or bed bugs in the nooks and crannies. Now spray the Murphy’s onto the frame, making sure to spray it into every cracks and crevice.

Step 4: Clean and Prepare the Floor Around Your Bed

When you reassemble the bed, you have to position it away from the walls and furniture, so bed bugs don’t have anything to use as a bridge to reinfest your bed. Usually, the best place is to position the bed toward the center of the room and the night stand or tables away from it.

Carefully vacuum the floor in the area under the bed. If you have any carpets or rugs, I think you should roll them up, put them in the trash bag, seal the bag tightly and put it in the garage or storage for the next 18 months. But consult with your bed bug exterminator. Rugs can be treated by with chemicals, so it’s your call as to what to do.

Sprinkle the floor you just cleaned with a light dusting of DE. Don’t make piles, just use a baby powder bottle or some other plastic bottle that can puff out a very light layer of the stuff.

Warning: DE is almost lighter than air, and it takes some practice to get used to. As with any pest control product, READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW ALL SAFETY PRECAUTIONS. Wear a dust mask or respirator when applying.

Step 5: Reassemble the Bed Frame

Now reassemble your bed frame and move it to the middle of the room, over your dust field. Put the legs of the bed frame on the lifters, and put the lifters in the bowls. In other words, the bowl is on the floor, the lifter is in the bowl, and the bed frame is on the lifter.

Wrap plastic wrap around the legs of your bed (regular Saran Wrap is fine for this), then wrap double sided tape over the plastic wrap to catch any bed bugs crawling up.

For additional protection, spread Vaseline on the legs above and below the double sided tape. This is an old trick from the turn of the century, and another obstacle to gum up any bed bugs trying to crawl into your bed.

Put the encasement over the box spring. Put the box spring on the frame. Make sure you don’t tear the encasement! Cover the zippered seam of the case with duct tape. Use a lot of tape, and extend it four to six inches from the end of the zipper. You are taping up the zipper because baby bed bugs are tiny, and can slip through the teeth of the zipper.

Gently put the mattress on the box spring. Gently pull the casing over it, and tape the zippers shut.

Now it is time to fill the bowls with soapy water. Bed bugs cannot traverse soapy water, so this becomes like a little moat, protecting the legs of your bed.

Put your new white sheets on the bed, over the encasements. With new sheets, you’ll be able to see any blood spots, fecal stains, or crushed bed bugs that might have penetrated your defenses.

Step 6: Securing the Perimeter

Put down a three or four inch wide circle of double-sided carpet tape on the floor around your entire bed (be sure that you vacuumed within this area. If you didn’t, do it now). This way, any bed bugs crawling from outside of your fortress will get caught in the tape.

And finally, be sure you have a dusting of DE extending 12 inches around the soapy water-filled bowls. You want to be sure that any bugs that try to get up those bowls have to go through the DE first. Again, this should only be a dusting of DE. You should not see much whiteness at all – thinner is better. Any more than that, and it won’t work.

And you’re done! Feels good to be taking the offensive, doesn’t it? If everything works as planned, you’ve cleared the bed bugs off your bed, any that you missed are encased inside the mite cover, and the bed bugs elsewhere in the room will be unable to get into your bed. Finally, a chance to sleep!

Jens Alexander is the owner of The Bed Bug Battle Plan, an extensive resource for bed bug victims. At BedBugBattlePlan, you can find links and information, photos of bed bugs, and most importantly, learn how to get rid of bed bugs.

Posted on July 17, 2010
Filed Under By-Expert | 1 Comment

Bed bug infestations are not only a physical attack on your body, but a psychological attack that can cause insomnia, anxiety and increased stress. Many people describe having them as one of the worst feelings they’ve experienced. Bed bugs can greatly impact you and your family, which is why Bed Bug Supply is here to offer solutions to the bed bug epidemic spreading across the United States.

As stated in our section of the website How Bed Bugs Re-Emerged After Being Mostly Eradicated for Over 50 Years, bed bugs are immune to many of the pesticides used today, which is why using the right treatment is crucial to your success. As you read on, we’ll explain in detail how to rid your bedroom of bed bugs using methods that can be done yourself.

Our program is broken down into 4 steps, which will keep the bed bugs from biting the very first night! The four steps are:

(1) Cover and Elevate
(2) Climbup Interceptor
(3) Steam and Clean
(4) Powder And Spray

Cover and Elevate

Bed bugs and their eggs are most likely located in or on your mattress, box spring and pillows, which is why mattress Encasements should be applied first. Our bed bug proof mattress encasements from Luna Mattress can be used effectively to prevent bed bugs from entering or escaping. With bed bug encasements, you will not need to dispose of your mattress saving you hundreds of dollars. The other part of this step is to elevate your mattress, which will get you ready for step 2.

Start by stripping your bedding off the mattress and then placing them into a sealed garbage bag. Once you’re in front of the washing machine, carefully unload your bedding directly into the washing machine and wash on the hot water setting. This will kill any bed bug and their eggs that may be present. Be sure to reseal the garbage bag the bedding was placed in and dispose of.

While your sheets are washing use a vacuum cleaner to clean away any bed bugs and dropping there might be in the seams of your mattress, pillows and box spring. We recommend disposing of the vacuum bag into a sealed garbage bag after completing this step. If your vacuum doesn’t have a bag, thoroughly clean the vacuums collection container.

Once the mattress has been vacuumed, our Professional Bed Bug Steamer can be used to steam deep inside the mattress killing bed bugs and their eggs. Use the included cloth attachment to steam your mattress for best results. Our steamer produces 130 degree steam, which is considerably higher than the 117 degree heat needed to kill bed bug and their eggs. The Professional Bed Bug Steamer should also be used to stream the entire bed itself including all metal or wooden parts.

An alternative to steaming your mattress is to use our STERI-FAB Bed Bug Killer. STERI-FAB is a contact killer and can be sprayed directly onto the mattress and box spring in order to sterilize and kill all bed bugs and their eggs. Lightly spray your mattress set and allow to dry for 30 minutes or until fully dry.

We will now need to elevate your mattress off the floor. Bed bugs cannot jump or fly so they must climb to reach you. Elevating the mattress will help accomplish this preparing you for steps to come. Only the legs or castors of your bed should be in contact with the floor.

If your horizontal foot or head boards are touching the floor they should be removed as this would allow bed bugs an opportunity to climb in. If your headboard or footboard have hollow cavities or crevices they should not be used as they could be hiding inside. However, you may be able to use the Professional Bed Bug Steamer to treat hollow frames if there is an accessible access point. A simple metal bed frame is the best way to elevate the mattress and box springs from the floor. If there is anything hanging above your mattress (ex. Shelves) they should be removed or the bed should be moved away as bed bugs can fall onto your mattress from above.

Once the bed is elevated and vacuumed the zippered mattress, pillows and box spring covers can be applied and fully zipped up. This again will trap any bed bugs deep inside your mattress from escaping. Without a blood meal, they will eventually die inside the cover. Encasements should be applied and not taken off for at least 18 months to ensure all the beds bugs are dead.

After the bedding encasements are applied you may now add your recently cleaned and bed bug free bedding including sheets and pillows cases. Be sure that nothing is touching the floor except for the legs of your beds. If your sheets are touching the floor at any point bed bugs can climb up and bite you!

You’re now done with step 1.

Climbup Interceptor

With your mattress set now elevated and free from bed bugs, it’s now time to add Climbup interceptors to each point of your bed touching the floor. Our Climbup Interceptors prevent bed bugs from climbing into your mattress so it’s nearly impossible for them to get to you. Simply place an interceptor below each leg or castor touching the floor. Once applied, you will be protected from bed bugs while you sleep. Climbup interceptors also collect bed bugs using its exclusive trapping feature. Now we need to work on killing the bed bugs in your room.

Steam and Clean

In order to kill the bed bugs in your room everything needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Cleaning should include inside book shelves, books, cabinets, night stands etc. Everything should be thoroughly cleaned inside and out. This might also be a good time to go through your closet to dispose of anything you might not need anymore. Everything disposed of should be sealed in thick trash bags to prevent infesting other areas of your home or building. All of your clothes should also be placed in trash bags and sealed off ready to be machine washed.

With all your clothing in sealed in thick garbage bags its time to wash. Machine wash the contents of each garbage bag individually using the hot water setting. This will kill all the bed bugs or eggs that may be in your clothing. Be sure to reseal the used garbage bag and dispose of responsibly.

A vacuum works great to clean most items in your room including unseen bed bug eggs. Books must be vacuumed including papers and just about anything your can get at with a vacuum hose. Again once finished with the vacuum, the bag should be replaced or the container cleaned.

A great way to clean curtains, drapes, mattresses, cabinets, walls and just about anything else is with our Bed Bug Steamer. Our steamer produces 130 degree steam, which is considerably higher than the 117 degree heat needed to kill bed bug and their eggs. A Bed Bug Steamer can also be used on carpets and is one of the best ways to sterilize your room.

Another way to kills bed bugs is with our PackTite Bed Bug Heater. With the PackTite Bed Bug Heater, you can place belongings that cannot be washed into the heater bag where it automatically kills all stages of the bed bug life cycle. Popular items that are often used with the PackTite Bed Bug Heater include luggage, clothing, shoes, books, and anything else that can be safely heated to 130 degrees. PackTite is also popular as a preventative tool travelers can use to sterilize their luggage after returning from a trip.

Any shelves, boxes, storage boxes should be cleaned or steamed. EVERTHING SHOULD BE CLEANED. You get the picture.

A great way to keep your recently cleaned clothing from being re-infested with bed bugs is by using a BugZip drawer liner. Simply insert your clothing into the drawer liner and zip shut. This offers peace of mind knowing that your clothing, shoes, etc will be free from bed bugs or their eggs. We are now at the final step!

Powder and Spray

With the bed now cleaned, covered, elevated, intercepted and the room cleaned thoroughly, its time to apply the residual spray and bed bug powder.

Use our Bedlam Bed Bug Spray on your floor boards, baseboards, headboards and walls to kill bedbugs and their eggs. Try to spray into any cracks in your room where bed bugs may be entering your room from. Spraying around (not in) electrical outlets can help. Our bed bug spray is a residual, which means its killing ability can last 1-7 weeks depending on the surface it is applied to.

Our bed bug powder is completely natural and kills bed bugs within a few hours of contact unlike other powders, which can take several days. Bed bug powder should be applied around the perimeter of your room and then vacuumed up and reapplied after 7 days. This should go on for 6 weeks until all stages of the bed bugs are dead.

Our Bed Bug Powder works by creating a perimeter bed bugs must crawl over to get into your room. When a bed bug crosses the powder, its abdomen is cut open eventually leading to the bed dying of dehydrations. What makes the powder we offer different is the natural oil ingredient also found in the bed bug powder that affects the bed bugs nervous system causing death within hours. Our powder is completely safe for humans and animals. We offer a Pump and Applicator to spread the bed bug powder evenly, which is highly recommended.

What to Expect:

Week 1: Most adults are killed – However, for up to 5 days after your initial treatment, eggs were being actively laid (5 a day each) by the females that fed the night before your first treatment.

Week 2: Eggs from right before the initial treatment are hatching this week and are hungry. Remember it takes 5 feedings in order for bed bugs to start reproducing. As long as they come in contact with our bed bug powder before the 5th time they will die and will never have a chance to lay more eggs.

Week 3: The few eggs that were laid 5 days after the first treatment are now hatching. Keep up the barrier! You’re almost done!

Week 4: All the eggs should have hatched by now and no new eggs are being produced. This is the mop-up week where you will be killing the few bed bugs that managed to survive until now.

Week 5: Mostly precautionary, you just went through 4 weeks of treatment, let’s make sure they are gone for good!

Week 6: Although it should only take 5 weeks, we would still suggest this last week as a final peace of mind application just in case.

Review

After all 4 steps are completed you should be bed bug free. To prevent bed bugs from spreading, powder and spray is recommended to be used in all rooms of the home. Be sure to continue sleeping in the infested room until the bed bugs are eradicated as you don’t want the bed bugs to follow you to another room.

In order for this program to work, all steps must be thoroughly followed. Due to treatment practices and variables outside of our control, Bed Bug Supply is not liable for any outcome against bed bugs. At Bed Bug Supply we have the solutions you and your family needs to sleep comfortably without bed bugs.

Bed Bug Supply’s sole mission is to help families, businesses and individuals take control of their bed infestations using the most effective bed bug treatments available. We’ve helped hundreds of people rid themselves of bed bugs and are here to help you do the same.
Dealing with bed bugs is all we do, which is why you can be sure we are constantly keeping us with the latest treatments and most cutting edge products. Please feel free to contact us to discuss how our bed bugs products can work for you.
Bed Bug Supply was established in 2007 as a specialty store dedicated to the eradication of bed bug infestations. We understand the emotional and physical impacts of bed bugs, which can often linger even after the bed bugs are gone. By using the right combination of bed bug products, we can get you and your family sleeping again with both eyes closed.
Visit us on the web at http://www.bedbugsupply.com or call us to speak to one of our bed bug experts at: (866) 238-9868