Chorley Pest Control

Archive for the ‘Bed Bugs On The Rampage’ Category

Bed bug infestations have increased exponentially over the past three years causing panic among homeowners, coop members and property managers. In New York City 1,800 bed bug complaints were received in 2004. By last year complaints had more than tripled, topping 7,000. Concern that 2008 will see even more bed bug activity prompted the city to recently sponsor educational seminars for residents and property managers.

The problem is not limited to New York City and other large metropolitan areas. In recent years the age-old scourge has cropped up in all 50 states. The nightly news, local newspapers and blogosphere are full of reports of bed bug infestations. Numerous websites dedicate themselves to pinpointing the latest infestation sites and warning buyers and renters to steer clear. Luxury hotels have been sued by irate guests. Bed bugs have been reported in the tony co-ops of the rich and famous, in fashionable condominiums, in luxury apartments, in college dorms and in upscale suburban homes. Noted bed bug authority Michael 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.”

“History is repeating itself,” Potter said, explaining that many American beds were crawling with bed bugs before World War II. After the war, the use of potent chemicals like DDT spelled the death knell for bed bugs in America and most industrialized countries; but they continued to flourish in many other parts of the world. With environmental consciousness came less powerful, but safer chemicals that have allowed bed bugs carried in on the clothing and suitcases of international travelers to dig back into American beds.

“If bed bugs transmitted disease, what’s happening would be considered a huge epidemic,” says bed bug expert Dini Miller, an entomologist at Virginia Tech. “Though bedbugs have been shown to harbor 28 pathogens temporarily — including HIV and hepatitis B — numerous studies have shown the pathogens fail to thrive in the host enough to spread disease to people,” according to an article in the July 16, 2007 issue of U.S. News & World Report.

While they don’t pose a health threat, bed bugs routinely throw people into a state of hysteria. About the size of an apple seed, bed bugs have flattened, oval, wingless bodies that are a light to reddish-brown in color. Feeding on human blood for 3 to 10 minutes at a time, the proliferate nocturnal pests carry a psychological punch out of proportion to their size. “They come in the dark; they feed on you; they scurry away when you turn the light on,” said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California-Davis. Their bites can raise itchy red welts that bedevil their victims. There are stories of people dumping gallons of insecticide on their mattresses and dousing themselves with bug spray before they go to sleep. “I have people who call me in tears. They’re in hysterics,” admitted entomologist Richard Pollack of Harvard University.

Bed bugs are tough to kill. They have a hard cuticle for protection, can live for more than a year without feeding, and hide in tiny cracks and crevices making it hard for exterminators to reach them. Their eggs are tiny (about the size of a pin head), translucent and pearly white. Household insecticides won’t kill bed bugs and can actually cause them to spread as they seek new harborage. In fact, Potter and University of Kentucky researchers are starting to find bed bugs that are resistant to the pesticides commonly used to kill them.

In laboratory tests these “super bed bugs” have survived commercial pesticides at more than 10 times the recommended dose. Researchers sprayed laboratory bed bugs and bugs from four different apartment colonies with pyrethoid insecticides, the most common professional insecticide used to kill bed bugs. When sprayed, the laboratory bed bugs, which had never been exposed to the insecticide, were decimated completely; however, there were few mortalities among the apartment bed bug populations. In fact, those insects were immune to sprays that were two to three hundred times the recommended dosage prescribed by the insecticide manufacturer.

Complicating matters, people often have trouble enduring pesticide treatments and the residues they leave. A revolutionary new bed bug eradication treatment, Cryonite, provides a safe solution. Popular in Europe and Australia but only recently introduced in the United States, Cryonite does not use chemicals or leave noxious or poisonous residues. Cryonite is a completely “green” solution to killing bed bugs. It’s safe for people with sensitive skin, allergies, asthma, medical conditions, babies, young children, the elderly, even pets. A totally dry method of pest elimination, Cryonite leaves no liquid residue which allows for immediate use of the home or building after treatment.

The kryptonite of the pest world, felling even super bugs that are resistant to ordinary pesticides, Cryonite uses rapid freezing to kill bed bugs, cockroaches and most other insects. Unlike traditional pesticides, Cryonite kills bugs in every stage of development. Bugs can’t hide from the pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) “vapor” that seeps into cracks, crevices and other hiding places. Cryonite works by applying thin layers of pressurized CO2 “snow.” As the CO2 hits surfaces, it vaporizes, causing extreme instant cooling of any organism with which the gas comes in contact. In effect, it freezes the cells of insects, crystallizing the water in their cells on contact. The insect is instantly immobilized and it takes only moments for death to occur. Bugs cannot scurry away and escape Cryonite. The fast-freezing gas kills adults, nymphs and eggs alike, unlike pesticides which are impotent on eggs.

Encasements are another important weapon in the property owner’s bed bug eradication arsenal. Encasements protect your investment in mattresses and box springs from bed bugs. If bed bugs occur, they can’t get through the encasement to infect mattresses and box springs. If bed bugs are already evident, they and their eggs are trapped inside the encasements where they eventually suffocate and die. Bed bug-proof encasements are made with breathable materials that are impervious to bed bug bites but guarantee a comfortable night’s sleep. Specially designed seams and zippers keep bugs from crawling in or out. Encasements are meant to remain on your mattress and box springs for as long as you own them, forever protecting your investment from bed bug infiltration.

Douglas Stern is the managing partner of Stern Environmental Group and a bed bug extermination expert. His firm serves clients in New Jersey, New York City, and New York. You can reach him toll free at 1-888-887-8376 or by email at info@sternenvironmental.com or at http://www.SternEnvironmental.com.
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Are you aware of the fact that there are 90% chances for a popular hotel – a suite room or a presidential in a posh hotel to have bed bugs? Even you’re favorite hotel can have bed bugs without your knowledge.

Now you may wonder whether your hotel has got bed bugs or not. What are the symptoms and signs of bed bug infestation? Assuming that your hotel has got bed bugs, what can be done so that your house does not get infested when you return home?

The common symptoms and signs of bed bug infestation are as follows

1. Bed Bug Rash

Itching is the first sign. The rash begins with an itching sensation. The rash will not be visible but you’ll be able to feel the itch.

When a bed bug bites, it can be itchier than mosquito bites. When a mosquito bites, you can sense its sting and feel the sucking of blood. But when bed bugs bite, the itch can be felt only after a time period of minimum one hour. This is caused by the anesthetics in the bed bug’s saliva. They inject anticoagulant and anesthetics, to prevent blood from clotting, before it sucks your blood.

Bed bug rash can be sensed one hour after the bite. But in some cases, the rash appears only a few days or weeks later. This is determined by the body’s response to the chemicals secreted by the bugs.

How can you identify a rash caused by a bed bug? It begins with a, red, small and round (from being inflamed), bump which looks more swollen than a mosquito rash. Initially, only a swollen bump can be seen. In due course of time, the rash spreads all over. This indicates that many bed bugs have started biting you. But in some cases, the rash may look similar to a bite mark in sequence. This is seen in people who constantly move when they’re sleeping. Once the bed bugs notice movement around them, they quickly run back to their hiding places.

When you suspect a bed bug rash, examine it for a few days. The rash causes prolonged itching for days together .Also, a bed bug rash doesn’t heal as quickly as mosquito bites. It remains swollen for weeks together.

2. Bed Bug Odor

Next thing to look for is bed bug odor. What kind of an odor does it have?

A Hotel where there’s plenty of bed bug infestation had this obnoxious, musty, sweet-smelling, odor that bed bugs release. You may find this smell under the headboard and mattresses. If you find a sofa with cracks or a wooden chair in your hotel, check whether they’ve got bed bug odor.

Bed bug odor isn’t easily detectable in hotels with negligible or minimal amount of infestation,

How do you avoid the hotel bed bugs from attacking your house?

Take out all the things from your suitcase the previous night. Bed bugs are efficient hitchhikers. Bed bugs can survive without food for days together. If there are bed bugs in your suitcase, they can attack the entire household.

Check your wooden things for bed bugs. They are attracted to wooden items, paper and cloth. These are the substances that support their survival.

Use water-based insect destroyer and spray it around your suitcase, and that the bed bugs can be thrown away. put your clothes and other things in a clean, dry bath tub. Bed bugs can’t stay in tub crevices as the tub is made up of ceramic or marble and it gets wet quite often.

Wash the used clothes before going back home. Remember, this isn’t a trivial issue. Once your bedroom gets infested with bed bugs, it quickly spreads to neighboring rooms. Destroying bed bugs is really difficult. You may even have to even condemn your sofa and bed to get rid of bed bugs.

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.
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