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MUTANT bed bugs are becoming increasingly difficult to kill, leading to a rise in infestations in Scottish homes. Experts warn that genetic mutations of the repellent pests have developed a resistance to the most commonly used insecticides, making them twice as difficult to exterminate. Michael Siva-Jothy, Professor of Entomology at University of Sheffield, said scientists and policy makers are currently in talks over the best way to treat the bed bug problem. He warned that bed bugs could soon become resistant to all our available treatments, unless the situation is properly managed. Bed bug infestations around Scotland are on the rise   Prof Siva-Jothy said: “Bed bugs are becoming resistant to the most commonly used insecticides, called pyrethroids. If you go out to infested houses then you will find that these bugs are very resistant to standard chemicals being used to treat them. “What we are seeing here is evolution in action, genetic changes in bed bugs produce resistance to insecticides and in many cases patterns of pesticide use by home owners and pest control companies is making the situation worse. “There is a big problem with home owners and pest controllers using increasing doses of the same pesticide to

Responding to the resurgence in bed bug infestations, bed bug products claiming to get rid of the blood-sucking pests have flooded the market. But consumers should be wary of this trend toward off-the-shelf “solutions.” Two other trends also must be considered: 1) bed bugs are developing resistance to chemicals designed to kill them, and 2) government regulations have stiffened regarding what pesticides are available on the open market. Chances are that any pesticide bed bug products you can buy in a store aren't going to work. Specialists in bed beg removal will know what pesticides are still working and, unlike consumers, they’ll have access to those products. According to the University of California’s statewide Integrated Pest Management program, “The most effective bed bug pesticides are available to commercial pesticide applicators only. Professionals also have the equipment and expertise that allow a more effective application of insecticides than residents could do themselves. In addition, professionals have the training to detect and isolate infestations, which often allows for more effective control. “ So when it comes to bed bugs, do-it-yourselfers would be wise to recognize their limitations. Much time, money, and frustration can be saved by hiring

Chicago, Ill., March 14, 2012 — Nothing’s so glorious as signs of spring in Chicago. Everything wakes up, from the crocuses outside to the creepy crawlies inside. If bedbugs are biting, the first line of defense is as green as the season—canine bedbug detectives can sniff out the problem, mapping your pest control plan, saving you money and keeping your family safe from a blanket of harsh chemicals throughout your home. “Using a certified bed bug dog for an inspection pinpoints your bed bug problem and allows you to focus energy in the infested area,” says Tim Braband, owner of Chicago-based Elite Bed Bug Detection. “You eliminate the need for treating areas not affected and save your family from exposure to unnecessary chemicals.” Bed bug dogs that are certified through the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA) are fast and accurate 97 percent of the time, while visual inspection, even by trained pest control specialists, is a protracted and often unreliable process, which most often leads to a bombing of harmful chemicals, and sometimes to more dangerous solutions. For example, the January 26, 2012 issue of Chicago Reader reported on a property owner who attempted to eradicate bed bug on his own

The total tally of bed bug infested dorm rooms at UNL is now up to 149. Bed bug sniffing dogs have checked more than 2,000 dorm rooms, indicating 149 of those rooms had bed bugs. "We've taken a very aggressive approach and sought resources across the country," said Kelly Bartling, a UNL spokesperson. "The bed bug dogs are difficult to find and in high demand, we've had them flown in from all over the country." There are less than 1,000 rooms left to check, and UNL says the search will be complete by next week. "No one can say there will never be bed bugs, we know that bed bugs are here, they are everywhere," said Bartling. "In my opinion its going to be very difficult I'd be very concerned," said Greg Warren with Enviro-Tech Pest Services. "Just think about how many places students go to a day. I think it could be an ongoing battle." Warren says he thinks the university needs to pre-treat all the dorm rooms, to get ahead of the problem, and prevent the bed bugs from spreading. "We hit the cracks and crevices (with chemicals)," said Warren. "It lasts about

A company from Lincoln believes it has found a unique solution to the problem of bed bugs and said it was expecting a boom in business thanks to the Olympics. Gelder Group originally bought heat exchangers to dry out flooded rooms but discovered they made the areas hot enough to kill the pests. Bed bugs hitch-hike on clothes around the world and "the year's worth of tourism within two weeks" during the Olympics will lead to a rise in the problem, the company said. The firm said theirs was a chemical-free treatment as bed bugs became more resilient to pesticides. Source: www.bbc.co.uk  19 February 2012

KEY POINTS: Canine scent detection can be an effective inspection method Dogs, just like humans, are not perfect and thus are not 100% reliable Many factors need to be considered when evaluating the effectiveness of a canine scent detection service for bed bugs Dogs have been used very effectively for the detection of a wide variety of things which include but are not limited to drugs, bombs, fugitives, cadavers, mold, and termites. So why not bed bugs? There would seem to be no reason, and canine scent detection for bed bugs is already available. A number of scent detection companies have emerged offering canine scent detection of bed bugs. While we are advocates of canine scent detection, it is also our opinion that the current scent detection offerings have limitations. If you are considering a scent detection company you should consider the following: How frequently do the dogs have false positive alerts (this means that the dog alerts to the presence of bedbugs in situations where bedbugs are not present). How often (what percent of time) do dogs fail to find bed bugs? You will want to carefully look at the claims of the company you are considering and determine what type of research has been

I exchanged some emails with Penelope Green when she was writing the story, and I think she did a good job overall.  I figured this was a good time to add a FAQ to our repertoire about bed bug sniffing dogs and what you need to know if you’re thinking of hiring one. (My comments below are about bed bug sniffing dog teams generally, and are not specifically in reference to the firm or dog team referenced in the article.) The most important thing for customers to know is that bed bug sniffing dog alerts need to  be visually verified — by this, I mean the dog handler looks carefully in the vicinity where the dog alerted, to find evidence of bed bugs. As I said to Penelope Green in an email last week, Dogs that are trained [well] can be effective in sniffing out bed bugs.  However, it’s important that when a dog alerts to bed bugs, its handler follows up by visually confirming the presence of bed bugs.  Without a visual confirmation, the customer has no way of knowing if this is a false alert, and false alerts do happen. False alerts have led to customers spending thousands of dollars on treatments.    And in

By ANDREA CANNING (@andreacanGMA) , SUZAN CLARKE and MARY PFLUM Aug. 31, 2010   Bedbugs are a growing problem. People can unwittingly get them at work, or at the movies, or in retail stores. Added to the aggravation, irritation of the bites and social stigma of having a bedbug infestation in one's home is the cost of treatment. Traditional methods of bedbug treatments cost thousands of dollars and there's no guarantee the maddening pests won't return. But one chemical-free method of treatment is giving people new hope. The process is called thermal remediation, which uses intense heat to kills the blood-sucking bugs in one treatment.   Process Preserves Homeowners' Belongings So far, it seems to have worked for Allison South of Long Island in New York. Click HERE to learn how to avoid bedbug-infested hotels and to learn how to handle an infestation in your home. South's nightmare began about three weeks ago - it's left her frustrated, stressed and embarrassed. South has no idea where she picked up her unwanted guests. "It's come to the point where I feel like something is itching, I just go crazy at this point because I think it's a bedbug. I'm waking up every night with bites the size of a dime

  Bed bugs are an incredibly difficult pest to control because they are so good at hiding in tiny cracks and crevices. Also, modern bed bug populations are highly resistant to the insecticides used for their control. Because bed bugs are difficult to access, and our insecticides do not work as well as we would like, home owners and pest management professionals have been searching for novel ways to kill bed bugs inside a structure. Heat is known to be a very effective bed bug killer and it can be used in many different ways to treat infestations. For instance, heat in the form of steam can be used to treat bed bugs in carpets, behind base boards and on upholstered furniture. Hot dryers and portable heat chambers can be used to kill bed bugs in infested household items. Larger heat chambers can be used to treat furniture, while professional heating systems can be used to treat entire rooms and structures. Heat treatment offers certain advantages when it comes to bed bug management. Heat is non-toxic, and can kill all bed bug life stages including bed bug eggs. However, heat treatment of any kind (except your home clothes dryer) is still relatively expensive and has no residual (long lasting) activity. The lack of residual

The District is just now waking up to a bunch of little problems under the sheets. Don Wilder remembers the night he found his own blood on his sheets. Itchy red welts had been appearing on his arms and legs for six months. His doctor, dermatologist, plastic surgeon, and psychiatrist all had different theories—so he tried prescriptions and rubbed Bactine and lidocaine lotion on his skin. But the red marks only spread. “Literally hundreds” of them dotted his legs that night in October 2005, he says, when he lifted his sheet to find blood “all over.” The next morning Wilder scoured his apartment. When he pulled his bed away from the wall, he found an empty cardboard box on the floor. It held a nest with a layer of eggs so thick it looked like wax in a beehive. Hundreds of bedbugs crawled around inside, active and robust from feeding on Wilder’s body. “They’re like little blood sacks running around,” he says. Wilder, a hairdresser, is one of many tenants in the Norwood apartment building at 14th and N Streets NW, near Logan Circle, who are reluctant bedbug experts after years of battling infestations. Wilder says his seventh-floor apartment and the plush sofa that once