Comments on: Crain’s reports: “Exterminators make killing on bedbugs”

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 17:04:47 +0000

Nobugs….Bayer cannot be trusted, they want their cash cow, Suspend and Drionne, to keep being sold. Even though Suspend has limited effectiveness and Drionne is dangerous. Curtis Sliwa is always talking about his kid…how would he feel if he had to put his son to bed in a bed bug infested apt./home. And Ron Koubee is always talking about his pet Bichon Frisee dog. How would he like to find bed bug bites on his precious dog and on himself. They insulted all of us today, by making a mockery of Mr. Blumings lawsuit.

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:45:32 +0000

I do think the hotel and landlord communities together or separate would be more powerful than the pest control lobby. Yes, if Bayer gets involved, the stakes are higher. Here’s where politicians would have to be in favor of re-opening the case on DDT. And once a few of them get bed bugs, perhaps they will.

What Cutis Sliwa needs is to hear from a few working and middle class people with bed bugs, and hear what the majority of us go through.

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:59:17 +0000

Like I said in a prior post…It digusts me. I am concerned about the PCOs seeing this as a cash cow…they might lobby against something that will get rid of them swiftly and cheaply…Just like Bayer Science , based in Germany, lobbied against lifting the DDT ban in Africa…Well Bayer Science manufacters Suspend and Drion.. Just now on 770 am WABC…Curtis and Koubee Show this morning..Curtis Sliwa just mentioned Bed Bugs..I caught the end of it…I am hoping he is going to talk about them…We should contact him…He prides himself on being a champion for those in need…They are discussing the lawsuit now on the radio…They are laughing about a lawyer sueing…Ron Koubee said “How do we know if he didn’t bring them from New York”…well Ron..that could have some truth to it…but the Hotel in London admitted to having infestation problems…but Ron..you’d better start checking around your mattress….you could be next, and you won’t be laughing…Bugalina

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 03:24:34 +0000

Yes, Jess, I am absolutely sure you’re right.

Perhaps some compromise can be reached:

Let’s test DDT and satisfy people that it works and is safe (I think it will, but you know, we have to have some tests done to satisfy both people who say bedbugs became resistant to DDT and those who said DDT is harmful to people and wildlife).

Assuming DDT were available, let’s say PCOs only have to come once and the treatment always works (these are big IFs).

I recommend that PCOs could charge 33% less than whatever they charge now for the standard treatment (for most, according to the article, this is a guarantee based on 2-3 visits). Since they’re now coming once, they can accommodate 2-3 times as many customers. So they’ll make more than now.

I’d be happy to pay a mere 33% less for 50-66% fewer visits, assuming 100% success.

Assuming bed bugs are not eradicated overseas, new customers should keep appearing. But they can have a swift resolution to their troubles. And hotels can keep bed bugs away.

However, if bed bugs stopped appearing here (as they did more or less for several decades), the PCOs would lose their new cash cow.

So the question comes down to this: who has a better lobby in congress? Hoteliers and landlords? Or PCOs?

By: jessinchicago

jessinchicago — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 02:46:56 +0000

I, too, believe that most PCOs would be much happier with a solution that allowed them to make one brief visit at a residence, as opposed to several lengthy ones.

That said, I have to tell you guys that when I had my second PCO here, I had a long chat with the regional manager of the chain, who came along to supervise (that was wonderful). I mentioned, offhandedly, that it would be great if DDT was available to us, since it apparently was widely used to successfully treat bedbugs years ago. He grinned at me, and he said, I kid you not, “I DON’T want that to happen. That would ruin my revenues!”

I took it with a grain of salt and I laughed with him, but I wonder if there’s a kernel of truth to what he said.

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 23:50:27 +0000

I completely agree….my exterminators did not scam me, they just didn’t give me the service I should have gotten for the price I paid, and I believe that they didn’t know enough. This was back in May…I hope they are better educated about bed bugs now….the horrors of it all….Like Mr. Harold Stein said “one treatment, one time , $18.00″ Of course he was talking about treating bed bugs in the 50’s with DDT…..hopefully somehow, we can go back to a more civilized place…..Bugalina..

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 21:07:02 +0000

HI Bugalina,
I agree that PCOs should be honest and do good work, and train their employees properly.
I do believe that honest PCOs do want a pesticide that works. And I bet they’d be happy to charge a nice sized fee and only ever come out once.
I know there are some PCOs that are scamming people or doing shoddy work, but I don’t think it’s the majority.

By: Bugalina

Bugalina — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 13:55:17 +0000

I bear my soul on this board. Every morning I wake up , I go onto this board. My heart is always heavy, and hoping, that I wll go on and see that someone has come up with a “death/cure” for bed bugs. This morning I see what I have known for monhs. Extermintators are making lots of money from the bed bug epidemic. Ok, that’s ok, but what’s not ok is for them to make promises they cannot keep. To overcharge for their services, and to undertrain their technicians. They need to be trained for the emotional minefield they are entering into when dealing with bed bugs. I would like to believe that most exterminators would like to have a product that kills the bugs easily rather than witness the angst of the people who have bb infestations. I see this as as a no-win situation. If it keeps up at this pace people and the hotel industry, are going to be hollering for a chemical that kills them, not some inadequate stuff that costs thousands and requires the entire upheaval of a home for months. The state of this bed bug epidemic disgusts me.