Comments on: “Bombs don’t work on bed bugs.” Citation, anyone?

By: Day Thirteen: The White Album « Unlucky in Bugs

Day Thirteen: The White Album « Unlucky in Bugs — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:30:55 +0000

[...] PCO Victor used four of these little foggers. They are controversial in treating bedbugs. [...]

By: Kevin M. Kirby

Kevin M. Kirby — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:08:14 +0000

I found out that a fellow SRO hotel customer had his room put on the spraying regimen about five weeks ago–just about the time when my own room started getting filled up with bedbugs. It might be a coincidence, or, more likely, they’re simply driving these parasites from one unsuspecting roomer to the next.

And they still haven’t notified anybody else about the impending arrival of these close relatives of the Assassin Bugs!

I, personally, am in frequent contact with a lady whose next bee sting will be her last, due to allergies. What if the weird mind-controlling venom of bedbugs had the same deadly result? Does something like that even once occur to hotel owners?

And now they expect to dispose of all books and things that have taken up to 25% of my income for the last 8 years there, simply by donating them (nymphs and all) to a library or thrift store–so they can continue their futile, “musical chairs” spraying routine.

It’s no wonder the bedbugs have stayed in hiding for fifty years. This new generation is obviously ill-equipped to handle their spread. Indeed, it’s as if the cimex has found a new ally in callous, institutionalized ignorance.

By: hopelessnomo

hopelessnomo — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 04:51:31 +0000

Here’s an older resource from Dr. Potter on this, found on David’s site actually.

It’s from 1999 and it’s not specific to bedbugs but it fairly describes the risk of scattering insects and sending them into wall voids.

Limitations of Home Insect Foggers (“Bug Bombs”)

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:44:28 +0000

No–

I am looking at page 33 of the second edition (see our links) and it says this:

“In the past, fumigants were widely used for bed bug control, however as other
effective methods exist that pose less operational risk to the Pest Manager and
client, fumigants are not recommended within this CoP. Currently, no fumigants
are specifically registered for the control of bed bugs. Fumigants also have the
disadvantage of not offering any residual protection. The use of ozone as a fumigant is also not recommended within this CoP due to the associated health
risks and the fact that the chemical is the main component of photochemical
smog.”

I believe that Doggett is talking about fumigants like Vikane gas. Vikane has no residual.

Note that one page 31 of the 2nd edition, he says,

“Like aerosols, the smoke generating
insecticides (known as pyrotechnics) or total release insecticides (‘bombs’) are
also unlikely to penetrate into harbourage areas.”

So there are references in the same document to aerosols and “bombs”.

By: lil_bit_obsessed

lil_bit_obsessed — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 04:41:16 +0000

are fogging and fumigating the same thing? also, in the australian code of practice, on page 25/26, it mentions that fumigants do not have residual properties. is this true? because my pco told me that the “fog” he used in my apartment was a residual… (dragnet - with permethrin)

By: Winston O. Buggy

Winston O. Buggy — Thu, 31 May 2007 20:35:24 +0000

Deep= to an area where the material is not bothering them, but after repeated
events they may continue to travel. There is no exact distance direction or equation
as it is not a controlled environment. As with many aspects of bed bugs and other critters good and bad much is not none.

By: James Buggles

James Buggles — Thu, 31 May 2007 17:49:43 +0000

What does “sending them deep” mean in terms of location?

By: nobugsonme

nobugsonme — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:47:53 +0000

Very helpful, Winston!

By: Winston O. Buggy

Winston O. Buggy — Thu, 31 May 2007 14:33:26 +0000

As the line from Dr. Strangelove goes ” bombs are not all bad”.
The issue with bombs is that they are used as a space spray in
other words they fill a space such as a room with a pesticide mist.
Amount is determined by cubic feet which is length x width x height,
THEY ARE OFTEN OVER USED - READ THE LABEL.
They are ideal for flying insects that fly around in the “space”but insects that are
shy nocturnal and hide in small cracks and crevices are not really effected which is why most are not labeled for bed bugs. Since it gets all over it is usually a non residual so it only kills the pests it contacts and then quickly breaks down. Now if
you have a bad bb problem it may kill those exposed ones on the drapes, edge of cracks etc. BUT as we learned from years of roach warfare it only kills 20 % and the rest go deeper or receive a sub lethal dose only to return at a later date. Getting back to bed bugs, if you keep repeating this method you can really send them deep and into other apartments as well. Unfortunately the tendency is to keep reusing hence the real problem of spreading them and not gaining control and driving them deeper into belongings which only exacerbates and prolongs the problem. Hence bombs are not recommended for bed bug control.

By: links for 2007-05-31 | Musings of a Chicagoan

links for 2007-05-31 | Musings of a Chicagoan — Thu, 31 May 2007 05:29:55 +0000

[...] This is a good link if anyone ever asks me to prove that bug-bomb fumigation doesn’t work on b… (tags: reference useful bedbugs) [...]