A brief report from KOMO in Seattle on Thursday’s NPMA Bed Bug Symposium.

It was interesting that the reporter noted that attendees who run hotels and buildings do not want to be filmed. They feared people would think their buildings have bed bugs, and they’d lose customers.

Since bed bugs can infest any multi-unit building, or any hotel, I would personally prefer to rent an apartment from a property manager (or a hotel room from a hotel manager) who attended educational events such as this one, and learned how to prevent, detect, and get rid of bed bugs in their property. I am sure many would agree with me on this.

One concern I have based on the KOMO news video alone is the reporter’s claim that bed bug sniffing k9 April “can come to your house and right away, let you know if you have a [bed bug] problem.”

Bed bug sniffing dogs can be a useful technology in the fight against bed bugs. But they are simply a tool: they alert to the presence of bed bugs; a diligent and careful search by the human handler is required to verify the presence of bed bugs.

Ideally, the dog’s alert is part of the process, not the entire procedure, but many dog handlers apparently don’t confirm the presence of bed bugs after an alert. I am not sure customers are generally knowledgeable about this — and news reports about the bed bug k9 industry are often misleading about how dog inspections should be carried out. In her discussion last night with David Letterman, Mary-Louise Parker also focused on the bed bug sniffing dog’s alert (”the dog sits!”) rather than the actual confirmation of the alert by a handler.

Perhaps Sean Rollo (of the Bed Bug Resource) or others who attended the Seattle symposium will share some highlights or other comments?

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According to the Washington City Paper’s City Desk:

The summit is skedded for March 27 from 10:00 am to 3 pm at 441 4th Street NW, Room 1107. Get ready for a “dialogue on creative and effective approaches to dealing with bedbugs.”

That’s in addition to the even bigger EPA National Bed Bug Summit in Washington D.C. Arlington, Viginia on April 14 and 15.

Go to New York vs. Bed Bugs for all the details on the new venue in Arlington, announced March 31st.

The EPA conference will be webcast, we’re told.

Could it be Gil Scott-Heron was wrong, and the revolution will indeed be televised?

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I thought this was interesting: it’s the promo for the August 14, 2008 Bed Bug Conference “Doing Our Part – A Community Effort” which was held in Cincinnati. According to the description of the video, “More than 400 residents, community leaders, civil servants and elected officials attended the event.”

Thanks to Doug Summers for the tip.
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Did anyone attend today’s bed bug conference in Cincinnati?

According to a Kentucky Post blurb which preceded the conference,

More than 400 people are expected to learn about the latest ways to prevent and eradicate the bugs. They’ll also talk about ways that landlords can help keep bugs from making a home in their buildings. Bed bug cases are expected to rise by 35% this year in Cincinnati.

If you were there, let us know how it went!

Update: WBNS 10TV has a piece on the Cincinnati Health Department’s bed bug conference. It says officials reported complaints of bed bugs in Cincinnati have doubled in the past year:

Officials said the number of bed bug complaints in the city have doubled since last year. Eliminating an infestation can be difficult.

“In the southwest Ohio region, the bed bug species are very resistant to pesticides that are available,” said Camille Jones of the Cincinnati health department.

It may take months of repeated insecticide applications to remove bed bugs from a home, experts said.

Click here to see the video!Similar Posts:

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