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Bed bugs in the media: David Cain on British radio, Dr. Susan Jones in the Plain Dealer

nobugsonme — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 21:42:25 +0000

Bed bug specialists David Cain (of Bed-bugs.co.uk and active in our Bedbugger Forums) and Dr. Susan C. Jones (of Ohio State University) have been in the press this week, spreading good information about bed bugs.

David Cain was interviewed by BBC Derby’s Aleena Naylor on her morning show today. The approximately ten-minute interview starts at 1:42:35, so you can scroll through to it once the player loads.

It’s basically “bed bugs for beginners,” covering the basics, including these facts:

bed bugs are not spread by lack of hygiene,
they’re visible but you might not see them,
they bite, but you may not react to bed bug bites,
bed bug problems “can and should be controlled,” and
people need to learn to inspect for bed bugs and their signs.

Have a listen before it disappears!

Also, last week, entomologist Dr. Susan C. Jones warned readers of Cleveland’s Plain Dealer about the spread of bed bugs.

Jones’s article focuses on the spread of bed bugs via people traveling and college students returning home. It gives extensive advice about avoiding bed bugs while traveling, how to search a hotel room for bed bugs, what to do if you spot them in a hotel room, and key treatment advice:

If you suspect an infestation in your home, immediately contact a pest control company with experience in dealing with bed bugs. Don’t wait, because the problem will just get worse. And don’t use bug bombs. They rarely kill bed bugs but instead cause the bugs to scatter into areas you wouldn’t usually find them, such as your bathroom or kitchen.

Dr. Jones also recommends against boric acid, which we know does not work against bed bugs, and stresses that people should have their pest professional inspect a sample to ensure it is a bed bug (bat bugs and other creatures need different or additional kinds of treatment and action). Dr. Jones also gives this excellent advice:

Always report bed bugs, although it may be difficult to know where to report such infestations. Start with your local health department, and if that’s not the right agency, ask who is responsible.

Not knowing who to report to is confusing and exhausting, readers tell me, but we have seen many instances reported in the media where health departments or other authorities took action and monitored situations, improving and speeding treatment to heavily infested properties. It certainly cannot hurt, and it can definitely help.

Making these phone calls also reminds health department officials (and others they may pass you on to) that bed bugs are a problem where you live. Your local officials need to understand this.

Thanks to David and to Dr. Jones for their tireless and valuable work in educating the public about bed bugs, their behavior, and how to spot and react to their presence. The first battle in the fight against bed bugs is the battle against ignorance.Similar Posts:

Bed Bug Barrier passive bed bug monitor wins ABC’s “The New Inventors” episode

nobugsonme — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:31:57 +0000

The Australian show “The New Inventors”(ABC) features several new inventions in an episode, with a panel of judges choosing the best of the lot.

Inventor Tony Abrahams won episode 16 (20 May 2009) with his passive bed bug monitor, the “Bed Bug Barrier,” which either attaches above the feet of the bed, or sits under the feet of the bed, trapping bed bugs attempting to crawl up onto the bed in a glue. (Based on the placement of the glue under the rim of the device, it is not clear to me whether bed bugs would also be intercepted if they tried to crawl off a bed, rather than onto it, as would be true with the Climbup TM Interceptor.)

There’s some iffy science here (for example, I don’t think anyone can prove the inventor’s claim that bed bugs cannot harbor on a mattress encasement). One judge is concerned that bed bugs brought onto a bed via a suitcase (rather than climbling up the bed leg) will not be hindered by this tool, and this judge is apparently correct. Bed bugs can live on beds. This device will not get rid of bed bugs living in the bed frame, on the mattress, or for that matter, on chairs or in other parts of the room.

This does not mean the trap is useless, but it does mean it is not a total solution. I would like to see independent test data demonstrating the effectiveness of any bed bug monitors. And I would like to know whether bed bugs are 100% trapped while entering or leaving a bed, since from what I can see, there’s some possibility bed bugs exiting a bed could drop down without crawling on the underside (glued) region of the trap.

Clearly, the passive bed bug monitor is an idea that is blooming in lots of different forms, and time (and independent peer reviewed research, we hope!) will tell which is best.

You can read about other currently available bed bug monitors such as the Climbup TM Interceptors — which provide a barrier for bed bugs climbing onto or off of beds — here, or read about David Cain’s soon-to-be-widely-available bbalert monitors — which provide a harborage for bed bugs somewhere on the bed frame itself — here and here.

I love that a bed bug-related product won this contest. Interestingly, Tony Abrahams got the idea for this product because he was in the business of renting out accommodations to travelers. His invention beat out a device which weighs beehives and some kind of portable refrigeration/food heating device.

Let’s face it: bed bugs in the popular media are always a good thing: one of the judges notes she will change her hotel room behaviors based on this presentation (presumably, she won’t be leaving luggage on the bed anymore!) If news about the problem of bed bugs reached many other Australians via this show, that in itself is a very good thing.

Click below to watch!

Thanks to Paula for the tip!Similar Posts:

New interview with David Cain and more on the bbalert (TM) system

nobugsonme — Mon, 04 May 2009 18:54:57 +0000

Check out this new and fascinating podcast from New York vs. Bed Bugs, where Renee Corea of New York vs. Bed Bugs and David Cain of bed-bugs.co.uk (and well known to our Bedbugger Forum users) talk about the recent Pestex 2009, new bbalert™ passive and active bed bug monitors, new treatment options (including oxygen depletion), and other fascinating topics. Do take a moment to also watch the video of David demonstrating the new bbalert monitors.

We previously discussed bbalert’s passive monitors here.

You can read more about midmos solutions’ bbalert™ system of passive bed bug monitors, active bed bug monitors, and the O2PM treatment here.

Thanks to Renee and David!

Update (5/8):

Here’s a review from merlin on the UK PCO forum, from a firm that is field testing the bbalert™ Passive Monitor in a hotel with roughly 800 guests a month.

We have been making fortnightly inspections to check on progress and yesterday we had a result. In one room one of the monitors had spotting on the detection skirt, on closer inspection a bug could be seen in the monitor. The monitor was removed and dismantled, inside was a lone gravid female and two clutches of 4 eggs neatly cemented to the fill layer. A very thorough inspection was carried out in the infested room and surrounding areas with no further evidence found. We will be reinspecting again to ensure that no eggs had been laid elsewhere, but early indications suggest that the inoculating population was maintained within the monitor and was removed without chemical intervention.

Interestingly, merlin also notes,

The 8 groups of guest that used the room since the last inspection have been flagged on the booking system. One group are staying again in a weeks time, after their holiday and arrangements have been made for the increased risk they pose.

Similar Posts:

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More information on cheap and cheerful bed bug monitors!

nobugsonme — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:46:51 +0000

Where else but Bedbugger.com do you see the phrase “cheap and cheerful” and “bed bug monitors” in the same sentence? Okay, we’re not Apartment Therapy, but we know a good thing when we see it.

Remember the Climbup™ Interceptors — the inexpensive bed bug monitors, developed by Susan McKnight, which you place under a bed or sofa leg? The idea is that bed bugs will get stuck either crawling onto or off of the trap, and you will therefore not only be able to know if you have bed bugs, but which direction they’re coming from. (One forum user whose PCO employed these referred to them informally as “coasters.”)

This is the view from above of a Climbup™ Interceptor with bed bugs caught in it. (Your bed or sofa leg would go into the center.)

This month’s issue of Pest Control Technology has an article by Changlu Wang, Timothy J. Gibb, and Gary W. Bennett detailing the study of the Climbup™ Interceptor. You can see the contents of the April PCT issue with a link to the article here. This is the same study I discussed in the previous post about the product. To quote from the PCT Online article,

RESULTS. The inspections revealed that all 13 apartments were infested with bed bugs. The average bed bug count was 6.7 per apartment. Among the residents interviewed, only four of 10 said they noticed bed bug bites. After visual inspection and hand removal of bed bugs, we installed Climbup interceptors under furniture legs. After seven days, an average of 8.8 bed bugs per apartment was captured using the interceptors.

CONCLUSIONS.: Bed bug interceptors are more effective than visual inspections for determining the presence/absence of bed bugs and estimating bed bug numbers. In addition, they can effectively detect low levels of bed bug infestation. Because interceptors remove bed bugs, they also provide immediate relief to residents from bites and reduce the need for insecticide applications as they catch the bugs.

[Note the fact that 4 out of 10 residents reacted to bed bug bites.]

Update (5/6/2009):

Climbup™ Interceptors are now available from NorthShore Care (with free shipping if you enter the code in the ad below) and other online retailers, as well as from Residex and Oldham Chemical. In New York City, you can get them from Standard Pest in Astoria.

(Disclosure: Bedbugger has an affiliate relationship with NorthShore Care, which means that if you purchase through our links, it helps support this website at no additional cost to you. We’re grateful to NorthShore Care for offering our readers the best deals we know of on Protect-a-Bed AllerZip encasements and Climbup™ Interceptors, as well as free shipping with the BBFREE coupon code.)

You can also click the following links to download a PDF brochure about Climbup™ Interceptors, or instructions for their use.
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Meanwhile, also in the world of bed bug monitors, David Cain of bed-bugs.co.uk (who is well known to our Bedbugger Forum users) has been developing a different kind of passive bed bug monitor. Again, this would be something which will be affordable to everyone and could be potentially used in every bed as an ongoing monitoring tool.

The March and April 2009 issue of Pest has an article on David’s passive monitor. Click here to download a PDF.

Pest notes,

The monitor is roughly the size of a packet of cigarettes. Made of moulded plastic it consists of a seven layer sandwich. On top is a label to record the monitoring routine. This is stuck to the top layer of the plastic monitor, within which is the filler consisting of corrugated pulp-based tunnels – ideal hideaways for bedbugs.

The monitors are designed to be anchored to a particular spot on various types of beds.

According to Pest, limited quantities are currently available from bed-bugs.co.uk, “with large scale availability before the summer.”

These two passive monitors have different functions. The Climbup™ Interceptor can only intercept bed bugs which are climbing onto or off of legs of the furniture placed in the disks. They should remain trapped if they cross the interceptor.

David Cain’s passive bed bug monitor is a harborage for bed bugs in the bed itself (attached to the bed base or onto a bed slat, depending on the type of bed). Bed bugs are not forced to remain in the monitor, however.

Neither of these items is going to trap all of your bed bugs or remove them from your home; they are just monitoring devices. But monitoring devices are very valuable where bed bugs are concerned, and both of these tools allow pest professionals and clients can work together to monitor whether bed bugs are present in a space.

We are most excited to see these tools being developed. Bed bugs are a most elusive enemy, and we need all the help we can get in determining they are present.Similar Posts:

Another journalist tells own bed bug tale of woe, this time Michael Hann in the Guardian (UK)

nobugsonme — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 04:01:11 +0000

It’s always good when journalists and others in the media tell their own bed bug stories.

As far as raising public awareness about how bed bugs can (and will) infest anyone’s home, having a journalist or writer tell their bed bug story in the news media is almost as good as having a friend or relative tell you they had the problem. Here’s a person who seems to have it together: decent career, nice home (we imagine), he doesn’t look too sloppy in the mugshot next to his byline.

The point is driven home: this can happen to everyone.

Unfortunately, it seems to take a lot of this in order to educate the public about bed bugs. We’re getting there, but slowly. So I am always grateful to see first-person accounts of bed bugs in the print media, on TV, and on non-bed bug blogs.

And today, Michael Hann writes in the Guardian about his family’s bed bug problems.

I can’t decide where, in our battle with the bedbugs, we reached the nadir. Was it when my son’s reception class teacher called my wife to express her concern about the number of bites on his arms, body and face? “He says they’re … bedbug bites,” she said, disbelievingly. “That’s right,” my wife replied. “We’ve got an infestation that we’re being treated for.” “Oh, I understand – I’ve come across bedbugs, when I’ve been travelling in Africa.” The words “but not when I’ve been teaching in north London” went unspoken.

And there, my friends, we see the need for still more public awareness about bed bugs: the teacher was shocked a kid in her classroom had bed bugs.

The article goes through the various experiences the family goes through, including treatment, and undergoing a post-treatment deep clean, only to find bed bugs harboring happily in a bed frame.

The article includes quotations from Bedbugger forum participant David Cain, of Bed Bugs Limited in the UK. David Cain’s suggestion to avoid sitting on public transportation is included as is the advice to the family from an unnamed woman who performed a deep clean after treatment:

… a woman who advised us that, in addition to never sitting down on public transport, we should always remove our clothes before entering a bedroom.

Now, that’s caution.

One of the tips at the end under “How to spot an infestation” intrigued me:

Look for unexplained rashes, although one in 10 people doesn’t respond to bites. If you react badly, use antihistamines.

Jerome Goddard says as many as 70% of folks don’t react to bed bug bites. I am interested in the sources of either of these figures.

I know you’ll want to read the rest of Hann’s story here.Similar Posts:

Excellent new podcast: Renee in conversation with David Cain

nobugsonme — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 07:34:54 +0000

I don’t have enough time at this moment to do much commentary on this, but I want to point you to New York vs. Bed Bugs, where Renee of New York vs. Bed Bugs posted a new podcast with David Cain of Bed Bugs Limited (many readers will also know David from our Bedbugger forums, both for his knowledge of bed bugs and his sense of humor).

Among other things, the discussion covers David’s recent London Bed Bug Survey, and various types of bed bug monitors.

Thanks to Renee, and to David!Similar Posts:

Post-recall, Nightwatch good to go

Bed-bugs.co.uk study of how bed bugs spread in London

nobugsonme — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:59:25 +0000

David Cain is well known to frequenters of the Bedbugger forums, and his company, Bed-bugs.co.uk has now completed a survey of the locations of bed bug infestations in London, with some interesting results the company has now made available.

By mapping bed bug infestations on a highly localised level, using postcode sectors*, the company has been able to both confirm certain theories and discount others about how this pest is spreading geographically.

(The notes tell us, “Postcode Sectors are the first part of a postcode plus the first digit of the second part e.g. SE1 1. Dependent on density, this gives a map resolution of approximately half a mile.”)

The report may help answer questions like:

Why… does the data show such a spike in 2004? And why do there appear to be distinct ‘hotspots’ and ‘corridors’ running through London?

Bed-Bugs.co.uk managing director David Cain says: “This is a real breakthrough in the fight against bed bugs. Mapping on this micro level has given us a hitherto unseen view of exactly how bed bugs are spreading across London”

“Most interestingly, the research shows that in certain areas (i.e. postcode sectors) infestations have been effectively tackled, with reported numbers considerably reduced. In other areas the problem has remained roughly the same but in some areas the number of reported infestations has risen alarmingly.

Our research also dispels the myth that bed bugs are a universal problem in London but confirms that in certain areas the problem has reached epidemic proportions and that current control methods are simply not working. The big questions are ‘why not?’ and ‘what can we do to address that?’ ”

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Councils were asked to supply data showing the number of infestations reported to them over the last 5 years, by Postcode Sector. The majority of Councils were able to comply with the request and the data has now been analysed and mapped.

The results show that, looked at on a macro-level e..g. by council or by postcode area e.g. SW or even by postcode district e.g. SW8 one receives a totally false picture of the problem.

Only when infestations are mapped on a micro-level such as Postcode sector e.g. SW8 5 does one get a clear and accurate picture of the problem. Across the Capital, we have identified numerous sectors showing large increases with many showing 300-400% year-on-year increases.

In other words, casting the net over a smaller geographical area yields more meaningful data and suggests patterns.

David Cain says his company will be sharing this information with all participating London councils at a conference on December 15th.

He also argues councils should all be tracking data on infestations (and doing so the same way), and that bed bugs should be a notifiable pest.

Want to get rid of bed bugs? Find out where they are, and keep track of how they spread.

We applaud Cain and his team for undertaking this research, and we hope all cities begin tracking infestations.Similar Posts:

Times article on spread of bed bugs via trains, planes, and automobiles

nobugsonme — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:57:50 +0000

A Times (UK) article today on the spread of bed bugs emphasized the role of travel, specifically, the spread of bed bugs in public transportation:

Savvas Othon, technical director at Rentokil, said: “The short turnaround times for planes and other forms of transport means they are sometimes not inspected as thoroughly as they used to be. What should happen is a good vacuum around the back of seats and in the creases of seats. Any small gap is ideal for a bedbug, which can go for quite some time without a meal.”

Pest Control company Rentokil said it was now treating all kinds of public vehicles for bed bugs:

Rentokil says that it has seen a 24 per cent increase in work related to airlines, a 51 per cent increase in road-related call-outs, a 59 per cent jump in the shipping sector and a 9 per cent rise on rail in the past 12 months, compared with the year before.

“Bedbug infestations will continue to rise,” Mr Othon said. “Delays at airports don’t help as people sit in airport terminals, take things out of their bags and the bedbug jumps out and goes in search of another source of blood.”

While the general public is starting to think about hotel rooms as potential sites of infestation, it’s helpful to see a major newspaper highlighting the spread of bed bugs in airports, airplanes, trains, cars, and ships.

Awareness is key, as David Cain of Bed-bugs.co.uk stressed to the Times:

He said: “The number one reason for the spread of bedbugs is the lack of public awareness. People simply do not know how to detect them in the way they would have done in the 1950s and 1960s.

“They are a problem on buses, trains and subway systems, and on cruise ships too — any form of transport where there is a high turnover, really. Recently, on an overground train in South London, I pulled at the parting of the upholstery and found at least four months of dirt and debris.”

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Another Craigslist bed bug story

nobugsonme — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:11:44 +0000

It’s a dangerous time for taking in secondhand goods. These days, you don’t need to crawl the curbside looking for secondhand furniture that may contain bed bugs. Craigslist, Freecycle, and similar websites offer forums where people with stuff can connect with people who can buy it or take it for free.

Inevitably, some of that stuff is going to be from the homes of people who have bed bugs (whether they know it or not) and it’s easy to introduce bed bugs into your home in this way.

Some folks have even taken it into their own hands to post warnings about bed bugs on Craigslist, since the company is apparently unwilling to do so itself.

And so I offer you: the second bed bug story from Craigslist in one week.

Last week, we got a lesson in “how to spread bed bugs in three easy steps” via the post of a Craigslister offering nearly the entire contents of a home, while warning that the home had bed bugs, and nevertheless reassuring people it wasn’t hard to decontaminate bedbug-infested items including a futon, an upholstered office chair, a crib and — (potentially the bed bug motherlode) a captain’s bed.

This time, we see an ad for a “FREE antique couch” in “beautiful condition,” offered by a Toronto Craigslister at 3:21 pm on Sunday 8/17.

We simply can’t take it with us.

Yours if you can pick it up. Worth hundreds. Upholstery in great condition.

xxx xxxxxx Avenue.

Will be on the curb today.

Readers might have wondered why an “antique couch” in “beautiful condition” was being left curbside in Leslieville, and not moved along with other belongings? Well, it’s possible they did not have the means to move it. It happens, right?

Then we see a separate post in response by another Craigslister in the Toronto “Free Stuff” section the following day 8/18 at 1:16 pm. The title of this post is the exact address given in the first post as the place to pick up the sofa:

hi guys… we picked up that couch yesterday and by midnight — while watching tv — we discovered some bedbugs crawling along it… we have since thrown out all our furniture that was near it, doing the big clean of all our fabric… and are hoping that this will do the trick….we are in talks with our super about getting the apt. sprayed…

in 10 yrs. of being in toronto, my partner and i have never had to experience bedbugs…

Although I suppose there are other possible explanations (such as the sofa recipients having bed bugs already and just happening to notice them for the first time on their newly introduced Craigslist sofa, the day they pick it up), it really does look like the recipient got bed bugs along with the sofa.

Perhaps the unlucky sofa recipients thought it safe to accept this furniture because they figured if something had bed bugs living in it, the donor would know it was infested, and would not give it away.

As the song goes, ‘t ain’t necessarily so.

Never assume anything is bed bug-free. A good percentage of the population does not react to bed bug bites. Some estimates put this number as high as 50%.

The person donating your secondhand stuff, whether they’re a friend, neighbor, or someone on Craigslist may have no idea they have bed bugs. Maybe the sofa’s former owner was one of them.

On the other hand, I’m not so sure that’s the case here. If the recipients of the sofa saw multiple bed bugs, isn’t there a good chance the former owner did too?

Perhaps they did not know what they were.

Or perhaps they knew there were bed bugs in the home and were moving out to get rid of them, but did not understand that all of their furniture and possessions were at risk of harboring bed bugs.

In either case, ignorance is not bliss. As I said earlier in the week, these Craigslist bed bug cases emphasize the need for education: the government needs to educate the public about how easily bed bugs spread, and about how to inspect one’s home for them, and how to avoid getting them or passing them to others.

People should not be wondering, as this metafilter poster did back in 2006, whether there’s a “foolproof way” to be sure furniture items are not infested before you take them home, or to remove bed bugs from the item once you get home.

Picking up secondhand goods on the street needs to be seen as a really stupid idea, in every instance.

And Craigslist and Freecycle and similar services need to warn people, point blank, that any item offered via their service may be infested with bed bugs. Period.

There’s one good way to ensure no one gets bed bugs from an item that is tossed out or given away, and that’s to destroy it.

Remember the story David Cain told in the Bedbugger forums, about once having treated “the same Italianesque bed in 3 different properties on the same street”?

One tenant tossed out a bed bug-infested bed, the second saw it curbside and thought it looked nice, but later realized his/her error and tossed it out again. The third tenant made the same mistake as the second.

At this point, David ended the cycle with a baseball bat:

As I did general pest control in those days, I was able to rely upon my trusty rat bat to make sure that it did not find its way into a fourth [home].

Many thanks to the anonymous Toronto Bedbugger who tipped me off to these Craigslist posts.

Note: unlike the last Craigslist post, I decided not to do a screenshot of this one, since it has an address included, albeit the poster’s former address. I don’t mind linking to that on Craigslist, but I don’t want to be the one responsible for sharing someone’s address online. (So please don’t mention the address if you see it!)Similar Posts:

Some UK housing authorities ceasing to pay for bed bug treatment

nobugsonme — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:04:33 +0000

This article from the Hounslow Chronicle (in London) on Tuesday reports that some UK housing authorities are no longer paying for tenants’ bed bug treatment, due to the rise in cases.

It tells the story of Claire Prince, 24. She and her four children are sleeping on floors, air mattresses, and in a stroller, since their beds were discarded due to bed bugs.

Sadly, what’s coming between the family and a good night’s sleep is bed bug treatment. And the cost isn’t terribly high, by other regions’ pest control standards:

David [Cain of Bed-bugs.co.uk], who claims west London hotspots for bed bugs include neighbouring Twickenham (TW1), said the problem can only be fixed by professionals but many housing authorities are removing responsibility from tenancy agreements following the rise in cases.

In Claire’s case it would cost her £130 to have two rooms in her home treated by Hounslow Council pest control contractors. Hounslow Homes claim it is the tenants’ responsibility to eradicate the pests. But as a single mum, Prince says this is a cost she simply can’t afford.

I can understand why housing authorities might feel the pinch. Landlords, where required to pay for bed bug treatment, do too.

Unfortunately, if a family cannot get prompt and high quality bed bug treatment, they won’t get rid of their bed bugs. This puts their neighbors — and others who are in contact with the family at work or school or on public transit — at risk of getting the problem too.

Everyone needs treatment for bed bugs, regardless of ability to pay. Governments need to find a solution for this. “Each person for him or herself” does not work, because bed bugs can spread easily to others.

As long as someone in your community has a bed bug problem, so do you.Similar Posts: