Remember last week, when the boardinghouse/SRO hotel above the Tara Station Bar in Harrisburg was found to be infested — apparently by bed bugs — but in the two stories covering the case, WHPTV (CBS Channel 21) reporters refused to say the phrase “bed bugs”, referring instead to “bugs” and “insects?”

This was so, even though the attached videos showed what clearly appeared to be bed bugs crawling on a ceiling (speckled with what appeared to be bed bug fecal stains) and also crawling on a man’s shirt, and even though the same man showed them “bug bites” he had sustained? (Note: if you have an itchy bite mark and a bed bug is crawling on your shirt in broad daylight, entertaining a video crew, it’s probably a pretty safe bet you have bed bug bites.)

(You can see those earlier videos from CBS Channel 21 here and here.)

Well, we kind of figured that story wasn’t over.

Today, WGAL reports that the building was shut down by city code inspectors:

Police and fire companies are looking into possible bed bugs at a Harrisburg hotel. The chief of police said it is not healthy for anyone to stay the night.

Four city code inspectors were inside a small hotel owned by Wali Rentals LLC on Fourth and Chestnut streets Wednesday afternoon after they received a complaint about a bed bug problem.

Officials also closed a restaurant on the first floor of the building as a precaution.

Chief Charles Kellar said the inspectors themselves were infested with the bugs during their investigation. They were sent to Harrisburg Hospital to be decontaminated.

“One had a cuff, and she undid the cuff of her pants, and a lot came out of there. One guy said it looked like the walls were moving,” said Kellar.

(Notice how WGAL is referring to “possible bed bugs.”)

The residents were removed from the building:

Tenants were ushered through a mobile Haz-Mat shower unit to be decontaminated.

They were then taken to a local shelter and given a new set of clothing.

This is the second time we’ve heard of a HAZMAT shower being used to decontaminate residents who were asked to leave a bed bug-infested building. The first was in Jersey City last summer.

When fleeing a building where a code inspector could come out with “a lot of bugs” in a pants cuff, evacuees should be allowed to shower and change to fresh clothing and shoes. Precautions do need to be taken to avoid moving bed bugs to vehicles or to the evacuees’ next location.

But consensus in the comments on the Jersey City post was that a HAZMAT decontamination shower was overkill.

The hotel is getting three “exterminator treatments” (let’s hope that is enough to get rid of bed bugs in the building).

And apparently, the owner Wali Mohmand is still blaming tenants’ hygiene for bed bugs:

“I’m not their maid, they have to clean after themselves,” said Mohmand.

Sounds like CBS 21 News, the city code inspectors, and Mr. Mohmand still have a bit to learn about how bed bugs operate. They can infest any home, clean or dirty, cluttered or empty.

Oh, but wait, I forgot: first, someone in Harrisburg needs to actually verify that the “possible bed bugs” are, in fact, bed bugs.

Is that really so difficult?!?Similar Posts:

• Towels under the door: when cities abandon tenants with bed bugs
• 160-unit Richmond, California complex evacuated for tent fumigation of bed bugs
• A tale of two bed bug-troubled cities: Cincinnati, Columbus
• North Carolina shelter with bed bugs: outlook grim
• Bed bugs bite in Richmond, California public housing development

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.)

(Photo All Rights Reserved, Susan McKnight.)

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.

(Photo All Rights Reserved, David Cain, bed-bugs.co.uk.)

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:

• New bed bug monitor #2: the CDC 3000
• More bed bugs at Wilkes University (in University Towers apartments)
• Bed bugs bite Edmonton
• The ethics of bed bugs: the lies landlords and roommates tell
• Bed bugs in the media: David Cain on British radio, Dr. Susan Jones in the Plain Dealer

Dog Nose

Originally uploaded by jason044

The dog’s nose is a potentially powerful tool in the fight against bed bugs. It’s a war where the enemy is notoriously stealthy. We need all the help we can get.

Bed bug canines are always popular in the news media. Like some other bed bug-related services (such as structural fumigation and thermal treatment), every region does not have easy access to canine bed bug detection teams, so the news stories both do companies the favor of spreading the word about their existence, but also help bed bug sufferers, who might not know this option is out there. Luckily for us, they are popping up in more and more geographic areas.

One recent bed bug sniffing dog business was started in the Cincinnati area by LeAnne Montgomery and her husband John. LeAnne is better known to longtime participants on our Bedbugger Forums as “bugbait” — she was an active Bedbugger who came to the site to get support in dealing with her own bed bugs, long before the couple went into the bed bug dog business and started Canine Bed Bug Finder.

LeAnne and John did not have access to a bed bug k9 service when their home was infested. You can read a recent story here about the Montgomerys’ new bed bug sniffing dog Hershey, who was trained at Florida Canine Academy. Congratulations to LeAnne and John — I hope Hershey finds a lot of bed bugs!

There was also a recent story in the news about a new bed bug sniffing dog in Las Vegas.

Finally, Ontario’s Michael Goldman (of Purity Pest Control) and his bed bug sniffing dog Kody (who is said to have been the world’s first bed bug sniffing dog) were featured in a Discovery Channel story last week.

The segment on Kody starts about six minutes in (you can move the cursor past the iceberg story after the initial brief commercial). Click here to see the story.

It’s important to note that all bed bug sniffing dogs and handlers are not equally skilled. Dogs and handlers must constantly train in order to maintain the dog’s skills.

If you need help determining whether you have bed bugs, do your research, ask for k9 recommendations on the forums, or references from the handlers.

Are there any other specific questions readers should ask a bed bug dog handler, before hiring him/her? Please share your answers in the comments below.

Thanks to the anonymous tipster in the forums who pointed me to the segment on Kody!Similar Posts:

• Brief report on Seattle NPMA Bed Bug Symposium; bed bug dog awareness among customers
• Apartment Therapy on bed bugs, bed bug sniffing dogs
• Milwaukee Housing Authority purchases bed bug sniffing dog
• Bed bug sniffing dog and handler to be featured on Animal Planet
• Co-op pays $250K after bed bugs found in several units, storage area, stairwells

WLOX.com reports that a bed bug education session was held in Gulfport, Mississippi yesterday:

GULFPORT, MS (WLOX) – Don’t let the bed bugs bite! That’s what local pest control employees, state health officials, and people in the tourism industry learned Tuesday.

About 70 people took part in a training session in Gulfport to learn more about the tiny insects that can inflict very painful bites.

In a video which accompanies the article, an unnamed member of the pest control industry explains that the focus of the event was on preventing bed bug infestations and learning to identify them and detect them.

That’s really exciting, because the best time to learn how to prevent, identify and control bed bugs is before your facility ever gets infested.

Being prepared isn’t just for the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. It’s the best way to fight the spread of bed bugs, everywhere.

Similar Posts:

• Baltimore’s new Bed Bug Response Plan
• Bed bugs in the media: David Cain on British radio, Dr. Susan Jones in the Plain Dealer
• Room for Debate on bed bugs: a must-read!
• Towels under the door: when cities abandon tenants with bed bugs
• Interview with Sam Bryks on Integrated Pest Management; also, we learn about the origins of Bug n’ Scrub

2009 is the year of the bed bug monitor. While some are thinking high-tech, it is also important to know that low-tech monitors are being improved.

This month, the CDC 3000 is starting to be used by PCOs and a few of the luckier people with bed bugs. The Nightwatch is also set to ship soon, we’re told. The devices cost in the $500 – $700 range, and so they really are not aimed at the consumer market. These active bed bug monitors use kairomones, CO2 and heat to attract bed bugs into the monitors, and then trap them.

But passive bed bug monitors are also evolving. Traditionally, we have had the glue trap, which really is not very useful at catching bed bugs. Think about it: they’re usually rectangular, and they just sit there. They sit there covered with a thick coating of goopy glue, and people commonly report waiting patiently and nabbing no bed bugs. There’s no easy way to surround the legs of your bed in glue traps.

Enter Susan McKnight, who has designed the Climbup ® Insect Interceptor, a passive bed bug monitoring tool which can be used in homes under the legs of bed frames, chairs, tables, and other furniture.

This is a tool for finding out whether you have bed bugs. It is not going to treat an infestation, but can help you determine if you have bed bugs, and when they are gone.

It looks simple, but seems quite clever: first, it has two wells: a center well and an outer pitfall. So you can actually tell from where the bed bug is caught whether it is coming onto the furniture or trying to exit from it. (The idea is they can’t hop over the wall in between. Neat, huh?)

This is a photo of bed bugs caught in the Climbup ®:

(Photo courtesy of Susan McKnight, All Rights Reserved).

Those bed bugs in the middle were trying to get off the bed / chair / etc. and the others were trying to get onto it.

You can imagine how some treatment plans could be improved if PCOs could see whether the bed bugs were coming onto the bed, or leaving from it.

Think also of the woman who reacts to bed bug bites, whereas her children and husband don’t. This monitor may allow a much better determination of who is actually being bitten.

The directions found in this PDF on the Insect Interceptor website note:

Climbup ® insect interceptor is ready to use with center well and pitfall ring prelubricated with talc to form slick surface to prevent bed bug escape. The talc will not kill bed bugs. With repeated wipeouts and prolonged use, relubrication with talc is advised. OPTIONAL: To avoid handling of live bugs, a dust (e.g. diatomaceous earth) or nonrepellent liquid (e.g. soapy water, mineral oil) may be added to in center well and outer pitfall ring.

Some bedbuggers have long placed a bed bug-free mattress and frame on top of risers or inside of margarine tubs and filled these with diatomaceous earth or mineral oil in an attempt to keep bed bugs from getting into the bed. The moat of mineral oil in a cup around the bed legs can backfire if there are any bed bugs living in the bed, because they become trapped on the bed, and will keep biting you there.

The approach suggested on the Insect Interceptor site is not an entirely different idea, but in my opinion is theoretically a better one: this product is designed to trap live bed bugs and to show which direction they are traveling in, both of which would be very helpful, moreso than simply trying to avoid bed bug bites.

A Pest Control Operator could, as the directions also suggest, “Count bugs by developmental stage from each capture area to determine efficacy of control treatment.” A resident could simply count bed bugs, and know if they needed a follow-up treatment, or not.

Dr. Mike Merchant of Texas A&M wrote on his Insects in the City blog about a presentation by Dr. Changlu Wang at November’s Entomological Society of America conference in Reno. Wang tested the efficacy of various spray-based and dust-based IPM programs for bed bugs (using chlorfenapyr, diatomaceous earth and Climbup™ monitors). Merchant noted that:

The traps caught more bed bugs than were observed by the inspectors in all apartments. Another interesting observation was that 94% of the trapped bed bugs were in the outer bowl, indicating that they were off the bed. This shows the importance of treating off-bed locations when controlling bed bugs. These devices might be especially useful for clients with low budgets and a high motivation to help with the elimination program. Of course the effectiveness of the bowls depends on eliminating contact of the bed and bedding with the floor and walls.

I understand that Changlu Wang’s research will be published soon (and we’ll let you know when it is). In the meantime, you can download a brief but interesting PowerPoint of his presentation at the ESA in Reno, 11/2009 by clicking here.

The PowerPoint stresses the usefulness of the product for low-level infestations and where residents do not respond to bed bug bites. We are told that only “4 of 10 residents noticed bed bug bites,” and that while visual inspection detected an “average of 6.7 bed bugs per apartment,” the Climbup™ interceptor after being used for 7 days found an “average of 8.8 bed bugs per apartment.”

For this reason, it would not be a bad idea for everyone to have these under their beds and chairs, sofas, etc. Wang’s finding that only 40% of the residents had bed bug bites reminds us that everyone needs an early warning system that they have a bed bug infestation. Those receiving bed bug treatment need to know when bed bugs are gone.

My only concern is that this product might have to be used creatively to work for some — for example, people who have platform beds with broad bases, or big clunky sofas — I am not sure how the product would work with items of furniture which don’t really have “legs.”

The Insect Interceptor website states that Climbup ® Insect Interceptors can be obtained from Residex and Oldham Chemical (by PCOs only from those outlets, I assume). We also see that Bed Bug Central is selling these monitors to the public. I have not actually seen them yet, but the research sounds promising. We look forward to reading Wang’s research results and to hearing from people who have used the product.

Update 4/23/2009: 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.

Update 5/12/2009:

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

(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.)Similar Posts:

None Found

The following photos come from Lou Sorkin — pictures of bed bugs and eggs harboring in a bed (headboard, frame, mattress, etc.).

All photos and descriptions above courtesy of Dr. Louis Sorkin, All Rights Reserved. Many thanks to Lou, for sharing these with us!

(All descriptions follow the photo they describe.)

Bed frame, headboard & box spring. See close up pictures [below] of headboard, side of bed frame, box spring, and canvas strap handles.

Close up on wood support behind head board. Close up of top of wooden support to reveal bed bug adults, nymphs, exuviae, feces deposited on vertical wood headboard, and accumulation of dust.

Close up of headboard groove. Bed bug nymphs, shed skins, feces near to and in the groove.

Groove in bed frame side panel. Machine cut in bed frame bed bugs infested. Shed skins on surface and bugs in groove.

Bed frame with horizontal slat. See close ups [below] of slat and close up of area under this slat. Also bugs can be seen in another picture [above] of a machine cut in wood frame.

Close up area on bed frame under slat. Horizontal slat removed from bed frame to reveal bed bug refugia including adults, nymphs, eggs (some unhatched), exuviae, and feces.

Bed frame edge of horizontal slat. Bed bug feces, shed skins, eggs (some entire, some hatched) on underneath side of slat.

At head, old box spring turned over. See bed bugs, nymphs, eggs, feces.

Old box spring canvas strap 1. Canvas strap is folded down to expose refugia of bed bugs. Note bed bug adults (also squished one), nymphs, eggs, feces.

Old box spring canvas strap 2, lower. Another canvas strap that has been folded up out of the way to expose bugs, exuviae, feces, eggs on box spring covering.

Old box spring canvas strap 2, upper. Another canvas strap that has been folded up out of the way to expose bugs, exuviae, feces, eggs, on strap.

To see more of Lou’s photos, or to see these photos in a larger size, go to Lou’s flickr photostream.
Similar Posts:

• Back to school: news media focuses on bed bugs in college dorms
• Man on #2 train with bed bugs: bed bug hysteria? Or fact?
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• Bed bugs at college: SUNY Potsdam

Here’s an excellent discussion between Renee of New York vs. Bed Bugs and Sam Bryks, a pest management expert from Toronto (and one of the advisors of the Toronto Bed Bug Project.

There’s so much that is wonderful here, including a thorough exploration of what Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is, and isn’t.

I particularly enjoyed this tidbit, from which I learned more about the origins of Toronto’s Bug n’ Scrub, a program we’ve long been fans of here at Bedbugger. Sam Bryks says,

An example of a really wonderful program in Toronto is that of Seaton House, the largest shelter. I was asked to visit some years ago and I gave my overview then as well as I could. The shelters were experiencing major problems. One of the staff who has a social work background, Richard Grotsch, decided to use the men in the shelter to attack the problem as part of their looking after themselves and he developed a process of non-chemical treatment and prevention that knocked the problem down amazingly and then, he worked like the devil to get support for those guys providing services to others. They are called the Bug n’ Scrub team and they do fantastic work in helping clean up units in preparation for bed bug treatment. They are very busy.

You gotta love a program that helps people gain very useful skills, gives them work, and gets rid of bed bugs at the same time!

What could be better?

And how interesting and inspiring that it started with residents being asked to learn how to get rid of bed bugs in order to deal with their residence’s infestation.

I can only hope the program spreads.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as the interview goes, so I know you’ll want to read the entire conversation, here. Similar Posts:

• RainCity Housing’s “bed bug sauna” now active in new Vancouver building
• Towels under the door: when cities abandon tenants with bed bugs
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• Baltimore’s new Bed Bug Response Plan

It’s a pretty unlucky scenario when patients who checked into the Edmonton General Hospital sleep disorder clinic in order to find the cause of their sleep disturbances are woken in the middle of the night and sent home due to bed bugs.  This article from the Edmonton Journal describes just such a situation.

Sleep disorder clinic patient Dawn Blue was sent home in the middle of the night after another clinic patient saw bed bugs climbing up the wall of the next room.

The clinic had been closed after bed bugs were first discovered on December 17th:

When staff members first noticed bedbugs Dec. 17, they immediately closed the clinic, contacting both a public health inspector and a pest extermination company.

The mattresses and furniture were sprayed and the rooms were fumigated.

The clinic remained closed for its annual Christmas hiatus, from Dec. 19 to Jan. 5, during which time it was sprayed again.

The public health inspector and the exterminator returned before it reopened, and, following a thorough examination, gave the clinic a clean bill of health.

It resumed normal operations, until Monday, that is, when Blue was sent home and the clinic closed once more to allow for more fumigation.

The article states that Dawn Blue discovered the itchy effects of bed bug bites on various parts of her body the next morning.

The time-line is this: bed bugs were spotted 12/17, there were two spray treatments in less than three weeks, and the public health inspector and exterminator then declared the facility bed bug-free on 1/5.  The next bed bugs were found two weeks later on 1/19.

It is not surprising that the clinic would become infested with bed bugs in the first place, since guests were allowed to bring their own pyjamas, pillows, and other items (on order to simulate a comfortable, home-like environment).

What is surprising, however, is that according to the article, the Alberta Health Services spokesperson Rob Stevenson appears to believe that the reappearance of bed bugs in January was “a terrible coincidence.”

He says,

“In the most unfortunate of coincidences and, despite the fact that every day all of the material in the clinic goes through a specific laundering process, between Jan. 5 and Jan. 19, one of the participants brought bedbugs in with their belongings,” Stevenson said.

He appears to be claiming that this is a new infestation, not the re-surfacing of an existing problem that was not 100% eliminated as they had thought.  I am really not sure how someone can make this claim with any certainty, given the circumstances.

In my mind, the appearance of bed bugs one month after their first discovery, and after two spray treatments, does not necessarily mean the facility was “coincidentally” infested a second time by a new patient, as Stevenson seems to think, even if inspectors were able to find no signs of bed bugs in a visual inspection.

Many cases of bed bugs take more than two treatments.  There is no way of being sure the facility did not harbor some bed bugs after being pronounced “clear.”  We’re told even very experienced professionals cannot be 100% sure a space is bed bug-free. Human visual inspections are imperfect, and even well-trained bed bug sniffing dogs — which have a much better success record — are not 100% effective in detecting bed bugs.

Although a new patient can certainly bring in bed bugs at any time (and many Edmonton residents are, sadly, well-acquainted with Mr. Cimex Lectularius), it seems like the odds are also good that some bed bugs and/or eggs remained after the second treatment and simply were not spotted by the inspectors.

Anyway, the good news is that patients will no longer be able to bring items from home into their beds.

Other hospitals take note: we’ve heard complaints from people who believed they brought bed bugs home from maternity wards and sleep disorder clinics.

Steps need to be taken to reduce the spread of bed bugs, and as much as people need to be comforted while in the hospital, it is of the utmost importance that they do not suffer from bed bug bites there; it’s even more important they don’t bring bed bugs home.

You can read the full article here.Similar Posts:

• Bed bugs bite Edmonton
• Ohio County, WV Health Dept. official: bed bugs “public health nuisance” and “psychological disaster”
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• More on bed bugs in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: again with the HAZMAT showers?!?

The Seattle Housing Authority (SHA) is buying a bed bug dog to sniff out public housing buildings for bed bugs.  NWCN reports:

In Seattle Housing Authority low-income buildings over the past three months the problem has exploded. The critters are becoming resistant to insecticides.

Now the SHA is spending $35,000 to take control.

Smart thinking — because we’re told many (if not most) people do not react to bed bug bites.

If you don’t react, and you don’t see bed bugs, you do not complain.  And so your apartment stays infested with no one the wiser.

A pro-active inspection program is a great idea for any apartment building. No, bed bug dogs are not 100% effective in sniffing out bed bugs, but they do a lot better than most humans, I’d venture.

Done properly — with a well-trained bed bug k9 and a knowledgeable trainer — this detection method can be effective.  And less time-consuming than having an experienced PCO search (which, many tell us, takes more than an hour to do properly, in a not-very-big apartment).

The SHA is also investing in thermal remediation technology (ThermaPure Heat).  And the SHA will be educating residents on how to spot bed bugs.

But one of the best things they can do is keep that bed bug k9 “Bugsy” circulating around and around the units of SHA buildings, before anyone complains about a single bite or sighting.

Combining an effective and pro-active detection method with an effective bed bug remediation method?

Smart, Seattle Housing Authority.  Smart.

Go to NWCN.com to see the video.Similar Posts:

• Milwaukee Housing Authority purchases bed bug sniffing dog
• University of Central Missouri (and other Missouri colleges) vs. bed bugs
• Brief report on Seattle NPMA Bed Bug Symposium; bed bug dog awareness among customers
• Apartment Therapy on bed bugs, bed bug sniffing dogs
• San Diego State University: don’t wait for students to show you a bed bug

Apartment Therapy/San Francisco has a new post mentioning AT blogger Sarahh’s encounter with Mr. Cimex Lectularius in a Santa Cruz motel (yikes!) and alerting readers to the existence of bed bug sniffing dogs.

For those of you who are wondering, we were lucky not to have brought any bedbugs back with us to our home from our unfortunate, and very unromantic, trip to Santa Cruz. We shook out all of our clothes and luggage and immediately drove back to the Bay Area where we laundered our clothing in very hot water and crossed our fingers for a few weeks that we hadn’t towed a few of those famous hitchhiking critters with us. We were lucky!

Lucky, indeed!

Sarahh also asks readers for input, if they’ve used bed bug k9s:

We love this [bed bug sniffing dog] idea because you can actually pinpoint the areas in a home where these tiny bloodsuckers are hiding, without having to spray dangerous chemicals throughout your whole apartment or house. We’ve heard that one company in the Bay Area, Pestec, uses a bedbug sniffing dog detective. Has anyone had an experience with this company or any other one that uses dogs for bedbug patrol? Let’s hear your story.

Luis Agurto (president of Pestec) and his beagle Lady Bug were featured in this San Francisco Gate article from April 2007 (one of my favorite articles, but I am biased for obvious reasons!)

Although ideally, bed bug dogs can detect locations of bed bug harborages, I would not say that their use necessarily obviates the need to spray pesticides throughout the home. First, bed bug dogs are not 100% effective. They may not find all harborages. Second, residual pesticides and dusts require bed bugs to make contact with them before they will be killed. Having the stuff in places bed bugs are moving around makes killing them more likely.

Still, bed bug sniffing k9s can be a valuable asset, especially in cases where bed bugs may have been recently introduced, such as immediately following a hotel visit involving bed bug bites, or (as poor Sarahh experienced) face-to-face bed bug encounters (yes, plural). Ugh.

Apartmenttherapy.com has not covered bed bugs in any way, shape or form (that we can see) since July of 2007, when they posted part 7 of Amanda’s bed bug saga.

We love Apartment Therapy and we hope that, despite the ick factor, they will cover bed bug issues a bit more often. Because nothing messes up your cool design scheme or puts the damper on your recent nifty flea market find than an apartment full of full, green garbage bags, bursting with all your clothes, or the lingering smell of pesticides.

Thanks also to Sarahh for pointing AT readers our way!Similar Posts:

• Bed bug sniffing dogs abound
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• Seattle Housing Authority, you are smart about bed bugs
• Scholastic Headquarters treated for bed bugs; update on Penguin
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