“There’s a lot of folks who don’t bother to call us. They’re embarrassed. The social connotation goes back to the early 1900s; they were associated with slummy places. And that’s not the case now,” said Michael Waldvogel, an entomologist with the N.C. Cooperative Extension. The bugs are a problem all over the country, experts say.

Waldvogel says he has gotten reports of bedbugs from across the state — some tied to vacationers bringing them home from beach houses or hotels.

Perhaps a few of them can also be tied to the reselling of used, unsanitized mattresses in Charlotte, N.C. This woman claimed to purchase a heavily infested bedroom suite from another N.C. retailer. Judging from these two stories alone, we can see how easily North Carolina, or any other state, would acquire a bed bug epidemic.

Getting back to the article,

… getting rid of [bed bugs] isn’t simple. Waldvogel advises hiring a skilled professional, in part because it’s important to consider carefully what chemicals to spray in living areas such as bedrooms.

“The person who treats your home should spend more time with a flashlight than a sprayer,” he said.

We’ve heard that advice before, but Bedbuggers tell us this PCO is a rare find indeed.

At Bayer Environmental Science in Research Triangle Park, entomologists are working to develop new techniques and make existing products more effective against bedbugs. Training is a big component of Bayer’s work, said Byron Reid, product development manager.

“There are thousands of pest control professionals out there who have never had to do the bedbug job,” he said. Bayer runs a training facility for pest control operators in Clayton, N.C., where it can re-create bedrooms and apartments to train in proper techniques.

If they want additional training grounds, maybe Advanced Hotel Services in Charlotte could just hand over a list of hotels who purchased mattresses from them while they had 600 unsanitized used hotel mattresses in stock. And then the hotels could hand over a list of people who stayed in the rooms in which those mattresses are used.

I bet some of them are suffering pretty badly right now and would not mind some PCOs coming in and learning bed bug-fighting techniques in their homes. Break out those flashlights, fellas!

• inspectors find 600 unsanitized mattresses at Charlotte, N.C. used furniture store
• Stirring up anti-immigrant sentiment in Charlotte: let’s start the blame game
• Bed bugs in another women’s shelter in Charlotte, North Carolina
• Charlotte, NC Salvation Army Women’s Shelter has bed bugs again

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This course is ideal for pest control personnel, facility managers, building managers, tenant associations, social workers, or anyone concerned about bed bugs. Taught by industry professional and consultant Gil Bloom.

Bloom is well-known in bed bug circles, and his name comes up in a lot of the local news about the little vampires.

Bed Bugs: the New Vampires

With the turn of the century, bed bugs have emerged as an ever-incrasing pest. This course will cover identification, basic biology, ramifications, and control measures to deal with this loathsome creature of the night.

BUX - 511 Weds. Nov. 14, 2007 7:00 - 8:30 pm

Professionals can earn 1.5 NTSDEC credits in 7A and 8 (I am sure if you need these credits, you will know what that means!) The price is probably low, because it is at CUNY and is only a 1.5 hour course. Queensborough Community College is accessible by subway and bus from other parts of NYC, and I believe it is also close to the LIRR.

If you’re interested, there’s a form to sign up. You can call Queensborough Community College (CUNY) at 718-631-6343 for information, costs, and to sign up.

• New Guidelines for Prevention and Management of Bed Bugs in Shelters and Group Living Facilities
• Vikane Fumigation Successful in New Jersey
• Welcome Bedbuggers!
• Forget black mattress stains, bed bugs, shells, and eggs: NMPA press release tells consumers to look for “blood spots”

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