Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums Topic: Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)

BugsMustDie on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

BugsMustDie — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:08:21 +0000

Super: The unfortunate thing about popular media is they like to jump on what's going to make the best story. They know people feed on drama, so that's what gets reported. I actually think the media needs to report bed bugs more often, but do it in a way that is informative. You're right, it is a culture thing. The problem isn't exclusive to bed bugs. But just because people like dramatic stories and the media jumps all over that, doesn't mean we stop talking about important issues and attempting to educate people about them. So I agree that maybe we should tone down the scare factor, but we need to continue pushing the education, in a responsible manner. I don't think saying bed bugs "aren't that bad," is the appropriate way to do that.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 20:54:39 +0000

<blockquote>Is this what you see happening on the forums, SuperCali?</blockquote> Not much, if at all. People vent and commiserate, but there's also a focus on nuts-and-bolts knowledge, which is always an antidote to out-of-control emotion. It could if someone finds some forum posts by google and gets an unrepresentative sample. But I get the impression that it's happening a lot in the outside world. In the culture at large, I think we need to tone down the scare level about five notches. So I think three cheers for people who are out there saying it's not that bad.

BugsMustDie on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

BugsMustDie — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:39:32 +0000

Nobugs, That's not what I see from the forums. This site is the only thing that stopped me from setting off multiple foggers at once and spraying a crazy amount of pesticides around my home. This site does not cause desperation. Lack of knowledge and resources, and the feeling that you are alone in this battle causes desperation. Being able to connect with people who have been through this and have experience dealing with bed bugs has provided both the knowledge I need to safely and appropriately deal with them and a support system needed to keep fighting. Thank you

Nobugsonme on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Nobugsonme — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:23:54 +0000

<blockquote><cite>Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - 5 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-insecticides-causing-sickness-cdc-warns-article#post-121430"> » </a></cite> When someone shows up distraught on the forum, we certainly shouldn't brush off their feelings. Getting treatment is important. We shouldn't minimize the severity to the point where people who can afford treatment initially don't bother, just to save the money. But we shouldn't build BBs up into the kind of monsters that would make desperate measures reasonable, either.</blockquote> Is this what you see happening on the forums, SuperCali?

Koebner on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Koebner — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:34:26 +0000

<blockquote><cite>Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious - 27 minutes ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-insecticides-causing-sickness-cdc-warns-article#post-121430"> » </a></cite> The NY Times article on the CDC report: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/nyregion/panic-over-bedbugs-may-be-more-dangerous-than-bites.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/nyregion/panic-over-bedbugs-may-be-more-dangerous-than-bites.html</a> An infestation isn't a cancer diagnosis. It isn't HIV. </blockquote> True, but bed bugs have the potential to be a particular problem for people with HIV, diabetes, or those with other problems relating to wound healing or immuno-suppression, which includes many cancer patients. Bed bug bites can provoke or exacerbate a number of skin conditions such as eczema & psoriasis, which can cause great distress & discomfort in themselves, & of course, can put affected individuals at increased risk of secondary infection. Even healthy individuals are at risk of secondary infection at bite sites & we have had a number of people post here with BB bite infections so severe that they have required hospital treatment. There is evidence that bed bug infestations can exacerbate asthma & that prolonged exposure to bites may lead to iron deficiency. Both of these conditions can be serious in themselves & for frail/ elderly people iron deficiency is a significant health risk. During an especially bad period of my infestation I experienced macrocytotic anaemia with no other clinical explanation. This resolved when another round of treatment significantly reduced the BB population in my home. The psychological effects of BB infestation can be severe & disabling & can last long after a BB infestation is cleared. The health status of bed bugs is not binary, nor is it limited to their potential as direct disease vectors. Sadly, what little research that has been done on BBs in recent years has focused on their ability to function as disease vectors. So far, we are able to say that BBs do not appear to be direct vectors of any disease. We know that there is a slender theoretical risk of the mechanical transmission of some diseases but we do not have any evidence for them actually transmitting disease in this way. However, we are not looking in any organised fashion for such evidence outside the laboratory. There are no studies of affected populations, no obligations to report BBs that would facilitate any epidemiological work, no attempt to monitor affected individuals for any clinical efects of living with BBs. As far as I'm aware, not even the allergy specialists who work with severe allergy are yet conducting any research on BBs. Given BBs known capacity to trigger IgE responses, this research lag is unfortunate. We can take steps to protect a hyper-allergic individual from something like nuts; it is far more difficut to protect them from an adjoining neighbour's BBs. Until we know the risk that BBs present to such individuals, we cannot know if we can be blasé about them. We need much more research on BBs' health implications. Whilst I agree that scare stories & catastrophic thinking may have the unhelpful tendency to make people fatalistic about BBs, or may provoke foolish actions from foolish people; an absence of data is not an absence of effect.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 11:26:42 +0000

The NY Times article on the CDC report: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/nyregion/panic-over-bedbugs-may-be-more-dangerous-than-bites.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/nyregion/panic-over-bedbugs-may-be-more-dangerous-than-bites.html</a> -- I think the "bed bugs are horrible" reaction needs to be toned down a couple notches. As long as an infestation is seen as a disaster of the highest order, people who can't find or can't afford a competent professional will sometimes resort to desperate measures to get rid of them. Yes, there will also be some people who do stupid things for no apparent reason, too. But the tendency to poison themselves in response to bed bugs will be an order of magnitude less if people think of pesticides as being about as hazardous as bed bugs, than if they think of pesticides as reasonably safe but view bed bugs as absolutely catastrophic. They're unpleasant. They're hard to get rid of. They can be very expensive to get rid of. For a person who reacts very severely and has a very heavy infestation, they can cause real misery. But the reason infestations get very heavy is that they go un-noticed. Once you know they're there, even if all you do is look for them and remove them by hand with sticky tape or a vacuum cleaner, you're not going to have thousands of bed bugs any more. (Unless you're deliberately feeding a captive colony for research purposes, of course.) If someone absolutely cannot afford professional treatment right away, they're not going to have to put up with thousands of bugs, hundreds of bites per night, for the whole time until they can scrape together the money or get their landlord to pay. An infestation isn't a cancer diagnosis. It isn't HIV. Emotional support is important. When someone shows up distraught on the forum, we certainly shouldn't brush off their feelings. Getting treatment is important. We shouldn't minimize the severity to the point where people who can afford treatment initially don't bother, just to save the money. But we shouldn't build BBs up into the kind of monsters that would make desperate measures reasonable, either.

bedbugman on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

bedbugman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:58:00 +0000

As David said the laws in the UK regarding the purchase and use of pesticides are almost non existent. Any one can knock up a web site, do a one day course and of they go spraying gallons of pesticide all over the place with no idea what they are doing. I use the less is more principle too and have tried to get my point accross to other PCO's. But most can't see past the BS they are fed by the suppliers and will spray the whole house over and over regardless of what they find. The thing that really winds me up is that this is now becoming the norm and customers expect 3, 4 or 5 pesticide applications.

bbgirl on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

bbgirl — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:25:01 +0000

I think it's because steam only is a labour and time intensive approach that takes a lot of patience and experience as well as specialised equipment. It also doesn't leave any residual so if you miss any or if there is a reintroduction from neighbouring units, etc. the population could just take off again. Anyone can come in and soak everything with spray....whether they should or not. Some experienced PCO's will try to treat with steam and vacuuming first and only use sprays as necessary

rs1971 on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

rs1971 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:23:09 +0000

The more I read about pesticides the more I think about EffeCis steam only approach. Assuming that it works as well as he says (and he sure seems to have a lot of credibility), I wonder why more PCOs don't pursue that approach. It just seems so preferable to even a careful use of pesticides. I've decided that if I'm ever unfortunate enough to have an infestation that I'm going to buy the sort of steamer he has and have a go at DIY using steam only. -rs1971

kirads09 on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

kirads09 — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:52:14 +0000

<blockquote><cite>EndOfMyRope - 3 hours ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-insecticides-causing-sickness-cdc-warns-article#post-121282"> » </a></cite> I saw this article on the main page when I logged in this morning, and read it .. a bit ironic, as I have been wondering the last week or so if the ongoing respiratory symptoms my son and I have had arent actually related to his asthma or my early stages of copd. I have been treated twice for bronchitis recently, and cant shake the tightness in my chest and feeling lousy and really run down.. My boy is coughing alot, complaining of feeling stuffed up, using his inhaler, etc.. What Ive noticed the last couple of days, after having the thought that is possibly isnt asthma/copd related.. I decided to pay close attention to symptoms and how we feel when we're away from our apartment.. I know I feel considerably better when Im not home, and my boy says he doesnt cough as much at school/out with friends, etc .. within an hour or two of getting home, my chest is tight again, and I feel an awful lot like a train hit me.. I know the "pco" my LL hired was far less than competent, so...now Im really wondering if its related to the so called treatments.. pco never gave me a list, verbal or in writing of what chemicals/pesticides were used,.and I am certain the LL would refuse to get that if I asked for it.. Doesnt mean I cant get it.. Its definitely on the list of things to ask my lawyer about when I hear back from him, hopefully today. I do have two questions though ..the first "treatment" they put down a white powder around the perimeters of all 3 bedrooms, and the living room ..is that DE? And, how long is that effective? Its been there since 8/17 ..is it any good? If its exceeded its shelf life, Id just as soon wash the floors..its not like its killing any bbs anyway..</blockquote> It is likely the powder/dust is DE or a variant. In some cases it can cause breathing issues such as you describe. You would need to know if they put down 100% pure DE or if it has other things in the mix. If you can visibly see alot of it, they may have put down too much. Also, it is my understanding BB's will simply avoid large quantities of it. You want a light coating that they will walk through. To my knowledge DE never loses it's effectiveness since it has no chemicals to break down. Again, great deal would depend on what they actually used.

bed-bugscouk on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

bed-bugscouk — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:31:00 +0000

<blockquote><cite>AshamedandScratching - 19 minutes ago <a href="http://bedbugger.com/forum/topic/bed-bug-insecticides-causing-sickness-cdc-warns-article#post-121288"> » </a></cite> David-- The guy who did my treatment is supposedly licensed and he applied drion dust so thick that my eggplant colored crown moulding look white in places. I wish passing a test meant competency. :-(</blockquote> Only field assessment and on job monitoring assures competency. David

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:18:15 +0000

The LL should give you contact info for the PCO, and the PCO should give you an MSDS for each product they apply.

AshamedandScratching on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

AshamedandScratching — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:10:55 +0000

David-- The guy who did my treatment is supposedly licensed and he applied drion dust so thick that my eggplant colored crown moulding look white in places. I wish passing a test meant competency.

bed-bugscouk on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

bed-bugscouk — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:22:19 +0000

Maybe its time for a PCO's Hippocratic oath, OK and now back to reality I think we would all settle for better definition of what qualifications PCO's NEED to have and how its not all about applying an excess of insecticide to the treated environment, quite often with bedbugs less is more. I certainly think the prescriptive protocol based approaches we have seen to date which are often excessive need to be addressed. In reality it is often not the products used but the quantity used that causes the problems. At least in the US you already have some of these standards in place, in the UK they have been debating for years what makes a professional pest controller but as the committee is steered by the suppliers 15 years of debate has not produced an answer, I wonder why? David Cain Bed Bugs Limited

EndOfMyRope on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

EndOfMyRope — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 07:01:35 +0000

I saw this article on the main page when I logged in this morning, and read it .. a bit ironic, as I have been wondering the last week or so if the ongoing respiratory symptoms my son and I have had arent actually related to his asthma or my early stages of copd. I have been treated twice for bronchitis recently, and cant shake the tightness in my chest and feeling lousy and really run down.. My boy is coughing alot, complaining of feeling stuffed up, using his inhaler, etc.. What Ive noticed the last couple of days, after having the thought that is possibly isnt asthma/copd related.. I decided to pay close attention to symptoms and how we feel when we're away from our apartment.. I know I feel considerably better when Im not home, and my boy says he doesnt cough as much at school/out with friends, etc .. within an hour or two of getting home, my chest is tight again, and I feel an awful lot like a train hit me.. I know the "pco" my LL hired was far less than competent, so...now Im really wondering if its related to the so called treatments.. pco never gave me a list, verbal or in writing of what chemicals/pesticides were used,.and I am certain the LL would refuse to get that if I asked for it.. Doesnt mean I cant get it.. Its definitely on the list of things to ask my lawyer about when I hear back from him, hopefully today. I do have two questions though ..the first "treatment" they put down a white powder around the perimeters of all 3 bedrooms, and the living room ..is that DE? And, how long is that effective? Its been there since 8/17 ..is it any good? If its exceeded its shelf life, Id just as soon wash the floors..its not like its killing any bbs anyway..

jrbtnyc on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

jrbtnyc — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:39:04 +0000

On other threads now to be consolidated with this one, Doug Summers had called our attention to: > Interesting article from AP [Associated Press] > about adverse health effects of DIY chemicals > that are not used according to the label... One > death was reported after 18 cans of total release > aerosol foggers were used in a 2 days period. > The woman that died also applied a pesticide > labeled for fleas to her skin... and they failed > to air out the residence after setting off the > bug bombs. <a href="http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/sep/22/trying-to-kill-bedbugs-can-be-worse-than-living-wi-ar-259840" rel="nofollow">http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/sep/22/trying-to-kill-bedbugs-can-be-worse-than-living-wi-ar-259840</a> and lieutenantdan had pointed out: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20110226-10391704.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20110226-10391704.html</a> .

Nobugsonme on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Nobugsonme — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 03:09:14 +0000

<a href="http://bedbugger.com/?p=5942">A new blog post about the study</a> -- and some thoughts about people who don't get why bed bugs are such a big deal.

healthimpacted on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

healthimpacted — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 01:40:05 +0000

I was hospitalized twice for exposure to Onslaught, which was applied by my first PCO. The first time it happened, it was two days after it was applied and I had no idea what was happening. I thought I was having a heart attack. I went through lots of tests and drs never figured out what was going on. I had told them that I had bed bugs and my house was being treated. The second time was within hours of treatment. I knew right away it must be the pesticide and called poison control. It was a relief to know what happened the first time. I blame the PCO in my case, for many reasons which I won't go into. I allowed my second PCO to use chemicals (not Onslaught) as part of IPM, but he worked with me knowing my sensitivity. and I did not get sick. Always get the list of pesticides to be used beforehand and have the MSDS sheets on hand. Always stay away the recommended time. If your PCO does not provide the list or does not tell you to stay out of the house for a prescribed number of hours, find yourself another PCO.

mangycur on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

mangycur — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:47:13 +0000

Fox 5 just did a horrible treatment of this! "What could be worse than bed bugs? The pesticides to get rid of them!" It didn't say which ones. It did, however, mention that most of the issues were from overuse of pesticides. Nevertheless, apalling.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 22:06:12 +0000

"A total of 111 illnesses associated with bed bug--related insecticide use were identified; although 90 (81%) were low severity, one fatality occurred. Pyrethroids, pyrethrins, or both were implicated in 99 (89%) of the cases, including the fatality. The most common factors contributing to illness were excessive insecticide application, failure to wash or change pesticide-treated bedding, and inadequate notification of pesticide application." <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6037a1.htm?s_cid=mm6037a1_w" rel="nofollow">http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6037a1.htm?s_cid=mm6037a1_w</a>

kirads09 on "Bed Bug Insecticides Causing Sickness, CDC Warns (article)"

kirads09 — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 18:01:23 +0000

This article talks about growing health problems due to misuse of insecticides (mostly self treating). I can understand the desperation and feeling the need to do anything to get rid of them. <a href="http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100280468&gt1=31036" rel="nofollow">http://health.msn.com/healthy-living/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100280468&gt1=31036</a>