pesticides

Killing bed bugs with a hairdryer, and other bad slow-news-day tips

July 1, 2014

It’s that time of year, folks, bed bug season! Sure, bed bugs happen year round, but they do tend to multiply and spread a bit more quickly in the warmer months, due to various factors. This means the pest management professionals are busy, and the consumers are too-often itchy (and hot, which makes itching worse). […]

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Brooklyn school being decontaminated after exterminator allegedly soaks classrooms, desks, books with pesticides

October 27, 2010

Yes, I said “exterminator.” Teachers claim a contractor hired by the city to perform bed bug treatments at P.S. 197 in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn “soaked” classrooms, covering desks, books, and the floor with liquid pesticides. That does not sound right. Teachers and parents are concerned because they don’t even know which pesticides were used. 7online.com […]

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Why don’t I just use an all-natural bed bug spray? How about a bed bug repellent?

October 24, 2010

The Healthy Skeptic column in the Los Angeles Times today considers the value of “all-natural bed bug sprays” (such as Bed Bug Bully and Rest Easy) and over-the-counter remedies in general. The verdict? As most of us know, consumer products in general are not likely to be enough to help most people get rid of […]

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Bed bugs cheer: Ohio’s propoxur exemption request denied

June 11, 2010

Darnit. The Environmental Protection Agency has unfortunately denied the State of Ohio’s emergency Section 18 label exemption request for propoxur. According to the EPA’s Notice of the request, the exemption would have allowed for three products containing propoxur to . . . be applied as a crack and crevice or spot treatment to indoor residential […]

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Pest professionals talk to legislators about bed bugs

March 3, 2010

PCT Online reports on the Legislative Day held by the National Pest Management Association on Monday, where attendees educated legislators about bed bugs; they encouraged Congress members to consider: Providing additional resources and directing the CDC to provide leadership on the bed bug issue. Authorizing “a research program to helped develop effective methods of controlling […]

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Ohio’s EPA emergency exemption request for Propoxur

January 13, 2010

The Ohio Department of Agriculture has asked the EPA for a public health exemption which would allow it to use the carbamate insecticide propoxur to treat bed bugs (with a 14-day retreatment period). (We mentioned this back in November. And New York vs. Bed Bugs discusses how Section 18 exemption requests work here.) Propoxur is […]

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NYC Department of Education advertises for bed bug killer

November 17, 2009

The New York City DOE is hiring someone to identify and kill bed bugs in NYC schools: From today’s New York Post: The Department of Education is advertising for a killer — soliciting bids for the “identification and extermination of bedbugs within the schools citywide.” A listing in yesterday’s City Record said a contract with […]

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Yet another person tries to self-treat for bed bugs and sets building on fire

October 13, 2009

Cincinnati.com reports that fourteen people living in a Hamilton County, Ohio apartment building were displaced overnight by a fire caused by someone spraying alcohol-based pesticides while smoking: Fire investigators have determined the blaze was started by a resident spraying for bed bugs while smoking, said Capt. Steve Conn, spokesman for the Colerain Township Fire Department. […]

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Colleges react to bed bugs: Loyola (Chicago), Boston University, Brigham Young (Hawaii)

September 30, 2009

There are a lot of reports about bed bugs in colleges this week, in the wake of the recent high profile John Jay College bed bug infestation (and the less high profile Manhattan College bed bug troubles). The Loyola Phoenix reports that Loyola University in Chicago was treating bed bugs with steam and pesticides, encasing […]

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Miranda’s story: a visit from the PCO for bed bugs, part 2

October 7, 2008

Editor’s note: Miranda sent us an update today. You can read the first part of her story here. When we last heard from Miranda, a PCO tech (called Ariel) had promised her a second, thorough, bed bug treatment from her original tech (Caliban) in her apartment in a multi-unit building. Rated PG [language] ————————– Miranda’s […]

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Grand Rapids, Michigan apartment complex residents vs. bed bugs

September 25, 2008

This story from WZZM News 13 in Grand Rapids emphasizes how difficult bed bugs are to treat — a message viewers need to hear more from the news media: GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. (WZZM) – A Grand Rapids area apartment complex is finding out how difficult it is to get rid of bed bugs. “It’s a […]

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Bed Bug History, DDT, and implications for the future

August 25, 2008

PCTOnline has a new article out in which Dr. Michael Potter explores bed bug history, and relates past bed bug stories to today’s situation. The article is enlightening in that it describes how our ancestors, recent and long-past, dealt with bed bugs. Before they came under control (with the widespread use of DDT) in the […]

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