By: Renee Corea

Renee Corea — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:43:45 +0000

Yes, perhaps you’re right but actually, I meant people, regular people, not professionals. This is where an acquaintance with what it’s like to have bed bugs is useful. When an infestation is waning (or indeed when it is first being identified, but particularly when it’s ending), people are confronted with limited evidence; their bites, if they’re allergic in the first place, may be changing due to the normal course of bite reactions; the fecal traces they find may be suspect but the visual experience to discriminate probable bed bug fecal spots from other things is not a skill people in general have (and the authors of this article indicate even experienced vector surveillance workers may misinterpret the signs). This is the stage where people may be anxious and weary of the long process. They may decide to have more ‘just in case’ bed bug treatments because they cannot be certain that the infestation is over; they may continue on the path of throwing out yet more things; they may despair of ever solving their problem and contemplate yet more expensive solutions. Sometimes there is the fear that bed bugs have returned and yet there are limited signs and now these potential signs must be interpreted, and so come the questions, what is the size and appearance of fecal spots, etc. People just don’t know these things and why would they. I’m not sure it’s practical for every situation, and if the infestation is fully evident, there is no need, but I wonder if people can consider it in these situations so that they can determine what is going on by themselves. There is no great surplus of qualified bed bug inspectors, and even if there is access to inspectors, there is as ever the issue of cost. In NYC in particular it is not an easy thing to get a pest control company to simply inspect. But, of course, I’m just wondering and posting for the consideration of others.

By: sam bryks

sam bryks — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:50:24 +0000

This sounds most interesting, but pradtical? I remember many years ago using UV light for detecting rodent urine. The company had a neat device with a flashlight and a UV lamp (of the type that didn’t hurt the eyes and I went off looking for urine trails ……. A few years later, I managed to get some very inexpensive units for all my staff….. a bit of modern technology, but in truth, we hardly ever used them because in most cases the evidence was obvious and to use it well, you needed a fairly dark area… These devices were great for tough cases and for investigation of potential containmination of food containers but not very practical for day to day pest control.
I am thinking that perhaps this test could be useful in special cases which may involve litigation, but i think most pco’s look for patterns of fecal spotting, and it also comes down to where the spotting is found… kitchen.. it must be roaches about 99.9% of the time and for bedrooms, probably bed bugs if it is on beds though to be honest, I have seen roach nymphs in the folds of sofas and their fecal spotting could easily have been mistaken for bed bugs were it not for evidence of cast skins that were definitely roach nymphs.
So i say, a useful tool, good to know.. but likely very limited use in the field.
that is my take on it… but i am noting the item and will likely get a kit for future use in special cases as noted.. good stuff Renee.. you sure do find useful material…
Sam

Comments on: Phenolphthalin test as inexpensive surveillance tool

By: Renee Corea

By: sam bryks