A recent Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station fact sheet on bed bugs—Bed Bugs – FS1098 (April 2009, Dr. Changlu Wang)—contains a summary step-by-step bed bug control protocol “for residents or property managers who want to control bed bugs themselves.”
A credible bed bug protocol for people who cannot afford professional pest control is a critical need. It should be a truly high-priority need but it has always seemed unlikely that anyone in any institution would to try to come up with one.
This appears to be a tentative step in that direction.
I hope that Dr. Wang can elaborate on these steps in the future to make them really useful to those who must consider them. And perhaps others would collaborate on such a project.
This is difficult, obviously, and complicates the conduct of bed bug management in multi-unit buildings, but it is absolutely necessary. People are doing reckless things—reckless things that will not solve their bed bug problem. Instructing them on how to do the right things would be an act of generosity.
Update July 28: There have been objections—to the idea and form of DIY protocols—voiced privately. I hope that the discussion of the merits and potential of a DIY bed bug protocol and what would constitute a responsible and useful protocol, in view of the desperate reality that so many people are living, can be conducted in public and so I encourage anyone who has thoughts, an opinion, or advice to benefit us all by sharing.
These pages may be of related interest:
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I met Dr. Wang at the EPA summit in Washington and we had a lively conversation with a few other people in the lobby/lounge of the hotel while people were waiting for rides to the airport after the close of the meeting. My comments are therefore made with respect and as constructive input. I think everyone takes pride in output of documentation, but the more input from different sources of experience, the better. I have gone through this process with our own preparation for treatment forms for a variety of pests. The most complex of these was for bed bugs.
The do-it-yourself approach has both merit and concerns. Over the years I have seen both excellence in DIY pest control as well as alarming increase in risk in some cases. When cockroach baits such as Maxforce/Impact/Combat (all variations of tradenames for hydramethylnon) were marketed, the safety of the product and the ease of placement made it a wonderful DIY product. The same can be said of the later development of gels, though gel application takes a bit more skill. The use of spray products for a variety of insect control applications carries greater risk, and in the case of bed bugs, the detail of application is much more exhaustive.
The Rutgers brochure is attractive and rich in information, but a few points of concern
1. no mention of vacuuming. Few people have steam machines and many people might not be able to afford even the modestly priced units. Most people have a vacuum or access to a vacuum, and for visible infestation, vacuums work wonderfully. While the eggs are stuck to fabric and harder to remove, even the eggs are largely removed by vacuuming if a crevice tool is scraped over the refugia location such as in a fold of a sofa. Of course, it won’t get them all, but the more adults and nymphs and eggs that are removed by this means, the better. This also reduces the risk of dispersion when a homeowner may be used an aerosol. Steam is wonderful if someone has access to a machine or can afford to buy a moderately priced unit, but the small handheld units have a limited time and the domestic canister style units can cost $150 or more. Bottom line, for many people, vacuuming is a better more available approach.
2. dusting in the bedframe followed by spraying is really counter productive. The spray will ruin the dust application. One also has to consider what kind of application tools a homeowner has available. Are they using an inexpensive spray tank or if htey are using a product from an aerosol can, then using the straw tip makes treatment far more effective..
3. most domestic products do not have respiratory protection information on the label. If a treatment is taking place for a few hours, then the homeowner would be wise to purchase a proper mask with cartridges.. this costs a bit of money, but not a lot (about $35-$45), and the dust masks simply are ineffective. Of course, windows need to be opened to enable aeration if spray products are being used.
4. step by step… I find that a step by step really needs to be a sequenced process something like an IKEA assembly instruction which is very detailed..
if one is to develop a homeowner’s procedure, it really needs to be very detailed in all of these elements. The industy I think is somewhat disinclined to do this as this is bread and butter business, and I have found personally that the large distribution DIY retailers such as HD and I would think others, really depend on the manufacturer’s labels. I recently saw a promotion by Victor for ultrasound devices for rodent control, and this reputable firm that sells many excellent trapping devices, was promoting the ultrasound with quotes about not needing baits or messy traps ,…. an example of how marketing can become so fanatical that even a firm like Victor whose main business is traps, can get caught in this .. I wrote them on this and I presume they will reflectd on this… The homeowner is not likely to get very good help at the retailer level.
Can a homeowner do a good job? Yes, it is possible, but in a multi-dwelling setting, it takes an IPM overview approach otherwise the risk of infestation reamains high and even excellent sealing may not keep them out…
I think most homeowners would rather have a professional do this work, but if there is to be encouragement of the DIY job to be effective, the detail of instructions does need to be a lot more than something like the Rutger’s piece..
One of the centrepieces of the Rutger’s piece is the new protector to keep them off beds . but i looked into this and they cost $5 each – sold in lots of 12.. A lot of money for a bit of plastic. I went into a dollar store locally and found perfectly good food containers that could be used .. at a cost of .50 cents each. A bit of talc powder, some vaseline, vegetable oil or a sprayed oil used for frying food can do the same for far less..
For a family of 4 people the cost to do beds alone with the new protector would be $80.. and for people on a limited income, that is a lot of money. compared to about $8 for the devices as food containers and perhaps another $8 for talc, and vegetable oil, vaseline or spray oil. $16 compared to $90.. If one used tin cans, still would work, and cost even less.. though i thinkt hat the plastic round food containers work better.
There is certainly effort in making the new devices, but is this affordable for everyone? I don’t think so.. Mattress encasements are still very expensive for some people, and I trust that the market place will ultimately force a dramatic reduction in cost..
a bit of feedback
Sam
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