Bed bug outbreak at Mesa shelter fraying nerves.
Tiny blood-sucking bed bugs are causing big problems at Mesa's East Valley Men's Shelter, fraying nerves and increasing tensions as repeated extermination efforts have failed.
A New Leaf, the Mesa non-profit that operates the East Valley's only homeless shelter, finds itself on the defensive as some residents accuse the agency of mounting an inadequate response to a 6-month-old infestation problem.
"They're forgetting that we're human beings. You can't treat us like cattle," resident Kevin Braggs said. "They did nothing to control the problem until I started writing to the press."
But Mike Hughes, chief executive officer of A New Leaf, said the agency has hired two exterminators, spent thousands of dollars and ratcheted up efforts to kill the bugs without resorting to overkill.
"We are committed to the people here. Unfortunately, the things we'd done before were not working," Hughes said. "We're going to do whatever is necessary. We don't want this to be an ongoing problem. It's got to be fixed."
In a letter to Maricopa County Environmental Services, A New Leaf said its current extermination plan will cost $6,000 to $7,500 and a long-term solution, which would include stripping the building of wooden dividers between beds and wooden beds, would cost $75,000 to $90,000.
The bugs are suspected of hiding in wooden furnishings, which would be replaced by metal dividers and beds. Hughes is trying to avoid this step but will resort to it in three or four months if
nothing else works.
"We'd rather put that money to better use at the facility," Hughes said.
Shelter manager Connie Hallett said removing all the wood likely would displace the 84 men who live there.
But Braggs said a more extensive effort is required now.
"When you go to bed, you can't sleep at night because they are eating you up," said Braggs, an ex-Marine who has been bitten on his neck, arms and legs. "They're not there at 2 a.m. to hear people smacking themselves in their sleep."
Some residents are so desperate that they are smuggling cans of pesticide into the shelter. Hallett said that practice is unnecessary because the shelter sprays for bugs and washes all bedding whenever a resident reports an outbreak.
Craig Levy, an epidemiologist with the Arizona Health Department, said there's no evidence that bed bugs spread disease, but he can understand why the homeless men are irritated.
Levy said the bugs feed on human blood and "it's not a pleasant thought."
Shelters are a perfect environment to attract bed bugs because they serve a transient population, he said.
But the bugs also have been reported in hotels and a private homes, an apparent consequence of bans worldwide on powerful pesticides that also were destructive to the environment.
The Mesa outbreak "does not surprise me because bed bugs are spreading all over the place," Levy said.
Maricopa County Environmental Services already has closed an investigation of an anonymous complaint filed by someone at the center. The case was closed after the shelter acknowledged the problem and committed to working to eliminate it, spokeswoman Jeanene Fowler said.
Eradication efforts have included replacing all mattresses. Belongings were been taken outside in hopes the heat would kill the bugs.
A second exterminator had the men leave their belongings inside and the entire building was fogged with pesticide. A follow-up fogging is planned soon.
A few policies also have been changed. All new residents must put their clothes in a dryer in hopes of killing more bugs.
Source: Jim Walsh / The Arizona Republic
Showing posts with label Bed Bugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bed Bugs. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Pesky bed bugs are making a resurgence
Certain cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and Africa have seen an explosion in bed bugs in recent years. Increased worldwide travel and the rising popularity of second-hand goods may be factors. Some suggest that bringing back DDT and other harsh insecticides, long banned, is going to be the only way to halt an epidemic.
Bed bugs, tiny little rust-colored insects of the Cimicidae family, live by feeding on the blood of humans and other warmblooded hosts. They get their name from their favorite habitat: mattresses (they like sofas and other cushy furniture, too).
Bed bugs are most active at night, just when you're asleep in your bed and easy prey. While their bites can be itchy, bed bugs are more of a nuisance than a health threat at this point.
For reasons still unknown to public health experts, certain cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and Africa have seen an explosion in bed bugs in recent years.
According to Larry Pinto, author of The Techletter, a leading information source for the pest control industry, increased worldwide travel and the rising popularity of secondhand goods may be factors in the resurgence of bed bugs, but the most likely reason is our rejection of DDT and other harsh insecticides composed of chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Pinto suggests that the kinder, gentler pesticides available now, as well as more conservative pest control methods (such as using bait traps for specific infestations instead of all-around, periodic preventative spraying) are less effective at keeping bed bugs - and likely other pests - away.
"Modern insecticides are proving to be somewhat ineffective against bed bugs," he reports, adding that insects can also develop some level of resistance to insecticides in general.
Due to the bed bug problem in many cities, charities like Goodwill often won't accept old mattresses or couches any longer. Consumers should beware of purchasing reconditioned or used mattresses and furniture. Even new mattresses can arrive at your home already infested, especially if they travel in trucks that contain old mattresses that customers are discarding. If you can drive your new mattress home from the store yourself you are more likely to avoid a bed bug infestation.
The upside of our abandonment of pesticides like DDT, of course, is the resurgence of bald eagles and other wildlife negatively affected by the accumulation of such toxins in the environment during the latter half of the 20th century. DDT was causing the shells of bird eggs to be thin and weak, resulting in fewer hatchlings.
By the mid-1960s, the U.S. played host to only 400 breeding pairs of bald eagles - less than one percent of the bird's estimated population in the region prior to Colonial settlement. DDT was finally banned in 1972, and today nearly 10,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles thrive in the continental U.S.
Some home-use treatments made with natural non-toxic ingredients are now available. XeroBugs' Best Yet, a top choice of hotel/motel managers, makes use of cedar oil and natural enzymes to kill bed bugs. Another leading product is Rest Easy Bed Bug Spray, which uses cinnamon and other natural ingredients. Although these products are deemed effective, some argue that they don't work nearly well enough to eradicate what some are calling a bed bug epidemic. Some are even calling for bringing back DDT (for use in small doses and for specific applications only) to help eradicate the growing bed bug problem.
Click for more information:
Source: EarthTalk TM From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine |
Bed bugs, tiny little rust-colored insects of the Cimicidae family, live by feeding on the blood of humans and other warmblooded hosts. They get their name from their favorite habitat: mattresses (they like sofas and other cushy furniture, too).
Bed bugs are most active at night, just when you're asleep in your bed and easy prey. While their bites can be itchy, bed bugs are more of a nuisance than a health threat at this point.
For reasons still unknown to public health experts, certain cities across the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe and Africa have seen an explosion in bed bugs in recent years.
According to Larry Pinto, author of The Techletter, a leading information source for the pest control industry, increased worldwide travel and the rising popularity of secondhand goods may be factors in the resurgence of bed bugs, but the most likely reason is our rejection of DDT and other harsh insecticides composed of chlorinated hydrocarbons.
Pinto suggests that the kinder, gentler pesticides available now, as well as more conservative pest control methods (such as using bait traps for specific infestations instead of all-around, periodic preventative spraying) are less effective at keeping bed bugs - and likely other pests - away.
"Modern insecticides are proving to be somewhat ineffective against bed bugs," he reports, adding that insects can also develop some level of resistance to insecticides in general.
Due to the bed bug problem in many cities, charities like Goodwill often won't accept old mattresses or couches any longer. Consumers should beware of purchasing reconditioned or used mattresses and furniture. Even new mattresses can arrive at your home already infested, especially if they travel in trucks that contain old mattresses that customers are discarding. If you can drive your new mattress home from the store yourself you are more likely to avoid a bed bug infestation.
The upside of our abandonment of pesticides like DDT, of course, is the resurgence of bald eagles and other wildlife negatively affected by the accumulation of such toxins in the environment during the latter half of the 20th century. DDT was causing the shells of bird eggs to be thin and weak, resulting in fewer hatchlings.
By the mid-1960s, the U.S. played host to only 400 breeding pairs of bald eagles - less than one percent of the bird's estimated population in the region prior to Colonial settlement. DDT was finally banned in 1972, and today nearly 10,000 breeding pairs of bald eagles thrive in the continental U.S.
Some home-use treatments made with natural non-toxic ingredients are now available. XeroBugs' Best Yet, a top choice of hotel/motel managers, makes use of cedar oil and natural enzymes to kill bed bugs. Another leading product is Rest Easy Bed Bug Spray, which uses cinnamon and other natural ingredients. Although these products are deemed effective, some argue that they don't work nearly well enough to eradicate what some are calling a bed bug epidemic. Some are even calling for bringing back DDT (for use in small doses and for specific applications only) to help eradicate the growing bed bug problem.
Click for more information:
Source: EarthTalk TM From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine |
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Bed Bug Control
The city has put its pest infestation statistics online, allowing New Yorkers to see just how vermin-ridden our neighborhoods really are. The new Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal allows visitors to create maps depicting the percentages of households infested by roaches as well as rats and mice.
According to Brick Underground, Manhattan's least buggy community is the Upper East Side, where only 9.5 percent of households spotted a roach every day for a month. In Greenwich Village, the Financial District, StuyTown, and Turtle Bay, 12.7 percent of residents polled spotted roaches daily, compared to 19.1 percent of in the Upper West Side. Statistics show that 23 percent of Chelsea, Clinton, and Midtown homes had roach problems — but those numbers were greatly eclipsed by the Lower East Side and Chinatown's 42 percent and East Harlem's 51 percent.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, 26 percent of Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents spotted roaches in their homes daily, edging out Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's 25.4, and Park Slope's 18.6.
Borough-wide statistics reveal that Staten Island had the lowest percentage of infestations, with just 7 percent of residents recording roach sightings and 8.7 percent recording mouse sightings. In both cases, Staten Island was followed by Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and finally the Bronx, where a whopping 46.3 percent of residents spotted roaches in their homes in the past month, and 49.8 percent saw mice or signs of mice in the past 90 days. The stats are well and good (and rather disgusting), but the folks at Bedbugger.com are angry that the city isn't tracking the most horrific of infestations — bed bugs.
Sourced By: Ben Muessig
According to Brick Underground, Manhattan's least buggy community is the Upper East Side, where only 9.5 percent of households spotted a roach every day for a month. In Greenwich Village, the Financial District, StuyTown, and Turtle Bay, 12.7 percent of residents polled spotted roaches daily, compared to 19.1 percent of in the Upper West Side. Statistics show that 23 percent of Chelsea, Clinton, and Midtown homes had roach problems — but those numbers were greatly eclipsed by the Lower East Side and Chinatown's 42 percent and East Harlem's 51 percent.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, 26 percent of Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents spotted roaches in their homes daily, edging out Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's 25.4, and Park Slope's 18.6.
Borough-wide statistics reveal that Staten Island had the lowest percentage of infestations, with just 7 percent of residents recording roach sightings and 8.7 percent recording mouse sightings. In both cases, Staten Island was followed by Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and finally the Bronx, where a whopping 46.3 percent of residents spotted roaches in their homes in the past month, and 49.8 percent saw mice or signs of mice in the past 90 days. The stats are well and good (and rather disgusting), but the folks at Bedbugger.com are angry that the city isn't tracking the most horrific of infestations — bed bugs.
Sourced By: Ben Muessig
Monday, December 14, 2009
Firm kills bed bugs with heat
The latest technique to eliminate a stubborn pest has bedbugs feeling the heat - and dying.
A Michigan-based pest control company with Cincinnati roots used heat to treat a Westwood apartment infested with bedbugs Friday.
As it turns out, bedbugs are fairly resistant to cold temperatures. Unlike many insects, they don't like it hot, said Mark "Shep" Sheperdigian, an urban entomologist and vice president of technical services for Rose Pest Solutions of Troy, Mich.
Temperatures of 113 degrees will kill bedbugs, but it can take hours Sheperdigian said.
Crank the thermostat up to 120 degrees or higher, and the little bloodsuckers dry up and die "in minutes," he said.
Kevin Stacy, special service manager for Rose, and two co-workers set up four large electric heaters in the three-bedroom apartment, then set up fans around the apartment to help circulate the heat.
The setup, powered by a diesel generator, will kill bedbugs in an apartment, hotel room or dorm room measuring up to a 1,000 square feet or so, Stacy said. In bigger spaces, the crew just sets up more heaters and fans.
Sensors are set up throughout the space being treated to make sure an even temperature is achieved.
At about 9:30 Friday morning, temperatures in the apartment hovered around 120 degrees, and bedbugs on a headboard and nightstand could be seen scurrying for cooler climes.
Also visible were dusty white-ish areas that were actually bedbug eggs and rusty brown stains on walls around the bed and behind a set of stereo speakers that had been infested.
High heat can damage some items, including oil paintings and some antique furniture, Stacy said. Those items are treated separately.
Homeowners prepare for the treatment by bringing bedding, clothes and other items out of closets and setting it up in baskets. The crew comes in and shuffles items up to the top of the basket to make sure the heat reaches everything.
Chemical pesticides kill bedbugs, but not their eggs, which means homes might have to be treated several times. It's also hard for exterminators to tell where exactly the bedbugs are located, so spot treatment is difficult.
Heat treatment kills the eggs as well, so unless the bedbugs are somehow re-introduced to a home, one treatment is all it takes, Sheperdigian said.
But it's not cheap: Treating a single apartment, motel room or dorm room costs about $1,000 to $1,500, which is more expensive than conventional treatments, he said.
Bedbugs, which had largely vanished from the United States by the 1950s, thanks to the pesticide DDT, began re-emerging in early 2000s.
Rose got its first bedbug call in 2002, Sheperdigian said.
"Now we're up to hundreds of calls every year. It is growing geometrically," he said.
The Cincinnati Health Department received 352 bedbug complaints about bedbugs in the first nine months of 2009.
Bedbugs are widespread enough that State Rep. Dale Mallory, D-West End, and State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-North Avondale, are introducing resolutions to the Ohio General Assembly that ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow a special exemption approving the chemical pesticide Propoxur for household use against bedbugs.
Rose Pest Services started offering heat treatment against bedbugs in July with a single four-heater system, Stacy said.
They've added two more units since then, and have ordered still more. They're one of a handful of companies nationally offering the service.
Sourced By Peggy O'Farrell
A Michigan-based pest control company with Cincinnati roots used heat to treat a Westwood apartment infested with bedbugs Friday.
As it turns out, bedbugs are fairly resistant to cold temperatures. Unlike many insects, they don't like it hot, said Mark "Shep" Sheperdigian, an urban entomologist and vice president of technical services for Rose Pest Solutions of Troy, Mich.
Temperatures of 113 degrees will kill bedbugs, but it can take hours Sheperdigian said.
Crank the thermostat up to 120 degrees or higher, and the little bloodsuckers dry up and die "in minutes," he said.
Kevin Stacy, special service manager for Rose, and two co-workers set up four large electric heaters in the three-bedroom apartment, then set up fans around the apartment to help circulate the heat.
The setup, powered by a diesel generator, will kill bedbugs in an apartment, hotel room or dorm room measuring up to a 1,000 square feet or so, Stacy said. In bigger spaces, the crew just sets up more heaters and fans.
Sensors are set up throughout the space being treated to make sure an even temperature is achieved.
At about 9:30 Friday morning, temperatures in the apartment hovered around 120 degrees, and bedbugs on a headboard and nightstand could be seen scurrying for cooler climes.
Also visible were dusty white-ish areas that were actually bedbug eggs and rusty brown stains on walls around the bed and behind a set of stereo speakers that had been infested.
High heat can damage some items, including oil paintings and some antique furniture, Stacy said. Those items are treated separately.
Homeowners prepare for the treatment by bringing bedding, clothes and other items out of closets and setting it up in baskets. The crew comes in and shuffles items up to the top of the basket to make sure the heat reaches everything.
Chemical pesticides kill bedbugs, but not their eggs, which means homes might have to be treated several times. It's also hard for exterminators to tell where exactly the bedbugs are located, so spot treatment is difficult.
Heat treatment kills the eggs as well, so unless the bedbugs are somehow re-introduced to a home, one treatment is all it takes, Sheperdigian said.
But it's not cheap: Treating a single apartment, motel room or dorm room costs about $1,000 to $1,500, which is more expensive than conventional treatments, he said.
Bedbugs, which had largely vanished from the United States by the 1950s, thanks to the pesticide DDT, began re-emerging in early 2000s.
Rose got its first bedbug call in 2002, Sheperdigian said.
"Now we're up to hundreds of calls every year. It is growing geometrically," he said.
The Cincinnati Health Department received 352 bedbug complaints about bedbugs in the first nine months of 2009.
Bedbugs are widespread enough that State Rep. Dale Mallory, D-West End, and State Sen. Eric Kearney, D-North Avondale, are introducing resolutions to the Ohio General Assembly that ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to allow a special exemption approving the chemical pesticide Propoxur for household use against bedbugs.
Rose Pest Services started offering heat treatment against bedbugs in July with a single four-heater system, Stacy said.
They've added two more units since then, and have ordered still more. They're one of a handful of companies nationally offering the service.
Sourced By Peggy O'Farrell
Friday, November 20, 2009
Bed Bug Symptoms
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Bedbug bites
Signs and symptoms of bedbug bites will usually affect only the surface of your skin, revealing themselves as small itchy red bumps known as papules or wheals. You might find the lesions in a linear or clustered fashion, indicative of repeated feedings by a single bedbug.
Some people may develop allergic reactions or larger skin reactions such as:
Large, itchy wheals up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) across
Blister-like skin inflammations
Groups of small, swollen sacs of pus
Skin rashes similar to hives
By Mayo Clinic staff
Bedbug bites
Signs and symptoms of bedbug bites will usually affect only the surface of your skin, revealing themselves as small itchy red bumps known as papules or wheals. You might find the lesions in a linear or clustered fashion, indicative of repeated feedings by a single bedbug.
Some people may develop allergic reactions or larger skin reactions such as:
Large, itchy wheals up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) across
Blister-like skin inflammations
Groups of small, swollen sacs of pus
Skin rashes similar to hives
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Bed bugs: Don't have them, don't want them
Bed bugs: Don't have them, don't want them
Some precautions to avoid the pests
So you don't have bed bugs at home — but is there anything you can do to avoid getting these unwanted visitors? Dr. Harold Harlan, a noted entomologist, has a few suggestions:
Take steps to try to avoid picking up bed bugs from hotels, hostels or any other sources when you or your family members travel, even to local destinations (e.g., within the same or a nearby city). Check your luggage closely if you think you’ve encountered bed bugs on the road
Steer clear of used mattresses and discarded furniture. Do not buy used furniture, especially bedding items or upholstered items. At the very least, do not bring them into your home until you, or a competent expert, have inspected them carefully for any signs of bed bugs— live or dead bed bugs, their eggs, fecal spots, or cast skins.
Consider covering all of your mattresses and box springs with a plastic cover which you can seal shut to prevent such pests from getting into them (or to permanently trap any already there).
Periodically inspect bedding and other places in your home which are typical harborage sites for bed bugs.
No control efforts (or products) are needed unless an infestation is detected and verified by an expert. If an infestation is confirmed, it is wise to consider contracting with a properly licensed, trained, and experienced (with bed bug control) local pest control management or company. They should help with effective and thorough inspections, provide you with information you may want, and carry out any needed control effort under a suitable contract.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11919046/
Some precautions to avoid the pests
So you don't have bed bugs at home — but is there anything you can do to avoid getting these unwanted visitors? Dr. Harold Harlan, a noted entomologist, has a few suggestions:
Take steps to try to avoid picking up bed bugs from hotels, hostels or any other sources when you or your family members travel, even to local destinations (e.g., within the same or a nearby city). Check your luggage closely if you think you’ve encountered bed bugs on the road
Steer clear of used mattresses and discarded furniture. Do not buy used furniture, especially bedding items or upholstered items. At the very least, do not bring them into your home until you, or a competent expert, have inspected them carefully for any signs of bed bugs— live or dead bed bugs, their eggs, fecal spots, or cast skins.
Consider covering all of your mattresses and box springs with a plastic cover which you can seal shut to prevent such pests from getting into them (or to permanently trap any already there).
Periodically inspect bedding and other places in your home which are typical harborage sites for bed bugs.
No control efforts (or products) are needed unless an infestation is detected and verified by an expert. If an infestation is confirmed, it is wise to consider contracting with a properly licensed, trained, and experienced (with bed bug control) local pest control management or company. They should help with effective and thorough inspections, provide you with information you may want, and carry out any needed control effort under a suitable contract.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11919046/
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