[Bed Bug Supplement] Bed Bug News & Notes

Editor’s note: Suppliers and PMPs, if you have a bed bug control product or service you’d like to have highlighted in an upcoming issue, please send a press release and a high-resolution photo to jdorsch@giemedia.com.

New Orleans Association and Saints Superfan Help Protect Sick Children from Bed Bugs

www.verifibedbug.com

Bed bugs are no joke, but that didn’t stop everyone from enjoying Saints superfan “Mack the Quack” when he joined the Greater New Orleans Pest Control Association on its annual day of service last fall. The association partnered with FMC Professional Solutions, makers of the Verifi bed bug detector, and Protect-A-Bed to donate a bed bug detection system and mattress protection to the Ronald McDonald House of New Orleans.

“The house has not had a bed bug problem but the potential is there,” says Gary Whelen, association spokesperson. “With Verifi and the mattress encasements, we will be able to identify infestations when they are small and easy to handle. Our goal is to ensure that with all these families have to deal with, bed bugs are not one of them.”

Ten members of the Greater New Orleans Pest Control Association helped install the Verifi bed bug monitors and mattress encasements in the 15-room Canal Street home, a respite for families of sick children being treated at area hospitals.

Members of the association have returned regularly to inspect the devices, and to recharge them every 90 days. Saints superfan Mack the Quack is really Mack Cuenca, an entomologist by day and current president of the association.

Verifi devices can be used in any house, business or hotel to detect bed bug infestations before they get costly and difficult to eradicate, FMC says.
 

(Top Left) Gordon Melerine, Orkin; Gary Wehlen, E&G Pest; “Mack the Quack;” Catherine Bernard, FMC Professional Solutions; and Vincent Palumbo, Terminix; gather outside the Ronald McDonald House of New Orleans during the Greater New Orleans Pest Control Association’s Annual Day of Service. The association donated Verifi bed bug detectors and Protect-A-Bed mattress encasements to the home. [Not pictured but participating: Bryan Billiot, Billiot Brothers; Mark Pellittieri, Univar Environmental Sciences; Joyce Brown, New Orleans Mosquito & Termite Control Board; Ira Summers, DA Exterminating; and Leroy Chevolleaux, Terminix.] (Top Right) “Mack the Quack” is known to many as the Saints superfan but is also an entomologist by day and president of the Greater New Orleans Pest Control Association (real name: Mack Cuenca). Here he installs a Verifi bed bug detector during the association’s day of service. (Bottom Left) Catherine Bernard of FMC Professional Solutions demonstrates how to activate Verifi lures to Joyce Brown of the New Orleans Mosquito & Termite Control Board and Mack the Quack. Leroy Chevolleaux of Terminix is seen in the background. (Bottom Right) Gordon Melerine of Orkin, Gary Whelen of E&G Pest and Bryan Billiot of Billiot Brothers install a Protect-A-Bed mattress encasement in one of the Ronald McDonald House’s 14 rooms.

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BDS Slider Bedbug Monitor Offered by Catchmaster

www.catchmasterpro.com

The BDS Slider is a discreet early-detection device that identifies bed bug infestations almost anywhere, AP&G says. When strategically placed in key locations throughout the target area, it acts as a monitor, by providing a harborage for foraging bed bugs. The BDS Slider features a translucent cover for easy inspection and is specifically designed for placement under mattresses, the manufacturer reports. Bed bugs explore the textured base of the Slider while entering from all four sides and are then trapped on Catchmaster adhesive. The BDS Slider also can be used to monitor the effectiveness of bed bug treatments, decreasing the likelihood or severity of future infestations.
 

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Terramera to Distribute CIRKIL via Univar ES

www.terramera.com

Terramera announced it has entered into a distribution agreement with Univar Environmental Sciences to distribute its CIRKIL products, which can be used for bed bug and spider control.

Terramera launched CIRKIL at NPMA PestWorld 2012 in Boston. CIRKIL is a biopesticide that has shown efficacy in combatting bed bugs, and is the only product on the market shown effective at preventing egg hatch without requiring direct contact spray, the firm reports.

“Univar Environmental Sciences is a market leader in distribution of structural?pest control products in North America. Their reputation for quickly meeting PMP needs nationwide with quality products is well known, and consistent with our strategy to lead the industry as a manufacturer of high-quality, effective biopesticide,” said Karn Manhas, CEO of Terramera. “The speed at which this agreement was completed demonstrates market need for biopesticides like CIRKIL that work. We are excited that PMPs will have a great new option on where they can purchase our products with Univar.”
 

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PCO Donates Service to Fire Victims Battling Bed Bugs

Raymond VanderLouw, owner of EnviroPRO, Spokane, Wash., helped a family whose donated furniture was infested with bed bugs. The family, also of Spokane, had accepted the donated items after they lost nearly everything to an apartment fire.

According to KREM.com, the June 2011 fire at the Autumn Ridge Apartments destroyed 90 percent of everything that Mick Chapman, his fiancé and their three children owned.

Chapman accepted donations of furniture and clothing, and moved into a new place. Not long after, they realized their apartment was infested with bed bugs from the donated items. Chapman called VanderLouw, who estimated it would cost more than $2,000 to get rid of the bed bugs. When VanderLouw learned what had happened to the family, he offered to do the 14-hour job for free.

VanderLouw told PCT he performed a full structural heat treatment using Temp-Air equipment. “It was a very typical service for me. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the remarkable circumstances surrounding the bed bug infestation. The service took 14 hours to complete.”

VanderLouw said he has followed up with the family by phone and, “They haven’t seen any bed bugs or gotten any bites since the service was performed. Through this event, I have become close with the family, they are very humble and caring people.”

VanderLouw added that the donation was simply the right thing to do. “I feel that if you have been blessed with good fortune in your life, you have a duty to give back. It’s putting my faith into action. If you have the knowledge, skills and resources to help someone in need, then there is nobody better qualified to help than you are. I also feel it is important to lead by example. My industry peers, family, friends, customers, suppliers, employees and public should know what we’re about as a business, not just words, but deeds.” — Brad Harbison

UF/IFAS Research: Typical Populations of Bed Bugs Can Cause Harmful Blood Loss in Humans

For years, bed bugs have been turning up in sometimes odd and random places, such as subways, movie theaters, dressing rooms and schools, but scientists believed that to flourish, the insects would need more frequent access to human blood meals.

Turns out they don’t.

A University of Florida study, published online last fall by the journal Medical and Veterinary Entomology, shows the blood-sucking insects can do much more than survive — they can even thrive — with far less access to human blood than previously believed.

And the news only gets creepier. The three-year study also found that it takes only about 11 weeks for one pair of bed bugs to spawn a large enough population to cause harmful blood loss in a baby, and just under 15 weeks for adult humans. Just 3,500 bed bugs feeding on a single baby or 25,000 on an adult can cause problems.

“By harmful, we mean it’s not killing you, but your body would be stressed,” said Roberto Pereira, a research associate scientist in entomology with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS). “And when your body is stressed, all sorts of things can go wrong. Your blood volume would be low, your iron levels might be too low or you might become anemic.”

Pereira and Phil Koehler, a professor of entomology and UF/IFAS faculty member, fed bed bugs in 5- and 15-minute periods and once, three or seven times per week, to see how the populations fared under different feeding conditions. Andrew Taylor, a former UF entomology undergraduate, and Margie Lehnert, a former entomology graduate student, assisted with the project.

Under the researchers’ bed bug-feeding regimens, Koehler said, the populations grew under all conditions — even those bed bugs fed the least often and for the shortest duration (although that group’s numbers grew slowly).

“Basically what we found is that they can live on a diet of weekly snacks,” Pereira said.

The researchers also were surprised to discover that if not controlled, populations of bed bugs large enough to cause humans harm could grow four times more quickly than previously thought, in just an 11- to 15-week span.

Koehler and Pereira’s study also found that unless pest control efforts against bed bugs can kill at least 80 percent of a given population, they are not likely to have much success.

“One pair of bed bugs can become 35,000 in just 10 weeks if not controlled,” Koehler said. “It’s really a very difficult problem for people.” — Mickie Anderson, University of Florida

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BedBug Central Introduces New Device to Detect Bed Bugs

www.blackoutbedbugdetector.com/pestcontrol

BlackOut was created by Jeffrey White, technical director of BedBug Central. “I wanted to create BlackOut because I saw an opportunity to design a device that was both effective in monitoring for bed bugs and would assist in control efforts,” says White. “A key feature of this device is that it is much more aesthetically pleasing and blends into people’s bedrooms more than others.”

Similar to other interception devices, BlackOut is used to detect the presence of bed bugs by placing the device under the legs of beds, upholstered furniture or in other areas of a room. These key features demonstrate the science behind BlackOut, the company says: the black color is attractive to bed bugs — with the black background it’s easier to inspect and find first instars, White says. Additionally, the product features a textured outer surface and the (patent pending) angle of the ramp promotes climbing without tape. Finally, the (patent pending) curvature of the walls allows for no talc.

In addition, BlackOut is crack and break resistant and requires little maintenance, White says.

Phil Cooper, CEO of BedBug Central, says, “It is the culmination of two years of extraordinarily hard work on the part of our entomology team to bring a new and improved type of interception device to market.”
 

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Bed-Bugs.co.uk Partners with Dana K9

www.bed-bugs.co.uk

Bed-Bugs.co.uk has signed a licensing agreement with New York-based Dana K9. The agreement allows Dana K9 to use, install and distribute Bed Bugs’ Hotel Monitoring System within New York State and New Jersey.

The Hotel Monitoring System is a control strategy for the detection and control of bed bug infestations in hotels, hostels and care homes. The system combines passive monitoring detection technology with eco-friendly processes for dealing with bed bug infestations, the company said.

Bed-Bugs.co.uk Managing Director David Cain said, “Our main focus is research into bed bug infestations and educating people about how to eradicate them. However, there is clearly a need for this system in other areas and we are delighted to be able to offer the benefits to the North American market.”