[Bed Bug Supplement] Bed Bug News & Notes

A review of new products and services available to PMPs providing bed bug services. Manufacturers, if you have a bed bug product you’d like featured in a future issue of PCT magazine, please send a press release and high-resolution photo to jdorsch@giemedia.com.

New Pocket Guide Helps Consumers Identify Bed Bugs
Two associate professors at Ohio State University, Dr. Susan C. Jones and Dr. Glen Needham, have developed the Bed Bug Pocket Guide, a multi-page, laminated pictorial guide to assist with identifying bed bugs and common telltale signs of their presence. It also provides information on integrated pest management strategies to combat this pest.

"The long-term goal of the pocket guide is to increase awareness of bed bugs and thereby decrease the incidence of bed bugs in buildings," explained Jones. "Education is an important aspect of bed bug prevention."

Jones said the guide is intended for a wide audience including homeowners, pest management companies, health and fire departments, housing authorities, building departments, schools, community service groups, property managers and others. Photos on the five cards show distinct bed bug signs such as black fecal spots, cast skins and live bugs on items, including bedding, furniture, a baseboard, outlet cover and carpeting. The sturdy guide measures 3x5 inches and fits easily into a shirt pocket or glove compartment.

Needham came up with the idea in 2008, when he suggested that a stored product insects pocket guide could be adapted for bed bugs and be distributed to training program participants. Text and photos for the guide came from Jones' previous presentations on bed bugs as well as various site visits around the state.

Over time the guide has been modified and revised to include precise, high resolution photographic images of the various life stages of bed bugs, completed with the assistance of entomology student Ben Diehl. "This component of the pocket guide was the most time-consuming element," Jones observed.

In 2009, Jones received an EPA grant that paid for printing and distribution of bed bug awareness materials, including a warning sticker and the pocket guide, to groups throughout Ohio. The guide was so well-received, Jones said, that many groups continued to request copies of it even after that funding was depleted.

The bed bug pocket guides are now available through Ohio State University at a cost of $5 each, payable by check. The fee covers shipment within the continental U.S. To order, contact Dr. Susan Jones at jones.1800@osu.edu, including quantity of guides requested. Receipts are used to help fund Jones' and Needham's extension and research projects at Ohio State.    — Lisa McKenna

AP&G
www.catchmasterpro.com
A new video by AP&G provides information on ways to minimize bed bug threats. The program, offered in both English and Spanish, provides management professionals with key information on bed bug monitoring application and inspection strategies as a way to ward off the serious consequences that infestations may bring. The video is easily accessible at www.catchmasterpro.com/hospitality.php.

"This is an educational program written specifically for the needs of hotel/hospitality, multi-dwelling and pest management professionals," said Jonathan Frisch, AP&G's vice president, sales and marketing.

"Infestations are hitting these industries heavily and the consequent impact on reputation, cost of control and litigation can be enormous," he added. "There are already cases where the losses have run into millions of dollars, so there is a clear need to take proactive action. A three-minute video offers instructions on what industry professionals can do to establish an intervention strategy and to train staff members to ensure its implementation."

The program also provides information on a new concept in bed bug detection called BDS from AP&G's Catchmaster line, which offers a way to implement cost-effective, large-scale bed bug monitoring for hotel, hospitality and residence-based industries.
 

Bird-X
www.bird-x.com
Bird-X recently introduced the "Bed Bug Alert." Bed Bug Alert is a clear, safe, rigid plastic bed bug monitoring device — about the size of a business card — that slips under the mattress or into other tight spaces where bed bugs are suspected. A special gel inside the device containing human pheromones attracts and traps bed bugs if they are present, alerting pest management professionals and consumers to the problem before it's too late.
 

BugZip
www.bugzip.com
BugZip Luggage Encasements enable customers to put suitcases of all sizes into heavy-duty vinyl encasements that resist tears. The specially designed three-sided bed bug-resistant zipper allows easy access to clothes and belongings while "zipping" out bed bugs when they are on the move at night. The luggage encasements reduce the risk of bed bugs sneaking into suitcases, thereby helping to limit the spread of bed bugs from place to place.

All BugZip encasements are made of heavy-duty clear vinyl that resists tears and can easily hold large objects inside. BugZip Encasements come flat folded in a 10x13x1-inch retail bag which fits nicely in most suitcase pockets during travel.
 

Innovative Textile Solutions
www.innovativetextilesolution.com
Innovative Textile Solutions has developed a "fabric" approach to bed bug control. The Sweep Bed Bug Solution System is a new line of pre-treated fabrics that are specifically developed and manufactured to protect sleeping people from bed bug bites and to kill these pests. Sweep kills bed bugs that stay in contact with the fabric for 24 hours. All Sweep products are 100-percent cotton, 200-thread count and are supplied to clients as finished items. Products include bed bands, box spring encasements, headboard backings, dust ruffles and furniture decking (kills bed bugs hiding under couches, chairs and theater seats, and more).

Oxy-Green
www.bedbugremovalcentral.biz
The Oxy-Green Bed Bug Solution is a patented bed bug removal process that uses an oxygen-based gas forced under positive pressure into tiny cracks and crevices where bed bugs reside, coupled with a powerful enzyme and egg-destroying essential oil inhibitor with repellency properties, according to the manufacturer. The product is from Ideaworks Ideas and Solutions, developers of the Green Mold Remediation Protocol, which uses natural products to eliminate mold along with an oxygen-based gas to penetrate hard-to-reach areas. This led to the development of the bed bug methodology. Oxy-Green Bed Bug Solution also eliminates roaches, termites, stink bugs and other pests in addition to bed bugs and their eggs, the firm says.
 

SpringStar
www.bedbugscience.net
SpringStar, a Seattle-area biotech company, has released two new advanced pheromone-based traps for monitoring and catching bed bugs. The manufacturer says these pheromone traps are designed to help travelers be certain that their hotel rooms are not infested and that they have not brought the bugs back home with them.

The BioCare First Response Bed Bug Monitor is an overnight trap designed to quickly check if bugs are present. It uses a patent-pending pheromone solution and is a simple, disposable trap proven highly effective at downtown Seattle shelters, where it has been field tested, the firm says.

SpringStar also has a permanent, long-term device, the BioCare First Response Bed Bug Trap, which can be placed in homes, hotels and other locations before and after pesticide treatments to confirm whether or not there are bed bugs present. "In our rigorous testing of both of these traps in infested shelters and private homes, we caught hundreds of bed bugs every night," said Sam Hapke, SpringStar's research manager.
 

Susan McKnight
www.insect-interceptor.com
Susan McKnight Inc., manufacturer of the bed bug-detecting Climbup insect interceptor, announced production of the new ClimbupHD (Hotel Discreet). The ClimbupHD is small, black and discreet. Used under standard metal bed frame casters and glides, it appears to be a coaster and it hides captured bed bugs until swabbed out. The exterior climbing surface of the ClimbupHD is durable black felt. The ClimbupHD is round with total diameter of 4 inches and height of 1 inch. The center well diameter is 2½ inches.
 

Rollins White Paper Helps Businesses Prepare for Bed Bugs
Atlanta-based pest control company Rollins Inc. released a white paper to help businesses separate the facts from the hype and understand how they can prepare in advance for a bed bug infestation.

In "Bed Bugs: The Issues, Challenges and Facts," Rollins pest experts Greg Baumann, Ron Harrison and Phillip Pierce explore bed bug hype vs. reality, treatment options and operational considerations for businesses.

"Rollins companies performed more than 8,000 bed bug treatments in the first quarter alone, so we understand how critical it is for businesses to help prepare themselves," said Baumann, who also serves as one of the company's technical services directors. "Employee education, customer communication and a proper risk management plan can all significantly impact how your business handles potential bed bug issues."

The white paper, a valuable educational aid, is available for complimentary download at www.BedBugBusinessPlan.com, a site where business owners and operators can find additional resources to help protect their businesses before bed bugs strike.