RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Local Man Burns Mattress, Claims Bed Bug Infestation

Health inspectors found no evidence of bed bugs in rooms at the Franklin Motel even after an alleged infestation caused a local man to burn a mattress.

The man, Fred Fehrmann, 48, of Marshalltown, burned the mattress after a coworker called him to the motel for assistance, and he and his wife discovered the mattress was rife with bed bugs.

Tuesday's incident marks the third accusation of bed bugs at the motel, 1108 Iowa Ave. W., since May 31, according to Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Inspectors found no evidence of bed bugs in any of the three inspections.

Still, Laura Fehrmann, Fred's wife, tells a different story.

When she and her husband went over to aid the coworker, she said, she couldn't believe how bad the parasitic infestation was.

"I was so dumbfounded. I was at a loss for words," she said.

Even after her husband got home from burning the mattress, she made him take his clothes off outside their home and leave them in a bucket of oil, she said.

David Werning, a spokesperson for the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, said his department treats every complaint as if it were legitimate and requires the owner to show proof that he or she has called in an exterminator, something Franklin Motel owner, James Hostetter, had not done for the two previous complaints.

After the Thursday inspection, Inspections and Appeals required the owner to provide monthly invoices from a pest control agency showing that he is taking the appropriate measures.

"We aren't taking anyone's word for it," Werning said.

Although the inspector found no evidence of bed bugs, Werning acknowledged that the insects are nocturnal and hard to spot during the day.

Fehrmann said she put her husband up to burning the mattress because she was concerned for the welfare of the residents' 2-year-old child.

"The manager didn't care at all," she said. "He said 'you guys brought them in and you need to take care of them.'"

Franklin Motel's manager declined to comment for this story.

An incident report at the Marshalltown Police Department confirms Fehrmann's husband, Fred, started the fire, which, according to the report, could land him a reckless use of fire charge, a simple misdemeanor.

"It's not legal to burn a mattress," said Fire Marshal Deb Lundgren.

The fire was relatively small, Lundgren said, and only took firefighters a few minutes to extinguish.

As of Friday morning, MPD reports do not indicate police have arrested Fred Fehrmann.

Fehrmann said she and her husband will deal with any consequences. In fact, she was the one who called the police and fire departments. Whatever the fallout it will be a far shot better than letting the family sleep on the floor, which is what she said they had been doing for some time.

"People need to know how bad the situation is," Fehrmann said of the numerous complaints about bed bugs at the motel.

The mattress belonged to the owner of the motel, who is in the process of evicting the couple, Werning said.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Tiff over bed bugs leads to stabbing.

A tiff over bed bugs ended with a man suffering a serious stab wound, police say.

Thurmell Maley, 42, was being held Sunday in the Hamilton County Justice Center on a felonious assault charge after an incident that was reported Saturday at Maley's home in the 2600 block of Burnet Avenue here.

Maley used a kitchen knife to stab Anthony Rice in the left side of his stomach and back area, "following a verbal altercation over (Maley) having bed bugs," police and court records say.

Rice suffered serious physical harm, a court document says, but no further information on his condition was immediately available.

Maley is to appear in Hamilton County Municipal Court at 9 a.m. Monday.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

With Bedbugs on the Rise, Entomologist Urges Vigilance

If the nation's capital wants to contain its bed bug problem, its residents, pest control experts and property managers must put long-term action plans into place, a Maryland-based entomologist said Thursday at a summit on the insect.

"You need to recognize high-risk locations," and be proactive with prevention, said Larry Pinto, a Mechanicsville, Md.-based entomologist who gave the keynote address at the summit hosted by the D.C. Department of Health.

A report released this summer by the pest-control company Terminix ranked Washington, D.C., as the ninth most bed bug-infested city in the country; it ranked New York City as No. 1.

A joint statement released in November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency said the U.S. is now one of many countries "experiencing an alarming resurgence in the population of bed bugs," which had declined in the mid-20th century.

Bed bugs can become problems in low-income housing areas, assisted living facilities and transitional housing sites such as homeless shelters, where people frequently interact and share common spaces, Pinto said.

But their presence is not limited to apartments or low-income housing.

The pests often "hitchhike" on people traveling internationally, and can now be found in almost any setting, Pinto said. This includes bathrooms, office file cabinets and even the brushes of vacuum cleaners.

He said people such as social workers, who often make visits to high-risk sites, should wash and dry clothing immediately after work, since bedbugs are sensitive to dryer heat.

Purchasing pesticides and cockroach-killing sprays is not recommended to eliminate them. Rather, tenants and homeowners are urged to contact pest control professionals for a series of treatments.

Although bedbugs feed on the blood of people and leave itchy welts and rashes, they are not disease carriers, officials say. But they can cause a variety of "negative health, mental health and economic consequences," the joint CDC/EPA report said, including "mild to severe allergic reaction to the bites" and anxiety and insomnia.

Reactions to bedbugs can be extreme, Pinto said.

People "do some pretty crazy things, like bathing themselves in kerosene," he said. "Their first gut reaction is to throw everything they have out."

But that doesn't work, he said. The bugs almost always return unless treated by professionals with a combination of pesticide, vacuum and heat treatments.

Instead of overreacting, Pinto said, citizens and landlords need to constantly monitor infected homes, by visually inspecting for bedbugs and keeping an eye out for bruises on the skin. Three treatments by a pest management company are typically needed to completely rid a home of an infestation, he said, and the bill can run anywhere around $1,200 or more.

But, he added, "I've dealt with properties who spent 60-to-80-thousand dollars (on pest control), and then had to spend another 60-to-80 thousand," if they don't do it right.

For those who aren't quite ready to lay down the cash for long-term bedbug treatment, Pinto suggested taking some simple measures, such as placing mattresses within encasements.

When moving into a new apartment or traveling, he suggests looking for blood smears on walls and ceilings, hotel beds and headboards. The smears would indicate the bugs' presence, because homeowners are likely to crush the bugs.

Constant long-term vigilance is essential, he said.

"Reinfestation is almost guaranteed," he said. "You need a permanent monitoring program."

Source = Capitol News Services

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Waldorf Astoria is Haven for Bedbugs! Md. Tourist Third to Sue Famed Hotel for Bloodsucker 'Attack'

A Maryland woman is suing the Waldorf Astoria for $10 million because, she says, she awoke at the fancy hotel and found bedbugs all over her body.

Svetlana Tendler is the third tourist since last year to sue the famed Park Ave. hotel over a nasty encounter with the tiny bloodsuckers.

"I felt like I was eaten alive by bedbugs, which have attacked my body," she said.

Tendler, her husband, Jacob, and their two kids stayed at the hotel in August 2007, the suit says.

One morning, she awoke to a nasty bedbug attack.

Photographs released by her lawyer, Anna Carley, show bites on Tendler's arms and legs.

"The defendants did nothing to assist plaintiff, Svetlana Tendler, in treatment of ... bed bites or fumigation of [her] luggage," says the suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Tendler, of Owings Mill, Md., initially filed a summons against the hotel in August.

She filed a new, detailed complaint this week.

A Michigan woman who says bedbugs attacked her during a family vacation sued the hotel in November.

The hotel also was sued in October by a woman whose 6-year-old daughter said she was victimized by bedbugs during a visit last February.

Hilton Worldwide, which owns the Waldorf Astoria, declined to comment.

Source = NY Daily News

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Thanks again to the University Kentucky and their great research on bedbugs! Here you can see the most common bedbug hiding spots. After 30 days the bedbugs branch off and wander. This wandering happens even more after 60-90 days. This means that they will get into voids and other areas. It is absolutely vital to have an inspection early on in the infestation. The longer you wait the worse the problem gets.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

MSNBC: Survey says 1 in 5 Have Encountered Bedbugs

One in five Americans has either had an experience with bedbugs themselves or knows someone who has and a majority say the tiny blood-suckers are a source of worry for them, according to a new survey.

Young renters who live in cities are most vulnerable to bedbugs, the survey showed.

Some respondents said they changed their routines to minimize the likelihood of encountering the bug.

A quarter of respondents have checked a hotel room for bedbugs and 12 percent have changed or canceled travel plans for fear of the pest. Others said they checked second-hand furniture and store dressing rooms.

Having a bedbug infested home can also hurt people's social lives. A third of respondents said they would not invite friends who had the infestation into their homes, as people can carry bedbugs around on their clothing.

But the poll also found wide-spread misinformation about bedbugs. Nearly half believed, incorrectly, that bedbugs transmit disease to humans and more than a quarter thought they are more common in lower income households and dirty homes.

"The truth is that bedbugs do not discriminate in regard to cleanliness, nor do they prefer one socio-economic class to another," Henriksen said.

"Bedbugs are found in penthouses and five-star hotels as well as in low-income housing and budget motels."

- Seventy eight percent of respondents were most concerned about infested hotels, while others said they were wary of picking them up at work, at the doctor's, at the movie theater or on public transportation.

"I was surprised just how pervasive the problem is," said Missy Henriksen, a vice president at the National Pest Management Association, which commissioned the online survey of 504 adults. Bedbugs, which are about the size of a grain of rice and flat-shaped, like to nestle in furniture and bedding upholstery and are notoriously difficult to get rid of.

Source: MSNBC

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Click Image to Enlarge

Clutter = failure! That is rule #1 with bedbugs. EHS goes to great length to provide preparation sheets and even a bedbug preparation video so we can perform the most successful treatment possible. This picture shows you a unit that is “prepared” for treatment. Needless to say we could not do anything in this apartment because of all the clutter. Just look at the picture. If we were to treat how exactly could we? There is no possible way to successfully treat. In this picture alone there are a billion nooks for bedbugs to hide.

What amazed me was that the person was insistent that she prepared??? Once I explained to her that it was not prepared she defended herself by stating “where am I going to put all my stuff?”

I know that can be an issue & that has to be considered & dealt with but BEFORE the treatment date. I explained to her that eliminating bedbugs takes a team approach.

Not preparing for treatment delays the entire control process and can make matters worse by allowing bedbugs to spread.

Frank Diaz
Service Specialist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Bedbugs Found at 3 Library Branches

Bedbugs have been found at three Edmonton public library branches over the past several months.

The pests have been spotted at the Sprucewood, Londonderry and Stanley Milner branches.

Bedbugs were found in the Milner library in November. An environmental health officer was notified and an exterminator and a sniffer dog were called in to handle the problem.

"There was a piece of furniture that, in fact, had a bed bug in it, or a number of bedbugs, so the piece of furniture was removed," said Joanne Grenier, the executive director of management services for Edmonton Public Libraries.

It was the first time bedbugs had been discovered in an Edmonton library, Grenier said. No bedbugs have been found in the Milner library since then.

Bedbugs were also seen in the Sprucewood branch just before Christmas. The pests were discovered in the Londonderry branch a couple of weeks ago.

The library did not notify the public because the risk was considered low, as each outbreak was considered to be minor, Grenier said.

"We didn't feel it was significant enough an issue or unique enough, I guess, to the library, to do a public communication," she said.

The discoveries have prompted library staff to check borrowed materials for bedbugs before they are reshelved.

Grenier said a provincial environmental health officer told her bedbugs tend not to thrive in libraries, as there is no one around for them to bite at night, when they tend to come out.

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Bedbugs have Canada Winter Games Staff Steaming

Workers are steam cleaning a dorm at a children’s camp north of Halifax in a bid to rid the building of bedbugs before athletes start arriving for the Canada Winter Games.

Games spokeswoman Melissa MacKinnon says officials will know today whether the bloodsucking pests have been eradicated from the Tim Hortons Children’s Camp in Tatamagouche.

She says a specially trained sniffer dog will be brought in to make sure the bugs are gone.

The Games start this weekend, but MacKinnon says the building with the infestation won’t be needed by alpine skiers until the following weekend.

The skiers, about 180 in all, will be competing at nearby Ski Wentworth.

The camp has had problems with bedbugs before, with some visiting schoolchildren reporting bites as recently as last November.

Source: the star.com

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

If dreaded bedbugs invade, don't make a run for the store pesticide aisle. Bedbugs have developed resistance to almost half of the 300 pesticides listed for their control. And even the pesticides that do work can make infestations harder to beat if they are not applied correctly.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, Florida's surgeon general and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recently issued public warnings urging people not to tackle bedbug problems on their own.

Rampant misuse of pesticides in Ohio, New Jersey and New York, where bedbug infestations are skyrocketing, has led to home explosions and illnesses from over-exposure to toxic chemicals.

"What we're trying to do is make sure Florida is aware of those kinds of issues so that people don't do things that are harmful to themselves," says Michael Page, chief of the Bureau of Entomology for the FDACS.

Instead, they advise working with a pest control company with a strategy to eradicate the bugs.

"This pest is not like roaches or flies or fleas, where you can treat once or twice and the problem is gone," Page says.

Largely absent from public dialogue four years ago, bedbugs have become a common pest problem throughout the United States. International travel and the bug's ability to swiftly build resistance to even the toughest pesticides, including banned DDT, has allowed the irritating bugs to spread rapidly. In desperation, homeowners dangerously are setting off multiple bug bombs in their homes or buying outdoor pesticides on the Internet to spray in their bedrooms.

"Typically, in the consumer world, if one is good, two is better and five is really good," says Wayne Walker, senior pest control technician at the University of Florida Department of Housing and Residence Education. "They don't understand the ramifications of over-applying the pesticide."

The problem has become so immense that Congress has held forums to develop a national bedbug strategy and last year considered passing a bill -- the Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act -- to fund state inspection of hotels.

Improper use of pesticides can be much worse than a bedbug's bite. Instead of trying to manage infestations alone, which rarely works, people should hire outside help, says Fred Santana, entomologist with the Sarasota County Extension Agency.

SOURCE: www.heraldtribune.com

In desperation, homeowners dangerously are setting off multiple bug bombs in their homes or buying outdoor pesticides on the Internet to spray in their bedrooms.

"Typically, in the consumer world, if one is good, two is better and five is really good," says Wayne Walker, senior pest control technician at the University of Florida Department of Housing and Residence Education. "They don't understand the ramifications of over-applying the pesticide."

The problem has become so immense that Congress has held forums to develop a national bedbug strategy and last year considered passing a bill -- the Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act -- to fund state inspection of hotels.

People are downright terrified of bedbugs because of the high cost, the difficulty of treatment and the social stigma. According to a recent survey funded by a major pesticide company, 30 percent of people say they would rather have a root canal than find bedbugs at home. Bedbugs, though icky and annoying, are not known to transmit disease to humans.

Improper use of pesticides can be much worse than a bedbug's bite. Instead of trying to manage infestations alone, which rarely works, people should hire outside help, says Fred Santana, entomologist with the Sarasota County Extension Agency.

It is important, however, to make sure the professionals know what they are doing. Santana says experienced companies will use an integrated approach, combining methods such as heat treatments, fumigation and strategically placed powders.

People should interview three to four companies before settling on one. Ask to see licenses and ask questions about their experience, strategies and pesticide choices.

In other states, unscrupulous or unlicensed companies have put clients at risk by over-using pesticides or using outdoor products indoors, exposing people to chemicals that can cause nerve damage and cancer.

"If there's a least-toxic approach, try the least toxic first," Santana says.

Heat has proven to be one of the best controls. Professionals place special fans or heaters in a room to bring temperatures to at least 113 degrees, hot enough to kill all stages of bedbugs, from adults the size of apple seeds to their nearly invisible eggs.

Most companies inspect for free and provide an estimate, which usually ranges from $500 to $1,500, depending on the size of the house and the level of infestation.

People will need to work with their pest company and follow instructions that range from throwing clothes and sheets in the dryer to packing items in plastic. They also should be prepared to live with the problem for several weeks before the bugs are successfully eliminated, says Cindy Mannes, spokeswoman for Arrow and Hughes exterminators.

"Pest control may have to come back three, four, five times, depending on the infestation," Mannes says. "It can be controlled; it's just not an easy process."

Bedbugs are extraordinarily tough to control and a lot of over-the-counter applications can make problems worse. Many products claim effectiveness, but have only been tested in lab situations.

"It leads the consumer into false beliefs that it will do things that it may not do," Walker says.

Bedbugs are so hard to control because they hide easily in small crevices, develop chemical resistance quickly, their population can explode exponentially in months and they can go long periods without food.

Foggers often make bedbugs disappear from sight, but the insects escape the poison by moving to other rooms or taking refuge behind light switches, picture frames or baseboards. They can travel 15 to 20 feet to feed, so a new hiding spot will not keep them from their sleeping prey. Repellant sprays, such as those containing pyrethrins, have the same scattering effect that in the end makes the problem harder to combat.

Contact sprays can work, but only on those that actually get sprayed. Also, it is not guaranteed that all bugs that come in contact with the spray will actually die. When insects survive a dousing, they produce resistant offspring.

A female bedbug lives six months to a year and lays an average of 500 eggs, at a rate of three to five per day. Eggs hatch in 10 days, with the young reaching sexual maturity 30 to 45 days later.

"They develop resistance really fast because their life-cycle is really fast," Walker says.

Further, a female only mates once and afterward moves several feet away from her original colony.

It only takes one fertilized female to start a full-blown infestation. And that single bug can live for more than six months on just one meal.

"It's a challenge for the pest management industry and if you know it's a challenge for us, what does the homeowner do when he gets ahold of the pesticides?" Walker says.

People resort to extreme measures to eradicate bedbugs because it is a frustrating and demoralizing experience, Walker says.

For many people, the bed is a safety zone, the place where they hid from lightning storms as children.

"Here is an insect that invades that safety zone and feeds on you at night while you sleep," Walker says. "People do some really drastic things to deal with this issue."

Part of the problem is the high cost of treatment. Many people, including minimum-wage hotel and motel workers who are most at risk, cannot afford to pay $500 to $1,500 to get rid of their pests. They either live with the problem and spread it, or try, usually unsuccessfully, to control it themselves. When homeowners do not have the financial means to hire pest control, they should at least consult an bug expert with the county extension service for advice before attacking the problem on their own.

"The solution is they've got to find some cost-effective method of dealing with this insect," Walker says. "Right now there's not a cost-effective method that's available to the general public that is also effective on the bedbugs."

Pest Control, MA ,  Pest Control, RI