RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Firefighters: Bedbug “Do It Yourself” Spray Causes Fire

A fire that engulfed an apartment in Colerain on Friday night was partially caused by the use of a common bedbug deterrent, fire officials said.

Colerain Township firefighters said they received a call at about 9:30 p.m. reporting a fire on a second floor apartment in the 3500 block of West Galbraith Road.

Firefighters said they brought the fire under control at about 9:50 p.m. with the help of fire crews from Springfield Township and Green Township fire departments.

Authorities said a family of six, including four children, was displaced and receiving assistance from the Red Cross.

Fire officials said the residents of the apartment were using isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle to kill bedbugs. Officials said the home-remedy is common, but droplets formed by spraying the chemical dramatically increases the evaporation rate of the alcohol.

The vapor released is extremely flammable and was ignited by a cigarette, firefighters said.

No injuries were reported, firefighters said. The fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damage to the building and its contents.

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