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Apr 15, 2009 02:15 PM | 11
Bedbugs have crawled their way onto the national agenda. Federal environmental regulators are hosting the first-ever "bedbug summit" to discuss emerging infestations of the insects around the country.
At the behest of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some 300 people gathered in Arlington, Va., yesterday and today to swap ideas about how to get rid of the critters, whose bites make up to half of victims itchy with hives. While there's no official count of how many people are bitten, cities including New York, Chicago, Boston and Cincinnati have reported growing bedbug problems, which experts blame in part on declining use of pesticides amid concerns about their health effects.
"One of our roles would be to learn of new products or safer products," Lois Rossi, director of the registration division in the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs, told the Associated Press. "What we are concerned about is that if people take things into their own hands and start using pesticides on their mattresses that aren't really registered for that, that's a problem."
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) plans to introduce the "Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite Act" next week that would increase funds for public housing authorities to tackle the problem. The pest-control industry is calling for the feds to pump more cash into researching chemical alternatives to wiping out the bugs, such as heating, freezing or steaming them out of homes and hotels, according to the AP. In the interim, Dini Miller, an entomologist at Virginia Tech, told the newswire that EPA could speed up approval of new pesticides for emergency use.
To learn more about these pesky creatures, read our Ask the Experts piece on bedbugs.
Image of bedbug/CDC, Piotr Naskrecki via Wikimedia Commons
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bed bugs biting,
pesticides,
EPA
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11 Comments
Add Commenthmmmm. Are they really bedbugs in all cases because people get itchy hives from mites too, like bird mites, rat mites etc..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishmmmm. Are they really bedbugs in all cases because people get itchy hives from mites too, like bird mites, rat mites etc..
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBED BUGS ARE REAL! AT LEAST WITH MITES YOU CAN CATCH THEM IN THE ACT AND WITH BED BUGS YOU DON'T KNOW A THING TILL YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING WITH AN ITCH, THAT LET ME TELL YOU DOES NOT GO AWAY...AS I TYPE THIS I AM LOOKING FOR A WAY TO GET THEM OUT!!! I'M GETTING SCARS ALL OVER MY LEGS AND FEET AND NOW SOME ON MY ARMS FROM SCRATCHING SO MUCH! I DONT KNOW HOW TO FIND THEM...ANY HELP ANYONE?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am getting to the point where i need to sleep somewhere else in the house, but i know that if they are in my room they gotta be somewhere else in the house too....any advice?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBed bugs are nasty nasty things. I had them, very difficult to get rid of then I discovered Blitz Bed Bugs a fantastic product.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI had bedbugs. Once I got them all cleaned off my bedframe and mattress, I put the legs of the bed in pans of water. An additional bugs that were hiding in the room crawled into the water and drowned, or wandered off to bother someone else. No more bites!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can help, I have the only all natural product that will not only kill the bed bug but also dehydrate the egg. This product is EPA except and does not require a lic. to spray. The Pest control companies don't want to listen because its not a chemical and have the EPA's ear.(Lobbiest) This is my phone # (843)441-0231 my name is Matt and the company name is Sweetgrass Organics.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBed bugs are nasty. I never realized they're big enough to be seen by the naked eye. I traveled to Kenya and stayed in a guesthouse. I woke up after the first night with my forearm all bitten up. After a few days of it being itchy and scratching some, it was beginning to look like cellulitis. Thankfully a doctor was able to identify it as bed bug bites and it started to heal.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthe bedbug problem will NOT go away soon. 25 states have them in epidemic proportions. i have been chewed upon at least 3 times over the last 4 years. all 3 times occurred in hotel rooms. the first time i barely noticed the bites, the last time i had to take benadryl the hives were so bad. this problem is one of education and prevention and because it is dependent on the public being vigilant it will not get better any time soon. i have to travel for business, it doesn't matter how much i pay for the room because bedbugs are not a function of money but a function of people bringing them in from other places. checking the bed mattress and headboard, storing your belongings in bug proof bags, using an allersac to protect yourself and most of all, making sure you aren't leaving you luggage on the floor or bed so you don't bring them back to your home, are the first precautions you need to take. i even spray some natural bedbug killer around my room and luggage. my doctor has informed me that with successive attacks i will become more sensitive to the bites and eventually highly allergic, if i am not already.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisever heard of ddt cloaradane or parathyon that used to kill em but you can,t get any of it now days
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYes, we've been having major bed bug problems for years now. Dangerous chemical sprays are not the solution. Heat is the best way to get rid of these pests.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this<a href="http://www.pestawayinc.com/">bed bugs</a>