Recent Study Shows Bed Bug Infestations Increasing

Which seat might have a bed bug? Where would you like to sit?

KILOHANA K9s is a proud member of the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). The NPMA among many things, publishes much useful information, organizes conventions and even conducts studies that keep the pest management industry in the know.

In 2011 the NPMA published the results of a study, 2010 Bugs Without Borders Survey, which they had the University of Kentucky conduct. The study found that bed bugs infestations have increased and bed bugs are now being found just about everywhere.

The study, which surveyed U.S. pest management professionals, found that 99 percent of respondents encountered bed bug infestations in the past year. More than eight of out ten noted that bed bug infestations are increasing across the country. This represents a sharp increase in prevalence as only a mere 11 percent of respondents reported receiving bed bug calls more than 10 years ago.

One of the most significant findings is that bed bug encounters have become much more common in public places than the previous year, in some instances increasing by 10, 20 or nearly 30 percent. Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs for NPMA noted that "this pest shows no signs of retreating "and that of most concern is that pest professionals are encountering bed bugs more frequently in places "such as, schools, hospitals, and hotels/motels. In many cases the numbers of professionals who have reported treating certain types of businesses and commercial facilities has seen double digit growth."

Below shows the professional's reporting of treating bed bugs in specific locations and the percentage increases from 2010.

• College dorms (54 percent, up from 35 percent a year ago) 
• Hotels/motels (80 percent, up from 67 percent) 
• Nursing homes (46 percent, up from 25 percent) 
• Office buildings (38 percent, up from 18 percent) 
• Schools and day care centers (36 percent, up from 10 percent) 
• Hospitals (31 percent, up from 12 percent) 
• Transportation (train/bus/taxi) (18 percent up from nine percent) 
• Movie theaters (17 percent, up from five percent) 

Survey respondents also reported finding bed bugs in retail stores, laundromats, libraries, restaurants and even airplanes!

Some other major points from the study are:

• Nearly all professional pest management companies have received bed bug calls in the past year. Respondents attribute the growth in bed bug infestations to increasing travel and movement of people, continued need for awareness, changing pest control products and methods, and bed bug resistance to available pest control products.
• Bed bugs continue to be THE most difficult pest to treat, according to 73 percent of survey respondents.
• Despite the many warnings that bed bugs are not a DIY pest, 25 percent of customers attempt to treat bed bug infestations by themselves before calling a professional. Those who attempt to treat bed bug infestations by themselves often engage in dangerous and risky DIY practices putting themselves and their property at risk and are often ineffective at controlling the infestation.

As you can see, this is not a problem that is going away. There seems to have been a slow down in the media coverage on bed bugs infestations, especially in regards to the west coast of USA, but experts feel this might be due to the fact that not many studies or surveys have been conducted recently. 

Thanks to the NPMA for their efforts to provide updated information!

Lots of hiding places for stow-away bed bugs here. Places like this are 
where a scent detection dog can help the most!

Landlords Beginning to Impose Polices About Bed Bugs

Last month, an article appeared in a Columbus, Ohio newspaper regarding landlords, tenants and bed bugs. Although bed bugs are not limited to a particular state or city, in Ohio bed bugs are a huge and exploding problem. 

Some landlords in Ohio are trying to find ways to make sure their tenants do not bring in bed bugs during the time they are living there and that the tenants do not ignore a bed bug sighting. These landlords are putting into their lease agreements wording that requires the tenant to be responsible for several things, things that some tenants find they are not willing to agree too.

A story last month in the Columbus Dispatch outlined an addendum in a lease that required the tenants to certify that their unit contained no bedbugs. It was not clear what this 'certification' would be but likely it would be something like having scent detection dogs or a pest control company come in and perform an inspection of the apartment or home being leased. It further stipulated that the tenants would have to notify the landlord if bedbugs appear. At that point, they also would have to cooperate with extermination efforts and cover the entire cost, including any expenses associated with the elimination of bugs that might have spread to adjacent units. On top of all that, if bedbugs appeared, the lease would terminate immediately.

Some of this does not really seem fair, for example bed bugs can travel from one unit to another and one person's discovery of bed bugs in their unit could truly be due to no fault of their own. It could be hard to prove which unit the bed bugs originally came from.

Right or wrong, these types of things have become increasingly common in rental agreements in central Ohio, according to Dianna Parker, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of Columbus. Renters presented with a pest-control addendum seem to have three options: Sign the agreement as is, negotiate changes in it, or move.

In other areas, we are hearing about laws being enacted that require landlords make sure the property is clear of bed bugs before new tenants move in. Legislative bodies in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina have considered bed bug legislation in 2010-11. Arizona has recently passed a new law relating to bed bugs which does the following:

• Requires tenants to notify landlords in writing or electronically of the presence of bed bugs.
• Prohibits tenants from moving items into the building if they are known to be infested with bed bugs.
• Requires landlords to provide bed bug educational materials to existing and new tenants.
• Prohibits landlords from renting units known to have current bed bug infestations.

IL, ME and NY have also adopted bed bug related laws last year. Municipalities that have also addressed or are looking at the issue are Jersey City, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Yonkers, NY, Ocean City, MD and Bellevue,KY.

In our fine state of Hawaii bed bugs have been added to the state's real estate disclosure form. Included in the November 2010 Hawaii Association of Realtor Seller’s Real Property Disclosure Statement is a question about bed bugs. The question is: Has there been any sign of, or are you aware of any pest problems (e.g., roaches, fleas, bedbugs, mites, ticks, ants, rats, etc.)?

Once again, in regards to Ohio, we see in Orkin's rankings for the worst bed bug cities in the United States (based on its number of calls for service), the Cincinnati metropolitan area has ranked first the last two years. Columbus, Dayton, and Cleveland have also ranked in the top 15 each of the last two years. 

We are likely to see much more of this kind of thing in the future as the bed bug problem continues to grow everywhere. The increase of bed bugs is attributed to high traffic from planes, buses and other forms of transportation. Cultural diversity in a region can also be a factor. There may be people coming from other parts of the world where bed bugs are more common who may not be so quick to report it or even know that it should be reported. Hawaii certainly has all of these factors and risks. 

Call KILOHANA K9s if you think you might have seen a bed bug in your home. We can provide certificates of inspection for landlord, tenants, real estate agents and others!

Store Bought Bed Bug Bombs Don't Work

Foggers and Bombs 'bomb out'!

Last summer, while perusing the aisles at my local Home Depot for a catch and release Mouse Trap, I came across the section of do-it-yourself home foggers or 'bombs'. These are often used for cockroaches and other crawling insects and are certainly effective for these. Then I noticed a new type for sale on the store shelves. These bombs claimed to kill bed bugs. I shook my head at this obvious attempt to pry money out of people for nothing in return, certainly the manufacturers of this stuff know these products do not work on bed bugs. Bed bugs can be highly resistant to pesticides (for reasons we will go into in a later posting). This week there is a new study in the news that backs this up. 

Entomologists at Ohio State University tested three commercially available foggers (aka 'bombs'). They are sold as Hot Shot, Spectracide and Eliminator brands. The conclusion, not surprisingly at all, is that all three products were of no use at fighting bed bug infestations. They do not get rid of bed bugs. 

“Based on our findings, bug bombs should not be used for crawling insects such as bed bugs,” says lead researcher Susan C. Jones, Ph.D., an associate professor at the university. “These products shouldn’t even be labeled for bed bugs.” The study appears in the Journal of Economic Entomology, goes on to state that foggers are so ineffective against bed bugs that they probably don’t even warrant taking the small risk of harmful insecticide exposure or other hazards. 

In recent years more than 111 people in seven states got sick from pesticides used to get rid of bedbugs, according to an analysis published last year in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The Ohio State University study began by collecting five different populations of bed bugs from residences in Columbus, Ohio. For a control group, a sixth population was added, known as the Harlan strain, that has been cultivated in a laboratory and carefully sheltered from pesticides since 1973.

The researchers then placed the various bed bug populations in petri dishes and exposed them to the foggers in a campus building slated for demolition. After one test, Jones recalls, “the Harlan bugs were keeled over and all of our field populations [were] just scurrying around as if nothing ever happened to them,” which suggests the non-laboratory bugs were resistant to the insecticide.

In a second series of tests, the researchers added small shelters made of paper discs or cloth to the petri dishes. These shelters, which allowed the bugs to hide during fogging, were designed to mimic the bugs’ natural hideouts, such as the cracks and crevices in floorboards, along mattresses, and behind picture frames.

This time the fragile Harlan strain survived just fine. “The critical issue is that the droplets don’t penetrate cracks or crevices,” Jones says. “They don’t even get to where the bugs are hiding. The $10 that you spent on an over-the-counter fogger would be much more effectively spent at a laundromat,” Jones says. The heat of a drier can kill bedbugs and their eggs. 

If you suspect the presence of bed bugs, don't waste your money on these do-it-yourself products. Call KILOHANA K9s or another detection dog service in your area to come inspect your home or business. If the presence of bed bugs is found, have treatment done by a professional pest control company who is experienced with bed bug elimination. Don't put it off too long, bed bugs reproduce quicker and better than cockroaches and it won't take long for them to turn into an expensive nightmare!

Don't let Bed Bugs get cozy in your home while wasting your money 

and time on useless commercially available products!

New Doggie Art Available!

Daisy in a painting affect, with a border of daisy flowers

Our Kilohana K9s store has some new designs this week! We have various products with what we think is fun and cool 'Doggie Art' featuring Zoey and Daisy. We like the one of Daisy with little daisy flowers around the border and the one of Zoey in a Pop Art 'Andy Warhol' type design the best.

Feel free to ask us to add products to the store if there is something you want but don't see it available in the store. *Aloha*

Zoey in a Pop Art design (Warhol inspired)

Zoey in a watercolor painting style with floral bordering

 Cartoon-ized Daisy

Cartoon-ized Zoey