The “21st century plague” is what urban entomologist Michael Potter calls the tiny, blood-sucking pests that are spreading panic across the country. A leading expert on the habits and resurgence of Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, the University of Kentucky researcher found that these modern pests are increasingly resistant to the pyrethroid insecticides commonly used to control them. Worse yet, they are passing this resistance on to their offspring. Already a problem for apartment owners and property managers, a super bug is not a welcome thought, particularly with pending state legislation and new city regulations gearing up to place the onus for dealing with these troublesome pests at the door. of the owners.
Bed bugs have been sharing beds with humans for centuries. After World War II, DDT effectively wiped out the plague in America and Western countries, although it continued to flourish in less developed countries. The ban on DDT, coupled with the growth of international travel, has sparked a revival of man’s ancient nemesis. Since the 1990s, reported infestations in the US have increased by 500%. These insects are now common in all 50 states with regularly reported infestations in apartments, condominiums, hotels, college dorms, office buildings, hospitals, and private homes.
Skilled hitchhikers, bed bugs travel to apartments on residents’ clothing, mattresses, furniture, and inside packing boxes. Several recent infestations can be traced back to moving trucks. Adult bed bugs are reddish-brown in color and about the size of an apple seed, but nymphs and eggs are microscopic. Nuisance pests that feed on human blood, do not transmit disease; but their bites can cause itching, red welts, psychosomatic stress, and severe allergic reactions. Feeding on sleeping humans at night, they hide in small crevices in or near beds between feedings. As the infestation grows, it spreads to adjacent units through gaps in walls, electrical and plumbing ducts, and air ducts. Bed bugs can easily spread throughout an apartment complex through shared laundry facilities or maintenance workers.
Legally charged with providing pest control services to tenants, New Jersey apartment owners now also face losing the litigation war over treatment. With new legislation pending (New Jersey #A 3203), apartment owners may soon have to shoulder the responsibility and financial expense of providing housing that is free of rats, roaches, and soon to be free of bed bugs. While other vermin can be eliminated with proper maintenance and control costs recovered in rent payments, bed bugs are an entirely different problem. Convenience bugs, they are not attracted to food or dirt, but are brought into apartments by residents. They are likely to be found in upscale, well-maintained establishments as well as in homes.
To date, efforts to combat bed bugs have focused on reactive measures focused on treating the problem after the fact. State-of-the-art technologies at both ends of the temperature spectrum are being used to control insects resistant to insecticides. New monitoring and capture products that have just entered the pest control market offer the first opportunity for proactive prevention. A game changer in the fight against bed bugs, the monitors are the first 24/7 preventative tool available on the market. The proactive use of bed bug monitors could not only become a powerful tool in protecting property and tenants, but could also turn the tide in the courtroom. In defending against bed bug litigation, the regular use of monitors could positively sway judges and juries in favor of apartment owners.
The monitors have the potential to alert property managers to the early stages of the infestation while confined to the bed and bedroom. Early detection can allow homeowners to arrange for the professional extermination of an affected apartment before the pests spread. If discovered, monitors can determine the effectiveness of treatment and warn against reinfection. Monitoring adjacent apartments can alert property managers to the spread of bed bugs, allowing for targeted pest control. Early detection and intervention could save apartment owners thousands of dollars in professional pest control costs.
As with any new field, innovative pest control professionals are experimenting with various bed bug monitoring products in the field to determine which ones are most effective in different situations. Testing in the US and use in Europe indicate that proactive use of monitors has the potential to turn the tide in the battle against bed bugs. Some of the potentially revolutionary products being introduced include:
BioSensory, Inc.’s NightWatch uses heat lures and pheromones to attract and trap insects, attracting them with carbon dioxide.
The Bug Dome, developed by Silvandersson, an eco-friendly Swedish manufacturer, plugs into any wall outlet and uses heat to attract pests to replaceable glue traps.
MIDMOS’ BB Alert Active, popular in Europe, uses replaceable packets of a chemical attractant that mimics blood to attract insects to a glue trap.
Cimex Science’s CDC 3000 is a discrete, portable, electrical monitoring and capture device the size of a briefcase. Mimicking the presence of a human body, it attracts insects within a six-foot radius, trapping them in sealed slides for counting and documenting, luring them with carbon dioxide. Safe to use around children and pets, it can be moved from room to room.
Susan McKnight Inc.’s Climbup Insect Interceptor is an inexpensive, low-tech device that attaches under bed posts to monitor for the presence of pests. Concentric plastic rings coated with slippery talc trap insects as they climb into or out of a bed.
Bed bug dogs are specially trained to sniff out these hard-to-find bugs. Capable of detecting pests within a three-foot radius, the dogs quickly target treatment areas or check treatment success.
Bed bug monitoring can protect apartment owners from lawsuits, reassure tenants, maintain property values, and uphold reputations by allowing landlords to certify their properties as pest-free. If discovered, monitors can minimize their costs of propagation and extermination. In the near future, it is expected that the regular use of monitors by purchase, rental or contracted services will become a routine part of apartment maintenance. Bed bug monitors provide apartment owners and property managers with their first real 24/7 proactive weapon in the growing battle against these terrible pests.
