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Why these common strategies you often apply DO NOT work in Eradication of Bedbugs

By Abet Tonny

Okay let's explore these facts together.

Ø  Abandoning rooms or even a whole facility is not a guarantee that bed bugs will be eradicated. Adult bed bugs can live without a blood meal for over a year and will wander to find a new host when one is unavailable.

Ø  The use of “bug bombs” or total release foggers is not advised. These devices release insecticide in small droplets that land on exposed surfaces and do not penetrate the cracks and crevices where bed bugs hide. This results in increased pesticide exposure to the resident and poor control of these pests. This has been linked to pesticide resistance and suspected repellency to bed bugs, causing them to spread.

Ø  Simply discarding beds and bedding is NOT a sound approach to bed bug management. Bed bugs will spread quickly to walls, molding, ceilings, light fixtures, electronics, TV remote controls, alarm clocks, and spaces within and along floor boards, and the edges of carpets. If items are discarded they should be wrapped in plastic before transport and LABELED as “infested with bed bugs” or made unsalvageable. Often people discard furniture and belongings that are infested with bed bugs. When doing so, it is a good practice to destroy or deface the items to prevent others from unknowingly collecting infested items. Bed bugs are likely being transferred from place to place through infested furniture and discarded objects. Slash mattresses and plush furniture, break box spring frames, and label items with the word “bed bugs” to prevent the spread of bed bugs in your community. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE TO SEE THIS Why you need to be concerned about those bedbugs (Abet Tonny, Makerere Biomedical Lab Scientist), OR How to Move and Leave Bed Bugs Behind 

7 ways to Move and Leave Bed Bugs Behind

By Abet Tonny

With the global explosion of bedbugs it is no news finding yourself trapped in the middle of the infestation of these blood thirsty bugs. Have you found yourself in a bedbug infested apartment or new home or you are just planning a travel but not sure whether you will not import back the bedbugs? well this shall be a good read.

Once bed bugs have been confirmed in the living area of an individual or family, there may be good reason to move them to a different area or apartment while the infested one is treated. However bed bugs may be transferred with personal belongings, causing more trouble in the new living space. Some suggestions for moving to a new location without bringing bed bugs are as follows:

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·         1. Placing all potentially infested belongings in clear plastic bags that are tightly sealed.

·         2. Keeping items that cannot be sanitized inside clear plastic bags and employing aerosol pesticides may be recommended for a faster solution or placing the sealed items under scotching sun for a day or two.

·         3. Ensuring each individual shower and change into clean clothing and shoes and bag up the current (possibly infested) clothes for laundering.

·         4. Ensuring only those belongings confirmed bedbug free especially after laundering are brought into the new home or apartment.

·         5. Employing vinyl or bed bug proof covered mattresses for the beds of each member of the household. Also cover box springs if they are present.

6. Whether you move permanently or temporarily, leave furniture behind if possible to allow it to be treated. 7. Treat furniture before moving it. Take with you as few items as possible at first.

8. Pets must be relocated during treatment. Leave behind their bedding and cages, unless these items can be thoroughly washed.

Why you need to be concerned about those bedbugs (Abet Tonny, Makerere Biomedical Lab Scientist)

Bedbugs are exclusively blood sucking insects that bite and feed on man among other warm blooded animals. A typical adult bedbug sucks 0.5ml of blood to get engorged each night it attacks the victim posing a great risk of anemia for occupants of heavily infested premises. Bedbugs and their bites present huge psychological torture commonly portrayed as illusionary parasitosis, an unsettling situation where one frequently and involuntarily senses an insect crawling or biting him even when nothing like that is transpiring (at least 70% of a students in an infested residence in Makerere area experience this condition). Clinical risks like transmission of drug resistant bacteria (i.e methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE)  ) and a parasite called T. cruzi which causes Chagas disease, a disease that erodes the heart. Over 40 microorganisms that cause diseases to humans have been detected in bedbugs. The bites also potentiate secondary infections like Hepatis B Virus (an infection that accounts for over 70% of liver cancer cases) from their feces or when an infected bedbug raptures on ones skin in its feeding event. As mentioned earlier, anemia has been reported in the elderly and very young in cases where homes are heavily infested. Asthma has also been linked to the presence of bed bugs in homes. The public health impacts of toxic pesticides often massively applied indoor have not been well assessed either but I believe it is accounting for a good portion of your hospital visits as it lowers the efficiency of your body and immune system. Economically, CBS reported in 2010 that more than US $ 250 million a year is spent fighting bedbugs in USA. In Uganda, it is hard to gauge the approximate revenue due to many smart players who have swallowed all the risks never to register their firms but the few pest controlling firms I consulted confessed experiencing more than double rises in their revenues from bedbug control alone as heavy bedbug explosion drills and wrecks the rich and the poor as if it were the day of judgment and also the number of pest control companies (registered and unregistered) rising by over 50% to take lucrative free shares of national economy through the calamity. Bedbugs are some of the hardest pests to eradicate once they invade an accommodation due to many factors including their inherent nature of fast development of resistance to insecticides, feeding regiments in that they can go for days without feeding so may not be exposed for killing by contact chemicals whenever that service provider sprays and their body structure which allows them hide deep in cracks and crevices that the chemical may never penetrate.  These all combined present enormous financial impact on the victims as one need two or more frequent expensive visits of the pest control service provider for a success story to yield. Infestation of bedbugs is socially believed to be an infestation of the in-hygienic and the poor and thus for bedbug to be spotted on once dress, shirt or possession especially in public is a massive embarrassment with due reduction in self-esteem to the victim. Having bed bugs may restrict the social lives of people. Sufferers avoid visiting friends and family and often throw away belongings, at great cost, and minimal benefit. Tenant-landlord disputes over who is responsible continue to take place and these battles can be damaging to both parties. The infestations of bedbugs also have direct impact of lowering residential and accommodation markets. A study conducted at Makerere, Kampala showed highly infested premises either having unrented rooms or charging 30-50% less than the “bug-free” residences. Hotels, apartments and tourism sector even have a better side of the experience in that clients may not only regret ever coming to your premise but will probably provide the official denouncing services for your premise more loudly via social media platform and the wipe out costs are often appreciable.