It was quite cold in Denver during the 4th annual Global Bed Bug Summit, in fact below freezing for much of the two day program. But research is discovering that freezing temperatures are not always enough to kill bed bugs, and certainly not immediately.
Chilling News from the Lab
Bed bugs, like most insects, have learned to adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. Just as they have learned to adapt to many modern pesticides and have developed resistance to them, bed bugs have also evidently evolved mechanisms to resist extreme cold. At least for a time.
As recently reported in a number of news sources, an article in the December 2013 edition of the Journal of Economic Entomology, published by the Entomological Society of America, titled “Cold Tolerance of Bed Bugs and Practical Recommendations for Control,” laid out the evidence.
Researchers attempted to determine what temperatures would be 100% lethal to all bed bug stages, from nymph to adult. They found it would require 80 continuous hours at -16 Celsius (3.2 F). Amping up the cold to -20 Celsius (4 F) would kill in about 48 hrs.
Apparently bed bugs have learned to adapt to freezing, at least for a short time, by lowering the freezing point of their bodily fluids, and thus can survive with a greatly reduced metabolism. Here we have yet another example of the extreme adaptability of this persistent pest.
This research should immediately call into question cryogenic treatments for bed bugs used in the past, which have now largely been abandoned by the pest control industry. While cryogenic treatment is certainly “green’ and has no harmful side effects for humans or animals, it is very difficult for it to be effective. A constant and sustained temperature, as the research shows, has to be maintained to actually be effective. And the bed bug must be fully exposed to that killing temperature for a sustained period..
The Laboratory vs. the Field
The lab is not the field. The research laboratory is a controlled environment by definition. The field – the real world – is not. Variables interject and conditions can change, often suddenly. Consider this scenario: A sofa discarded late in the day, say in Denver during freezing weather, may contain bed bugs. As the temperature dips, the bed bug is burrowed into the cushions, the frame, or other somewhat insulated areas. Overnight the temperature is well below the lab threshold, but our bed bug is snug and warm. No worries. He’s not fully exposed to the lab determined optimal killing temperature. He’s snug as a bug in a rug, as the old saying goes.
Come the new day, temps rise to, say -8 Celsius (27 F), and our bed bug is out of the woods for now. A passer-by stops for a minute out of curiosity to inspect the discarded sofa and as his pants leg, or shoe perhaps comes in contact with the discarded sofa, the bed bug sensing warmth (and maybe the prospect of a blood meal!) hops on board for a ride home with our unsuspecting passer-by. The bed bug is happy. There is the prospect for a meal, and if a it’s a female ready to lay eggs, the prospect of a new colony, and lots of potential misery for our unsuspecting pedestrian. A new infestation in the urban environment is about to take hold. That’s real world. That’s the way it works.
You Can Do It Yourself! Just Put ‘Em in Your Freezer!
On the heels of this interesting research, some of the popular articles reviewed (trying to be helpful, we guess) have even suggested that people can place infected items, clothing, etc., in the freezer for two to four days to rid those articles of bed bugs. That’s good in theory, based on the research. But that also raises some practical questions: Can most home freezers actually maintain the requisite temperatures for a sufficient time, especially while otherwise in use for food storage. Open the freezer to dig around for that pint of Haagen Dazs Gelato you have stashed away, or the frozen spinach for dinner, and you’ve immediately blown your base temperature. That will probably cost you another hour or so at 3.2 F to compensate.
Besides that, do people really want to stuff pillows, mattresses, chairs, drapes, and a hamper of infected clotting in their freezer for a couple of days? Probably not, would be our guess. Great in theory. Not so great in practice.
Perhaps a better and simpler idea would be to wash any infected personal items in hot soapy water and dry on high heat. Much quicker, just as effective, certainly ‘green,’ and it doesn’t’ monopolize your freezer. Your freezer is now free for its intended use — stocking with Haagen Dazs, frozen cheese cake, and all those pizza specials from the neighborhood grocery. That’s what home freezers are for. Not for do-it-yourself bed bug remediation.
The Simple Solution:
EcoRaider, based on solid science and research, is proven to kill bed bugs, both in the lab and in the field. Safe for people, for pets, the whole household. It’s the simple solution.
And you certainly won’t have to worry about overloading the washer (or freezer!)
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.png00Todd Zonhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngTodd Zon2013-12-19 00:00:432022-03-03 00:03:42Bed Bugs Resistant to Freezing Says New Research
The 2013 Global Bed Bug Summit was held in freezing Denver Colorado on December 5th and 6th this year, where the temperatures fell to -7 degrees at night. But the topic of bed bugs was hot and front and center during the two day event, sponsored by the NPMA (National Pest Management Association) and Bed Bug Central.
There were nearly 500 attendees, coming from as far away as Norway, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Caribbean, Great Britain, and Canada, as well as scientists, technicians, exhibitors, and pest management professionals from around the United States.
The consensus, if there is one on such a complicated topic, is that study must and will be ongoing, and that methods of treatment are evolving. So far, according to several of the panel presentations, there is no single ‘magic bullet’ solution to the problem yet. There also seems to be consensus that the overall rate of bed bug infestation is increasing. 75% of pest control professionals agree on that point and 99% of pest management organizations have received customer calls about bed bugs during the past years.
Further, it appears that there is also consensus on the increasing resistance by bed bugs and other insects to traditional pesticides. The fact that bed bug populations seem to be increasing in many urban areas adds further weight to that view. Another point of consensus is on the need for more consumer focused education efforts on the part of the industry. Many national, regional, and local PCOs are already doing that, but it is broadly agreed that more outreach is needed to inform the public.
Indeed, the entire purpose of the 2013 Global Bed Bug summit was one of education and idea exchange for the pest control industry, whose members are on the forefront of the battle against bed bugs.
We couldn’t help but notice that there was an implicit acknowledgment of the ‘green’ trend of pest management in the fact that many of the exhibitors at this year’s Summit were not the traditional pesticide products. With a few exceptions (a couple of pesticide manufacturers and distributors,) most were ‘green’ to one degree or another, and heat technologies were somewhat dominant.
Of course, EcoRaider is on the forefront of this green trend. This is our focus. This is where the future is leading us.
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.png00Todd Zonhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngTodd Zon2013-12-15 00:59:382022-03-03 00:03:422013 Global Bed Bug Summit - Denver, Dec 5-6
EcoRaider was pleased to attend this year’s Pest World Expo in Phoenix, AZ, sponsored by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA.) Every year over 3,000 scientists, vendors from all aspects of the pest control industry, and pest control professionals from around the world gather to exchange ideas, and learn from experts in field of pest control management.
Among the many educational sessions at this year’s Expo was a presentation by Dr Dini Miller, PhD of Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg VA, who described some other latest research into bed bug behavior, and some of the causes for the recent proliferation of bed bug infestation..
Notable is the fact that bed bugs are highly mobile creatures. An infestation in a single apartment unit can easily spread to an adjoining apartment in as little as 48 hours in search of a host — a human — to feed upon.
Complicating matters, the rapid reproductive cycle, and the fact that bed bugs are increasingly developing resistance to many of the commonly used pesticides and treatment protocols.
In fact, a recent survey of pest control professionals around the country found that 78% of these professionals considered bed bugs the most difficult insect pest to control.
As science advances in understanding of bed bug behavior, and physiology, EcoRaider will continue to be on the forefront of the effort to bring this pest under control.
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.png00Todd Zonhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngTodd Zon2013-11-13 00:51:172022-03-03 00:03:42EcoRaider Attending Pestworld in Phoenix!
Bed Bugs Resistant to Freezing Says New Research
/in Uncategorized /by Todd ZonIt was quite cold in Denver during the 4th annual Global Bed Bug Summit, in fact below freezing for much of the two day program. But research is discovering that freezing temperatures are not always enough to kill bed bugs, and certainly not immediately.
Chilling News from the Lab
Bed bugs, like most insects, have learned to adapt to a variety of environmental conditions. Just as they have learned to adapt to many modern pesticides and have developed resistance to them, bed bugs have also evidently evolved mechanisms to resist extreme cold. At least for a time.
As recently reported in a number of news sources, an article in the December 2013 edition of the Journal of Economic Entomology, published by the Entomological Society of America, titled “Cold Tolerance of Bed Bugs and Practical Recommendations for Control,” laid out the evidence.
Researchers attempted to determine what temperatures would be 100% lethal to all bed bug stages, from nymph to adult. They found it would require 80 continuous hours at -16 Celsius (3.2 F). Amping up the cold to -20 Celsius (4 F) would kill in about 48 hrs.
Apparently bed bugs have learned to adapt to freezing, at least for a short time, by lowering the freezing point of their bodily fluids, and thus can survive with a greatly reduced metabolism. Here we have yet another example of the extreme adaptability of this persistent pest.
This research should immediately call into question cryogenic treatments for bed bugs used in the past, which have now largely been abandoned by the pest control industry. While cryogenic treatment is certainly “green’ and has no harmful side effects for humans or animals, it is very difficult for it to be effective. A constant and sustained temperature, as the research shows, has to be maintained to actually be effective. And the bed bug must be fully exposed to that killing temperature for a sustained period..
The Laboratory vs. the Field
The lab is not the field. The research laboratory is a controlled environment by definition. The field – the real world – is not. Variables interject and conditions can change, often suddenly. Consider this scenario: A sofa discarded late in the day, say in Denver during freezing weather, may contain bed bugs. As the temperature dips, the bed bug is burrowed into the cushions, the frame, or other somewhat insulated areas. Overnight the temperature is well below the lab threshold, but our bed bug is snug and warm. No worries. He’s not fully exposed to the lab determined optimal killing temperature. He’s snug as a bug in a rug, as the old saying goes.
Come the new day, temps rise to, say -8 Celsius (27 F), and our bed bug is out of the woods for now. A passer-by stops for a minute out of curiosity to inspect the discarded sofa and as his pants leg, or shoe perhaps comes in contact with the discarded sofa, the bed bug sensing warmth (and maybe the prospect of a blood meal!) hops on board for a ride home with our unsuspecting passer-by. The bed bug is happy. There is the prospect for a meal, and if a it’s a female ready to lay eggs, the prospect of a new colony, and lots of potential misery for our unsuspecting pedestrian. A new infestation in the urban environment is about to take hold. That’s real world. That’s the way it works.
You Can Do It Yourself! Just Put ‘Em in Your Freezer!
On the heels of this interesting research, some of the popular articles reviewed (trying to be helpful, we guess) have even suggested that people can place infected items, clothing, etc., in the freezer for two to four days to rid those articles of bed bugs. That’s good in theory, based on the research. But that also raises some practical questions: Can most home freezers actually maintain the requisite temperatures for a sufficient time, especially while otherwise in use for food storage. Open the freezer to dig around for that pint of Haagen Dazs Gelato you have stashed away, or the frozen spinach for dinner, and you’ve immediately blown your base temperature. That will probably cost you another hour or so at 3.2 F to compensate.
Besides that, do people really want to stuff pillows, mattresses, chairs, drapes, and a hamper of infected clotting in their freezer for a couple of days? Probably not, would be our guess. Great in theory. Not so great in practice.
Perhaps a better and simpler idea would be to wash any infected personal items in hot soapy water and dry on high heat. Much quicker, just as effective, certainly ‘green,’ and it doesn’t’ monopolize your freezer. Your freezer is now free for its intended use — stocking with Haagen Dazs, frozen cheese cake, and all those pizza specials from the neighborhood grocery. That’s what home freezers are for. Not for do-it-yourself bed bug remediation.
The Simple Solution:
EcoRaider, based on solid science and research, is proven to kill bed bugs, both in the lab and in the field. Safe for people, for pets, the whole household. It’s the simple solution.
And you certainly won’t have to worry about overloading the washer (or freezer!)
2013 Global Bed Bug Summit – Denver, Dec 5-6
/in Uncategorized /by Todd ZonThe 2013 Global Bed Bug Summit was held in freezing Denver Colorado on December 5th and 6th this year, where the temperatures fell to -7 degrees at night. But the topic of bed bugs was hot and front and center during the two day event, sponsored by the NPMA (National Pest Management Association) and Bed Bug Central.
EcoRaider Attending Pestworld in Phoenix!
/in Uncategorized /by Todd ZonAmong the many educational sessions at this year’s Expo was a presentation by Dr Dini Miller, PhD of Virginia Polytechnic and State University, Blacksburg VA, who described some other latest research into bed bug behavior, and some of the causes for the recent proliferation of bed bug infestation..
Notable is the fact that bed bugs are highly mobile creatures. An infestation in a single apartment unit can easily spread to an adjoining apartment in as little as 48 hours in search of a host — a human — to feed upon.
Complicating matters, the rapid reproductive cycle, and the fact that bed bugs are increasingly developing resistance to many of the commonly used pesticides and treatment protocols.
In fact, a recent survey of pest control professionals around the country found that 78% of these professionals considered bed bugs the most difficult insect pest to control.
As science advances in understanding of bed bug behavior, and physiology, EcoRaider will continue to be on the forefront of the effort to bring this pest under control.