International Students More Apt to Bring in Bed Bugs and Develop a Need for a Green Solution, Expert Says
College and university housing professionals are facing a large bed bug problem with their international student population – mainly because those coming in from other countries don’t have the insect prioritized as importantly as American students do, per Bob Hughes, a veteran pest management professional who has worked with major universities for years to control bed bugs.
“With international traveling students, because some of the cultures in the world are not as concerned as we are with bed bugs they see it as a nuisance pest and not a health hazard,” said Hughes, a 20-year pest management professional who has worked supporting university pest control departments throughout the Midwest.
“You see the problem more so in international housing because schools tend to group international students together by country and culture so they have some familiarity. Thus, they have a bond and when there’s a bed bug problem students tend to not throw their friends ‘under the bus’ by tattling on them. That’s how it gets out of hand.”
A major issue facing pesticide control of bed bugs, Hughes said, is resistance. Bed bugs have formed a resistance to common insecticides, according to a study by University of Sydney researchers published in April 2016 in the journal PLOS One.
“Resistance is a tough issue because pesticides can’t skirt around it, it’s truly an issue and that’s why there are always other products to turn to but this study showed that most common insecticides are giving way to some form of resistance.
“I’ve run into it before, several times actually and the first was at least six or eight years ago, before it became news. Now once you experience that you have to seek alternative approaches for bed bug treatment.”
According to Hughes, EcoRaider and its botanical or “green” formulation allows for a strong performance but it is not susceptible to resistance, which makes it a game changer when seeking a product that can actually kill a bed bug infestation once and for all.
“EcoRaider is really good because its formulation is designed to prevent resistance and to help end a bed bug problem,” Hughes said. “By using EcoRaider, universities can help break that cycle of never truly taking care of the problem because it delivers the power of performance with the safety of a green product.”
About EcoRaider
EcoRaider is a highly efficacious botanical-based bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs or ants are found without restriction. It carries no signal words or cautions and has no label restrictions or precautions on usage.
Because EcoRaider is a green product, it is an ideal fit for sensitive accounts and environments where low-impact methods are advised. These include college dorms, senior-living facilities, managed-care and assisted-living housing, schools, health-care facilities, public housing, multi-family, and hotels.
For more information, visit http://ecoraiderpmp.com/ or call 1-800-338-0212. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
