On Sunday, August 8th, the NY Times published an op-ed piece in its Sunday Opinion section titled "This Bedbug's Life." (link). It's an excellent and informative article (one of the best I've yet to see published), authored by May Berenbaum, Head of Entomology at the University of Illinois.
A few comments:
"My Bostonian bug turned out to be one of many on the forefront of an unprecedented resurgence. Global travelers now bring in a steady supply from around the world, inconspicuously undeclared in checked bags and carry-on luggage."
I hate when people blame "global travelers" for our new bedbug problem. This is OUR problem now and we have to point the blame inward. True, increased global travel brought them back but WE banned effective pesticides that had previously all but eradicated these little bloodsuckers. We made the bedbug infested bed ... now we have to sleep in it.
"Even professional pest control operators are struggling to keep up, because bedbugs have become, for the most part, resistant to the old pesticides that once were so effective, and relatively few viable chemical alternatives exist."
Hogwash!! There are plenty of effective pesticides that can be used for bedbugs - like proproxur for example. It's just that the EPA has taken these out of our hands. Besides, there are still many other good over the counter options that can work - the real issue is that people wait until the infestation is so far out of control, it becomes impossible to find and kill every single bedbug hiding in a crack or crevice. The idea is to stay AHEAD of the problem and be aware of a bedbug issue while it's still manageable. EARLY DETECTION IS THE KEY TO EFFECTIVE BEDBUG MANAGEMENT - through monitoring and regular inspection. Using an early detection product such as CatchMaster BBEDS can help prevent an infestation in your home or business.
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