Recent News & Studies

May 2011 brought a different point of view. Researchers in Vancouver reported the discovery of particularly nasty bacteria on bedbugs taken from patients who were admitted to an inner-city hospital (they reported their findings in an advance electronic publication of an article slated to be published in the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases). The bugs were carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE). These bacteria cause serious staph infections that are very resistant to antibiotics.   Resources: Bedbug article from the CDC Read Fox news 9 article: Researchers Link Bed Bugs...

Good night, sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite! Those tiny, bloodsucking pests are making a comeback, infesting homes and hotels nationwide. Entomology professor Mike Raupp gives Jorge Ribas a closer look at the creepy critters. Bed Bugs are spreading fast and will be coming to a home near you, soon. The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority treated 1100 apartments in 2010, and 450 units so far in 2011. They are using Thermal Remediation® equipment to treat “the worst of the worst.”  Also, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority has talked with the “Bed Bug Guys” about this ever growing problem and what can be...

After their near eradication for half a century, bedbugs have seen a nationwide resurgence. By Urmila Ramakrishnan November 10, 2010 They suck human blood while their prey sleep, silently infest entire living spaces, and have been known to cause insomnia and anxiety in their victims. They’re bedbugs, and they’re invading Minneapolis. The number of complaints for bedbugs in Minneapolis has increased exponentially since 2001, and is at its highest this year, said Mike Vraa, a lawyer from the HOMEline tenant advocacy organization. Complaints in Minneapolis have increased from zero in 2001 to more than 272 this year, as of the beginning of this month, he said. The insects are making a resurgence throughout big cities in the U.S. after a half-century absence, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Experts have not identified a specific reason why or how the bugs made a comeback. Resolving bedbug issues “takes vigilance,” Vraa said. “I don’t think that Minneapolis is going to have some sort of epiphany.” The University of Minnesota area is not immune from the epidemic. Jeremiah Riopel, heat division supervisor at Plunkett’s Pest Control, said he gets about 50 cases in Minneapolis per month, including many in Dinkytown. One University student, who asked to be identified only as Sarah because of the stigma associated with bedbugs, has had problems with the pest in the Dinkytown area for the past two months. Before she moved in, Sarah was assured that there were no pest problems. “I started getting all these bites on my arm,” she said. “It’s definitely frustrating to deal with this issue because I have never had them in my life before I moved,” she said. Eradicating the problem is difficult, Vraa said. “It’s a pretty big deal having to pay for it.” Exterminating bedbugs costs $1,100 to $1,600, at $1 to $1.50 a square foot, said Jeff Berens, exterminator from America’s Best Construction and Remodeling (Bed Bug Guys). There are two main ways to exterminate bedbugs, Riopel said. Chemical treatment is cheaper, but it doesn’t solve the problem. Berens said that it takes up to 30 days for a chemical treatment to be somewhat successful, whereas heat treatment, or thermal remediation, takes only one day and stops...

Bed bugs might sound like an old-fashioned problem, but now they are back — and with a vengeance. Fifty years ago, the blood-sucking pests were nearly eradicated in the United States thanks in part to the use of pesticides like DDT. Today, they are creeping over sheets — and tormenting hapless sleepers — across the country. New York was recently declared America’s most bed-bug-infested city: Times Square movie theatre, the Empire State Building, and the offices of a major fashion magazine — not to mention the homes of 11,000 New Yorkers who filed official complaints about the vermin last year — have all housed these itchiest of bedfellows. And the Big Apple is not alone in its disturbed slumber. This summer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a joint statement on the resurgence of bed bugs throughout the country. Wherever you live — whether that’s Los Angeles or Louisville — bed bugs may soon be coming to a mattress near you! Read More:...

For 2003–2010, a total of 111 cases were identified in seven states (Table 2). The majority of cases occurred during 2008–2010 (73%), were of low severity (81%), and were identified by poison control centers (81%). New York City had the largest percentage of cases (58%)....

By Tom Costello – NBC Today Show – April 15, 2009