Bed Bug Bombs Are Duds, Yet Still On Shelves

As bed bugs have proliferated in the last decade, remedies against them -- special zipper covers for mattresses, sprays, even dogs trained to sniff out bed bugs -- have begun multiplying on shelves as well. But experts say that bed bug foggers, a common over-the-counter product better known as a 'bug bomb,' don't work at all -- and a lack of regulatory scrutiny means many consumers will keep feeling the pinch.

Bug bombs work by releasing aerosolized chemicals upward, where they remain suspended in the air for some time and then settle onto surfaces.

Ohio State University entomologist Susan C. Jones tested three kinds of insect fogger -- the Hotshot Bedbug and Flea Fogger, the Spectracide Bug Stop Indoor Fogger, and the Eliminator Indoor Fogger, all made by United Industries Corp. in St. Louis, Mo. -- on five populations of bed bugs collected from residences around Columbus, Ohio, and one population of lab-raised bugs.

None of the foggers were effective at killing the bed bugs found out in the wild, and the relatively weaker lab-raised population could escape death simply by hiding under a thin piece of cloth, she reported in the Journal of Economic Entomology on June 3.

"The public is ill-served when products do not perform in accordance with labeling and use directions claims," Jones wrote in her paper.

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The results weren't surprising to any entomologists.

"In a nutshell, Dr. Jones' study reinforces what I would have expected," University of Kentucky entomologist Mike Potter wrote in an email.

Over-the-counter foggers, Potter explains, are quite different from true fumigants that can penetrate deep into the hidden places where many insects hide. Bug bombs just can't penetrate into the cracks and crevices to get at the bed bugs. Plus, bug bomb ingredients also tend to act as repellents, causing insects to scatter and flee deeper into hiding.

Many wild bed bugs have also developed resistance to pyrethrins, the primary active ingredient in bug bombs. In her experiments, Jones found that even two hours of direct exposure to the insect fogger was not enough to kill most of the urban bed bugs.

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Bed Bug Bombs Are Duds, Yet Still On Shelves