Category Archives: Bed Bugs Ohio

Ohio State University entomologists have found that over-the-counter foggers or bug bombs commonly used by consumers are not effective at killing bedbugs -- providing the first scientific evidence that such products should not be recommended for control of this increasingly worrisome, bloodsucking pest.

The study appears in the June 2012 issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology, a peer-reviewed publication of the Entomological Society of America.

There has always been this perception and feedback from the pest-management industry that over-the-counter foggers are not effective against bedbugs and might make matters worse, said Susan Jones, an urban entomologist with the universitys Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and a household and structural pest specialist with Ohio State University Extension. But up until, now there has been no published data regarding the efficacy of foggers against bedbugs.

Bedbug (Cimex lectularius) numbers have increased in the past decade as much as 500 percent in North America and other parts of the world. Reasons behind this spike include a boom in international travel and commerce; a shift from powerful but dangerous insecticides, such as DDT, to more selective control tactics; the publics lack of awareness about these insects and how easily they spread; and the development of resistance among bedbug populations to currently used pesticides, especially pyrethroids.

In the study (funded entirely by OARDC and OSU Extension), Jones and research associate Joshua Bryant evaluated three different fogger brands obtained from a nationwide retailer, all of which have pyrethroids as their active ingredient. Only one of the foggers is specifically labeled against bedbugs. The other two are labeled for use against flying and crawling pests in homes, but can be used to treat bedbugs in many states, Jones said.

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Study: Over-the-counter foggers ineffective against bed bugs

If youve ever had bed bugs, youve probably tried everything to get rid of them, including setting off a bug bomb. But a new study shows that these popular consumer products are no match for the blood-sucking pests.

Researchers from theDepartment of Entomology at Ohio State University looked at three brands of bug bombs, also known as foggers, from a nationwide retailer and tested their effectiveness on five different bed bug populations in the lab.

What they found was what pest-control experts had long thought. There has always been this perception and feedback from the pest-management industry that over-the-counter foggers are not effective against bed bugs and might make matters worse, said lead author Susan Jones, an urban entomologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, in a statement. But up until now there has been no published data regarding the efficacy of foggers against bed bugs.

(PHOTOS:Bed Bugs: The Beauty Shots)

Jones and her colleagueJoshua Bryant found thatHotshot Bedbug and Flea Fogger, Spectracide Bug Stop Indoor Fogger, and Eliminator Indoor Foggerhad little to no effect on the bed bugs. (Only Hotshot Bedbug is specifically labeled for use against bed bugs.) All three total-release foggers claim kills on contact yet all field-collected bed bugs were unaffected upon re-entry, the authors write. Even five to seven days after contact, the bed bugs remained unharmed.

Since bed bugs spend their time hidden under sheets, mattresses and deep inside carpets, the authors say it is likely they are protected from the foggers mist. These foggers dont penetrate in cracks and crevices where most bed bugs are hiding, so most of them will survive, said Jones in the statement.

Even when the bugs do come into contact with the insecticides, their varying levels of resistance to the insecticide and the foggers poor toxicity leave the crawlers unscathed.If you use these products, you will not get the infestation under control, you will waste your money, and you will delay effective treatment of your infestation, said Jones.

(MORE:With Bed Bugs, the Cure May Be Worse than the Disease)

The majority of foggers contain insecticides pyrethrin and pyrethroid. The authors note that most field-collected bed bugs are now resistant to pyrethroids, fueled largely by the unnecessary introduction of insecticides into the environment by humans, according to the researchers. Such resistance has helped drive the resurgence of bed bugs in recent years.

To figure out if your home is infested with bed bugs, here are the (unpleasant) signsto look for, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

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Bed Bugs vs. Bug Bombs: The Bugs Win

'Bug Bombs' Ineffective Against Bedbugs

June 3, 2012 -- Bug bombs and other insect foggers may be no match for pesky bedbugs.

A new study confirms that these commonly used pesticides are ineffective against the current bedbug invasion.

"These foggers don't penetrate in cracks and crevices, where most bedbugs are hiding, so most of them will survive," researcher Susan Jones, an urban entomologist at Ohio State University, says in a news release. "If you use these products, you will not get the infestation under control, you will waste your money, and you will delay effective treatment of your infestation."

During the last decade, a growing number of bedbug infestations has been reported in hotel rooms, dormitories, and homes, prompting concern from public health officials.

Although the cause of this resurgence is unknown, experts suspect the tiny bugs are becoming increasingly resistant to pesticides.

In the study, published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, researchers evaluated the effects of three different over-the-counter insect foggers against bedbugs.

Researchers exposed five different groups of live bedbugs to the products for two hours, and found few adverse effects on the bugs. When the bugs had a place to hide, as in real-world conditions, few died as a result of exposure to the foggers.

The only exception was one group of bedbugs that died in significant numbers five to seven days after being directly exposed to one of the foggers.

But the researchers say it's very unlikely that bedbugs will be directly exposed to the mist from insect foggers because of their uncanny ability to hide in small spaces. In addition, many bedbug populations are resistant to at least some extent to the active ingredients in these products.

Excerpt from:
Foggers No Match for Bedbugs

Public release date: 3-Jun-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Susan C. Jones jones.1800@osu.edu 614-292-2752 Entomological Society of America

Consumer products known as "bug bombs" or "foggers" have been sold for decades for use against many common household insects. However, recent research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (JEE) shows these products to be ineffective against bed bugs.

In "Ineffectiveness of Over-the-Counter Total-Release Foggers Against the Bed Bug (Heteroptera: Cimicidae)," an article appearing in the June issue of JEE, authors Susan C. Jones and Joshua L. Bryant provide the first scientific evidence that these products should not be recommended for control of this increasingly worrisome urban pest.

"There has always been this perception and feedback from the pest-management industry that over-the-counter foggers are not effective against bed bugs and might make matters worse," said Susan Jones, an urban entomologist with the university's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and a household and structural pest specialist with OSU Extension. "But up until now there has been no published data regarding the efficacy of foggers against bedbugs."

Jones and research associate Joshua Bryant evaluated three different fogger brands obtained from a nationwide retailer, and experiments were conducted on five different bedbug populations. Following application of the three foggers, Jones and Bryant found little, if any, adverse effects on the bed bugs.

Because a majority of bed bugs spend most of the time hiding in protected sites (under sheets and mattresses, in cracks and crevices, deep inside carpets, etc.), Jones said it is very unlikely that they will be exposed to the insecticide mist from foggers. And even if they do come into contact with the mist, she added, many bed bug populations have varying degrees of resistance to the insecticides, so they will most likely survive the application.

"These foggers don't penetrate in cracks and crevices where most bed bugs are hiding, so most of them will survive," Jones said. "If you use these products, you will not get the infestation under control, you will waste your money, and you will delay effective treatment of your infestation. Bed bugs are among the most difficult and expensive urban pests to control. It typically takes a professional to do it right. Also, the ineffective use of these products can lead to further resistance in insects."

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Members of the media who would like access to the JEE article should write to pubs@entsoc.org.

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Bug-bomb foggers are no match for bed bugs

The effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on our water and air were among the subjects at a conference at Oglebay Park on public health issues.

The annual conference, hosted by the Ohio County Health Department, presented experts including the man who sampled air quality at Mt. St. Helens and the Kuwait oil fires.

They spoke at length about gas drilling in the Ohio Valley.

The health experts on the panel today said wells in the area are leaking benzene, toluene, formaldehyde and xylene.

They say three wells in this area have exploded in the past.

Hundreds from the public health fields attended.

Speakers addressed how air quality could be better monitored, and how the experts feel about the proposed well to be drilled near Wheeling Park High School.

"Well, I think it's a mistake for the industry to come in and subject the students to what is really a poorly designed experiment," said Dr. Benjamin Stout of Wheeling Jesuit University. "What is our kids' health going to be like 10 or 20 years down the road?"

And Dr. Michael McCawley of West Virginia University spoke on the need for monitoring air quality.

"Of course the concerns are the volatile organic chemicals and the particulates," said McCawley. "And one of the things I've been talking about is making the concentrations in the air a transparent issue, with the monitors to be set up online, with the data available to anyone who wants to see it."

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Health Conference Focused On Everything From Shale Drilling To Bed Bugs