We know that bed bugs move further away from a host when suitable harbourage near the host is restricted. And if bed bugs are forced to locate harbourage far away from the host some get lost and will either disperse elsewhere or stay and wait for host cues to arrive. Sometimes the bugs will wait […]

It has been noted by others that black climb up interceptors catch more bed bugs than white ones in an experimental tank. I suspected that environmental conditions were responsible for those results so I decided to test this theory in my experimental tank. I put four identical white interceptors in my experimental tank and covered […]

When addressing multi family apartments it is imperative that all suites surrounding an infested suite are, at minimum, inspected for bed bugs. Most exterminators will suggest treating all surrounding suites as a precaution. Some exterminators will only treat the baseboards if a suite is adjacent to an infested suite but shows no evidence of bed […]

Getting rid of bed bugs in multi family settings requires a landlord willing to spend some money, an experienced exterminator determined to do a good job, and a tenant who follows through on the considerable amount of work required to prepare and take preventative actions in the future. If any one of these is missing […]

In severe infestations, especially when the tenant has been attempting self treatments, the bugs are widely scattered throughout the suite. The bugs are in the walls, light fixtures, hardwood floor cracks, behind door and window frames, and sometimes even behind the kitchen cabinets! Basically it is impossible for even the best exterminator to access the […]

The available research shows that bed bugs are unlikely to follow Co2 cues beyond 5 feet. Heat has been shown to attract within one foot. Various smells that humans emit also attract bed bugs but have much less potency than Co2. But in my practice I have found that bed bugs can sometimes find a […]

I treated a severely infested suite for bed bugs two weeks ago. At that time the tenant had installed 4 small clear plastic/glue monitors between the mattress and box spring. They are designed to entice the bugs into a small space and then are caught in a glob of glue in the middle of the […]

The September 19, 2014 issue of PCT magazine contains a bed bug supplement entitled “Trouble Brewing for Insecticides?” The general thrust of the article is an examination of bed bug resistance to modern combination chemicals containing pyrethroids and neonicotonoids. An excellent read. One aspect of the article I particularly found interesting was an attempt to […]