In this episode Jeff will discuss the concept of seat covers for bed bugs that are intended to be used in public places such as movie theaters, public transportation vehicles, etc…  Shortly after news stories starting airing about bed bugs being found in public places, different manufacturers starting releasing seat covers that you could place over a seat to protect yourself from bed bugs.  While this concept has some merit if the cover is made out of a smooth plastic, we have yet to see a cover that takes advantage of this concept.  Please keep in mind that no matter how good the seat cover is, it will not be 100% effective at preventing bed bugs from gaining access to you while sitting in a seat.  They are only intended to make it more difficult for the bed bug to access you while sitting in that seat.  Also, please keep in mind that even though bed bugs are being found in these public places, the chance that you actually encounter a bed bugs in a movie theater, etc… is still very slim.  These covers are more intended for people who are extremely concerned about bed bugs in public places and want to take every precaution possible to prevent bringing one home with them. 

In this episode, Jeff talks about different ways to help you determine if bed bugs are present in your home.  Many times people are dealing with infestations, their homes are treated and they want to know how to tell if the bugs are gone.  BedBug Central uses the “50-60 day rule” in that we want to see the people in the homes go 50-60 days without seeing any bugs or receiving any bites.The reason we use 60 days is that bugs feed every 10 days or so and eggs take about 10 days to hatch.  What we’re starting to see is that when you apply pesticides to control bed bugs, it can cause the bugs to act “odd” and sometimes not feed at their regular interval.  It has been documented that bugs may go into a “non-feeding”  period after pesticide exposure due to adverse conditions.  This 60 days allows the bug time to come out and feed, even if it has been affected by pesticide exposure.  You can also consider using interception devices or other monitors to help you determine if you still have a problem but keep in mind that there is no 100% definitive way to determine if you still have a problem.  That being said, if you know you react to bed bug bites and perform inspections on the beds in the home and use the 50-60 day rule, there is a good chance that the bugs have in fact been eliminated.

 In this episode, Jeff will discuss a Holiday Bed Bug Charity he has been working on.  For more information regarding "Taking the Bite out of the Holidays", please visit http://www.bedbugcentral.com/holidays/

In this episode Jeff will discuss the benefits of using Diatomaceous Earth for bed bug control.  DE is a dust that is made from crushed fossils.  This is a very popular dust when treating for bed bugs and research has shown that it can be effective against bed bugs.  If applying DE, you want to make sure that you follow all label directions very carefully as, even though it is viewed as a very "green" and low toxicity product, it is still a pesticide.  Also, there are many different forms of DE on the market (food grade, pool filter, pest control, etc…) and you want to make sure you choose a DE that was specifically manufactured for use with pests.  Research has indicated that some of the other forms of DE may be ineffective for bed bug control. 

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In this episode Jeff will discuss a new product on the market called the Bed Bug Patch.  This product claims to increase your repellency to bed bugs by placing a patch on your skin that releases Vitamin B1, or thiamine.  This vitamin has long been rumored to increase your repellency to insects by decreasing the amount of carbon dioxide that your body releases.  While research needs to be conducted on the theory of B1 as a bed bug repellent, previous studies on the topic have demonstrated that B1 is not an effective mosquito repellent and bed bugs are attracted to many of the same cues that mosquitoes respond to.  Therefore, the scientific findings that B1 is not an effective mosquito repellent makes us question the manufacturer of the Bed Bug Patch's claims that it will improve a humans repellency to bed bugs.  Based on studies showing that B1 is not an effective insect repellent, you should probably keep these studies in mind in regards to your expectations when purchasing this product until studies are completed to demonstrate otherwise.

In this episode Jeff will discuss what people should and shouldn't do after a bed bug treatment has been performed in their home. Viewers have submitted several questions that have asked what they can and cannot do after a bed bug treatment has been performed so that they can avoid deactivating any pesticides that have been applied. The truth of the matter is that is a question that is best answered by the pest control company who performed the treatment. Without knowing what the company applied and where they applied those pesticides, it is impossible for anybody to comment on what you should do other than the pest control company who performed the work. If you have bagged and laundered clothing you can either choose to live out of those bags until the bugs have been declared eliminated or unload those bags and put the clothes back if evidence was not noted in the closets or dressers. Please be aware that if you choose to unload those bags that if the closet or dresser is found to have evidence, you may have to launder the clothes again. That being said, bed bugs are not typically found on the clothes in closets and dressers so typically you can put the clothes back after they are laundered. But please remember, before you do anything you should always contact the company who performed the treatment.

In this episode, Jeff will discuss what the typical recommendations are for bed bug treatment that most of the pest control industry is requiring and what Bed Bug Central's position is on preparing for bed bug treatment.  Please remember that regardless of the information provided in this episode, you should also follow what the pest control company is asking you to do for bed bug treatment.  Typical bed bug preparations include:  emptying dressers and closets and laundering all clothing contained within those areas, stripping the beds of their bedding and laundering those items and standing the beds on end.  Most pest control companies require you do perform these tasks because there may be a bed bug in personal clothing and the pest control company cannot treat those items with pesticide.  By laundering them you kill any bugs associated with those items and if you strip the bed and stand it on end, it makes the treatment easier the day of treatment.  Bed Bug Central's position on bed bug preparation is to clean your home so that the pest control company treating the home can move freely in the house.  Outside of cleaning the home, we will ask you to empty closets and dressers only if we find evidence in those areas.  Emptying dressers and closets and laundering all of those items because there may be a bug contained within them we feel is unnecessary and an unfair amount of work when finding bugs in these areas is only common in very high level infestations (only about 10% of bed bug infestations).  We also don't want homeowners/renters to strip the bed and stand it up because we want to see the infestation as it was originally and performing these tasks will distribute bugs into unpredictable locations.  Please remember that this is Bed Bug Central's position on bed bug preparations and you should always follow whatever your pest control company is asking you to do.