In this episode, Jeff will discuss the ThermalStrike portable heating unit for bed bugs.  One of the more challenging aspects of dealing with current bed bug infestations or when returning home from travel and what to do with your suitcases to eliminate any chance of introducing bed bugs.  The structure of the ThermalStrike portable heater is composed of corrugated plastic and uses heat film to create heat inside of the “box” and treat items placed inside of the unit.  The most important aspect of using the portable heating unit is to follow all manufacturer directions that are included in the packing for the device.  This unit is one of the more cost effective portable heating options available on the market and when used properly can be a very effective method to deal with non-launderable and other items that cannot be treated with other methods. 

In this episode Jeff will discuss some of the risks associated with having a bed bug infestation in a home with a pregnant woman or a newborn child.  The first and most important aspect of this topic is that if you are concerned with any pesticides being applied in your home you should ask the pest control company for the MSDS sheets of those pesticides and ask your family doctor if they are appropriate to be used around a pregnant woman or newborn child.  A pest control company should not be answering questions about the safety of pesticides around pregnant women or newborn children and that is a question better left to doctors.  One of the best options for these environments may be heat treatment of the home or of the newborn childs furniture.  This would dramatically reduce if not stop the use of pesticides in the home which is always preferred around sensitive individuals.

In this episode Jeff will discuss the differences in using steam or cryonite to kill bed bugs and their eggs on contact. This video is not intended to sell anyone on using either of these devices but rather explain why Jeff is more of a fan of steam and the observations that drove him to this decision. Research has demonstrated that steam and heat penetrates better than cold and because of this, steam fits well into the protocol he developed to treat couches. You can place a steamer over pleats and folds on a couch and quickly penetrate the area and kill and bed bugs hiding in those folds. Cold/Cryonite does not penetrate as well and with cold you need to be aware of bounceback (where bed bugs appear to be frozen and dead but come back to life only minutes after they thaw). In addition, you can place a towel over most steam heads and reduce the velocity with which steam exits the device. With Cryonite, the velocity with which the “snow” leaves the unit is a concern in that it may blow bugs off of a surface before the cold has a chance to kill them. That being said, Cryonite may be a better option for areas where electronics may be present (offices, etc…) as Cryonite introduces less moisture to the area being treated.

In this episode Jeff will have his first guest on Bed Bug TV, Allie Taisey, and they will discuss the future of bed bugs and how many affordable housing communities across the United States are handing bed bug infestations. A recent report has stated that the bed bug problem is "abating" in NYC and Jeff will discuss how this is an overstatement and that anybody who thinks bed bugs are going away is leading themselves down a misleading path. Also, with many experts across the country talking about bed bugs reservoiring in many affordable housing communities, Allie Taisey will discuss her experiences across the country with many different communities and how they are being handling bed bug infestations.

In this episode Jeff will discuss using Best Yet Cedarcide for bed bugs.  Over the years we’ve received many questions about the product and have a brief overview posted on BedBug Central here:  http://www.bedbugcentral.com/research-and-development/topic.cfm/a-review-of-best-yet-cedar-oil-product   Through research at Rutgers University we have found that it is one of the few all-natural, EPA exempt products that is highly effective against bed bugs and their eggs on contact.  That being said, our concerns about the product are the strong odor associated with the application.  When the product is used inside homes, the odor can become overwhelming to some (although the company claims there are no negative health effects from this odor).  Also, the product is very oily and can leave a oily-residue behind where it is applied.  This oily residue is enough of a concern that some have chosen not to apply it in their homes because of it.  Please refer to the above link for more information on this product.

In this episode, Jeff will talk about a recent study that was released online that demonstrated that bed bugs chose to feed on a subjects arm that was shaved rather than feed on an arm covered in hair.  This study suggested that bed bugs do not like to feed on bodies covered in hair.  This has long been a theory of many experts in the industry because a bed bugs has a difficult time getting access to blood when hair covers the body and walking on body hair also makes it more likely that the person may wake up.  That being said, this is a warning to those reading this study and thinking of ways to use this information to help in the battle against bed bugs.  Just because a body has hair on it does not mean bed bugs will not feed on a person.  Therefore letting your body hair grow or wearing a hairy costume to bed will not protect you from bed bugs feeding on you.  This study is intended to shed light on the behavioral ecology of bed bugs and suggest that bodies covered in hair (dogs, cats, etc…) may be less likely to be fed on by bed bugs if they have a hairless body close by.

In this 180 seconds, Jeff will discuss a recent article on Forbes website that discusses the threat of bed bugs on planes and Jeff offers some better tips on how to address these concerns

In this episode, Jeff will answer one of the most popular e-mail questions he receives which asks if the pesticides being applied for bed bug infestations  are “safe”.  The first concern many home owners have when they find a bed bug infestation in their house is if pesticides are applied, are my kids or pets safe around those pesticides.  Many experts in the pest control industry will try to avoid using the word “safe” when referring to any pesticides applied in the home.  The bottom line with this topic is that many of the pesticides used in homes these days, if used consistently with the label directions and applied in the manner listed, have a low-risk of adverse effects on human than what many people traditionally believe.  If you have any further questions about the safety of pesticides being applied in homes, it is highly recommended that you talk to your pest control company and acquire the MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheets) sheets for the pesticides being applied and provide them to your doctor or physician for them to review and provide recommendations. 

In this episode, Jeff will discuss the concepts of carbon dioxide detectors for detecting bed bugs and some preliminary thoughts and findings he has on two devices that are currently available.  There are several devices currently available that are intended to detect concentrations of carbon dioxide and thus are being positioned as bed bug detectors.  Bed bugs, like many other organisms, release carbon dioxide when the breath and these devices can supposedly detect low level concentrations of CO2.  The concern with this concept is that many organisms can emit carbon dioxide and there are many other reason carbon dioxide can concentrate in an area and therefore we have serious concerns about having  a high-rate of false positives when using these devices.  In brief studies in our offices we demonstrated that two of these devices can in fact detect bed bugs but the devices did also detect carbon dioxide in other areas where bed bugs were not present (thus we confirmed our concern about false positives).  This being said, further testing needs to be conducted to confirm these findings and until these studies are conducted, we caution users to be cautious drawing conclusions from positive findings when using  these monitors.

In this episode Jeff will discuss how sprays that you can apply to your luggage during travel to keep bed bugs off may not be 100% effective but may be worth considering if you are concerned about encountered bed bugs during your travels.  There are many sprays that are claiming that they can be applied to luggage to keep bed bugs off of your luggage.  The first item to check is that the label on the spray states that luggage can be treated with the spray and that you follow the directions on the label when applying the spray.  Also understand that luggage sprays are not 100% guaranteed to keep bugs off of your luggage.   Therefore it is still important to launder your clothes before you unpack them inside your home and to either store or treat your luggage when you return.  That being said, many of these sprays use ingredients that are in fact repellent to bed bugs and therefore, as long as you understand they aren’t 100% effective and need to be applied periodically depending on label directions, using them during your travels may not be a bad decision.