A Human-Size Bed Bug Character and Entomologist Hit the Streets for a Five-City Bed Bug Education Tour

Hot Shot Bed Bug Man

Entomologist Timothy J. Gibb, PhD, accompanied by a human-sized Hot Shot Bed Bug character (pictured above), will be travelling to and making public appearances in five of the top bed bug-infested cities, including New York (May 29-June 2), Washington, D.C (June 5-9), Philadelphia (June 12-16) and Chicago (June 28-July 2). The Hot Shot Bed Bug character also will be in Los Angeles June 20-24. The purpose of the tour will be to educate travelers about bed bugs, including how to inspect their belongings for the pests.

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Award-Winning Author Amy Stewart Releases New Book: "Wicked Bugs"

Wicked Bugs

Combining dark humor with little-known history and some hair-raising entomological fact, author Amy Stewart takes on more than 100 of our flying, creeping and burrowing worst nightmares in her new book, entitled Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army & Other Diabolical Insects. Among many things, she explains why we switched from wooden bed frames to brass and iron bed frames after WWII to combat bed bugs!

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Bed Bugs to Come Up in US Dept. of Labor’s Hospitality Seminar

The U.S. Department of Labor is sponsoring a hospitality seminar in Virginia Beach on Tuesday for hotel and motel workers, industry representatives and community organizations. 

The agenda will focus on issues key to the hospitality industry, including an emerging concern - the nation’s growing bed bug epidemic. Seminar sponsors say they’ll offer their own tips on controlling the pests.

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New Manitoba Bed Bug Hotline Open for Business

The province of Manitoba, Canada now has a hotline dedicated to distributing information about bed bugs. The hotline was rolled out alongside Manitoba’s new bed bug website as part of its $770,000 provincial strategy to deal with bed bug infestations. 

People are encouraged to call the toll-free bedbug hotline at 1-855-3MB-BUGS (1-855-362-2847) with questions about bedbug prevention, how to identify an infestation, and what steps to take when an infestation occurs. 

Email inquiries are also welcome, and should be sent to bedbugs@gov.mb.ca.

The hotline is staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Outside of these hours, callers can leave a message and the call will be returned the next business day.

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Bed Bug Bill Highlighted at Legislative Day 2011

One of the goals of this year’s Legislative Day was to encourage House representatives to support H.R. 967, the “Bed Bug Management, Prevention, and Research Act of 2011.” H.R. 967 was introduced by Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH) in response to the recent and dramatic resurgence of bed bugs in the United States. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes a federal bed bug research funding program, establishes a requirement for efficacy testing of pesticides, adds a “quality of life” criteria that the EPA must consider when registering a public health pesticide, and establishes a support system for those on low or fixed incomes to help them deal with their bed bug problems.

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An Iowa Fire Station Finds Itself Battling More Than Just Fires!

Firefighters in Des Moines, Iowa have discovered one of the risks of entering other people’s homes - bringing uninvited guests back to the firehouse with them! The nature of firehouse operations can make the discovery of a bed bug infestation of particular concern. Firefighters work a 24-hour shift, and practically live at the station while on-call. When they sleep at the firehouse, they switch off using beds with other firefighters who work alternate shifts - increasing the risk of transporting the bugs from even a single infested mattress at the firehouse to their own homes and cars.

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Exterminator: "The Worst Bed Bug Infestation I've Ever Come Across"

Read a story about a house in Arizona that has exterminators calling it the worst bed bug infestation they’ve ever come across and has a CBS News photographer refusing to even pass through the doorway! The home of Roger Neal, a Phoenix-area carpenter, has been taken over by bed bugs to the point where they can be found absolutely everywhere: in the carpet, in their clothes, in all the furniture, and in all the beds!

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Bed Bugs Found in 3 Locations in the Harold E. Mertz Building, Port Washington, NY

Bed bug infestations were discovered at three different locations - two on the ground floor and one on the first floor - in the Harold E. Mertz Community Center, home of the Community Chest of Port Washington and several other civic agencies. The community center sealed off the affected offices and treated them with non-toxic chemical pesticides. Two of the three locations have been reported clear of the pests, with the treatment of the third still ongoing. See the full story here.

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DC Hospital Has To Move Quickly to Contain Homeless Patient Carrying Bed Bugs in Clothing

United Medical Center in DC had to move fast when they discovered bed bugs hidden in the clothing of a homeless person being treated in their psychiatric program. In our opinion, they couldn’t have really done a better job - they immediately isolated the room and several others surrounding it, called in a pest control company, and did a thorough search of the rooms for bed bugs (none were found). See the story here.

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A $200 Hand-Held Bed Bug Sniffer, But Is It For Real?

The story about the handheld unit that is being marketed as being able to detect bed bug “pheromones”, as well as the CO2 and methane they give off just won’t go away! See the Bedbugger’s questioning of the product’s efficacy, utility, and the science behind how it works here. Also, see Gizmodo’s quick summary of the rationale behind the product’s development here, and Popular Science’s more in-depth description (with video) of the detector here.

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