If you get bedbugs, you never have to telephone a licensed pest control company, but you'd be foolish to not, would be that the take-away message by a warning issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) past August. "With the incorrect pesticide or using it incorrectly to treat for bedbugs can cause you to your loved ones, and your pets " the EPA said in a user alert supplied by The Hill Healthwatch online. "It may also make your home unsafe to live in - and - might well not fix the bedbug problem."

Alarmed by reports of dangerous pesticide abuse and extreme measures being taken by several homeowners and apartment dwellers in doityourself efforts to eradicate bed bugs, both the U.S. EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint statement last July warning consumers against using outdoor pesticide products in their domiciles in efforts to be rid of bed bugs. Reports from pest control professionals within the field and news media of folks dousing their beds, their toddlers and even bathing their kids in garden insecticides has generated growing concern among government officials, the health community, community health guardians, and the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). The use of harsh chemicals not approved by the EPA for home use can result in severe burn-like aggravation of the eyes and skin, possible harm to the central nervous system, and might even expose one to carcinogens.

There have also been numerous reports of house and apartment fires begun by desperate individuals with highly flammable fluids to kill bedbugs. In January, a Cincinnati, Ohio person who was stripping his furniture down with a mixture of insecticide and alcohol started a flame in his own flat when his cigarette sparked fumes out of the compound mixture. In July 2008, an Eatontown, New Jersey man blew up his flat while attempting doityourself pest control. A pilot light triggered the chemical fumes and spray resulting in an explosion which blew out the front windows of this apartment and caused a fire that destroyed the man's apartment and caused serious damage to neighboring areas.


"Pest control firms reported seeing many ineffective and potentially dangerous activities employed by DoItYourselfers, including bleach, ammonia, flame, smoke, kerosene, wasp spray, along with insect bombs, as well as concentrated pesticides bought on the internet," University of Kentucky entomologist and national bedbug expert Michael Potter, writes in Bugs Without Borders, Assessing the Global bed-bug Resurgence, an worldwide poll of pest management businesses recently conducted by the University of Kentucky in conjunction with the NPMA. "As bedbug sufferers eventually become desperate, acute injury might result from such applications, especially among those that choose not to employ a professional," he warns.

Bedbugs do not necessarily react to home treatment method. These apple seed-sized insects that feed on human blood are tough to kill, a part of their biology and behavior. In the best, doityourself home treatments may induce bed-bugs to relocate, spreading infestations quicker. These pests have a sturdy, protective carapace that is not easily penetrated. To kill, pest control services and products must come into direct physical experience of the insectand their eggs have been unaffected by products currently approved by the EPA for residential usage. If not feeding, bed-bugs hide in inaccessible spaces deep inside minute crevices, inside walls, behind baseboards, under floorboards, and interior gadgets. Bedbugs and their eggs can be also readily transported on clothing and belongings, allowing infestations to quickly propagate through a house or apartment building. This mix of biology and behavior makes it extremely difficult to kill an entire bedbug infestation having a single pest control treatment. Three professional pest control treatments spaced 2 weeks apart are normally needed to successfully remove a bedbug infestation and also ensure that all hidden bugs and newly-hatched eggs are killed.

Skilled extermination by a certified pest control company with an expertise in bed insect removal is the most effective way to sew bed bugs. The EPA, to the Bed Bug Information Page posted on its website, says,"Getting a pest management professional (PMP) involved as soon as you can instead of simply taking time to make an effort to take care of the issue yourself is very capable of preventing further infestations."

Pest Control Stevenage is essential in combating bed bug infestations. Bed bugs replicate in an alarming speed and infestations can grow fast. Throughout its 6- to 12-month life span, a female bed-bug could lay 500 eggs with offspring capable of replicating within per month. It's common to find three or more bed bug productions present in a recognized infestation. Immediate treatment from the earliest phases of infestation could limit the infestation and prevents it from spreading.

Effective bedbug extermination begins with meticulous pre-treatment preparation to eliminate clutterclothes, clothing, bed linens and other items which may allow bedbugs to escape exposure to pest control materials. When site preparation is complete, a combination of pest control substances is required to attack bedbugs on multiple levels.

Concerns about security and health issues which have arisen from misuse of pest control chemicals by unlicensed or poorly trained pest control and unqualified contractors seeking to cash in on people panic prompted the EPA to warn users to avoid pest extermination services made out of"unrealistic promises of efficacy or very low cost."

While providing bed pest fixes to 70 homes and apartments components, technicians sprayed powerful chemicals on mattresses and kids' toys. In Cincinnati, Ohio last June, an unlicensed contractor hired to exterminate bed bugs saturated an apartment complex with a agricultural pesticide, sending seven renters to a medical facility and inducing public health officials to quarantine the property.

In the hopes of averting such incidents, the NPMA recently developed Best Management Practices for Bed Bugs (BMP) to serve as a guide for the industry and consumers. A set of consumer strategies for selecting a pest pro provided in the BMP urges that consumers hire qualified and accredited pest control firms to safeguard their health and safety and ensure that the pest control services they receive are secure and efficient. The NPMA further advocates that consumers give preferential consideration to pest control firms who've attained QualityPro certification, indicating that they exhibit the highest technical, ethical and educational standards in the business.