Should I Contact a Pest Control Company If I Have Bed Bugs?
You don’t have to call a registered pest treatment firm if you get bedbugs. Your family, and your pets sick.” In addition, “It can also make your home unsafe to live in, and it may not be enough to get rid of bedbugs.” Get new mexico pest control easily.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a joint statement last July warning consumers against using outdoor pesticide products inside their homes in attempts to get rid of bed bugs, citing reports of dangerous pesticide misuse and extreme measures taken by some homeowners and apartment dwellers in do-it-yourself efforts to eradicate bed bugs.
Government officials, the medical community, public health guardians, and the National Pest Management Association are all concerned about reports from licensed pest control professionals in the field and the news media of people dousing their beds, pajamas, and even bathing their children in garden insecticides (NPMA).
There have also been numerous press accounts of house and apartment fires started by desperate people trying to kill bedbugs with extremely combustible substances. In January, a Cincinnati, Ohio, the man was cleaning down his furniture with a mixture of pesticide and alcohol when his cigarette ignited gases from the chemical concoction, causing a fire in his apartment.
In July 2008, a man from Eatontown, New Jersey, attempted do-it-yourself pest control and blew up his flat. The chemical spray and vapors were ignited by a pilot light, resulting in an explosion that blew out the apartment’s front windows and created a fire that destroyed the man’s apartment and severely damaged surrounding units.
Writes Michael Potter, a University of Kentucky entomologist and national bedbug expert, in Bugs Without Borders, Defining the Global Bed Bug Resurgence, an international survey of pest management companies recently conducted. “Serious damage may ensue from such applications as bedbug victims become increasingly desperate,” he adds, “particularly among those who choose not to hire a professional.”
The most efficient way to get rid of bed bugs is to hire a licensed new mexico area pest control that specializes in bed insect extermination. “Getting a pest management professional (PMP) engaged as soon as possible rather than taking time to try to address the problem yourself is very beneficial at preventing new infestations,” according to the EPA’s Bed Bug Information Page on its website.
To combat bed bug infestations, quick action is required. Bed bugs breed frighteningly fast, and infestations can quickly spread. A female bed bug can lay 500 eggs throughout her 6- to 12-month lifespan, with offspring capable of reproducing within a month. Three or more generations of bed bugs are common in a well-established infection. In the early stages of an infestation, prompt treatment can help contain the infestation and prevent it from spreading.
Licensed pest control professionals use a combination of environmental management procedures known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and a variety of pest control materials approved by the EPA for residential use only by licensed pest management professionals to successfully treat bedbug infestations.
Effective bedbug elimination starts with rigorous pre-treatment preparation, which includes removing clutter, clothing, bed linens, and other items that could allow bedbugs to avoid pesticide exposure. Then, when the facility is ready, a variety of pest control agents are used to target bedbugs on several levels.
The EPA warned consumers to avoid insect extermination services that make “unrealistic promises of effectiveness or low cost” due to health and safety concerns raised by the misuse of pest control chemicals by unlicensed or improperly trained pest controllers and unqualified contractors trying to profit from public fear.
Last July, a pest control company in Newark, New Jersey, was accused of using chemicals not licensed for residential use. Technicians sprayed harsh pesticides on mattresses and children’s toys while treating 70 homes and apartment units for bed bugs. Last June in Cincinnati, Ohio, an unlicensed bed bug exterminator sprayed an apartment complex with an agricultural pesticide, sending seven tenants to the hospital and prompting public health officials to place the premises under quarantine.
The NPMA recently created Best Management Practices for Bed Bugs (BMP) to guide the industry and customers in preventing such situations. According to a list of consumer suggestions included in the BMP, consumers should hire only qualified and licensed pest management organizations to safeguard their health and safety and ensure that the pest control treatments they receive are safe and effective.
The NPMA also advises consumers to give priority to licensed pest management companies who have earned QualityPro accreditation, showing that they meet the industry’s highest technical, educational, and ethical criteria.
