“Bedbugs May Be Developing Resistance To Pesticides”

Bedbugs May Be Developing Resistance To Pesticides

Posted: 01 Feb 2011 11:18 AM PST

POSTED: 12:47 pm CST February 1, 2011
UPDATED: 12:59 pm CST February 1, 2011

JACKSON, Miss. -- Health officials are looking to put the bedbug problem to rest.On Tuesday, a two-day national bedbug summit kicked off in Washington, D.C.While remedies to control the critters have improved since the last national summit two years ago, the Federal Bed Bug Working Group, as it is called, still faces an uphill battle. The apple-seed-size insects, which live in the folds and crevices of sheets and mattresses, are difficult to kill.Research has shown that bedbugs are developing a resistance to pesticides."It takes constant research. If people in our profession are not changing with the curve, they're going to be left behind. That means we have to stay technically on top of it. We make the necessary changes," said James Brockman of Terminix.Brockman said people can buy encasements to help protect a mattress from bedbugs, but that's just part of the solution."Maybe one of the greatest reasons why bedbugs are being found in homes is people's inclination to buy used furniture and bring it into the house and could bring in bedbugs," Brockman said.Bedbugs bite and feed off blood, but they can live for months without feeding.

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Bedbugs Bite

Tuesday, February 1, 2011