Apartments

Bed bugs can be a real problem in multiple family apartments, but if you understand them, their habits and how to control them, they can be defeated.

On August 5, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a joint statement on bed bug control in the U.S.

Bed bugs are making a comeback in apartment buildings, dorm rooms, hotels, hospitals and homes across the country due to people traveling more frequently, resistance to pesticides and lack of public awareness.

A Guide for Property Owners, Managers and Tenants

In 16th Century Europe, bed bugs mostly troubled rich people, as they had the warmest homes. But as the quality of homes improved in the developed world, bedbugs became a problem for people of all economic classes. Before World War II, they were a common pest in the U.S. until a combination of factors including DDT, and the wide-spread use of the vacuum nearly eliminated them.

The first edition of the ‘Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations in Australia’ (CoP) was produced in response to the re-emergence of bed bugs as a common public health pest.

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, have resurged to quickly become a very important pest of the 21st century, as they invade numerous urban areas including hostels, hotels and residences. Our society has had a “30+ year vacation” from this pest, when bed bugs were almost removed from North America as a result of mass treatments with older types of insecticides (DDT, Chlordane, Lindane). Recently though, bed bugs have found ample opportunity to increase in number and spread through society. Their success is a result of: increased travel of people; improved treatment methods that specifically target other insect pests; and the lack of public awareness.

Cornell University IPM Program

Bed bugs can be a real problem in multiple family apartments, but if you understand them, their habits and how to control them, they can be defeated.

A Guide for Property Owners, Managers and Tenants

Beyond Pesticides:The recent bed bug resurgence across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate these tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators. Even pesticides registered by EPA for bed bug use are linked to acute poisoning, cancer, hormone disruption, asthma, neurotoxicity, organ damage, and more.

This publication is supported, in part, with funding from the Northeastern IPM Center (NortheastIPM.org) and the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

When choosing a pest control company, make sure the company meets all the legal requirements that qualifies them to service your home, including a Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification or Registered Technician card, a business license and general liability insurance coverage. Also ask for a list of local references so you can learn about their past performance in treating bed bugs.

The recent resurgence of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Heteroptera: Cimicidae), in the United States, Canada, Australia, and some European countries triggered strong interests among researchers and the pest control industry to investigate effective bed bug management tactics (Cooper 2006, Gangloff- Kaufmann et al. 2006, Harlan 2006,Doggett 2007). Bed bug infestations often go unnoticed until becoming a serious problem. Once established, they are difÞcult and expensive to eradicate due to insecticide resistance and lack of effective control tools (Cooper 2006, Romero et al. 2007).

Reconciling best pracitices with research and the realities of implementation.

On August 5, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a joint statement on bed bug control in the U.S.

Bed bugs are making a comeback in apartment buildings, dorm rooms, hotels, hospitals and homes across the country due to people traveling more frequently, resistance to pesticides and lack of public awareness.

The first edition of the ‘Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations in Australia’ (CoP) was produced in response to the re-emergence of bed bugs as a common public health pest.

Bed bugs, Cimex lectularius, have resurged to quickly become a very important pest of the 21st century, as they invade numerous urban areas including hostels, hotels and residences. Our society has had a “30+ year vacation” from this pest, when bed bugs were almost removed from North America as a result of mass treatments with older types of insecticides (DDT, Chlordane, Lindane). Recently though, bed bugs have found ample opportunity to increase in number and spread through society. Their success is a result of: increased travel of people; improved treatment methods that specifically target other insect pests; and the lack of public awareness.

Cornell University IPM Program

Guidelines to help you solve bed bug problems.

When choosing a pest control company, make sure the company meets all the legal requirements that qualifies them to service your home, including a Pennsylvania Pesticide Applicator Certification or Registered Technician card, a business license and general liability insurance coverage. Also ask for a list of local references so you can learn about their past performance in treating bed bugs.

The recent resurgence of the bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Heteroptera: Cimicidae), in the United States, Canada, Australia, and some European countries triggered strong interests among researchers and the pest control industry to investigate effective bed bug management tactics (Cooper 2006, Gangloff- Kaufmann et al. 2006, Harlan 2006,Doggett 2007). Bed bug infestations often go unnoticed until becoming a serious problem. Once established, they are difÞcult and expensive to eradicate due to insecticide resistance and lack of effective control tools (Cooper 2006, Romero et al. 2007).

Reconciling best pracitices with research and the realities of implementation.

On August 5, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a joint statement on bed bug control in the U.S.

Bed bugs are making a comeback in apartment buildings, dorm rooms, hotels, hospitals and homes across the country due to people traveling more frequently, resistance to pesticides and lack of public awareness.

The first edition of the ‘Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations in Australia’ (CoP) was produced in response to the re-emergence of bed bugs as a common public health pest. Yet since the birth of the first edition, bed bug numbers have continued to climb. A survey of 121 Pest Managers in 2006 found that across Australia, bed bug infestations had risen by a dramatic 4,500% since 1999, with over 9,000 separately treated infestations reported (Doggett and Russell, 2007).

Cornell University IPM Program