Bed Bug Sprays
Summary: With bed bug populations raging, the race to market bed bug control products is at a fevered pitch. Find out what products are the professionals using and what products are available to the general public.
The first news announcement that bed bugs were back in the United States was only a few years ago. The spread of bed bug infestations has reached nearly every state and has hit epidemic proportions. Matching the rise in reported bed bugs is the unprecedented increase in so-called bed bug killing products. I say “so-called” because a great many of the products now available for purchase have been on the market for years under different names with different labels.
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Most of the chemical manufacturers rushed to have their labels updated to include bed bugs on their label's list of targeted insects. What was once a product touted for its ability to kill flies might now carry a new product label promising immediate bed bug control. So, how does our government allow what appears to be a marketing flimflam? Well, in the eyes of the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency that oversees pesticide product labeling, the newly presented products do, in fact, kill bed bugs. My objection is that the advertising leads you to believe that researchers worked late into the night developing a product to knock out the insidious bed bugs, and that simply not the case.
Truth be told, all the products labeled for bed bug eradication are from the same chemical molecules that have been on sale for years. These products do a great job of killing most insects, including bed bugs, if, and this is a big “if”, if the product comes in direct contact with the bed bug. Therein lies the hitch. Bed bugs love to hide deep down in the folds of upholstery of, for example, a couch. When pesticides are applied on the couch fabric they are quickly absorbed leaving little to no residual chemical on the surface. When the bed bugs come out of hiding for their next meal it is unlikely they will come in contact with enough of the residual to kill them.
This lack of killing residue is the problem faced by professionals and non-professionals when treating for bed bugs. We cannot get the chemical into all the bed bug hiding places. Therefore, repeat applications are required to thin out the bed bug population and break the egg laying cycle. Each subsequent application hopefully comes in contact with more adult bed bugs, reducing the number of eggs being laid and ultimately knocking out the population.
So, when you are selecting you pesticide weapon of choice, knowing that direct contact is the answer to control, I suggest using the least toxic products you can find. Why expose yourself to a product that has more contraindications for human contact? We know we have to make contact with the insect anyway, so you may as well choose a product that has the lowest
 Enzyme-based product |
toxicity level for humans and pets. Keeping this in mind I really like the new enzyme products that have come on the market. These products are so safe that they are not even required to be registered with the EPA. However, when these enzyme products touch a bed bug it kills the insect in less than thirty seconds. You can tell the bed bug has died because it stops moving and its rear end raises straight up into the air, almost as if the bed bug is trying to do a handstand. It is very cool and very effective.
There are alcohol-based products such as SteriFab that do a great job of killing bed bugs on contact, but those products are quite volatile due to the high alcohol content. In a closed room you can experience light-headedness and nausea, so you must ventilate when using these products. Plus, there is a fire hazard. That is why we recommend the enzyme-based products.
Oddly, the enzyme products for bed bug control cannot be found on grocery store or hardware store shelves. For now, you need to order the products online. Be sure you are not ordering the products like clove oil or oil of wintergreen that also claim bed bug control. The product must specifically say it contains enzymes. The Natural Ginesis product, KleenGreen is a good brand.
Be sure to read the ingredients when you visit web sites claiming bed bug control. Some of the products will make you think you are buying an enzyme, but on closer examination you will see that the product contains everything but enzymes. Buyer beware!
Comments
12 Apr 2009, 13:47
12 Apr 2009, 13:49
thanks.
12 Apr 2009, 21:53
I like the product sold by Natural Ginesis. They sell it online.
14 May 2009, 13:14
15 May 2009, 09:27
27 Jun 2009, 14:59
We just got back from vacation and picked up some bedbugs. We also have 3 small children and two cats and very hesitant to use chemicals in our house. At the same time, my research warns about enzymes not being able to fully eradicate an infestation. Hopefully we are catching it early enough that the bugs haven't gotten a good hold in our house.
Anyway, I'm curious about the eco-friendly products that DO have a residual effect like diatomaceous earth. What do you think of an extermination plan using DE along with an enzyme product, dusting the places that can't be fully treated with a contact spray?
28 Jun 2009, 00:53
08 Jul 2009, 16:38
08 Jul 2009, 18:58
All non-toxic "green" products will only kill bed bugs on contact. They do not contain residuals with the exception of some dust products. Do not over-spray or over-wet the fabric or you could cause mildew.
Vacuum often and use sticky tape to sample hard-to-get-at spots deep down in cracks and crevices.
Repeat treatments every five to seven days until you have not discovered new eggs or bed bug nymphs for three weeks straight.
Don't forget to treat the cracks inbetween floor boards, too.
08 Jul 2009, 20:55
We were in the same boat as you--have nice sofas and didn't particularly want to throw them out. We sprayed the heck out of them with Kleen Green and let it sit, on and in the cracks and crevices (we have leather sofas; Kleen Green didn't harm the leather. I don't know what it does to other fabric). When it dried, we also dusted Diatomaceous Earth on and in the sofas, the nooks and crannies and underneath on the floor. We left it on there for a week, then repeated the process. We still have Diatomaceous Earth on the floor, but have cleaned off the sofas. Of course, we didn't sit on the sofas during the DE process--too itchy. It seems to have done the trick. We haven't seen any more bed bugs on the sofa, eggs, no more bites. We caught them early, I am sure, but we will continue to keep a check on everything. Good luck! I hope you get them all!
25 Jul 2009, 13:19
Air beds are great temp beds and they're inexpensive. You can buy them at Bed Bath & Beyond, WalMart and Target.
26 Jul 2009, 02:44
As for your Christmas decorations/tree, well, what are they packed in? We keep our stuff packed in plastic containers. No critters are getting in there. You could always try putting DE in with your things if you think there might be bugs in there. That's what I'd do, anyway.
01 Aug 2009, 01:35
Hi
something i copied from some website - comment from lil b:-
The "XXXX products are simple enzymes. In Theory they are supposed to damage the mites external skeleton. Like a crap or a spider(same family as mites) their skeleton is on the outside and if ya damage that the animal will dehydrate and DIE DIE DIE!(We hope!) The ""XXXX products are a total RIP OFF! Simple cleaning enzymes in a fancy package. Lets see If I bought x at the feed store for $39.00 a gallon and put it..............
my question is whether the 7th generation 2X concentrated laundry detergent which is made from enzymes and has amylase, cellulase and protease, can it do the job of digesting the mites ?
01 Aug 2009, 18:29
12 Aug 2009, 16:11
20 Aug 2009, 21:24
25 Aug 2009, 23:57
and useless it is still my home and my bed
pls help me what i have to do or buy
and from where
05 Sep 2009, 00:33
08 Sep 2009, 15:59