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→Control and eradication
==Control and eradication==
==Control and eradication==
Eradication of bedbugs often necessitates integrated pest management (IPM), which includes
Eradication of bedbugs often necessitates integrated pest management (IPM), which includes
*Vacuum the mattress, especially tucks and along seams. Kill any live bugs using a spray of 70 or higher percent isopropyl alcohol.
*Vacuuming the mattress, especially tucks and along seams. Kill any live bugs using a spray of 70 or higher percent isopropyl alcohol.
*Isolating the bed from walls and coating the bed legs for 3 to 5 inches with petroleum jelly, and or encasing the bed legs in a water filled container to stop bedbugs (who can jump, but not swim) from crawling up into the bed is typically recommended. Box spring encasements are also promoted.
*Isolating the bed from walls and coating the bed legs for 3 to 5 inches with petroleum jelly, and or encasing the bed legs in a water filled container to stop bedbugs (who can jump, but not swim) from crawling up into the bed is typically recommended. Box spring encasements are also promoted.
*Sealing cracks and crevices which bedbugs can hide and lay eggs (which can be as small as the width of a credit card) around the area in which bits occur.
*Sealing cracks and crevices which bedbugs can hide and lay eggs (which can be as small as the width of a credit card) around the area in which bits occur.
An additional insecticide is one which does not actually kill bedbugs, but instead it works to prevent reproduction by disrupting the development of immature bedbugs, resulting in being unable to reproduce. This process takes longer but it can ensure an eventual end of the infestation, if contact with all bedbugs is made, but usually this chemical is used in conjunction with other insecticides.<ref>http://www.bed-bug.org/insectisides-for-bed-bugs/</ref> Repeat treatments with any legal insecticide are advised and are almost always necessary. Inhalation of all insecticides is to be avoided. Spot treatment of bedbugs with chemical formulations can make matters worse by allowing them to disperse and or develop resistance to the insecticide used.
An additional insecticide is one which does not actually kill bedbugs, but instead it works to prevent reproduction by disrupting the development of immature bedbugs, resulting in being unable to reproduce. This process takes longer but it can ensure an eventual end of the infestation, if contact with all bedbugs is made, but usually this chemical is used in conjunction with other insecticides.<ref>http://www.bed-bug.org/insectisides-for-bed-bugs/</ref> Repeat treatments with any legal insecticide are advised and are almost always necessary. Inhalation of all insecticides is to be avoided. Spot treatment of bedbugs with chemical formulations can make matters worse by allowing them to disperse and or develop resistance to the insecticide used.
Studies indicate that resistance to many of the chemical pesticides currently used is increasing in some bedbug populations in many areas of North America.<ref>http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html</ref> According to research at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, some of the latest “super bedbugs” can survive for up to 16 days after being directly sprayed with currently used pesticides designed to kill insects immediately. Bedbugs have a cuticle on the outside of their body that is almost impenetrable to many insecticides used today, therefore the bugs do not pick up dried residues very well. Bedbugs developed resistance to DDT in 1950s, and then to its successors such as organophosphates like diazinon and malathion which were being used to clear up remaining infestations.<ref>http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1768&category=Environment</ref> DDT resistance can lead to pyrethroid resistance, as both pesticide classes act on the same target site.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/01/21/kdr-pyrethroid-resistance-widespread-in-u-s-bed-bug-populations/</ref>
Studies indicate that resistance to many of the chemical pesticides currently used is increasing in some bedbug populations in many areas of North America.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/01/21/kdr-pyrethroid-resistance-widespread-in-u-s-bed-bug-populations/</ref><ref>http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html</ref> According to research at the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, some of the latest “super bedbugs” can survive for up to 16 days after being directly sprayed with currently used pesticides designed to kill insects immediately. Bedbugs have a cuticle on the outside of their body that is almost impenetrable to many insecticides used today, therefore the bugs do not pick up dried residues very well. Bedbugs developed resistance to DDT in 1950s, and then to its successors such as organophosphates like diazinon and malathion which were being used to clear up remaining infestations.<ref>http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1768&category=Environment</ref> DDT resistance can lead to pyrethroid resistance, as both pesticide classes act on the same target site.<ref>http://newyorkvsbedbugs.org/2010/01/21/kdr-pyrethroid-resistance-widespread-in-u-s-bed-bug-populations/</ref>
Possibly the most effective agent against bed begs, with long residual effect, is Propoxur (marketed under the registered trademark name Baygon) a carbamate pesticide with a somewhat murky regulatory history. In a test of its effectiveness against bedbugs, while some of today’s leading pesticides could not kill even half of the bugs, propoxur a well as chlorpyrifos (an organophosphate) killed them all in an hour. However, Propoxur is a neurotoxin, toxic to humans if ingested, and [[EPA]] research has found their nervous systems could be harmed, with infants and children being in the most danger. Serious overexposure can also cause death by cardiorespiratory depression.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> It is therefore, like chlorpyrifos,<ref>http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op/chlorpyrifos.htm</ref> banned by the EPA for use in locations where children may be present (residential buildings and hotels) Recently, the EPA denied a request by the state of Ohio to allow its use therein by licensed exterminators.<ref>http://bedbugger.com/2010/06/11/bed-bugs-cheer-ohios-propoxur-exemption-request-denied/</ref>
Possibly the most effective agent against bed begs, with long residual effect, is Propoxur (marketed under the registered trademark name Baygon) a carbamate pesticide with a somewhat murky regulatory history. In a test of its effectiveness against bedbugs, while some of today’s leading pesticides could not kill even half of the bugs, propoxur a well as chlorpyrifos (an organophosphate) killed them all in an hour. However, Propoxur is a neurotoxin, toxic to humans if ingested, and [[EPA]] research has found their nervous systems could be harmed, with infants and children being in the most danger. Serious overexposure can also cause death by cardiorespiratory depression.<ref>[http://www.faqs.org/periodicals/201006/2054573271.html ''Bed Bugs: The Pesticide Dilemma'']</ref> It is therefore, like chlorpyrifos,<ref>http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/op/chlorpyrifos.htm</ref> banned by the EPA for use in locations where children may be present (residential buildings and hotels) Recently, the EPA denied a request by the state of Ohio to allow its use therein by licensed exterminators.<ref>http://bedbugger.com/2010/06/11/bed-bugs-cheer-ohios-propoxur-exemption-request-denied/</ref>