Styal prison in Cheshire has been experiencing first-hand the difficulties of trying to get rid of bed bugs with an insecticide approach.
The Manchester Evening News reports that a significant outbreak in the women’s prison has resulted in inmates being bitten from ‘head to toe’ and that an entire wing has had to be fumigated.
However, the approach failed to work – something that will come as no surprise to pest controllers who have had to grapple with the bugs’ frighteningly high level of resistance to even professional strength insecticides from a number of years.
A spokesman for bed bug specialists British Bug Control said that many pest controllers shy away from bed bug jobs because they are so hard to kill.
“Bed bugs are the toughest pest we as pest controllers face today,” said British Bug Control’s Gareth Purnell. “They are hard to get to because they are able to hide in such tight places, and they are very resistant to insecticides. We regularly test the professional strength chemicals against resistant strains and we know which ones are good, and which are not. However, unless you can get a direct hit on them, which is difficult, then an insecticide only approach simply doesn’t work. And the other thing people need to know is that even the very best insecticides don’t kill the eggs anyway.”
For these reasons British Bug Control only recommends combination treatments involving the use of heat (see http://www.cimexine.com/heat-treatment/4589463780 ) – the recommended heat treatment approach for bed bugs depends on the level of infestation and how long it’s been in place for.
“Bed bugs have no resistance to heat and, crucially it kills all stages of the bed bugs including the eggs,” added Gareth.
“For quite low level and quite recent infestations we have a lot of success using a combination of steam with the best of the professional strength chemicals and a powder treatment.
“If the infestation is well-established, a full heat treatment is the way to go. This involves convection air heat bringing the rooms and the items in it up to temperature and holding it there for long enough to kill all stages of the bed bugs. It requires specialist equipment, and experience operators and not the cheapest option. But it is discreet, very effective and it does come with an iron-cast guarantee that we will get rid of the bed bug outbreak first time.”
For more information on bed bug eradication see www.cimexine.com or call British Bug Control on 0207 416 6671 or 01832 770483
