Watch your nightly news reports, read your daily newpapers, or tune into internet news stories and you will see that bed bugs have been nibbling their way across the United States.  All 50 states now have reported in with an upsurge in bed bug infestations and with the holiday season upon us, the bed bug numbers are sure to grow.

Years ago when people discovered bed bugs in their home, they ran down to their local store and picked up a box of DDT which proved to be a quick kill of the bloodsuckers.  In the 1970’s DDT was pulled from the market because it was deemed unsafe for human use and because it was largely responsible for killing off treasured birds, like the bald eagle, in the United States.  It has since been determined that bed bugs are immune to DDT, but desperate bed bug infestation victims are begging for it’s return to the marketplace for one more chance at total bed bug eradication.

So the big question remains as to if there are any new bed bug chemicals that will soon be released to pest control professionals or to consumers to help fight bed bugs.  The answer is…not likely in the near future…here’s why.

Many of the insecticides that are used indoors have derived from agricultural pesticides.  Chemical companies are currently working on chemicals to fight bed bugs, but unfortunately, the big profits come from chemicals that are made for agricultural use.  The costs of developing a new line of chemicals to fight any type of pest can cost hundreds of millions of dollars and over 10 years of research time.  For chemical companies, their big returns on profits come from agricultural pesticides, so unless a chemical can be used outdoors, it does not make economic sense to spend the time and money on bed bugs.

Experts seem to agree that you should be diligent in your quest to avoid bed bugs and if you happen to pick them up, contact a pest control expert quickly to control the problem.  The faster you work to eradicate a NJ bed bug infestation or infestation anywhere in the US, will help in keeping the bed bug pandemic from spreading.