Many people know that the incidence of bed bug infestations have grown tremendously throughout the United States. Some more densely populated areas like New York and New Jersey have certainly been hit harder than others.  Because of the ease of travel, all states in the US are not only susceptible to the blood sucking parasites; they are infested with the buggers.

Pest control professionals currently have only a few insecticides available to them that have proven to be effective in the treatment against bed bugs.  As time has progressed, bed bugs have become immune to insecticide treatments that previously worked on eradicating the bugs.  The National Pest Management Association recently wrote a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency asking for a public health exemption authorizing the use of the insecticide Propoxur on behalf of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.  Propoxur has proven to be 100% effective in killing bed bugs and continues to kill after any eggs have hatched. This request has sparked quite a bit of debate both on the internet and in print as to the safety of the public if the insecticide were to be released.

Like New York and New Jersey, many counties in the State of Ohio have been hit very hard by bed bug infestation outbreaks over the past year.  Pest control experts are reporting daily calls from consumers asking for help in eradicating the blood suckers.  With the current insecticides that are available, and the past history of bed bug resistance, pest control experts are afraid that the current insecticides being used will soon become obsolete too.

Please check back on Tuesday for the conclusion.