Monthly Archives: December 2013

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug News, Bed Bugs, Disease Carrying Pests, Pest Control

Bed Bug Experts Rate Do-It-Yourself Products

Since bed bugs started resurfacing in the U.S., the nasty blood-suckers aren’t the only things creeping out of the woodwork. A host of home remedies and homegrown products claiming to kill bed bugs are being marketed. Bed bug experts attending Entomology 2013 had two words of advice for consumers: “Buyer beware!”

In tests by a Rutgers University research team, most of the do-it-yourself bed bug treatments tested failed to deliver on their promises. For example, one of the most popular home remedies, rubbing alcohol, killed fewer than half of the exposed adult bed bugs and none of the immature bed bugs or eggs. Results with moth balls were equally ineffective.

Pest control professionals say the fact that adult, immatures and eggs respond differently to treatment methods is one of the things that makes bed bug extermination such a challenge. Professional chemicals used to kill bed bugs have no effect on eggs, necessitating multiple treatments to kill successive generations. That’s one of the big advantages of Stern’s Cyronite system. Unlike other bed bug extermination treatments, Cryonite instantly kills bed bugs at all phases of development, including bed bug eggs.

Professional treatment by an experienced bed bug expert is the best way to exterminate bed bug infestations, but conference experts also recommended a few DYI products. We’ll reveal their recommendations next time.

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug News, Bed Bug Resources, Bed Bugs, Pest Control

See Bed Bugs Up Close Without Risk at NJ Insect Museum

Want to see bed bugs up close but not risk being bitten or taking them home? Want to feel the fuzzy legs of a tarantula crawling across your palm or hold a pincher-snapping, curl-tailed scorpion? Insectropolis lets you get up close and personal with some of the world’s most interesting, crazy-looking and nastiest insects without fear. A family excursion to South Jersey’s famous bug museum in Tom’s River is sure to fire the imagination of budding entomologists.

Even the squeamish will find the insect museum and its creepy-crawly residents fascinating. Spend a few hours with the museum’s three-inch hissing alpha cockroaches, millipedes as long as your arm, Goliath beetles bigger than your hand and the foot-long Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula and you’ll go home thankful for the chilly winter months that limit the size of New Jersey’s insects.

Insects that are fascinating in a museum can be a source of concern if you discover them in your NJ home or NYC workplace. Last month workers at the New York Department of Financial Services were horrified to discover bed bugs had invaded their new offices in Lower Manhattan. Several workers suffered severe bites and itchy red welts before the source of the problem was identified as bed bugs. Don’t let bed bugs bother you; call the bed bug experts at Stern Environmental for fast, effective extermination.

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug News

Bed Bug Infestations Expected to Rise in 2014

Next year will mark a decade since bed bugs began to resurface in the U.S. Now found in every state, the pesky blood-sucking insects won’t be going away any time soon. In fact, bed bugs experts are predicting a noticeable increase in bed bug infestations next year. 

“Bed bugs have been a hot topic in the news during the past several years; especially when a new geographical area is infested or bed bugs are discovered in public places such as hotels or shopping centers,” Virginia Tech entomologist Dr. Dini Miller recently explained. 

Consumer complacency isn’t the only problem. There is still a fair amount of embarrassment and social stigma associated with bed bugs in many parts of the country that prevents people from getting help when bed bugs invade their home or apartment.  

Despite continuing attempts to educate the public, many people cling to the belief that bed bugs are attracted by poor hygiene or lax housekeeping, classing these insects with fleas, lice and roaches. This is absolutely untrue. The only thing that attracts bed bugs is the human blood on which they feed. Bed bug infestations cross all social, economic and ethnic borders. They are as likely to be found in a Park Avenue penthouse as a homeless shelter.  

New York City and New Jersey residents should remain vigilant. The bed bug threat is real.

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug Resources, Bed Bugs, Pest Control, Pest Eradication, Residential Services

Beware of Bed Bugs in Rented Furniture

Five Ohio families got an unwelcome “bonus gift” when they rented or purchased furniture from a local Rent-A-Center. Furniture rental stores do a brisk business over the holidays when people need extra beds for visiting friends and family members. In hot demand are rollaway beds, cribs, highchairs, booster seats, car seats and other baby paraphernalia that is too bulky to be carried aboard a plane. Rental stores also take advantage of holiday shopping to sell off old or excess stock.

Buying used is a time-honored strategy for keeping expenses down, but the resurgence of bed bugs in the U.S. over the past decade has added an unwelcome element of risk to the practice. The chance of brining home a bed bug-infested couch or bunk beds has made people more circumspect about used furniture.

In most cities today, people are warned not to take home furniture, especially mattresses, placed at the curb for trash pick up and to closely inspect thrift store furniture before purchase. But rental centers can pose an even bigger threat. Furniture that travels from home to home simply stands a better chance of coming into contact with bed bugs. If you happened to rent furniture over the holidays, there’s a chance your home could already be infested.

Don’t start the New Year losing sleep over bed bugs. Call Stern Environmental to schedule fast, discrete bed bug extermination.

Bed Bug Information, Bed Bug Monitoring Device, Bed Bug Monitors, Bed Bug Resources, Bed Bugs, Pest Control

Bed Bug Monitors Offer Best Protection Against Bed Bugs

1 Comment

“An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure,” the old saying goes. While Ben Franklin may not have been thinking specifically about bed bugs when he coined the phrase during America’s colonial past, the advice certainly applies to these annoying, blood-sucking insects. With holiday travel, winter vacations, Valentine’s Day getaways and spring break trips crowding family calendars; your family’s risk of coming into contact with bed bugs goes up. Every hotel room is an opportunity to pick up bed bugs and bring them home.

Bed bug monitors allow you to go on the offensive. A game-changer in America’s war on bed bugs, many hotels, rental properties, NYC co-ops, universities and business owners now rely on bed bug monitors to keep their properties pest-free and minimize bed bug extermination costs. To aid our residential clients, Stern Environmental also carries a full line of bed bug monitors and bed bug prevention and extermination products for home and travel use that have proven to be effective and affordable.

Stern’s bed bug experts also highly recommend bed bug-proof mattress covers and box spring encasements (pillow covers also available) to protect your bedding investment should you ever bring bed bugs home. You don’t have to be a bed bug victim. Stern gives you the tools to fight back and protect yourself and your family from bed bugs!