North East Bed Bug Forum

A New Jersey couple ran into bed bug problems in Hawaii. The couple are now experiencing physiological problems because of the bed bug infestation in paradise.

WAIKIKI (HawaiiNewsNow) – A New Jersey family said their dream vacation in Hawaii was “ruined” by bed bugs. The parasitic insects show up in homes and hotels all over the world, including Waikiki.

The Kallfa family from Glen Rock, New Jersey was staying in the Aston Waikiki Sunset when 19 year old Dennis Kallfa noticed a little bug slowly making its way up his shirt. He killed the bug, woke his parents, and they searched their eighth floor suite.

“We checked the entire room. Saw that there were bed bugs in the mattresses, near the covers, on my mother’s pillow case,” Kallfa told Hawaii News Now.

The Kallfas kept pillow cases with what they believe are stains from bed bug feces. They wrapped dead bed bugs in tissue and kept them as evidence. And they took pictures of bites on Mrs. Kallfa’s back, arms, and legs.

“It’s a psychological thing. We’ve all been itching. We’ve been looking through our suitcases, looking through our clothes. We don’t know if we’re going to be taking bed bugs home with us,” said 23 year old Evi Kallfa.

Once the Kallfa family notified the hotel of the bugs they were moved from the eighth floor to the 23rd floor. And the next day Aston gave them a suite closer to the beach in the Aston Waikiki Beach Tower for the rest of their vacation.

“We were satisfied for the moment that we might not be feasted on by bed bugs every night,” Dennis Kallfa said.

The general manager at the Waikiki Sunset was out of state on business and unavailable for comment. Hotel personnel told us they comped the Kallfas entire 14 night stay. The Kallfas said they got $3,700 back, but that is still not enough to compensate them for sleeping with bed bugs.

“I’m having anxiety attacks every time I think about it. My mother keeps waking up. My father keeps waking up in the middle of the night. It’s definitely not enough for the fact that the majority of our vacation was ruined,” Evi Kallfa said.

Hawaii News Now has done stories in the past about bed bugs in other places including a restaurant. It is possible the bugs hitched a ride with the Kallfas or some other guest back to their room.

This may be an isolated incident. There is nothing to indicate there is a wide spread problem at the Waikiki Sunset.

In 2010 a professional exterminator told Hawaii News Now his company was responding to three or four bed bug infestations a week on Oahu. It is important to note, these were not just hotels but also homes and other businesses.

Diatomaceous earth also known as diatomite, DE, or kieselgur, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that is easily crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. Diatomaceous earth is a very effective way to kill bed bugs, although it will not kill the bed bug infestation in it’s entirety, it can alleviate the problem until you can get a bed bug inspection company and pest control agent to the origin of bed bug infestation.  Diatomaceous earth has a particle size ranging from less than 1 micrometre to more than 1 millimetre, but typically 10 to 200 micrometres. This powder has an abrasive feel, similar to pumice powder, and is very light, due to its high porosity. The typical chemical composition of oven dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.

Diatomaceous earth consists of fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It is used as a filtration aid, mild abrasive, mechanical insecticide,[2] absorbent for liquids, cat litter, activator in blood clotting studies, and a stabilizing component of dynamite. As it is also heat-resistant, it can be used as a thermal insulator.

It is not reasonable to take a bag of diatomaceous earth and spread it through out the house like you were spreading carpet freshener.  The main advantage in using diatomaceous earth to alleviate a bed bug problem is to spread it around your bed as a barrier.  This may not work though if the bed bugs are already in your bed.

Your best bet if you think you have bed bugs is to call a bed bug inspection company to find out for sure and then proceed with a pest control agent that specializes in bed bug infestations.

With back to school shopping getting underway a lot of parents are adding bed bug protective mattress encasement’s to their list.  When looking for a bed bug mattress encasement there are some things to take into mind.  Make sure you get a good quality mattress encasement that will surround the whole bed, one that is made of durable material, and has a zipper with fine teeth that bed bugs can not escape out of.

Regular mattress covers don’t fully encompass the bed, as a rule, which makes them less than effective for bed bug problems. If the abed bugs are not fully sealed in, these parasites will simply move around the mattress cover and come at you from on top of it. This type of mattress cover can keep you reasonably safe from bites at a hotel, assuming you only stay one night.

Another problem is what kind of fabric they’re made of. Bed bugs have strong sharp mandibles or teeth, and they have absolutely no difficulty biting through skin. Because of this, you’re going to need a mattress cover from a very thick fabric. The fabric in these bed bug  mattress encasement’s also needs to be tightly knit. If it isn’t both of these, the bedbugs will just bite through the fabric and bite you anyway.

Proper bed bug mattress encasement’s are specially designed to work around both of these problems. First, they’re designed so that they completely cover the mattress and, usually, the box springs as well. They zipper shut and create a sealed environment. No bed bugs getting, no humans being made into a tasty cocktail.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – As your child heads off to college, a national retailer wants to make sure he’s protected from little critters.

Head into any Bed Bath and Beyond store and you’ll see parents and students wandering the aisles grabbing items found on a list of suggested things needed for your college dorm, such as lamps, storage boxes and items needed to protect against bed bugs.

Angel Varricchio, the store’s district customer service trainer says start with a mattress protector, “Typically you think of a mattress protector to protect a new mattress, in this instance we want to protect you from the mattress that you’re sleeping on.”

She say adding layers between that used mattress and you is ideal, “It is going to protect you from bed bugs and other allergens as well. It’s not a new mattress, so just a barrier between you and other people who have used it before.”

So top the protector with a mattress pad and top that off with a mattress enhancer for comfort.

When buying a bed bug mattress encasement during your back to school shopping or anytime for that matter make sure it encases the whole mattress and box spring, is made of durable material, and has a small enough zipper that the bed bugs can not escape out of.  You may also want to take duct tape and tape around the zipper seams for added protection.

Bed Bug Management Practices

Managing a bed bug infestation is a difficult task that requires removal or treatment of all infested material and follow-up monitoring to ensure the infestation has been eliminated and does not return. Management will require employing several nonchemical methods such as vacuuming, washing bedding at a high temperature, using steam or heat treatment, and sealing up hiding places.

Insecticides may be required to eliminate serious infestations; however few active ingredients are federally registered for bed bugs for over-the-counter use. At the professional control level, there are more registered products; however, resistance among bed bug populations is common, and low-level infestations are difficult to detect. There has been some success combining chemical and nonchemical products with increased sanitation and habitat modification.

Monitoring and Detection. You can detect a bed bug infestation by searching for the pests or their fecal spots, egg cases, and shed skins (exuviae). Current research reports more than 85% of bed bugs are found in or near the bed, so inspections for infestations should focus on the mattress, bed frame, and headboard areas. Lift the mattress and inspect all seams and surfaces as well as the box springs. You may need to dismantle the bed. Use a flashlight to aid the inspection process.

Remember, these nocturnal insects are small. Although you can see adults and aggregations of nymphs with the unaided eye, seeing the eggs requires a hand-magnifying lens. It may be easier to detect dark spots of dried bed bug excrement or the insects’ light-colored shed skins. A foul, rotting, bloody-meat smell might be present in heavily infested areas.

In addition to the bed area, the remaining 15% of infestations usually are in upholstered furniture other than beds, in bedroom cabinets, along baseboards, under wallpaper, and in carpets, wall hangings and similar hiding spots. Bed bugs prefer fabric or wood surfaces to metal or plastic. For heavy infestations, adjoining rooms, filing areas, and clutter can be out-of-way shelters. It takes patience and perseverance to find low-level infestations of such a persistent, nagging problem.

A new university study indicates an airborne aggregation pheromone, a behavior-modifying chemical, might help control infestation levels. With this new research, hopefully traps attractive to bed bugs soon will be commercially available.

Prevention. People usually bring bed bugs into their homes, in luggage or on clothes, after visiting an infested dwelling or hotel. If you travel frequently, watch for signs of bed bugs in your hotel room by checking under sheets and inspecting mattresses, especially if you have been bitten. If you suspect bed bugs, check your luggage before leaving and wash all your clothes as soon as you get home.

You also can bring bed bugs into your home on bedding or furniture. If you purchase second-hand furniture, especially beds or mattresses, thoroughly inspect the item before bringing it into your home. If you remove infested mattresses or furniture from your home, do not leave it on the curb or porch. Take it immediately to the dump.

Managers of hotels, furnished apartments, dormitories, homeless shelters, and other facilities that house transient populations need to train staff to recognize signs of bed bug activity and take action as soon as they find an infestation. One proactive step a manager can take is to regularly replace beds, mattress, and bedding materials. Frequent laundering of bedding and placing items that could be infested in walk-in freezers during tenant change and turnover can help prevent the spread of bed bugs.

It is much easier to control a population when the infestation is small. Keep clutter down, so it is easier to inspect and bed bugs have fewer hiding places. Also, seal up cracks, crevices, and holes in bedding or furniture and other potential hiding sites.

Non-chemical Management. In addition to preventing the introduction of bed bugs, a number of other nonchemical control methods can help manage this pest. These methods are directed at killing or removing bugs or restricting access to beds or bedding materials.

You can remove bed bugs and eggs with the suction wand of a strong vacuum; however, you must target the vacuum on the seams of mattresses and box springs, along perimeters of carpets, under baseboards, and in other areas where bed bugs live. A single vacuuming rarely gets all bugs and eggs and, therefore, should be repeated. Portable steam cleaners can also be used to clean mattresses and furniture.

Commercial heating services are available to treat entire rooms in homes for bed bug infestations. The current label use for commercial heating services is 140°F for two hours or 130°F for three hours, which will kill most bed bugs and eggs. In California, providers of heat services must be licensed and bonded by the Structural Pest Control Board when treating for wood destroying pests. Chilling to a temperature of 32°F or lower and maintaining this temperature for several days also will kill bed bugs.

For suspected infestations in clothing or bedding, a home laundry drier is very good at killing bed bugs; only 10 to 15 minutes exposure is needed.

Mattress encasements specifically designed to keep out bed bugs are commercially available. Encasements are particularly useful for hotels or other facilities with many beds; however, their effectiveness at excluding bed bugs has not been thoroughly researched. In many cases, the best approach may be to throw out the mattress, clean the area thoroughly, and install a new mattress—with or without an encasement.

Other management practices include sealing up hiding places such as cracks and crevices in walls and around windows and doors where bed bugs can hide. As a temporary measure, you can exclude bed bugs from clean beds by coating bed legs with petroleum jelly or placing them inside glass jars or metal cans, which are too slippery for bed bugs to climb.

Insecticides. Insecticides alone won’t control bed bug infestations. Their use must be combined with a program of removing and cleaning infested beds, bedding, and other harborage sites then following up with a regular detection program to ensure treatment was effective.

The most effective bed bug pesticides are available to commercial pesticide applicators only. Professionals also have the equipment and expertise that allow a more effective application of insecticides than residents could do themselves. In addition, professionals have the training to detect and isolate infestations, which often allows for more effective control.

Insecticides may be applied as liquids directly to cracks, crevices, bed frames, baseboards, or similar sites, or they may be applied as dusts in cracks and crevices. Pesticides generally are not applied to mattresses or bedding because of risk to people.

Liquid insecticide formulations include:

Products containing the botanical insecticide pyrethrin, which gives quick knockdown but little long-term control;
Various synthetic pyrethroid products (cyhalothrin, bifenthrin, deltamethrin, and permethrin); and
Newer types of products including the pyrrole insecticide chlorfenapyr (Phantom) and the insect growth regulator hydroprene (Gentrol), which cause sterility in adults.

There is growing interest in the last two products, because some bed bug populations have developed resistance to pyrethroid insecticides and no longer can be effectively controlled by them. However, both newer products take up to several days to be effective.

Insecticides applied as dusts cling to the pest’s cuticle, wearing away the insect’s protective wax covering or poisoning the insect when it grooms itself. Several dust products used in bed bug management include boric acid, diatomaceous earth, fumed silica, and formulations of pyrethroids. These materials can provide long-term control as part of an integrated program if they are placed in out of-the-way places—such as under baseboards or in wall voids—that don’t get wet.

Do-It-Yourself Treatments. Although over-the-counter pesticide products that have “bed bug control” written on the label can be found on store shelves, they generally are not recommended. Performance of these products under actual field conditions is not known. If you need to use a pesticide, you are better off hiring a licensed, professional pesticide applicator with experience in treating bed bugs (see Pest Notes: Hiring A Pest Control Company listed in the References).

Residents do have an important role to play when their homes are infested with bed bugs. Once professional treatment has occurred, you should continue to monitor for bed bugs daily. Also, keep down clutter and vacuum previously infested areas regularly.