Although it has never been proven that bed bugs can transmit infectious pathogens, their bites can impact people’s quality of life, especially in sensitive people and people who have had bad experiences with them in the past. These individuals usually feel overwhelmed, violated, and anxious. Subsequently, they develop sleeplessness, anxiety, delusions, panic or even depression. This usually leads to social consequences, such as isolation and loneliness as they are afraid of being spreading bed bugs all over the places, especially to the beloved ones.

In order to solve this issue, let’s first understand how bed bugs spread and then explain how to avoid transporting bed bugs from one place to another.

Active dispersal: Bed bugs (especially the females) travel from one room to another or from one apartment to another via common walls and ceilings, pipes, telephone, cable wires, doorways, etc. A research study has shown that 53% of apartments adjacent to infested apartments also may be infested (Wang et.al., 2010).

Passive dispersal: As you may know, bed bugs are skilled hitchhikers. They can easily spread via infested mattress, box springs, furniture, guests, family members or people luggage, suitcases or clothes. They also can be set loose in a hallway after dropping off an item being discarded.

Bed bugs don’t jump or fly, but they can crawl very fast and may hide easily in loose garments, shoes, etc. Therefore, people living with a bed bug infestation history are urged to practice caution prior to traveling or visiting to avoid transporting bed bugs from one place to another. In order to do so, here are some suggestions:

1. Carefully inspect your suitcase using a flashlight, magnifying glass and business card or nail file in cracks, crevices and seams. If in doubt, place it in commercial hot dryer at temperature of =120°F for 1-2 hours or place in a freezer for two to three weeks prior to use, as applicable. Read the item’s label before treatment as heat may damage it. Another solution is to buy a new suitcase. Immediately after heat treatment or purchase, place your suitcase in double plastic bags and seal tightly until needed.

2. Repeat above instructions for your clothing and personal belonging, including, clothing, jackets, socks and shoes. Similar to above, these items can be heat treated (in dryer), placed in large plastic bags, tightly sealed and then placed in the heat-treated/new or thoroughly inspected suitcase.

3. If you are worried that you have bed bugs in your vehicle, contact your pest management professional to perform a thorough inspection. In addition, bed bugs can be easily detected using a certified K-9 bed bug detection dog that can detect live bed bugs and viable eggs. If bed bugs are found, your vehicle can be treated with chemical or heat.

4. Keep bed bug “prevention kit” in your vehicle to be used as needed. This includes disposable plastic bags that can be sealed for transporting clothing and other items, spray bottle containing a 70% -90% solution of isopropyl alcohol, wet wipes, flashlight, change of heat-treated clothes/new and shoes that have been stored in sealed bag. These items should be carefully stored inside a clear, airtight plastic tote box.

5. Before leaving your home, wear simple, light colored heat treated/new clothing, socks and shoes (it makes it easy to see bed bugs).

6. Take only those items that are necessary for the visit into the home.

7. Store personal items securely in your vehicle.

8. Immediately before entering someone’s home, perform a self-inspection for any bed bug life stages, including eggs. Pay attention to inside and outside of shoes, lace holes, socks, pant legs, leg area and around hands and arms. If live bed bugs are observed, spray isopropyl alcohol directly on the bed bugs and use a “wet wipe” to capture/remove the bug. Solution of isopropyl alcohol will kill bed bugs (Harrison and Lawrence, 2009) and sanitize the area, but there is no residue, so efficacy is based on thoroughness of application. Be extremely careful, rubbing alcohol, and alcohol based hand sanitizers are flammable and a fire risk.

9. Enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you’re fully bed bug free as you travel.

When you are ready, consider hiring pest management professional to eliminate your bed bug infestation, call Adam’s today for a FREE estimate, for inspection, K-9 inspection, chemical treatment, and/or heat treatment, which can eliminate hard infestations in a day.

Adam’s Pest Control, Inc.

Mosquitoes are not only nuisance insects when buzzing around people’s ears, but also when causing allergic reactions and transmitting disease-causing pathogens via their bites. In order to manage these unwelcome bloodsuckers in and around homes or farms, it is recommended to apply a thorough inspection to determine where to treat first, and then to choose the product and treatment method best suited for your situation. As you may know, mosquito management products are designed for treating different types of areas; therefore, the selected treatment option should be based on the understating of why, where, when and how to treat for mosquitoes.  It is important to know that there are nuisance mosquito control programs, which are usually done by pest management companies. And vector mosquito control programs, which are done by government agents. Anyhow, both programs can co-exist and be mutually beneficial. Here, I will mention three mosquito applications commonly used by the pest control industry. 

1. Applications of larvacides. If properly conducted, this method can be effective and pose minimal risk to people and the environments. Larvacides are usually applied to water surfaces where mosquitoes are breeding. They will eliminate the mosquito larvae as they develop.

2. Applications of adulticides. EPA approved residual insecticides can be used to treat mosquito’s resting and landing areas. Depending on the product’s label instructions, repeated applications may be needed, as the residual effects of the insecticides will last only for a maximum of one week or less, especially after rains. However, this treatment option is best suited to provide short-term relief from the mosquito bites for a special outdoor party or event. Residual insecticides can be applied with standard pump sprayers for small areas or with power sprayers for large areas. To maximize your success of reducing mosquitoes, treat around landscape plants, turf and ground cover, under decks, around windows and doors, to exterior siding, around building foundations, grass areas adjacent to or around a structure, and other places where mosquitoes may rest/hide, such as shrubs, tree canopies, hedges, dense vegetation, exterior walls, under decks, porches and other shady areas that aren’t receiving direct sunlight. The residual effects of these materials will kill mosquitoes as they enter and land on treated surfaces.

3. Space Treatment: This option uses special products that can be applied via fogging or misting machines. In order to achieve quick knockdown, immediate and complete management of mosquito populations, space treatments should be done when mosquitoes are most active around sunset or sunrise. Besides the notice of application, it is important to make sure that none target organisms, such as, humans or pets will not be exposed directly to the pesticide during fogging or misting. Additionally, it is unfavorable to treat for mosquitoes when the wind speed is more than 10 mph, during hot weather or when it rains.

Finally, remember that mosquito management requires an understanding of the mosquito habits as well as the familiarity with product label instructions and safety procedures.

Ticks are known by their bites, which normally trigger itchy skin irritations for sensitive people. Severe infestations on animals can cause anemia, weight loss, and even death, especially when large quantities of blood are consumed. Anyhow, what makes the tick bites important is that ticks are second to mosquitoes as vectors of a large range of disease-causing pathogens of domestic animals and humans.

There are 867 tick species in the world. About 80 species are found in the USA and 13 of them are currently spread in Minnesota. However, only 10% of the tick species are known as disease vectors. Other tick species are simply considered a nuisance due to their bites. In North America, the pathogens associated with the following diseases can be transmitted by tick bites: Lyme disease, human granulocytic and monocytic ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, relapsing fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia, Query fever, and tick paralysis.

Black-legged (deer) ticks, American dog ticks, and brown dog ticks are the most likely tick species known to be encountered by people. There are three major disease-causing organisms transmitted through the bite of an infected deer tick. These are Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. The American dog tick is responsible for transmitting Rickettsia rickettsii, which causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. It can also transmit tularemia. Brown dog ticks are not known to transmit diseases to humans, but may transmit disease among dogs.

To avoid tick bites, it is important to be prepared before it is too late. Like mosquito and other insects, the onset of the tick’s season is temperature dependent issue, the warmer the spring temperature, the faster insect pests can develop. Therefore, if you live in known tick infested areas, watch the weather and be prepared for these bloodsuckers. For example, adults of deer ticks can emerge in patchy snow at temperature of 40°F and more. Early in the spring and in the fall, call your  pest management professional (PMP) to apply an EPA tick approved pesticide around the perimeter of your house as well as to all tick habitats, especially where the lawn and wooded area meets. In addition, do the following recommendations:

• Check your pet for the presence of ticks.
  Immediately remove ticks from pets and humans as soon as they are noticed. Ticks should be grasped with tweezers at the point where their mouthparts enter the skin and pulled straight out with firm pressure.
• When entering tick-infested areas, keep clothing buttoned, shirts inside pants, and pants tucked inside boots.
• Do not sit on the ground or brush against any vegetation, especially in bushy areas.
• During tick season, use tick repellents, such as DEET or Duranon (0.5% permethrin) to lightly cover exposed skin and clothing. Read the product’s label for instructions. Never apply repellents to cuts, wounds, or inflamed and irritated skin. Do not over treat (saturate) the skin or apply beneath clothing.
• It is important to treat your pets for ticks. There are a variety of commercially available products for you to use on your pets. Be extremely careful not to allow chemicals to get into the eyes, nose, or mouth of the pet. See your veterinarian for proper products and recommendations.
• Keep your lawn mowed and thin vegetation around your house.

Although mosquitoes and ticks have different habits and behaviors, the establishment of mosquito misting system with misting nozzles discreetly placed around your house, lawn and places where mosquitoes or ticks are commonly encountered can help in reducing the pressure of these bothersome pests.

Although experts do not believe that bed bugs can transmit infectious pathogens, it is
possible. They have been found to carry up to 40 human pathogens; fortunately, there
are little evidences that transmission has ever happened. The recent article conducted
by Canadian researchers has linked MRSA to bed bug bites. MRSA is a bacterium
responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. This article assumes that
bed bugs are a potential reservoir of this disease and their bites may make people
vulnerable to infection by MRSA bacteria present in their environment. By reading the
findings from this research work, I did not see any legitimacy to this claim, as it is still a
theory at this point. In addition, besides the bed bugs and their bites, MRSA bacteria can
enter a body through a compromised skin, such as cut, wounds, etc. when hosts are
present in setting with frequent skin-to-skin contact as well as contaminated items and
surfaces.

The relationship between bed bugs and MRSA cannot be fully known until a viable
theory is proven via a large scale of committed researches from reliable research settings,
I recommend that we should be extra vigilant when dealing with bed bugs, especially in
lack of cleanliness environments (where MRSA bacteria thrive); nevertheless, I still
convinced that there is no relationship between bed bug infestation and the sanitary
conditions of the infested location. I also recommend adopting proactive bed bug
prevention methods to avoid transporting bed bugs from one area into another. Some
people tend to buy toxic pesticides and bug fogger to deal with bed bug in their
premieres. This of unprofessional control methods will eventually lead to negative
consequences that could be as worse as MRSA or any other infectious pathogens.  Bed
bugs can be professionally battled though effective management means, such as heat
treatment “the use of lethal temperature limits to destroy all life stages of bed bugs”, as
well as a compensation of proven chemical and non-chemical approaches applied by
certified pest management professionals.

Finally, as I usually say, deal with bed bugs by education.

Technical and Training Director

ADAM’S Pest Control, Inc.

The first step in fighting bed bugs is to find reliable sources of information to educate people about what the bed bugs look like, including all types of life stages, and how they spread from one area to another. Seeking the EPA to grant the use of Propoxur pesticide to treat bed bugs is not a proper solution. Because bed bugs can develop resistance to any presides, including Propoxur if it is used extensively over a long period in and around structures, especially without a practical rotation of other bed bug approved pesticides that have various active ingredients and mode of actions. As you may know, the first reports of bed bug resistance to DDT were made by 1948, especially when DDT had failed to control bed bugs in military barracks in Hawaii. By 1956, NPCA (currently known as NPMA) began to recommend Malathion rather than DDT. Recently, ROMERO ET AL (2007) have indicated in their research that resistance to pyrethroid insecticides (a group of pesticides commonly used in the structural pest control industry) is already widespread in the US.

It seems to me that many people tend to ignore or maybe fail to know why we have a huge resurgence of bed bugs. So far, what we know about the origin of bed bug outbreak is based only on guessing and not on actual reasons and facts. The Internet is packed with wrong information, which lead people off target. Anyhow, let’s find out why and how the bed bugs have made the huge comeback, so we can be better prepared.

Additionally, people should know that foggers or insecticide bombs don’t work on bed bugs. They have been shown to be fire hazards, as well as they can accidentally set off fire sprinklers. Bed bugs are resilient pests, for this reason, their management should require the employment of both chemical and non-chemical (i.e., heat treatment) pest management tactics, especially if all non-chemical methods prove insufficient to solve a bed bug problem

To conclude, battling bed bugs should be a collaborative task force between government, public and stockholders. The application of pesticides alone is not the ultimate solution to bed bug problem; instead, the integrated pest management (IPM) tactics should be carefully discussed and implemented.

By Dr. Mohammed El Damir

Technical and Training Director

ADAM’S Pest Control, Inc.

The common human bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) are bloodsucking insects of the family Cimicidae. This family includes the common human bed bugs (C. lectularius), tropical bed bugs (C. hemipterus (F.)), bat bugs (C. adjunctus Barber), swallow bugs (Oeciacus vicarious), Mexican chicken bug (Haematosiphon inodorus), andother insects with no reported common names (Usinger, 1966). Henry and Froeschner (1988) have reported that there are 92 species of Cimicidae in the world and about 16 species in the continental U.S. and Canada.

Due to the sudden, overwhelming and obnoxious resurgence of the common bed bugs in all kinds of residences, schools, medical centers, theaters, and retail stores, a great attention has been given to these troublesome pests in literature and media. Anyhow, little is known about bed bug relatives, because they are less frequently encountered in buildings. Additionally, they have never been proven that they can transmit any infectious pathogenic organisms to humans and pets. But, a few bed bug related species might also be exceedingly encountered in or around buildings; thus, inexperienced individuals may mistake them for the bed bugs. This will eventually lead to a treatment failure.

Since a successful remediation plan always starts with a proper identification of the pest, I would like to shed some light on a few Cimicidae species, which may have a special importance to the pest management professional. First, there are common features that all Cimicidae have. All Cimicidae species cannot jump or fly, but they can move and spread by crawling or hitchhiking. They are temporary, obligatory hematophagous ectoparasites, meaning that they are external blood feeders and do not live on their hosts. Besides, they have piercingand sucking mouthparts that they use to obtain blood meals from warm-blooded creatures, such as humans, birds, bats, dogs, cats, etc. During feeding, they inject anesthetic and anticoagulant substances responsible for leaving the host unaware of their presence and preventing blood from clotting. When they are fully engorged with blood, they hide in cracks, crevices and folded places near hosts between meals.

As aforementioned, a correct identification of bed bugs and their related species is critical for finding the proper treatment option. In this article, I will be discussing identification features of common bed bugs and four other related species.

Common Bed Bugs

The common bed bugs are about 3/16-1/4 inch long, oval and reddish-brown in color. Nymphs are nearly colorless when hatched, becoming brownish as they mature. Females lay white, sticky, pear-shaped, approximately 1/32-inch long eggs in concealed areas, such as any crack, crevice or void in mattresses, box springs, furniture, wall, ceiling, behind baseboards, etc. With no trouble, they can get a ride on luggage, clothing, beds, furniture, or other items, and relocate to a new home. They are nocturnal, but still, they can feed and can be seen during the day, especially in heavily infested areas.

Bed bugs are resilient pests. They can hide in tough places around people’s sleeping areas and can easily spread from one area to another on clothing or through common walls, ceilings and entry doors. Additionally, they have developed a resistance to pyrethroid insecticides (a group of pesticides commonly used in the structural pest control industry). Therefore, eliminating of all bed bug life stages, including eggs (the most resilient stage) can sometimes be a challenge in certain places. They may require the implement of both non-chemical pest management tactics, such as heat treatment and the use of chemical control methods. If chemical control option is needed, all bed bug hiding places must be carefully identified by your Pest Management Professional (PMP) and treated. The use of various approved liquid treatments on surfaces and dusts in void areas should be thoroughly and carefully implemented.

Tropical Bed Bugs

Tropical bed bugs also are associated with humans in tropical regions. To the naked eye, common and tropical bed bugs may look nearly identical. But under magnification, the key feature to differentiate the two species is that the pronotum (the upper surface of the front segment of the thorax of an insect) of the common bed bug is more expanded laterally and the extreme margins are more flattened than that of the tropical bed bug. The width of pronotum is two times the length at midline.

Bat Bugs

Bat bugs and bed bugs look identical to the naked eye. However, under a stereoscope (magnification between 20x and 50x), one distinguishing feature is that the fringe hairs on the pronotum (the upper covering of the thorax) of the bat bug are as long or longer than the width of the eye, but are shorter in the bed bug.  The primary hosts of bat bugs are a variety of bat species, especially the big and little brown bats, which roost in colonies, but they can feed on warm-blooded animals, including humans in the absence of bats. Bat bugs are often encountered inside a structure when bats are established in attics, wall voids, unused chimneys, or any uninhabited places of the building. Typically, bat bugs are found in cracks and crevices in bat roosting areas. But, if the primary hosts (bats) leave the nesting area, die or are eliminated, bat bugs start moving inside a structure within 1-4 weeks to feed on alternative hosts. These include birds, rodents, and humans. Once in the structure and having found a host on which to live, bat bugs will become established the same way as bed bugs. Additionally, they will spread the same way as bed bugs.

To control bat bugs, bats must be excluded from access into the buildings and nests must be removed. Once the external source of bat and bird bugs has been removed, control inside the building is the same as for bed bugs.

However, the frequency of bat bug infestations in structures is very low as opposed to bed bug infestations.

Swallow Bugs

Swallow bugs feed primarily on cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonotaVieillot). These birds nest in colonies and their nests can be occupied year round by swallow bugs. They are about 1/8 inch long. The defining characteristics of swallow bugs include their middle coxae (singular coax; the first segment of the leg of an insect or other arthropod, joining the leg to the body), which are wildly spread, the beak does not reach the second coax, as well as the third and fourth antennal segments are equal in length. Like bat bugs, swallow bugs may feed on humans and their pets as suitable alternatives when they nest around buildings and the host birds migrate or the nesting site becomes overpopulated. They also can move to other nests while attached to a host. Similar to bed bugs, they do not lash on their host and will fall off during a long migration flight.

Treatment of swallow bugs is similar to that for bat bugs. 

Mexican Chicken Bug 

Mexican chicken bug, (sometimes called poultry bug) is a bloodsucking ectoparasite of a various species of birds, such as chickens, turkeys, golden eagles, red-tailed hawk, etc. The major characteristic to separate the Mexican chicken bug from other cimicidae species is that the middle coxae are nearly touching and the beak is reaching the second coax. Although this species is found in cracks and crevices in poultry houses, it is relatively uncommon inside homes where people live, unless occasionally in special situations when their primary hosts are removed or when humans get in touch with them as they try to protect the birds from these bugs.

Treatment of Mexican chicken bugs is similar to that for bat bugs.

In conclusion, before treatment, make sure that the bug is correctly identified. Manage to collect the bug specimen intact, and have a specialist correctly identify it. This will save time, effort and money. As we always say, it all starts with the bug. Be aware that bed bugs are resilient pests, for this reason, their management may require the utilization of both non-chemical (i.e., heat treatment) and chemical pest management tactics.

Usual Resources 

Henry TJ, Froeschner RC (eds.). 1988. Catalog of the Heteroptera, or True Bugs, of Canada and the Continental United States. E. J. Brill, New York. 958 p.

Usinger, R. L. 1966. Monograph of Cimicidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera). College Park, Maryland: Entomological Society of America. i-xi, 1-585 p.

As you may know, bed bug infestations are challenging people in all kinds of residences. Besides, sucking blood from their victims, they leave unsightly fecal matters and shed skins in bed associated parts, cracks, crevices, voids, folded places, as well as in every imaginable places of their hidden spaces. Furthermore, they are known to cause extreme anxiety to vulnerable individuals by turning their lives into nightmares.

Due to the cryptic nature of bed bugs, many people have become paranoid and afraid of bed bugs to the extent that they are experienced anxiety and a poor quality of life. This leads to the development of unnecessary phobia, which makes them spend lots of money on unneeded measures. Sometimes people buy unproven pesticides, especially via the Internet and treat their mattresses and beds assuming that this action will eliminate bed bugs for good and at all. Guess what is going to happen. Well, they will develop allergic rashes from exposure to pesticide/ chemicals, which they will blame it on the bed bugs. However, do not panic, but do not chill out either. The best way to manage bed bugs is by education. Learn from credible resources about these bloodsuckers. Try to know what bed bugs look like (all life stages), their behaviors, habits and biology. Be informed that not every bite is related to bed bugs, other bugs, such as fleas, ticks, spiders, etc may also bite humans or their pets. Additionally, food allergic reactions can be also mistaken for bed bug bites. Still, never ignore any bite. Remember, the sooner you deal with bed bugs the better off overall bed bug control would be.

One of the major concerns of bed bug infestations is their capability to spread. As you may have heard, bed bugs are skilled hitchhikes on clothing, furniture, suitcases, seats of public transportation means, etc. Again, knowing about bed bugs and their habits will minimize the risk of their spread from one area to another, which is key to a successful bed bug management/eradication.

Finally, bed bugs are resilient pests, for this reason, their management may require the employment of both non-chemical (such as heat treatment) and chemical pest management tactics, especially if all non-chemical methods prove insufficient to solve a bed bug problem. Follow up treatment evaluation is highly recommended to ensure that the bed bugs have been eliminated. Be alert by raising awareness via means of education on prevention of bed bugs.

Bed bugs are everywhere in the news and consumers are looking for solutions. They’re searching the internet for that magic bullet. Of course the internet is full of answers, but doesn’t distinguish between good and bad choices. The bed bug pandemic is a perfect opportunity for scam artists to take advantage of people who are desperate for help. So keep these tips in mind for when you can’t sleep tight.

• Ordering pesticides off the internet is a bad idea. DON’T DO IT!
• You have no way of knowing what you are really buying.
• Pesticides banned in the US are often still available in other countries.
• Sellers may intentionally misrepresent their products as bed bug solutions, when in fact; they are worthless in controlling bed bugs.
• Some products should not be used indoors or around people or pets.
• At one time, DDT was effective at killing bed bugs, but now DDT is ineffective against many of the current bed bug strains.
• Most insecticides are not effective at killing bed bugs, or they kill bed bugs very slowly.

If you do choose to try an over-the-counter pesticide for bed bugs, or any other insect, please remember…the label is the law and the label matters. The label is there to ensure your health and safety.

• If the product is not labeled for bed bugs or not labeled for the treatment area, do not use it. Doing so puts people and pests at risk.
• Over-application or misapplications are real problems. Follow the label exactly. More is not always better.

There are safe and effective ways to eliminate bed bugs. We encourage you to contact a pest management professional in your area who will outline all the options available to you: heat, steam, freezing, dusts, aerosols, and monitors.

When choosing a pest management professional you should ask the following….

• Are they licensed and insured?
• Have they been in business at least 5 years?
• Are they members of an accredited association such as the National Pest Management Association?
• Do they do background checks on their employees?
• Do they have any guarantees?

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at ADAM’S Pest Control, Inc. by calling 800-227-2214, emailing us at sales@adamspestcontrol.com, or visit our website at www.adamspestcontrol.com.

Schools are considered sensitive locations where employees and students have no tolerance to pesticides or their residues. Therefore, the trend of adopting the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for dealing with unwanted pests at schools is widely experienced throughout North America.
First, let’s make sure to recognize that pesticides are powerful tools for managing pests. But, the careless use of pesticides could create health and environmental concerns. In order to reduce the risk of pesticide drift and exposure, pesticides need to be applied carefully according to label directions and in a way to minimize the risk to non-target organisms and the environment. The integrated pest management (IPM) program is the best long-term solution to reduce the hazards associated with pesticide use. Simply, an IPM strategy is an ecological-based strategy that maximizes the use of non-chemical pest management tactics and reduces the use of chemical options. IPM mainly uses multiple practical methods to remove or reduce all of food, water and shelter sources available to pests. These methods may integrate preventive measures such as sanitation, exclusion and habitat modification followed by (if needed) physical remediation methods such as mechanical removal or destruction of the pest. If above methods alone prove insufficient to solve a pest problem, the IPM program will eventually evolve to meet those challenges by using other pest remediation tactics, including the judicious use of pesticides.
The goal of the IPM in schools is to reduce the students and staff exposures to pesticides, as well as to provide pest free environments. However, in order to achieve this goal, the following IPM school principles need to be carried out:
1. Apply inspection and monitoring practices in a regular bases.
2. Implement non-chemical methods as front-line solutions. These include, but are not limited to, prevention methods (i.e., sanitation, exclusion, pest habitat’s removal/modification) and physical pest management approaches (i.e., vacuuming, heat treatment, moisture removal).
3. Only as a last resort, use selective least toxic pesticides that cause low risks to human health and have no or minimal impact on the indoor and outdoor environments.
4. Provide ongoing education and training programs for staff and students. These seminars should comprise various aspects of IPM, especially on pest sighting procedures, good sanitation hygiene, and exclusion tactics.
5. Establish a well-developed communication system between the school pest management personnel and the pest management professional (PMP).
6. Always provide posting notice before treatment.
7. Establish a well-maintained Record-keeping system that includes inspection reports, pest-sighting logs, pesticide usage reports, etc). This information is important not only to justify budget requests for pest management services, tools and materials, but also to enable the school’s pest management in charge and the PMP to expect conditions that prompt pest problems and thus prevent them from occurring or manage them before they become problems.
More information can be found at the following links
Suggested links
http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/ipm/
http://schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/Florida/Links.htm
http://www.ipminstitute.org/school_directory.htm

In order to understand what an allergy is, first, let’s define it. An allergen is anything that can trigger the immune system of people or animals and cause allergic reactions - “the hypersensitive response of the immune system of an allergic individual to a substance.”

Where do allergies come from? Allergens are found everywhere, in sanitation, food, or medical products we use; however, allergens can be found in different sources including:

· Microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, and fungi [mold])

· Animal (cats - fur and dander; cockroach - feces, saliva, egg cases and cast skins; dust mite - feces and chitin; bed bugs; anticoagulant substances; and, wasp, fire ant and bee venoms)

· Chemicals (chlorine)

· Drugs (penicillin, sulfonamides, salicylates and local anesthetics)

· Foods (milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish)

· Plants (poison ivy, poison sumac or poison oak)

· Pollens and smokes

Allergic Reactions

The severity of allergic reactions ranges from mild to life threatening, depending on the type of allergens, individual’s sensitivity, level of exposure, and the route of entry. Type one allergic reactions (immediate-type allergic reactions) are easy to be detected since allergic reactions are occurring within a few minutes to four hours. Whereas, in type two allergic reactions (delayed-type allergic reactions) reaction symptoms are occurring within more than four hours and up to few weeks after contacting the allergens, making them hard to be detected and immediately treated. People react differently to an allergen i.e., bed bugs feed on warm-blooded animals, they secret anticoagulant substances (allergens) while feeding to prevent blood from clotting. These substances provoke allergic reactions such as reddish, irritated, itchy skin marks for moderate sensitive individuals and occasionally blisters and necrotic spots of the skin for severe sensitive people; some people do not react to bed bug bites at all. However, an extreme allergic reaction, called “anaphylaxis”, can kill sensitive people within a few minutes. Annually in the United States, “40-100 people die because of insect stings and over 400 people die from allergic reactions to penicillin.” The frequency and duration of exposure to some allergens trigger the development of allergy-related illnesses; i.e., frequent contact with cockroach allergens (feces, saliva, egg cases and cast skins) trigger asthma symptoms especially among children - “one in five children in the United States is allergic to cockroach allergens.” Route of allergic reactions can be through ingestion (milk, peanuts, soy, etc), inhalation (pollen, perfume or cat dander), direct contact with an allergy-causing plant (poison ivy) or insect stings and bites.

A routine part of PMP jobs involve removing some allergens that can provoke allergic reactions to some people, such as eliminating stinging, and biting insects. However, PMPs may bring some allergens from previous service locations, or use products containing allergens during services (i.e. using peanut butter as rodent bait in a school where allergic kids are present). To avoid cross contamination from one account to another, PMPs should communicate with the pest management person in charge before the service is performed to understand the plant/location allergen policy, use allergy-free approved products, and ensure that there are no sensitive people in the service locations during or post treatment. Cleaning equipment, washing and changing clothing between services, as well as scheduling allergen-containing areas after allergen-free areas, help in managing allergen problems in sensitive accounts.