I just returned from the Bed Bug Symposium in Washington DC put on by the NPMS (National Pest Management Association). I have to say that it was a great event.

I got to hear entomologists speak about bed bugs from a scientific point of view. I got to hear a lawyer speak about the bed bug lawsuits that he has been involved in. I got to hear a PR person talk about the press that bed bugs have been getting. I got to hear from some of the pest control companies like Orkin and Terminix talk about what they are doing to control bed bugs.

The most interesting part of the day was hearing Michael Potter, University of KY Entomologist talk about the bed bugs and show a slide show of pictures of bed bugs from his work out in the field. He very graphically showed how bed bugs infest a room and showed where they could hide. The short answer is everywhere. When you check a room, make sure you look under the mattress and box springs, behind the headboard, remove the wall socket plates and check there, look at the bed frame very carefully, look behind pictures and in the curtains. Make sure you are looking for the eggs as well as the bugs themselves.

Dr. Potter at one point made the following statement when asked if the bed bug problem is going to get worse before it gets better "It's only going to get worse and not get better".

The lawyer that we heard spent a lot of time talking to the hospitality crowd about what hotels need to do to protect themselves from lawsuits. Basically, he said you need to formulate a plan ahead of time and document everything. The plan needs to cover regular inspections of all the rooms and cover what to do when bed bugs are found. It also needs to cover what to do when the person first reports that their room has bed bugs. The biggest thing to watch out for is "negligence" on the part of the hotel. If the hotel knows there is a problem with bed bugs and does not take reasonable steps to eliminate them, then they could easily be held liable for damages to anyone getting bit.

It was interesting to hear a few of the pest control manufacturers say that some of the products that they have are not working as well as they use to. It seems like the bed bugs have become to resistant to some of the pesticides being used. This opens the door for many alternative non-pesticide bed bug treatments like EcoBugFree for Bed Bugs which we are developing.

All in all it was a great trip. We learned a lot about bed bugs, got to see some great bed bug pictures, we even got to see some live bed bugs that Dr. Potter brought (he made sure they were sealed so the hotel we were at didn't sue him!)

Call me if you want to talk more about this symposium or contact me through http://www.licescabiesandbedbugs.com

Jeff