Submitted by Dr. Jeffrey K. Brown, Sep 26, 2008 09:00

I am a medical entomologist and have been working in the industry for many years and have not seen the growth of bed bugs at the epidemics levels that are being reported. I was the insect colony manager in graduate school and had to raise them on my legs in plastic containers to keep the colony alive...not a pleasant thought. I am called in for consultations on my insect problems and we are finding that bed bugs are becoming resistant to most pesticides; toxic pesticides can be a problem, but getting the chemical to the bed bugs is the difficult issue as they hide in cracks and crevices of the smallest size. They are small brownish oval flattened insects that feed on the blood of animals. They can be found in back of headboards, along picture frames, creases of all kinds including the mattress, inside curtain rods, in the crease where the carpet meets the floor, or any crack or crevice in an apartment, hotel room, home, or any place where people reside for the bugs to obtain a blood meal only at night while the adult or child is sleeping. Female bed bugs lay their eggs in secluded places depositing as many as 5 a day and 500 during her life time. There offspring molt 5 times before they become adults in 45-60 days and a blood meal is needed for each molt. you can see how two bed bugs can multiply to thousands in a short time. They are only 3/16 of an inch long and engorgment takes 3-10 minutes which is painless and leaves a welt typical of a mosquito bite and tends to be itchy. Dr.Stephen Kells writes that, "typically, the head and neck are prime feeding sites; however, bare arms, hands, and legs may also be bitten." Pest Control Technology magazine writes, "Suppose your child's college dorm was infested and they were coming home for the holidays." You need to ask questions such as, has someone been on a trip and where was their luggage stored? Where is the luggage now? Did they bring in soiled clothing and where are they sleeping now? Insepection and treatment is needed now! I have been evaluating many treatments for their effect on controlling insects and have been concentrating on non-toxic or "green" methods. Some are promising if used by specifically trained and certified technicians to prevent the spreading of bed bugs in hotels, motels, apartments, homes, planes, ships, etc. I read somewhere that it was reproted that 47% of moving vans were infested with bed bugs; you can see how they are spread and especially with the moving of people from country to country. Alden states, "there are hundred of thousands of resort rooms in the world and you don't know any more where you can lay your child's head down; no where, no place, no Kingdom and feel safe that some bed bug is not going to feed on my babies blood." Jeffrey K. Brown, Ph.D., R.P.E., B.C.E. Nacon Technologies www.nacontech.com

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