International Students More Apt to Bring in Bed Bugs and Develop a Need for a Green Solution, Expert Says

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College and university housing professionals are facing a large bed bug problem with their international student population – mainly because those coming in from other countries don’t have the insect prioritized as importantly as American students do, per Bob Hughes, a veteran pest management professional who has worked with major universities for years to control bed bugs.

“With international traveling students, because some of the cultures in the world are not as concerned as we are with bed bugs they see it as a nuisance pest and not a health hazard,” said Hughes, a 20-year pest management professional who has worked supporting university pest control departments throughout the Midwest.

“You see the problem more so in international housing because schools tend to group international students together by country and culture so they have some familiarity. Thus, they have a bond and when there’s a bed bug problem students tend to not throw their friends ‘under the bus’ by tattling on them. That’s how it gets out of hand.”

A major issue facing pesticide control of bed bugs, Hughes said, is resistance. Bed bugs have formed a resistance to common insecticides, according to a study by University of Sydney researchers published in April 2016 in the journal PLOS One.

“Resistance is a tough issue because pesticides can’t skirt around it, it’s truly an issue and that’s why there are always other products to turn to but this study showed that most common insecticides are giving way to some form of resistance.

“I’ve run into it before, several times actually and the first was at least six or eight years ago, before it became news. Now once you experience that you have to seek alternative approaches for bed bug treatment.”

According to Hughes, EcoRaider and its botanical or “green” formulation allows for a strong performance but it is not susceptible to resistance, which makes it a game changer when seeking a product that can actually kill a bed bug infestation once and for all.

“EcoRaider is really good because its formulation is designed to prevent resistance and to help end a bed bug problem,” Hughes said. “By using EcoRaider, universities can help break that cycle of never truly taking care of the problem because it delivers the power of performance with the safety of a green product.”

About EcoRaider
EcoRaider is a highly efficacious botanical-based bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs or ants are found without restriction. It carries no signal words or cautions and has no label restrictions or precautions on usage.

Because EcoRaider is a green product, it is an ideal fit for sensitive accounts and environments where low-impact methods are advised. These include college dorms, senior-living facilities, managed-care and assisted-living housing, schools, health-care facilities, public housing, multi-family, and hotels.

For more information, visit https://www.ecovengerpro.com/ or call 1-800-338-0212. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Seattle-Based DESC Uses EcoRaider® to Control Bed Bugs in Homeless Shelters

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Bed bugs are a tough problem to deal with in any scenario. But in public shelters bed bugs can could potentially cause the homeless to move away from using the facility, giving it a bad name.

Sondra Nielsen, Director of Facilities and Asset Management for Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC), wanted to avoid that situation when she started realizing that synthetic chemicals were unable to kill bed bugs in her shelters because a resistance had been built up to them.

DESC is a nonprofit organization of nearly 600 professional staff, board members, and community volunteers fighting to serve every aspect of Seattle’s homeless. According to Nielsen, once the pesticides were unable to solve her problem she turned to EcoRaider based on a referral.

“It’s been huge for us, it’s been tremendously huge for us,” said Nielsen. “EcoRaider was recommended to me by Dr. Fang Zhu at Washington State University and I then asked our pest management company Eden Pest Control about it and they were preliminarily using it in some locations already.

“But based on Dr. Fang Zhu’s research showing it was very effective against bed bugs I was convinced it would make sense to use EcoRaider and in the end, we would have to perform fewer treatments and save money by using it in our shelter environments. That’s exactly what happened, EcoRaider eliminated the bed bug infestation in our main shelter and two of our smaller shelters and although periodically we have hitchhikers we do not have infestations.”

As Bed Bug Operations Manager for Olympia, Washington-based Eden, Michele Cruzat has been focused on controlling a pest infestation that has been penetrating just about every type of customer sector – from hotels, hospitals and apartments to senior-living centers, residential homes, and apartment complexes.

The strains of bed bugs were completely resistant to pyrethrins and pyrethroids, leaving Cruzat without a solid bed bug solution until she continued using EcoRaider.

“Using EcoRaider made a huge difference for us,” Cruzat said. “We were using conventional chemical products – we tried many things and none were getting it under control and we were treating every two weeks. Once we started using EcoRaider we saw a difference immediately.

“I’d say within a few weeks we a drastic reduction in the bed bug population. We haven’t seen a bed bug infestation again in any shelter – at this point we are spot treating every two weeks with EcoRaider and it’s working incredibly.”

According to Cruzat, who has crews covering much of the Seattle and Olympia markets, her technicians are so convinced that EcoRaider is the product of choice for eliminating bed bugs that it has become part of regular protocol.

“EcoRaider is great to use in sensitive areas. With most products, you can only use them in cracks and crevices but with EcoRaider you can use a broad spectrum – you can spray full areas and that’s super valuable to a pest technician. We love the product.”

EcoRaider, available at distributors throughout the country, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. The product, named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology, offers PMPs a variety of benefits. Its uncompromising field performance comparing to leading pesticides are proven in recent report by USDA IR4 Public Health Pesticide Program.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, visit https://www.ecovengerpro.com/ or call (201) 751-0011. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

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Knowing Bed Bugs Will Help you Kill Them!

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NORTH BERGEN, New Jersey – The pest management industry’s leading magazine, Pest Control Technology, published an article by Dr. Michael Potter of the University of Kentucky. In the article, he pointed out that people need to “Think like a bed bug” in order to try to prevent and kill bed bugs. This is so very true!

Like most things in life, getting the proper perspective is important in being able to get a handle on how to address a situation. In this instance, it was about how to learn more about bed bugs and how to better control them. The trade article focused on several major categories:

Biology Begets Behavior – Essentially knowing the behavior of a bed bug is important. Bed bugs require blood to feed and they cannot survive without it. Thus knowing that bed bugs will seek out a feeding target is important in knowing how to prevent them.

Love the One You’re With – Bed bugs love to share small spaces and this is important when looking for a way to prevent them. The folds, seams and other areas in furniture and bedding become regular hiding places for bed bugs. In these areas, using EcoRaider is an ideal tool for killing bed bugs.

Conversations We Can’t Hear – Bed bugs communicate through the use of chemical pheromones … this allows them to interact socially and aggregate in one area like a seam of a bed or a cushion of a couch. The pheromones also tell bed bugs that they are in a safe place, either by the chemicals released in the air or those that are left behind in the form of feces or dead skin.

Do Not Disturb – Not all bed bugs are seeking a blood source all the time. In between feedings they will communicate with each other trying to alert others to move when there is a threat. Bed bugs move more frequently when they have not fed as opposed to those who have fed. This helps us figure out how bed bugs move and why.

EcoRaider® bio-insecticide is the leading natural pest control product used by pest management professionals It is proven by leading universities’ research and government sponsored studies. Several publications show superior performance compared to leading pro-grade pesticides both in the lab and in the field. For the first time, both consumers and professionals can use a green pest product with confidence.

EcoRaider has many key benefits, including that it is fast acting, effective with extended protection, and it delivers a quick kill and keeps working for up to two weeks on bed bugs. In addition, it can be used almost anywhere, including on bedding and near food areas.

EcoRaider provides a strong natural solution that delivers both an immediate kill and long-term residual against ants. EcoRaider kills ants on contact in one minute, repels ants for up to four weeks, prevents foraging ants from penetrating structures and it also disrupts existing ant trails.

About EcoRaider
EcoRaider is a highly efficacious botanical-based bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs or ants are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various settings, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, call 1-800-338-0212.

Help Prevent Bed Bugs In Your Hotel This Summer Travel Season

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With the summer vacation season well underway, guests are coming and going and the opportunity for your hotel or motel to get bed bugs is increasingly high during June, July, and August. So being proactive and preventative will help you avoid the nasty insects as best you can. Follow some of the simple steps below to protect your facility from bed bugs:

1 – Have a plan. Just like every business should have a disaster plan for succession planning during the worst times possible, hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts need to be ready for bed bugs. Detail the daily, weekly and monthly cleanings and pest control services that have been provided to know how recently a room has been protected.

2 – Train your staff. From housekeeping to facilities management to front office management, your staff needs to know how to deal with a bed bug infestation or even a report of one. Respond immediately to all requests by guests, move them to a new room and do whatever you can to eliminate their concerns as quickly as possible. The more you do at the moment they report it, the less chance you’ll ever hear of it on social media.

3 – React properly. Remember that not only is a bed bug infestation or report affecting one room, it should be affecting several rooms. Consider the guests in the adjoining and above and below rooms, as well. Inform, relocate and pamper those guests the same way you did the first one.

4 – Be proactive. Hire a licensed Pest Management Professional (PMP) to regularly inspect and treat your entire facility. Using monitoring products is a proactive way to stay ahead of an infestation, and so is using strong natural products that are university-researched and proven to kill bed bugs, like EcoRaider.

For more information about bed bug prevention, visit the National Pest Management Association’s protocol for bed bugs in hotels and lodging.

EcoRaider® Sponsors PCT’s First Bed Bug Virtual Conference – Watch It Online Below

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EcoRaider is proud to have sponsored the first-ever PCT Bed Bug Virtual Conference in April. The conference featured presentations by Dr. Stephen Kells, University of Minnesota, Dr. Susan Jones, The Ohio State University, and Dr. Richard Cooper, Cooper Pest Solutions.

For those unable to attend the conference or those wanting to review the material again, we have attached a link to the presentations here. Below you can watch the two videos EcoRaider put together – a presentation by Sales Associate Vicki Holst and a testimonial from PMP Ace Jackson, owner of Coach Pest Solutions in Benton Harbor, Michigan. You can view all of the conference’s presentations online.

Ace Jackson PMP Testimonial

Vicki Holst EcoRaider Presentation

 

EcoRaider® Introduces ER-22 Concentrate, Another Proven Bed Bug Solution

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Reneotech announces the launch of ER-22, a concentrate formulation of its popular botanical EcoRaider Insect Killer.

ER-22 refers to the product’s 2x strength of the existing RTU formula. EcoRaider is used by Pest Management Professionals (PMPs) as an efficient and green solution that delivers both quick kill and strong residual for bed bug and other pest control.

EcoRaider-ER22-1GL

The current RTU formula of EcoRaider is industry tested against bed bugs including resistant populations. ER-22 by EcoRaider delivers the same performance with better cost to end users and provides effective control for all environments, especially sensitive ones.

In addition to bed bugs, ER-22 also includes perimeter ant control on the label. A field study by Purdue University proved that it delivers a one-minute kill and leaves behind a four-week residual against odorous house ants. ER-22 is diluted up to a 1:1 ratio for bed bugs treatment and 5:1 for perimeter ant applications.

According to Todd Zon, vice president of Reneotech, the manufacturer of EcoRaider, the new product gives PMPs a more powerful tool in the fight against bed bugs and other pests.

“It is a product that PMPs have been asking for so this is a direct response to an industry need,” said Zon.

Available from distributors nationwide, ER-22 will come in a one-gallon jug and can be purchased in cases of four.

ER-22 by EcoRaider carries no signal words or cautions, has no label restrictions or precautions on usage, and is a green product, making it an ideal fit for sensitive accounts and environments where low-impact methods are advised.

These include senior-living facilities, managed-care and assisted-living housing, public housing, multi-family, hospitals and hotels. It can be incorporated with other treatment methods such as heat or steam.

About EcoRaider

EcoRaider is a highly efficacious botanical-based bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs or ants are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various settings, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, visit https://www.ecovengerpro.com/ or call 1-800-338-0212. Also, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

New Research Shows Bed Bugs are Becoming Increasingly Resistant to Chemical Pesticides

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Researchers published an article this week showing that they have taken the first step towards identifying a bed bug’s DNA by developing a genome map. The researchers, who published in Nature Communications, followed bed bugs throughout the New York subway system and their findings were very interesting.

There was a huge diversity among the bed bugs they trailed. In some cases, they would find a big genetic diversity among the bed bugs. What does this mean to me as a Pest Management Professional? Two things:

1 – Bed bugs are becoming resistant to pesticides so relying on the same formulation day in, day out may not work long term as many PMPs have thought. Researchers found that bed bugs are indeed developing a resistance to chemical pesticides.

2 – EcoRaider, which is proven and tested, continues to remain very effective even against resistant bed bugs. EcoRaider is a green product and works with an entirely different mode of action that is unlike traditional pesticides.

In addition to being effective, EcoRaider also is a product that is safe for using around children, doesn’t contain any signal or caution words, and it doesn’t stain mattresses or linens. To read the full research article about the bed bug’s genome map, visit the Nature Communications’ website.

Hotels GMs Look for Natural Bed Bug Solutions

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Chicago hotel general managers face no different challenges than the rest of the country’s hoteliers – except for the fact that Chicago for the fourth time has been named the worst bed bug city in the country. So for hotels in the Windy City, that means there’s an emphasis by patrons to over-inspect their rooms to make sure there are no bed bugs.

Hotels specifically continue to face a daunting battle against bed bugs on two fronts.

First, the problem is costly. The financial outlay to rid a major hotel of bed bugs could be five or six figures based on the level of the infestation and how much eradication needs to take place.

Second, there’s the issue of reputation – maintaining the brand’s standard as a bed-bug free hotel is important, especially with the power of social media posts and websites such as www.bedbugregistry.com.

One Chicago Hotel General Manager, asked to be interviewed anonymously because being affiliated with bed bugs is obviously a negative to their clientele, said the pest remains a huge problem in the hotel industry.

“It’s one of those things that you really can be fully prepared for but if one guest reports finding one bed bug and posts something online about it, instantly it becomes a crisis for us. There are times when people have come in with a ladybug crawling on their backpack or jacket and when they throw it down on the bed it crawls around and they instantly report it as bed bugs.”

“So no matter how prepared we are as hotels, incidents are going to happen and it’s a matter of how you deal with them and how you take care of your guests in those situations – that’s the most important aspect.”

The General Manager says that there are a few keys to limiting exposure outside of the hotel when there is a bed bug infestation – talking to guests immediately and trying to avoid a social post is truly important, especially on Twitter where posts can be tagged to the hotel’s official Twitter account.

Being preventative is very important as well. Letting guests know that you are doing everything you possibly can to provide an excellent, bug-free experience helps.

Preventing bed bugs isn’t easy but there are options for creating a hotel pest control program that is proactive – and it’s one that can be implemented by hotel staff rather than calling in a professional for additional cost. Interception devices are becoming more popular because they will attract bed bugs and once they are inside of the device, they cannot climb out and they die before reaching a food source.

Being able to say that they treat their rooms and beds with green, natural products rather than chemicals is a huge benefit, said the General Manager.

“In this day and age being able to have anything that’s natural that you can call ‘Green’ to use to fight bed bugs is a tremendous positive for all hotels. The last thing any guest wants to know is that chemicals were just used in the area where they will be sleeping – so being able to say that literally no chemicals are used on your mattress or box spring that’s a huge positive.”

HOTEL FRIENDLY

EcoRaider provides hotels with a proactive solution that is ideal for using in rooms because it is a natural, green product. EcoRaider does not stain linens or bedding and is safe for both children and pests. It is used in many sensitive areas because it is safe for use – especially in hotels.

EcoRaider, available through a national distribution network, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. It demonstrates as the only natural product that kills bed bugs with 100% efficacy based on a research paper published by the Entomological Society of America’s Journal of Economic Entomology – it allows bed bug control with a green, natural product.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, call (201) 751-0011. Also, follow EcoRaider on our social sites on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

 

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EcoRaider Featured in Two-Page Article in PCT Magazine about Effective Green Bed Bug Solutions

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EcoRaider – the leading green bed bug product on the market, was featured in December’s issue of PCT Magazine in an article discussing effective green solutions for bed bug control. Click below to view the article as a PDF.

EcoRaider Advertorial Dec 2015 FINAL

Chicago-Based Rose Pest Solutions Relies on Using EcoRaider® to Control Bed Bugs

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rose-logo

For the fourth year, Chicago has been placed on top of the list of cities with the worst bed bug problems. For Rose Pest Solutions, it’s nothing new.

What has been new is the use of EcoRaider bio-insecticide as a green, natural solution for bed bugs. Rose handles much of northern Illinois and has affiliated pest control firms in other nearby markets such as northern Indiana.

According to Bill Hastings, Director of Special Services for Rose Pest Solutions Chicago, EcoRaider has made a big difference in their bed bug protocol.

“We use EcoRaider as part of our heat treatment services for bed bugs,” he said. “We spray EcoRaider before applying heat to immediately knock down the bed bug populations … EcoRaider has helped us increase our percent control and reduce our bed bug callbacks.”

Hastings says that his technicians tried out the product and came back requesting to use it regularly and that’s how Rose implemented it into its program.

“I gave it to several of our technicians to use and their feedback was, ‘We want more of this stuff,’ which is usually a sign it works,” said Hastings. “I went out and tested it myself and had bed bugs dying four to six seconds after coming in contact with the product which impressed me.

“It acts quickly and fits into our integrated approach to bed bug management that includes heat and conventional pesticide treatments,” says Hastings. “We take it with us on our inspection visits and if we spot bed bugs can we apply it to stop the spread of the infestation and provide the customer with some immediate emotional relief.”

EcoRaider, available at distributors throughout the country, quickly kills bed bugs on all stages without adversary environmental effects. The product, named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology, offers PMPs a variety of benefits. Its uncompromising field performance comparing to leading pesticides are proven in recent report by USDA IR4 Public Health Pesticide Program.

EcoRaider offers ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various sensitive environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.

For more information, visit https://www.ecovengerpro.com/ or call (201) 751-0011. Also, follow EcoRaider on our social sites on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.