Pesticides for Bed Bugs

Bedbugs are oval, wingless, flat insects measuring less than 1/4 inch in length. They feed on human blood and are active at night, but they do not transmit disease.

The Increase in Bedbug Infestations

• Bedbug infestations increased as global travel became more popular and as pesticide use decreased in homes in the decades preceding 2010, according to Stanford University. While neither of these factors is negative in itself, one side effect has been a population boom for these pests.

Pesticides May Not Be Enough

• While pesticides are one element of treating a bedbug infestation, it may not be enough. Bedbugs can be resistant to pesticides. Stanford University not only treats affected rooms with pesticides, but professionally cleans all personal items in that room, destroys all furniture and carpeting and repaints the walls. Bedbugs are difficult to kill partially because they can live 18 months without food and survive extreme temperature fluctuations.

Safe Use of Pesticides

• Unapproved pesticides have been used to treat bedbug infestations in an attempt to control the problem, according to Pennsylvania State University's Pesticide Education Program. Consumers should make sure pesticides used to kill bedbugs are approved for indoor use, have an Environmental Protection Agency registration number and are specifically intended for control of bedbugs.