Pest Management Professional, December 2012

Q We treated a rental property last year for bed bugs There were no signs of infestation until this week However a child living in the home had a seizure four months ago Could pesticides be the culprit Should we treat again The landlord is a good client and he asked us to treat How would you handle this J O PA A I dont believe the seizure was related to pesticides in any way Im unaware of any literature indicating such a possibility However Id choose not to treat the property again because if another seizure occurs you might be blamed One option is to provide the tenant with labels and MSDs and have him ask the childs doctor if its to treat This might open a Pandoras Box however think carefully about that option Another option would be to discuss your concerns with the landlord and arrange for a heat treatment rather than a pesticide treatment That would eliminate any questions about a relationship between seizures and pesticides Q I did a flea treatment in a private residence several months ago A reinspection showed adult fleas were still present I used an insect growth regulator IGR Theres a lot of clutter in the house which has been vacant for several months Part of the problem is the inability to treat thoroughly because of the clutter The other problem might be lack of activity which causes adult fleas to emerge from the pupal cases There are no longer any pets present What are your thoughts on this situation J T KY A Youve noted the two probable causes of the continuing infestation Is there any way to remove the clutter removed If so do than and retreat You also might have to have someone periodically walk through the house to stimulate adult emergence If the clutter cant be removed and the house is vacant consider using Nuvan strips applied according to the label If thats done post the house to prevent entry Leave the strips in place for at least a week the longer the better After removing the strips aerate the house and remove any warnings you posted The vapors from the strips will penetrate the clutter Q We have a call for flea control in a security office People sit and watch monitors 24 hours a day There are no pets so someone must be bringing in the fleas The label of the product were considering states prevent contact with clothing Do shoes count How can we spray the carpets if people cant walk on them Whats your interpretation of this wording J B IL A That phrase pertains to not spraying clothing on clients or yourself The industry has long treated carpets with pesticides and then walked on them without any adverse consequences You may treat carpeting with the product in question without violating the label Before you treat anything make sure theres a flea infestation If there are no pets there shouldnt be a breeding population A little natural pyrethrins aerosol should eliminate any stray adult fleas This environment suggests theres an environmental contamination problem and treating for fleas wont resolve it Inspect monitors to validate the claim fleas are present before you treat You may save yourself a lot of grief PMP You can contact Dr Mampe an industry consultant at dentomol@ aol com ask the expert The industry has long treated carpets with pesticides and then walked on them without any adverse consequences Please email questions you have about insect identification and effective pest management technologies and techniques to Dr Mampe at detomol@ aol com Your questions most likely will be printed and answered in one of PMPs upcoming Ask the Expert columns Dr Doug Mampe t Contributor 70 December 2012 Pest Management Professional www mypmp net