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How to: Safely handle bedbugs

By Paul Muschick, The Morning Call (Allentown, Pa.), Source: MCT News Service

Using the wrong products to bomb bedbugs can get you sick, health officials warned recently.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it is seeing an increase in the number of companies offering to control bedbugs "with unrealistic promises of effectiveness or low cost." The EPA says there have been cases where pesticides not intended for indoor residential use have been improperly used, or used at greater-than-recommended rates.

"Using the wrong pesticide or using it incorrectly to treat for bedbugs can make you, your family and your pets sick," the EPA said. "It can also make your home unsafe to live in - and may not solve the bedbug problem."

It offers the following tips on handling pesticides and bedbugs:

_Before using any pesticide product, READ THE LABEL FIRST, then follow the directions for use.

_Check the product label to make sure it is identified for use on bedbugs. If bedbugs are not listed on the label, the pesticide has not been tested for bedbugs and it may not be effective.

_Any pesticide product label without an EPA registration number has not been reviewed by EPA to determine how well the product works.

_Make sure that the pesticide has been approved for indoor use.