Safety Concerns Slow Down EPA's Approval of Bed Bug Pesticide
Bed bugs are increasingly becoming a serious problem for hotels, retail clothing shops, homeowners, landlords, theaters, cinemas and many more.
Bed bugs are stealth hitchhikers, which is why they spread so quickly, and to make matters worse, they are difficult to kill because they are also extremely adept at hiding in nooks and crannies, coming out only at night to feast on human blood while the unknowing victim sleeps.
Despite consumers' and bed bug experts' urgent request to use Propoxur, a potent pesticide that's effective in killing pesticide-resistant bed bugs, the EPA has not yet approved of the pesticide for use in homes.
The EPA says it won't approve of its use yet because of dangers to children. Propoxur is currently an insecticide for agriculture and commercial use, but spraying it everywhere inside a home is a different matter.
Right now, Propoxur formulas are too dangerous and can potentially cause nervous-system damage in children.
Bed bug bites cause red welts on the skin, so even though the blood-sucking critters aren't as dangerous as mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus, or mosquitoes that spread malaria or dengue, the welts itch causing victims to scratch their skin. This may potentially lead to a skin infection.
Hopefully, green chemistry will come up with a less toxic pesticide to effectively rid homes, offices, cinemas, stores, from the pest. It's a horrible place to be, to have to choose between being bit by bugs or to suffer serious health complications from exposure to toxic chemicals.
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