Bed bugs are probably one of the most annoying insects in the world. To get rid of them, some people use pesticide. There are more than 300 products registered on EPA that can be used to kill bed bugs. Actually, not all of them can be used by costumers. A few of them are registered for the use only by the specially trained professionals. Before approving what product that can be used, EPA evaluates data on the safety and the effectiveness of the product. If anything, safety is everything. Those more than 300 products registered divide into seven chemical classes of pesticides. Those are pyrethrins, pyrethroids, desiccants, biochemicals, pyrroles, neonicotinoids, and insect growth regulators.
Pyrethrins and pyrethroids are two common ones that be used to control bed bugs and other pests. Pyrethrins are known as botanical insecticides from chrysanthemum flowers. Meanwhile, pyrethroids are synthetic chemical insecticides that act like pyrethrins do. Two of them are lethal to bed bugs and are able to flush bed bugs out of the hiding places and kill them all. However, some populations of bed bug have become resistant to those things. Using the combination of them can improve bed bug control.
Some of desiccants include diatomaceous earth and boric acid. The work of desiccants is by destroying the waxy, protective outer coating on the bed bug. When the coating destroyed, the bed bugs will slowly dehydrate and die. Apparently, desiccants work via a physical mode of action so the bed bugs cannot become resistant to it as they are able to pesticides with other modes of action. What more about desiccants is that they have a long lasting effect and will not disturb the activities of the bed bugs.
You should know that cold pressed neem oil is the only biochemicals pesticide registered to use. this oil is pressed directly from the seeds of the Neem tree (the tropical evergreen tree you can found in Southeast Asia and Africa). The oil itself has various compounds that have insecticidal and medicinal properties. You can find the same oil on the shampoos, toothpaste, soaps, and cosmetics.
Aside from those seven chemical classes, there are also two additional ones registered for very narrow use patterns. The first one is dichlorvos which is also known as DDVP. It is an organophosphate. This one is registeres as the pest strip for the treatment of small enclosures. The second one is propoxur. This one is the n-methyl carbamte. It is registered only for use in the commercial and industrial buildings where the existence of the children cannot be found.
Every chemical class can kill bed bugs using different mode of action. Using the pesticides that differ in the mode of action can be helpful because it is able to reduce the likelihood that the bugs will develop the resistance. Whichever the bed bug pesticide you are going to use, it is better for you to give priority to safety. Safety first, then another one follows. Please be careful when use pesticide and just call the expert if you feel like you can do it.