NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Betty Galligan, APR
Newberry Public Relations
(401) 433-5965 betty@newberrypr.com
NEW PRODUCT DETECTS EARLY
BEDBUG INFESTATIONS
NightWatch Bedbug Monitor for pest control operators helps control bedbug outbreak worldwide
PUTNAM, Connecticut USA (June 1, 2009): BioSensory, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of environmentally-sensitive pest management products to monitor and control bedbugs, mosquitoes and biting insects, announces the development of its NightWatch ™ Bedbug Monitor – an innovative new product for pest control operators to use to detect bedbug infestations at the earliest stages.
Once eradicated in the United States in the 1950s by the use of DDT, bedbugs are back with a vengeance infesting clean and tidy homes, five-star hotels, college dorms, and living spaces across the country and beyond. Bedbugs have been identified as a rapidly emerging public health pest by the Environmental Protection Agency, which recently held a national summit in Washington, DC to assemble experts and gather ideas about how to address the problem.
“The bedbug problem is so severe the EPA Summit was convened over two days. Over 400 experts at the EPA Summit identified the need for early detection by persons with minimal training such as hotel housekeeping staff or facilities managers for university housing,” states Jim Nolen, president of BioSensory Inc. who attended the Summit. “NightWatch Bedbug Monitor is the only available technology that can meet this need. Anyone can learn to use NightWatch in 5 minutes. Experts, dogs, glue traps, and one-night monitors cannot detect a new infestation of a few bedbugs, but NightWatch can.”
BioSensory developed the NightWatch Bedbug Monitor based on knowledge of a bedbug’s physiology and an understanding of how the pest seeks a blood meal, combined with extensive field and laboratory testing. Because bedbugs bite once every 7 to 10 days, a new infestation of a few bedbugs often goes unnoticed. It is undetectable by the person being bitten and by the most expert professionals in the field. At first, the person thinks the bite is a pimple, then a rash. By the time a skin reaction is recognized as insect bites, the infestation has grown to hundreds of bedbugs and eggs and is expensive to eliminate.
“Early detection is among the most important factors when it comes to eliminating bed bug infestations in an efficient and cost effective fashion,” notes Richard Cooper, entomologist/technical director of Bed Bug Central
(Lawrenceville, NJ) and co-author of official Bed Bug Handbook: The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control. “Unfortunately, due to the cryptic and secretive behaviors of bed bugs, infestations are often not detected for several months or more, allowing the population to become well established. The population distribution of and infestation that is detected early on tends to be rather isolated and can typically be eliminated with relative ease. However, over time, the bugs will disperse and become widely distributed and are much more difficult and expensive to eliminate. For these reasons early detection is absolutely critical in the control of bed bugs and can equate to hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in savings during the elimination process.”
NightWatch is designed to function as a monitor, as it mimics a living, breathing human body — combining CO2* and a patented thermal heat source for a powerful two-pronged attractant and trapping system. When bedbugs approach to feed on what they think is a human, they fall into the pitfall traps made of highly polished material and cannot escape. NightWatch can catch both mature and immature bedbugs, since the monitor’s detection period spans the 7-10 days bedbugs take between meals.
BioSensory recommends NightWatch Bedbug Monitor as one part of an Integrated Pest Management program (inspection, treatment and monitoring, reinspection). NightWatch is available for commercial use through distributors of professional pest management products in the U.S., Canada and around the world. Distributors include companies such as Forshaw Distribution (Charlotte, NC), Residex, LLC (Cranford, NJ), Rhodes Chemical (Kansas City, KS), Steve’s
Pest Management (Chatham, Ontario CANADA), Target Specialty Products (Santa Fe Springs, CA), and Univar USA (Austin, TX). Consumers may request NightWatch through their local pest control operator.
“We are pleased NightWatch solves two key pieces of the bedbug problem: a monitor that anyone can use, and one that can detect bedbugs the very first time they look for a meal.” concludes Mr. Nolen. “NightWatch could become the universal ‘smoke detector’ that can save millions in cleanup costs and provide peace of mind so people can sleep at night.”
For more information, visit www.biosensory.com.
* BioSensory does not sell or provide the CO2. Consumers must purchase the CO2 from a separate source.
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Established in 1996, BioSensory, Inc. is a U.S.-based manufacturer of environmentally sensitive, advanced technology monitors and traps as well as kairomone inhibitors and dispensers to keep biting insects away from people, pets and livestock. Patented and trademarked products include The Dragonfly® II, Mosquito ‘Cognito®, Conceal® Candles and NightWatch™ Bedbug Monitor. Based on extensive laboratory and field studies of each pests’ natural biting instincts and physiology, the company has developed a line of products to meet the needs of pest management professionals and consumers alike. When used as part of an Integrated Pest Management system, BioSensory products minimize damage to the environment by reducing the need for insecticides, and denying insects the opportunity to become resistant to pesticides through overuse. Through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, the company has developed, tested and distributed environmentally safe products throughout the world. BioSensory is located in the Belding Mills Complex, 107 Providence Street, Putnam, CT 06260 USA. Phone: 860.928.1113; Fax: 860.928.2720; Web: www.biosensory.com
