While no property manager or landlord likes dealing with pests, mice, termites, cockroaches, and bedbugs did not get the memo. At some point in your career, it stands to reason that you may find yourself dealing with one of these common pests. However, there is new hope on the horizon in the battle against bedbugs.
While many people assume that a bed bug infestation is the result of poor hygiene, that’s not necessarily true. Any property can become infested, and according to the CDC, they’ve been found everywhere from 5 Star Hotels and Resorts to developing countries. It’s not dirtiness that attracts them, it’s blood and blood is something everyone has. Though the infestations occur predominantly where people sleep- they can be a nightmare to get rid of, because the bugs hide in the seams of mattresses and box springs, but also, in cracks, behind wall paper and in other objects. Though they’re not shown to spread disease, they’re certainly not guests you want in your properties. Up until recently, getting rid of them was a difficult and laborious task.
Stromectol or Ivermectin is typically used to treat river blindness and elephantiasis caused by worm parasites. However, it was involved in a promising new study that indicates that it’s also extremely effective against bedbugs. In a 2012 study, John Sheele, an ER physician with Eastern Virginia Medical School showed a great deal of potential in the use of ivermectin for the eradication of bed bugs, when used alongside other more conventional measures.
He tested the drug, also known as Mectizan, outside of the US on himself and three others though five bed bug blood meals. The group let several bed bugs feed on them both before and after taking the medication. Sheele found that after 3 hours of a feed on blood that had ivermectin in it, bed bugs fell ill and died. Ultimately, his study showed that 42% of the adult bed bugs died within 54 hours of the group taking the drug and it also appeared to cause problems for the nymphs to shed their exoskeleton- preventing them from further developing into adult bed bugs.
Ivermectin also appears to be effective on other common pests: “Ivermectin is effective against a broad range of insects — body lice, head lice, scabies. What I’d like to be able to do is a real-world experiment where we find people who have bed bugs, treat them with the regimen and see does it get rid of their infestation.” Sheele said.
