ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida’s Louis Witherington, CEO of Falcon Termite & Pest Control and president of the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association, was among the participants in this week's EPA Bed Bug Summit.
Witherington noted some alarming information unveiled at the meeting. In 2002, EPA issued a public health notice, making bed bugs a pest of significant public health importance according to the federal government. Bed bugs can travel up to 20 feet in one direction to feed and can sit completely motionless for as long as eight months, making them extremely difficult to detect. Bed bugs have caused particular anxiety in multiple-room complexes such as apartments and hotels, one study noting there is a 25 percent chance that the adjoining unit of an infested apartment will also house a Bed bug infestation. The chance for this to spread through to many units becomes exponentially increased.