TRENTON >> A city urban legend that dryer sheets combat bedbugs has been debunked.
The company that makes Bounce dryer sheets, Procter & Gamble (P&G), confirmed in a statement Thursday that its research and development experts do not recommend the unconventional bedbug-killing method that was recently deployed in Trenton’s welfare office.
“P&G has no scientific evidence that Bounce Dryer Sheets kill bed bugs and therefore don’t recommend our product for use in this purpose,” company spokeswoman Anne Candido said in a email.
Earlier this week, The Trentonian reported that the Mercer County Board of Social Services at 200 Wolverton St. in Trenton was recommending employees to use dryer sheets to wipe down their clothing in the event they were exposed to the blood-sucking parasites. The welfare office put up a sign with an accompanying box of Bounce in the bathroom to combat a rash of bedbug problems that have at times temporarily shut down the agency in recent months.
Social Services Director Barbara Buckley explained Monday that she authorized the new tactic to be “proactive.” She has since changed coarse after The Trentonian story was picked up by national media outlets.
“We discontinued that practice,” Buckley said Thursday of the fabric softener method. “We’ve reviewed some of the things with the county. We’re going to make some additional changes here.”
As one reader pointed out, a Rutgers University professor has also squashed the dryer sheet technique. Urban Entomology professor Changlu Wang produced a fact sheet called “Cost-effective and money-wasting bed bug control methods,” and dryer sheets appeared on the “money-wasting” side of the coin. “Some consumers place dryer sheets on furniture in an attempt to repel bed bugs,” Wang said. “There are no data indicating these products will prevent bed bug infestations.”
The Rutgers professor recommends using professional pest control services if there is an infestation. However, if an individual wants be tackle the issue of their own, Wang offered 10 cost-effective solutions, which include:
1. Reduce clutter or put items in plastic boxes
2. Encase mattress and box spring
3. Install bed bug traps
4. Launder or hot dry bed linens at least weekly
5. Use a heat chamber
6. Place small items in a freezer for 4 days
7. Apply steam to furniture
8. Remove bed bugs using a vacuum machine
9. Discard heavily infested items
10. Apply repellent to pants, socks, and shoes
The bedbugs have made quite a name for themselves in Trenton.
The Trentonian has recently reported on several bedbug infestations at state office buildings. The state says the offices for the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex are being treated for the creepy crawlers. NJ Transit workers also told The Trentonian this week that the city’s buses are infested with bedbugs and provided a couple photos to prove their claim.
