Action Line: Claims that herbs kill bedbugs untrue
BY PHIL MULKINS World Action Line Editor
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
9/18/12 at 7:30 AM
Dear Action Line: Is it true you can get rid of bedbugs with common kitchen herbs such as lemon grass and cinnamon? I saw an ad for this and wonder if it's true. - L.T., Tulsa.
Of course it's not true! About the only thing guaranteed to kill bedbugs and their eggs is raising the indoor temperature to 120 degrees and holding it there for five hours. They can't survive at temperatures higher than 117 degrees and their eggs are also desiccated by the extended, dry heat. There is no verifiable proof that cinnamon, cedar oil, lemon grass, peppermint or oil of cloves can control or eliminate bedbugs.
The Federal Trade Commission filed suit Sept. 5, 2012, and a proposed settlement order against the marketers in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California at San Francisco, saying RMB Group LLC marketed its "Rest Easy" bedbug products; and Cedarcide Industries, Inc., and its principals, marketed "Best Yet!" bedbug and head lice treatments with no proof they worked and made false claims that they did.
RMB has agreed to settle with the FTC but Cedarcide Industries has not, and the FTC is proceeding with "deceptive advertising" litigation against Cedarcide.
One radio advertisement for the product stated: "In light of the recent bedbug media frenzy that has all of us nervous, you need to know that bedbug prevention and eradication relief are available. So let's not all freak out. All you need is Best Yet! from CedarCide.com. Best Yet! was developed at the request of the USDA for our military as a solution for killing sand fleas. But it's equally deadly to bedbugs, larvae and eggs."
The FTC complaint charges Cedarcide defendants make six false or unsupported claims:
1. Unsupported claims that Best Yet! is effective at stopping and preventing bedbug infestations and that it is more effective than synthetic pesticides at doing so;
2. False claims that scientific studies prove Best Yet! is effective at stopping and preventing bedbug infestations and that it is more effective than synthetic pesticides at doing so;
3. A false claim that the Environmental Protection Agency has warned consumers to avoid all synthetic pesticides for treating bedbug infestations;
4. Unsupported claims that Best Yet! is effective in stopping and preventing head lice infestations, killing head lice eggs (known as nits), dissolving the glue that binds head lice eggs to hair and killing head lice and their eggs in a single treatment;
5. False claims that scientific studies prove Best Yet! is effective in stopping and preventing head lice infestations; and
6. False claims that Best Yet! was invented for the U.S. Army at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and that USDA has acknowledged the product as the No. 1 choice of bio-based pesticides.
The Cedarcide complaint names Dave Glassel and several companies he controls: Springtech 77376, LLC; Cedarcide Industries, Inc.; Chemical Free Solutions, LLC; and Cedar Oil Technologies Corp. Read the suit at tulsaworld.com/BedbugHerbs
Original Print Headline: Claims that herbs kill bedbugs are untrue
Submit Action Line questions by calling 918-699-8888, emailing phil.mulkins@tulsaworld.com or by mailing them to Tulsa World Action Line, P.O. Box 1770, Tulsa, OK 74102-1770.
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