PORTLAND, Maine — Portland firefighters responded to a fire alarm and evacuated a historic apartment building late Wednesday afternoon, but it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity: The alarm was apparently pulled when somebody at the site mistook the cloud of a bedbug bomb as smoke from a fire.
Three Portland Fire Department trucks could be seen at or near the 1867 North School at 248 Congress St. until just after 5 p.m. Wednesday, but after clearing the structure, which about 30 years ago was converted for use as an apartment building for the elderly, firefighters reportedly determined there was no fire at the site.
Rather, someone there pulled the alarm after seeing a plume of pesticides and mistaking it for smoke, city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg said.
A controlled treatment was apparently under way to rid at least one of the building’s units of so-called bedbugs, and the cloud of parasite-killing chemicals confused someone, whose identity was unclear Wednesday night.
The pests were all but eradicated from developed countries about 70 years ago, but made a comeback within the past two decades. Last month, a study found that over-the-counter aerosol insecticides — such as “bug bombs” or “fogs” — are almost entirely ineffective against wild bedbugs holed up in bed sheets.
The North School building is in its final stages of an extensive renovation project, but portions of the building are still inhabited.
“Wild” bedbugs….as opposed to “tame” bedbugs?
Don’t know why there aren’t more comments here – maybe because Disqus is acting up and wouldn’t let me post this morning at all…….had to go to another website and click around to get Disqus to accept posting. Disqus is collapsing – let’s use another comment-enabler, BDN.
Anyway HERE IS A WAY TO GET RID OF BEDBUGS – and it works. I was told this by a friend years ago when I was living in a rented room which I discovered (bites on face) had bedbugs. I took her advice and have lived happily bedbug-free ever since.
Go to pharmacy and buy a 12-oz bottle of plain powdered SULFUR. They’ll probably have to order it for you.
Sprinkle it on your mattress and rugs and wherever you think bedbugs are or might be. They will simply disappear. I don’t know if the Sulfur acts as a repellant or if it kills them, but I think it’s a repellant because I never saw one of their little bodies lying about.