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Eco Raider

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Charles Zammit said:
Almost too good to be true, but it appears to be the only treatment...
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Not really. That product claims to be a "natural" product that is as effective as other "synthetic" products. I don't see where it claimed to be the only product that kills bedbugs or that has some residual effect. Which is good, because it isn't the only such product.

A number of products kill bed bugs on contact. For the purpose of pilgrim planning, we need to know how effective any residual effect is at repelling bed bugs to keep them away from us and our belongings before they feed on us. Heat is the most effective and safest way to decontaminate most of our pilgrim gear at the end of a camino. Different methods and products are appropriate for treating infested housing, and most research seems to focus on that problem.

Were you able to find the research papers to confirm that they did support the claims? I found that issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology (Vol 7, 2014), which did have an article on bedbugs, but it mentioned no product brands and didn't seem to particularly support the claims. Another article referenced was the "journal of Insects" of Nov 2014. I found a Journal of Insect Physiology, which didn't have an article on bedbugs of that date.

I admit that I am not an entomologist, and I don't really know my way around scientific literature, so I could easily have missed the right piece, or misunderstood the implications of what I did find. Perhaps someone else on the forum can provide more insight.

From my quick look at the links you pointed out, I don't see any real news. I just see a company claiming that it product works at least as well as others. I don't see that they provide information or links to support anything more.
 
C clearly said:
I don't really know my way around scientific literature, so I could easily have missed the right piece, or misunderstood the implications of what I did find. Perhaps someone else on the forum can provide more insight.
Click to expand...
I do and I can:

C clearly said:
Were you able to find the research papers to confirm that they did support the claims?
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Yes. Here, here, and here.
The first shows extensive mortality on contact, but not much repellent capacity.
The second basically said 'results are promising but more data is needed..."
The third showed good results of direct exposure but also said more work was needed.

And there were others, but I don't want to waste the time digging.

C clearly said:
I don't see where it claimed to be the only product that kills bedbugs or that has some residual effect.
Click to expand...
C clearly said:
I just see a company claiming that it product works at least as well as others.
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Yup, agreed.

From one of these papers, it's worth noting that:
  • "Sprays alone did not eliminate most bed bug infestations after four follow-up inspections and re-treatments, confirming the limitations of insecticide treatments alone in eliminating bed bug infestations."
  • and "The active ingredients in EcoRaider are not unique"
  • and it noted somewhere in there that Ecoraider is expensive than the rest.
Bottom line?
There's no easy solution for an infestation--and as @C clearly says, in the Camino context, prevention of exposure (careful examination of lodgings) is perhaps more useful than an expensive spray.
 
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A selection of Camino Jewellery
From the Rutgers study I glean:

Ecoraider cherry-picked the graph that showed it was best. It was generally second best in charts showing other effectivenesses. On some charts, it was dead last.



The natural bed bug insecticides had widely varying results for two strains of bed bugs. All worked better against Bayonne (New Jersey) than against Indy (Indiana) bed bugs.

None was an effective repellent. I think only DEET has shown to be a repellent.

The tests were done on fabric. The natural insecticides are in a drug category "generally regarded as safe" (GRAS), so no testing for safety for humans is required, therefore no one does such tests. Similarly, no one tests if it is safe for fabrics, so if you use it, test it on a hidden part of your pack and sleeping bag to be confident that it does not melt them (as DEET will some plastic and paints).

Once again it seems that there is something that we would like to be valuable against bed bugs, but may be more placebo than useful. I think it can be taken as true that there is risk involved in killing bed bugs with anything except your fingernail. Permethrin is effective as an insecticide. There are more effective treatments, but none of them is mobile. They are more useful in your home. DEET is effective as a repellent.

As with most of life, you cannot have it all!!
 
Camino Preparation Guide
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Unless you are experiencing a serious infestation in your own home, don't worry about bedbugs. It is much ado about nothing.
 
obinjatoo@yahoo.com said:
Unless you are experiencing a serious infestation in your own home, don't worry about bedbugs. It is much ado about nothing.
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I disagree (hopefully not disagreeably). If snoring, generally not under the control of the pilgrim, is a burden on fellow pilgrims, then transporting bed bugs is a larger burden. I don't take precautions for myself so much as I take them for my fellow travelers (and to prevent taking them home). It is much ado about something important, but I agree with the sentiment that it should not be a deterrent to going. It is a manageable problem just like blisters.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I remember reading somewhere that the reason bedbugs are now a major issue and that what is available to get rid of them is hit and miss most of the time, is that the only really effective pesticide against them is DDT. Unfortunately, in a way, DDT is no longer available. It is a good thing that it has been banned because of all the environmental issues it caused, but sad that it is not allowed for issues such as bedbugs.
 
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