The Trentonian [NJ]
31 October 2016
By David Foster
TRENTON -- An item used to remove static from clothing
is being employed in a whole new capacity at the city’s welfare office.
Officials at the Mercer County Board of Social
Services at 200 Wolverton St. have put Bounce dryer sheets in the agency’s
bathrooms.
“Dryer sheets are to be used to wipe down your
clothing in the event that you are exposed to bedbugs,” a sign reads in the
restroom next to a box of Bounce, according to a photo provided by an employee.
The welfare office has been the site of several infestations
in recent months that have temporarily shut down the building.
Social Services Director Barbara Buckley said Monday
the new tactic was installed to be “proactive.” The purpose of the Bounce, she
says, is so the blood-sucking parasites will cling to the dryer sheet. […]
“It’s more like a Trenton urban legend,” the
exterminator explained. “I do a lot of work in Philadelphia and I don’t think
I’ve seen too many sheets down there so maybe it’s a regionalized legend. I
think they’d be selling the heck out of it if it was true. I think if it was
something that worked, we’d be hearing a lot more about it.” […]
The Trentonian [NJ]
3 November 2016
By David Foster
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. […]
