Law Against Bedbugs!

International Sleep Products Assn. officials have launched a new push for state laws to protect consumers from preventable fire and health risks, including the growing bedbug epidemic.

The mattress industry trade group is leading efforts in several states to enact new and tougher laws to address the spread of the bugs in used and renovated mattresses.

In Florida, which has been hit hard with bedbug infestation, the legislature will consider ISPA-supported legislation that would require renovators of used mattresses to sanitize their products before resale, the association said in a press release. Currently, the state has no such requirement.

Other states where ISPA is working with legislators include Connecticut, Tennessee and New York.

As bedbugs have reemerged as a pest control issue in recent years, the risk that consumers buying used and renovated mattresses will inadvertently bring these creatures into their homes has also increased, ISPA said. It said that used mattresses often aren’t disposed of properly and are instead sold to unscrupulous mattress renovators who sew a new cover on the old, and frequently filthy, used mattress without sanitizing it or disclosing that it is made from used materials.

“Though bedbugs are the most visibly recognizable threat from used mattresses, these beds may contain other hidden risks,” said Christopher Hudgins, ISPA vice president of government relations and policy. “In addition to the public health risks of sleeping on a used mattress, too often these mattresses don’t meet federal flammability requirements, meaning that renovated mattresses needlessly expose families to fire risks.”