Feds nix using strong bedbug killer in Ohio homes

COLUMBUS (AP) — Federal authorities have said no to Ohio’s request to fight bloodsucking bedbugs in homes with an industrial insecticide.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it won’t allow the unconventional use of Propoxur because of the potential danger to children.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told Gov. Ted Strickland in a letter this month that the pesticide may pose a risk to nervous systems of children who enter rooms that have been treated.

Propoxur is used in commercial buildings, on crops and in pet collars.

Ohio officials who said the state was seeing severe bedbug infestations sought an exemption last year so the insecticide could be applied in residences.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture says it’s disappointed with the government’s answer.