Woodbury Man Causes Fire Trying to Kill Bedbugs

A fire in southern New Jersey is being blamed on a homeowner's battle against bedbugs.A county spokeswoman says the homeowner in the town of Woodbury was using a space heater, a hair dryer and a heat gun Tuesday to try to eradicate the pests in a second-floor bedroom. The combination sparked a fire.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency says very high, sustained heat can kill bedbugs but raising the temperature with the thermostat or space heaters won't do the job. It says special equipment is needed.

Woodbury Fire Marshal Joseph Buono tells WPVI-TV in nearby Philadelphia that quick Internet remedies for killing bedbugs are a "catastrophe in the making."

"Call the professionals," he says.

The homeowner was hospitalized with unspecified injuries. He was not identified.

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