CINCINNATI --
Deborah Owens had a problem in her house. Now she has a much bigger problem.
"I don't know what to think. It's been our home for a long time," she said Monday.
Owens said her sister recently noticed that the home had a bedbug problem. Owens' husband decided to call an expert to heat the home until the bugs were killed.
It's a process News 5 first reported on in 2008. Convection ovens are set up, blowing heat into the home until temperatures inside reach 140 degrees. Experts say bedbugs' thermal death point is around 115 degrees.
But something went wrong in Owens' home. A fire broke out and gutted much of the home.
"The way it was explained to me was a potential equipment malfunction," exterminator Richard Tyree said.
Cincinnati firefighters said they've never had a fire start in a home being treated with this method.
"Typically, 140 degrees is not an extreme amount of temperature for combustibles," Capt. Michael Washington said.
But they have seen fires started when people try to use alcohol or kerosene to deal with the pest.
"I would discourage anyone from using home remedies to try to rid their homes of bedbugs," Washington said.
U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt and Ohio Rep. Dale Mallory intend to hold a news conference Tuesday to renew their call for the Environmental Protection Agency to approve the use of Propoxur, a chemical pesticide. Currently, the pesticide isn't approved for public use.
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