Frequently Asked Questions

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are developed to kill bed bugs and dust mites through contact on mattresses and box springs.  Active mattress liners were derived from bed nets, used worldwide over the past 50+ years to protect against mosquitoes and malaria. Originally designed as a simple and proactive alternative to encasements for control of house dust mites (long associated with asthma in children and adults), these active liners have been shown to be effective against bed bugs in lab research and extensive multi-year field studies, including those highly resistant field populations studied. ActiveGuard is extremely easy to install – simply placed over the mattress and/or box spring just like a fitted sheet, they are held securely in place by the elastic sewn into the corners. The liners are thin, cool, comfortable, odorless and breathable.  ActiveGuard is maintenance-free…and they work continuously 24/7 for up to two years.

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are the ONLY registered product labeled for prevention and control of bed bugs for two years. These liners can effectively prevent an infestation before it establishes, when used as part of an integrated pest management program.  ActiveGuard is covered under U.S. Patents 5,916,580, 6,214,365, 6,440,438 and pending patents.

Anyone who has a known bed bug infestation or is concerned about preventing a bed bug infestation should consider using ActiveGuard.  Bed bug bites are painful, itchy, and can even cause allergic reactions.  Bed bugs are relatively common in many living environments, and can easily spread between homes, apartments, college dormitories and hotel rooms.  Bed bugs feed on blood and, most commonly, bite people in their beds while they are sleeping.  ActiveGuard Mattress Liners offer protection because they kill bed bugs in mattresses and box springs.  ActiveGuard helps in preventing bedbugs from creating a home in your bedding and may help save costly mattress replacement if you should suffer a bedbug infestation.  ActiveGuard should be used as part of any comprehensive bed bug management strategy.  If you have an existing bed bug infestation, you should immediately contact a licensed Pest Management Professional.

In addition, anyone who suffers from respiratory allergies, asthma, or skin allergies such as eczema or atopic dermatitis may benefit from the use of ActiveGuard Mattress Liners. House dust mite allergens are a leading symptom trigger for these conditions.  ActiveGuard kills house dust mites and prevents them from returning for up to 2 years.

Bed bugs are scientifically called Cimex lectularius.  Adult bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed, with their earliest juvenile form about the same size as a poppy seed.  Bed bugs feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals and have become a significant problem in the U.S. and around the world.  Bed bugs tend to feed at night (nocturnal) when you are sleeping and then return to their safe and undisturbed harborage sites, which are usually near the bed. Mattresses and box springs are notoriously favorite places where bed bugs will populate and lay eggs; therefore, protecting the bedding area should be a prime focus.

The difficulty in effectively treating a bed bug infestation is that these bugs frequently hide behind headboards, in walls, behind pictures and even in computers and clock radios. Furthermore, consensus scientific reports suggest that bed bugs can exist without a blood meal for six to nine months; some investigators have suggested longer.  Lack of detection for a few months, is not a clear signal that there is no longer any presence.  That is why it is important to work with a Pest Management Professional specializing in bed bug remediation when confronted with this problem.  Protecting the mattress and/or box spring is just one step in creating a successful strategy for eliminating bed bugs.  ActiveGuard kills bed bugs in mattresses and box springs for up to two years after installation, far exceeding the life span of this pest.

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners were originally invented by Philadelphian Sandra Shober and further developed by a team of medical entomologists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.  The product was introduced in Europe in the late 1990’s and over 200,000 have been sold in Europe, Asia and the United States to kill bed bugs in mattresses and box springs and dust mites for up to two years. Since 2008, Allergy Technologies continues to conduct and publish an extensive array of both lab and field studies confirming the use of ActiveGuard in bed bug treatment and preventive strategies.  These investigations continue to demonstrate ActiveGuard is an effective tool as part of an integrated pest management program in the treatment of an active bed bug infestation.  Equally important, these active liners are an unrivaled proactive centerpiece in control strategies preventing bed bug infestations before they establish.  ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are registered for sale in all 50 States in the U.S. and in select countries in the Caribbean.

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are made from a special polyester fabric. The liners are placed over the mattress and/or box spring like a fitted sheet.  ActiveGuard's formulation represents a unique and proprietary delivery system that offers sustained bioavailability of permethrin for two years. Lab and field research support that after short exposure to ActiveGuard of only 10 minutes, bed bugs regardless of their level of resistance, begin to show significant reductions in feeding (biting) and a dramatic inability to lay eggs. Real world consequences of this data include discontinuation of population growth thereby halting progression of an incident to an infestation.

Based on permethrin’s nature and widespread inclusion in mosquito-proof military clothing, lice shampoo for children, and national brand outwear manufacturers, it has been a highly effective ingredient when used in close human proximity.  Permethrin is ideally suited for use in bedding because it remains where it needs to be…in the liner and in contact with the mattress and box spring.

Although there have been no reported medical problems from use of ActiveGuard, permethrin-impregnated clothing used by the military over the past 30+ years have noted very rare cases of minor skin irritation in hypersensitive individuals.  If these or any symptoms arise, discontinue use of the product immediately and contact us toll free at 866-978-6288 for a full refund.

Bed bugs can live in a variety of places like bedding, headboards, side tables, radios, pictures and under carpets and in wall voids.  ActiveGuard kills bed bugs in mattresses and box springs, two prime areas where bed bugs most frequently live.  We strongly recommend that, in cases of an active bed bug infestation, you contact a licensed Pest Management Professional who will treat all areas of your room.  If a standard treatment approach (chemical) is chosen, there will likely be multiple treatments required before elimination of this pest is achieved.  In the case of heat remediation, though one treatment should effectively eliminate the problem, there is no residual protection offered by this approach.  Regardless of treatment strategy and for maximum protection make sure that your infested mattresses and box springs once treated, are subsequently covered with ActiveGuard to kill any remaining bed bugs or eggs yet hatched that have inadvertently been missed.

Bedding is hard to treat and some Pest Management Professionals will suggest that severely infested bedding be thrown away.  This is because mattresses are sites where bed bugs and their eggs are hard to access and kill; many of these may be left alive even after a thorough treatment by a Pest Management Professional.  ActiveGuard may be used to salvage infested bedding as part of a treatment program or to protect bedding from future infestation because its unique and sustained delivery of its active ingredient will kill hatched bed bugs after the treatment is completed.

Properly installed encasements seal bed bugs inside by enclosing a mattress or box spring and preventing them escaping and feeding.  Encasements can only kill bed bugs through starvation; however, this requires sleeping on an encasement with live bed bugs underneath you for 6-9 months or longer.

Furthermore, an intact encasement will prevent bed bugs from infesting the bedding.  However, encasements DO NOT prevent the entrance of bed bugs into a room from becoming an infestation.

Unfortunately, even the best encasements will rip or tear when being installed if they are ill-fitting or snag on a sharp surface while wrestling to encase the mattress or box spring.  In addition, encasements can wear holes after they are installed through constant rubbing on rough surfaces.  Any hole in an encasement will allow a bed bug to escape and seek a blood meal by biting a host.  There is no documented field evidence that taping or repairing a ripped or torn encasement is effective; a damaged encasement is of no utility.  In contrast, ActiveGuard does not cover bed bugs, it kills them! ActiveGuard is not dependent on zippers or the integrity of the encasement material.  Puncture holes in an ActiveGuard liner will not diminish the effectiveness of the liner, which is designed to kill bed bugs in mattresses and box springs based on contact.

ActiveGuard kills bed bugs in mattresses and box springs. This includes many of the highly resistant field strains studied. In addition, ActiveGuard is the only registered product that can help to prevent new bed bug infestations before they establish.

Further, ActiveGuard is the only product that can outlast the life cycle of a bed bug; it kills continuously for two years.  ActiveGuard’s white fabric construction also makes bed bugs easy to see on its surface but unlike encasements, these liners kill bed bugs!  Research supports that after short exposure to ActiveGuard of only 10 min, bed bugs regardless of their level of resistance, begin to show significant reductions in feeding (biting) and a dramatic inability to lay eggs.  Real world consequences of this data include discontinuation of population growth thereby halting progression of an incident to an infestation.

The entire family can enjoy the benefits of ActiveGuard.   Everyone from infant to toddler to adult can be protected by ActiveGuard and sleep with confidence.  ActiveGuard has no age use restrictions nor any cautionary language on its label.

ActiveGuard works best when placed directly on the mattress and/or box spring surface.  Once installed, the bed should be prepared as usual, which may include a mattress pad, sheets, blankets, dust ruffle and/or comforter.  ActiveGuard will work continuously and does not need to be disturbed for two years.

You may use ActiveGuard beneath an encasement; however, its effectiveness will be reduced to only killing those bed bugs encased within.

Encasements work by fully encasing your mattress with plastic or tightly woven material.  House dust mites and their allergens are therefore confined within the encasement, where they continue to live and breed while you are sleeping.  However, to work effectively, encasements must be sanitized regularly (at least once every month or so) to remove any dust mites and allergens that start to repopulate on the surface of an encasement.  Every time you remove the encasement for washing, dust mites and allergens on the mattress are released into the air.  If left unwashed, dust mites and their allergens will continue to significantly build up over time. ActiveGuard was initially invented because less than 5% of asthmatics continue to wash encasements on a regular basis after initial installation. ActiveGuard should not be washed; these liners kill dust mites continuously for up to two years and do not require regular maintenance.  In short, for caregivers, parents and asthmatics, ActiveGuard is a far easier and effective alternative than encasements for the treatment of dust mites.  Always follow the label for specific installation instructions, including those for use against dust mites.

Permethrin, the active ingredient in ActiveGuard, is classified as toxic to cats.  You will find this information on almost every toxicology site.  Cats suffer from a physiology that cannot degrade permethrin sufficiently to avoid toxic effect(s), whereas other animals and humans are not similarly affected.  Cats also tend to preen themselves quite often, which offers an increased degree of permethrin ingestion.    However, mattresses are rarely prepared without a bottom fitted sheet and top sheet, nor absent a blanket or comforter, all of which limit direct contact.  For box spring installation, access by cats is even further restricted as a result of this placement.  Anecdotally there are many reports of users who have cats and enjoy the benefits of ActiveGuard.  Nonetheless, Allergy Technologies cannot endorse ActiveGuard’s use in conjunction with cats.

ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are not yet available in stores but can be purchased directly by clicking the ‘Buy Now’ button on our website or from Pest Management companies and pest control distributors throughout the country.  For our hotel and other hospitality clients, ActiveGuard Mattress Liners may be purchased by contacting us directly:

Allergy Technologies (Corporate office)

425 Commerce Drive, Suite 300
Fort Washington, PA 19034
866-978-6288
info@allergytechnologies.com