FTC Charges Botanical Bed Bug Products with Ads Claims Violations

SAN FRANCISCOFTC has filed deceptive advertising charges against marketers of two natural bedbug products claiming to prevent or eliminate bed bug infestations, a growing problem that has received major media attention in the past year. One product is based on cedar ingredients, while the other features cinnamon, lemongrass, peppermint and clove oils. The agency said the claims were overhyped and unsupported. The case against RMB Group and its principals, makers of Rest Easy  bed bug products, has been settled; FTC has brought litigation against the defendants in the other case, Cedarside Industries and principals, which have not settled.

Stuart, Fla.-based RMB's Rest Easy liquid formula containing cinnamon, lemongrass and other oils was marketed as a bed bug solution for travelers and was sold in major  national retail chains including Bed Bath & Beyond, Walgreens and Big Lots. FTC charged the company with making deceptive claims about the product's ability to repel and kill bed bugs by creating a barrier around the bed and user. The company and it owners have settled with the agency, agreeing to a $264,976 financial judgmentsuspended due to the defendants' inability to payand future marketing limitations including a ban from representing any product kills, repels or creates a barrier against bed bugs.

Spring, Texas-based CedarCide Industries markets its Best Yet! liquid cedar oil formula to treat and prevent bed bug infestations, according to the FTC, which noted the product is sold nationwide to consumers as well as directly to hotels and other businesses for bed bug prevention. It also sells it to school districts for head lice treatment. FTC stated the product was marketed with unsupported claims it could halt or prevent bedbug infestations better than synthetic pesticides, which the advertising claims is supported by scientific studies. FTC said the study claims are false, as is the claim the ads made about a warning from the Environmental Protection Agency for consumers to avoid all synthetic pesticides for treating bed bug infestations.

Similarly, the agency said ads made false claims the product could prevent and treat head lice by killing lice and their eggs. Again, FTC said claims of supporting scientific studies for the product's benefits on head lice were false as were claims the product was invented for the U.S. Army under request from USDA and that USDA considers the product its number one choice among bio-based pesticides.

For an in-depth look at what companies can do to legally substantiate claims for natural products, check out the On-Demand webinar "The Path from Clinical Trials to Claims Substantiation" at the SupplySide Store.