tonight on "nightline," buyer beware. following taeltd's giant toy recall, some are wondering, who can they trust? we visit the people who can tell you if you're in the market for a car, or treadmill, or snow blower. it's the consumer reports testing labs. plus, twice bitten. as america gets overrun by critter critters, big and small, just how do you get rid of them? in this louisiana halllet, there's just one guy to call. >> hello? >> the guy known as the

exterminator. and, ho-hum? it used to be sex with a intern or a mistress spelled political doom. but now, it seems that american political life is full of second acts. whatever happened to shame? it's a "sign of the times." from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," september 30th, 2010. >> good evening. we begin tonight with a look at the safety and quality of consumer products. spurred by yet another product recall. giant toy manufacturer fisher price today took millions of kids toys deemed unsafe by the government off the shelves. so, are there ways for consumers to tell the difference between a bargain and a lemon, before they buy? one nonprofit group works overtime, using and abusing products to sort it all out.

tonight, brian rooney visits the incredible laboratories of consumer reports. >> reporter: this machine is known around the laboratory as johnny walker. all johnny does is pound a treadmill, hour after hour, day after day. down the hall, a technician slathers hundreds of dishes with food. lets them dry to a crust, then runs them through a battery of dishwashers. >> some machines come out totally spotless and others will come out even worse than this. >> reporter: these are the laboratories of consumers union, just north of manhattan, where every day, carpets are vacuumed an by sickle helmets crash. these are where they find out if americans really get with their money. >> consumers are hurting economically. they want to make smart decisions, get good value for their money, reliable products at a good price. we supply all of that. >> reporter: they ask the most

basic questions. will offroad vehicles really work offroad? what happens when a curious child approaches a running snow blower? >> that's a danger. >> reporter: their magazine, "consumer reports," is the bible for buying just about anything. their rating charts have become iconic. solid red is excellent. all the way down to solid black for poor. so, after listening to internet chatter, consumer s they confirmed a fatal antenna flaw in the latest iphone. and their reader survey put mcdonald's at the bottom of their list of best fast food hamburgers. >> one of our real values is to say what we find, good, bad or indifferent and not been influenced by commercial interest or pressure. i think that's why people trust us. >> reporter: consumers union is a nonprofit organization that's been testing gizmos and gadgets since 1936.

an offshoot of the early 20th century labor movement, it was established to advise hard-working americans whether stuff actually works. >> so many more products coming on the market and the turnover, much more, new models coming on much more quickly. >> reporter: right now, engineers are evaluating the new 3d televisions that could be a big item for christmas. with special glasses that blend the double image into a three dimensional picture, they can be pretty impressive. >> it's almost as if i can grab these camera lenses off the screen and feels like i can put my hand behind that map. >> reporter: but these guys almost always find the flaws. in this case, what's called gloesing. a faint double image that haunts some of the new 3d televisions. >> are you see the double images? >> reporter: that's severe. >> if you come over to this samsung plasma, same glasses -- >> that's better. >> clean, right? >> reporter: yeah. >> and that's what you're looking for. you're not looking for echoes.

this one requires that you keep your head perfectly level, because if you tilt your head, you get ghosts. >> reporter: oh, my gosh. oh, the image goes completely blurry -- >> it's a total cross-talk. >> reporter: if you put your head on your wife's shoulder. keeping up with rapid fire changes in washing machines and digital cameras is tough. children's car seats. >> we look at how easy it is to install in the car. can the average consumer read the labels, are they easy to read? can they get to the latches? >> reporter: this seat was designed to be installed either facing forward or facing back. >> with this car seat, you really can't use the front seat. >> reporter: everything they evaluate, they buy just like anyone else, with their secret shoppers. more than $4 million worth of goods a year. they make a science out of anything. the quality of a box of chocolates. >> okay.

>> reporter: i think the second one is a higher quality. >> you were right about these. this is a little bit higher quality. that's -- this is very good. this one is excellent chocolate. >> reporter: here in what they call the sensory department, they test things you can touch, smell and taste. what is it that you do that i can't figure out by reading the label on the can of soup? >> you can't see how it tastes on the can of soup. >> reporter: but you'll describe in the magazine -- >> we will. so, we describe foods. we tell you what's in it, we'll tell you if it's really salty or if it's too sweet, if the flavors are in balance, are they natural flavors? >> reporter: but if there's one thing they're really known for, it's cars. buying a car is what they call a sweaty palm issue for the average american customer. at this test track in connecticut, dozens of car as year go through their testing ringer. all under the critical eye of

david champion. >> this is something that we do to really assess how well the car handles right at the limits. you come in to the bottom corner at 110 miles an hour. >> reporter: what are you feeling in this car? >> the steering is quite nicely weighed. it's probably not quite communicating back all the way, but it's really pretty good. >> reporter: they evaluate every car for what they call fit and finish. how well the parts are put together and how they feel to the hand. >> this is a bit cheap. it's hard plastic so when your arm is sitting on it, it's sort of hard on your elbow. we don't think that's very good. the switches here. how good are these? radio switches. the hvac switches. >> reporter: do you consider yourself fussy at this point? >> very. it's -- it's a nature of what we do. and it's very difficult to get into a car and not look at

something and say, why the hell did they do that? >> reporter: door handles alone could be a full-time study. >> this is sort of, a little clunky, but -- feels okay. it doesn't feel cheap as if the handle is going to drop off. it's not brilliant. but it's not offensive. >> reporter: they've never been successfully sued. though they endured years of litigation after reporting that the suzuki samurai had a essential tenden si to roll over. >> that got issues of rollover more on the map. that was really important. >> reporter: while newspaper and magazine circulation is shrinking, but it is growing, now with 7 million subscribers. a soon to be released iphone app lets you scan the barcode on an item in the store and get an instant evaluation. here it is. a hoover vacuum. >> carpets excellent.

bare floors, very good. overall score of 72. >> reporter: so, day after day, the tumblers spin, the snow blowers roar, and johnny walker paces the treadmills. all so buyers will not only beware, they'll be informed. this is brian rooney for "nightline" in yonkers, new york. >> consumer reports, filling a need to know. when we come back, bedbugs and roaches are bad enough, but one louisiana exterminator has some mighty big pests on his hands. we catch him in action. it's pain relief without the pills. no pills, no pain. how can you get pain relief without taking pills around the clock? try thermacare heatwraps for all day relief without pills. i was surprised thermacare worked all day. you feel the heat. and it relaxes and unlocks the muscle. you've got to try it. [ man ] thermacare more effective for back pain than

the maximum dose of acetaminophen, the medicine in tylenol. go to thermacare.com today for a $3 off coupon. thermacare. no pills. no pain. just relief. words alone aren't enough. my job is to listen to the needs and frustrations of the shrimpers and fishermen, hotel or restaurant workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. bp has taken full responsibility for the clean up in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. our job is to listen and find ways to help. that means working with communities. restoring the jobs tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund to cover lost income until people impacted can get back to work. and our efforts aren't coming at tax-payer expense. i know people are wondering-- now that the well is capped,

is bp gonna meet its commitments? i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right.

well, the headlines were crawling this summer with reports of bedbug outbreaks in major american cities. bad news if you're house was infest infested. but maybe not as bad as some of the yeepcreepy crawlies that turn up in louisiana. that's where billy the experm nay or the has built a booming business, by policing the boundary between humans and nature. ryan owens reports. >> reporter: in a country aswarm with bedbugs and stink bugs snakes in toilets and alligators in back yards, the pest control guy has gained newly elevated status. and those critters may have no bigger enemy than billy the exterminator. billy runs vex-con. a family-owned pest control

service in a tiny louisiana town. but they don't handle ordinary pest ps. >> he's got me! he's crushing my arm, dude. he's aggressive. flaming around, extremely dangerous. this is over five feet long. >> reporter: and they aren't just any ordinary family. >> all right, um, me and rickie will head over there and get it taken care of. >> bye-bye. >> reporter: they've become unlikely celebrities. stars of an a&e reality show that's success is tough to explain. even for its lead character. >> i had no idea people would be this interested in pest control. we're just a notch below dishwasher and garbage man. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: to try to understand the appeal, we went behind the scenes of season three. >> okay, i've got a really good roach job for y'all to do today. bad. >> reporter: from mom's marching orders in the morning to the ride to their first job of the day. what freaks billy out? >> heights. >> reporter: heights?

>> yep. i can't punch heights. i can't kill heights. i can't trap heights. i just fall and hit the ground. >> reporter: good point. we follow billy and his camera crews to a home that's been infested with roaches for four years. >> how you doing? i'm billy with vex-con. how are you doing, man? >> i'm good. >> my office called me this morning and said you're canning a roach problem. >> very bad problem. >> reporter: how bad? we soon found out. to us, the home looked surprisingly clean. >> nice house, ray. >> reporter: but billy says he can actually smell the roaches. >> oh, yeah. i see them back there. what's up guys? >> reporter: billy knows their hiding spots, and it turns out roaches like just about anything that's plugged in. take the refrigerator. >> i guarantee you there's going to be hundreds of roaches back here. >> reporter: oh, gosh.

>> see that corner down there? put a flashlight on it? >> reporter: the microwave, too, probably? oh, my gosh. >> yeah. >> reporter: okay, wow. and just when you think it can't get any goszer, there's this. >> this is all roach crap. and the little -- >> reporter: that's not dirt -- >> no, that's roach feces. and the little bitty guys like these dudes right here, that's what they feed on. the bigger ones like this guy right here, is crapping and these dudes are eating it. >> reporter: oh, gosh. and it's not just the kitchen. >> the symbol of our country right here. watch this. >> reporter: oh, gosh. and why the pictures? >> it's the starch in the paper. they love it. see them loving there. >> reporter: look at that. once he flushes them out of their hiding spots -- this is forever ghost busters.

>> pretty much, yeah. >> reporter: billy vacuums them up and fumigates the house. billy says too often people just don't understand what these household pests are doing to their health. >> fever blisters and temperatures and runny nose and people don't know why and it's because of the diseases and the germs we pick up from nature. okay, i'm going to start with the cab innocents here, get them flushed out. >> reporter: about now, you must be wondering how even the craftiest of reality show producers discovered this family. >> well, vex-con means the study of annoying things. >> reporter: years ago, he was featured on what's arguably the original gross-out show, "dirty jobs." he was such a hit he got his own show, and as his mom likes to brag -- >> well, this is fan mail. >> reporter: and overflowing box of fan mail. >> this must be an animal here. >> reporter: most of it,

arguably too much of it, comes from young children. >> this was probably my favorite litter i ever got this is from a little girl, ella, and she went and got all this stuff and she wrote what she learned on everything that billy said. >> reporter: for some of the show's most loyal fans, sending a letter isn't enough. >> we've had a couple from canada that come see us on their honeymoon. >> reporter: came to see you on their honeymoon? >> oh, lord. >> reporter: what about that imagine? one explanation for his popularity, especially with children, is this exterminator, despite how he looks, isn't much of a terminator. >> fly! find a new home. >> reporter: you're not out there to kill as many animals as you can every day. >> going out there and just wiping animals out like so many animal control professionals do, it was getting to me. i couldn't do it no more. i couldn't keep putting those

animals down. >> reporter: when billy traps an animal on someone's property, he almost always sets it free somewhere else. >> go! >> reporter: some critters who would never make it in the wild, billy finds a home for them, too, in this local zoo. but make no mistake, billy isn't trying to save all of the animals he meets. and besides, that touchy feely stuff doesn't always make the best tv. a lot of people complain about reality tv, say, good lord, how low are we going to go here? >> right. >> reporter: do you worry about that? is there a line that's too gross? >> this is my job. this is what i do. if you don't like it, cut the button off, change the channel. if you do like it, check it out. >> reporter: and a lot of people are. and as long as bugs keep showing up everywhere from the movie theater to the bedroom, billy seems likely to keep showing up, too. on your tv. i'm ryan owens for "nightline"

in benton, louisiana. >> oh, boy. billy the exterminator airs tuesdays and a&e. up next, politics. where a good sex scandal used to spell political death. and now may be just a speed bump. ♪ [ upbeat instrumental ] [ rattling ] [ gasps ] [ rattling ] [ laughing ] [ announcer ] close enough just isn't good enough. - if your car is in an accident, - [ laughing continues ] make sure it's repaired with the right replacement parts. take the scary out of life with travelers. call or click now for an agent or quote.

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"nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> for american politicians, sex scandals used to mean big trouble. the pattern was, lots of the wrong kind of meet ya attention, followed by embarrassing denials

usually ending in an abject public apology and often a disgraced resignation. but in several cases the old rules don't seem to be applying. and for john berman, that's a "sign of the times." >> what do you get in you're caught in a steamy, seedy, interstate prostitution scandal? >> i have acted in a way that violating my obligations to my family and that violates my or any sense of right and wrong. >> reporter: what do you get when forced to admit inif i telldy in front of millions and millions of people? >> i've disappointed and failed to live up to the standard i expected of myself. >> reporter: what do you get if your client number nine? well, now days, you get the 8:00 p.m. time slot. >> parker spitzer. >> i love it. >> reporter: that's right. eliot spitzer, who quit his job two years ago, starts co-hosting his very own show on cnn next week. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, i love tax

pollicy policy. >> reporter: it may be cable, but it isn't exile. what about louisiana? >> i want to again offer my deep, insere apologies. >> reporter: that's david vitter. >> i believe i receive forgiveness from god. >> reporter: god might not be the only one. because senator visitor, with a record that including opposition to illegal immigration, support of gun owner rights and types to hookers, is comfortably leading in his race for re-election. scandal? what scandal? >> the notions of shame are radically different than they used to be. there was once a time where shame meant that you were run out of the business. >> heck, even peter florec aka chris noth is doing fine in his election bid. >> i hope to become the state's attorney of cook county once again. >> reporter: by the way, "the good wife" airs at 10:00. so, what happened to political

banishment? what happened to the days when a little monkey business derailed gary hart's career? what gives? >> i think that the steady drum beat of sex scandals makes people immune. >> i had an affair. >> reporter: really, what haven't we seen? extramarital sex, intern sex south american sex. >> i spent the last five days of my life crying in argentina. >> gay sex. >> i am a gay american. >> even alleged attempted bathroom sex. and this doesn't begin to touch whatever john edwards did. >> ask her for her forgiveness, ask god for his forgiveness. >> reporter: not everyone survives with their popularity intact. but some do just fine. look at bill clinton. for some, like spitzer and mark sanford in south carolina, they regain popularity after they resigned, or agreed not to run again. >> reporter: if you're leaving office, what are people going to do? say i think he should be executed?

there's nowhere else to go with it. >> reporter: and in louisiana, maybe david vitter has convinced voters that there are more important issues this year than his indiscretions. but one thing is clear now. when it comes to sex scandals, nothing is clear. >> don't jump to the conclusion that you have to run away from office right away, because it is possible to survive now. >> reporter: you can ponder this all weekend as you watch the ryder cup on tv, starring tiger woods. i'm john berman for "nightline" in new york. >> well, maybe folks just feel they do have bigger problems these days. when we come back, chaos in ecuador, but first, jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. jimmy? >> tonight vanessa williams, david cross, music from the avett brothers, this week in unnecessary censorship, and a visit from ryan reynolds

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