New England Bed Bug Forum

There is no way to stop bed bugs from being brought into a
hotel. New guests are arriving every day from all over the world,
and bringing their potentially infested luggage with them. Your
hotel can be bed bug free one day and infested in multiple rooms
the next. So prevention, in the Hotel and lodging industry, is having
an early detection program in place. Bed bugs must be detected very
quickly after they are brought in, hopefully, before they bite someone
and the hotel starts getting complaints about bed bug bites.

To facilitate this early bed bug detection, all hotel employees
should receive some bed bug identification training. This includes
the reception staff, maids, facilities personnel, hotel managers,
event planners, maintenance staff, catering staff, bell hops, cooks,
janitors, and absolutely everyone else. Why everyone? Because
your employees are located all over the hotel, and if everybody is
looking for bed bugs there is greater chance that you will discover
them quickly. Also keep in mind that guests are not the only people
capable of bringing bed bugs into your facility. Staff may also have
a bed bug problem in their homes that they bring into the workplace.

Where do you get bed bug identification training? You may already have
a contract pest management company or bed bug inspection agency
that offers a bed bug prevention program, so they can train your employees.
If your current company is inexperienced in bed bug management, hire an
experienced company immediately. Ask your new bed bug experts to provide your
employees with bed bug identification training. The training may cost you, but the
expense will be immediately recovered when your employees find a bed bug
before your guests do. Have your pest management company give advanced
bed bug inspection trainings to selected members of your hospitality or facilities
staff. The pest management company can help your selected bed bug staff to
draft a monthly inspection plan for the facility, so that your employees
actively scout guest rooms for bed bugs on a regular basis.

Housekeeping personnel who know what bed bugs and their fecal stains look
like can then alert your bed bug inspectors immediately if they think they
see bed bug evidence in a hotel room. This early detection will help to
identify infestations before they get started. The trained bed bug staff members
can also serve as handy inspectors if a guest complains about bites or bed bugs in their room.

Bed Bugs can cause serious negative effects on us but, the effects of having bed bug bites are more mental than physical, but the itchy bites can’t be ignored either.

Some people may have serious allergic reactions to bed bug bites especially if you have hypersensitive skin. Left untreated, bed bug bites can become infected and very unsightly. These bed bug bite marks can become so ugly that people have locked themselves in their home and not wanted to go out into the public.

Some mental effects of bed bug bites are stress and lack of sleep. some people will suffer a bed bug delusions, meaning the bugs really are gone, but you can’t shake the feeling that they’re still there. Even if the thought of sleeping with bed bugs doesn’t keep you up at night, the time and money it takes to get rid of them can stress you out.

Bed bugs can be a public relations nightmare. You’d hope customers would respect a proactive hotel, motel, or landlord who tried to educate them before a problem came in, but that’s rarely the case. Simply the mention of bed bugs can deter customers. Even with this being said, if you are a business, do the right thing, call in the professionals. There are professional bed bug management companies that not only specialize in finding bed bugs and eliminating them, they are adept at how to spin any public relations nightmare into a positive.

If you are a homeowner, you may worry what friends, family, and neighbors will say if they find out you have a bed bug problem. Bed bugs aren’t associated with filth or social status, but many people think they are. If you are getting bed bug bites or think you have them in your home get it taken care of professionally. A bed bug problem taken care of by yourself and not totally wiped out will just come back. Sometimes worse that it was in the first place.

Diseases are not thought to be transmitted by bed bugs. But, then again, it was not long ago that we didn’t know where the West Nile virus was coming from. Could there be a disease out there that bed bugs do spread? It’s possible. Why take the chance with your health or a lawsuit. Get a professional bed bug management company on the line if you think you have a bed bug problem.

So, you think you have a bed bug problem in your home or business and you want to save some money by taking care of the problem yourself.  Think again, The savings that you may occur may also cause serious health problems in the form of an accidental insecticide poisoning.

Do-it-yourself attempts to get rid of bed bugs have resulted in 111 cases of insecticide poisonings and one death, according to a study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reported that a 65-year-old North Carolina woman died in 2010 after she and her husband improperly used an overabundance of insecticides in their home, saturating everything from the mattress to her own skin and hair. Other pesticide related illnesses included headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and breathing issues.

Pesticides are a category of chemicals that are used to kill or control insects, weeds, fungi, rodents and microbes.  Pesticides come in various forms, including sprays, liquids, powders, granules, baits and foggers.  When a pesticide comes into contact with a surface or an organism, that contact is called a pesticide exposure. For humans, a pesticide exposure means getting pesticides in or on the body. Pesticides can come into contact with the body in four main ways:  Oral (when you swallow a pesticide), Inhalation (when you inhale a pesticide), Ocular (when you get a pesticide in your eyes),and Dermal (when you get a pesticide on your skin. Pesticide poisonings in attempts for getting rid of bed bugs or any other pest for that matter can affect a person adversely in many ways.  These insecticide or pesticide poisonings can cause respiratory problems such as bronchitis or bronchitis with acute asthma, bronchospasms, and upper respiratory irritation.  They can cause gastrointestinal issues, neurological problems such as: dizziness, fasiculations, and headache.  Misuse of insecticides in treating a bed bug problem can also cause dermal problems such as: dermatitis, hives, and pruritis.  The list goes on and on with the problems associated with unintentional pesticide posionings when you try to kill a bed bug problem on your own.

If you think you may have become poisoned by misuse of an insecticide or pesticide in self-treating a bed bug problem here is what you should do and look out for:

Seek medical attention if you suspect any type of pesticide poisoning. The symptoms and treatment will always depend on the type of poisoning. Know the type of pesticide you are using and the symptoms associated with the poisoning. Watch for dizziness, nausea, headache, fatigue, lack of appetite and stomach problems such as diarrhea, pains or cramps.  Look for any new eye problems such as constant tearing, distorted vision and contracted pupils.  Note symptoms associated with mild pesticide poisoning. They can include excessive amounts of saliva and perspiration, involuntary muscle twitching or movement, thirst, moodiness and uncontrolled urination and bowel movements.  Notice moderately severe symptoms. They can include chest tightness and discomfort, very small pupils, weakness, yellow skin, weeping, confusion, difficulty breathing and an inability to walk.  Acknowledge seizures, increased rate of breathing or inability to breathe, vomiting, convulsions, uncontrolled twitching and unconsciousness occurs in very serious cases of pesticide poisoning.  Call the poison control hotline or 911. Be prepared to answer questions regarding the type of pesticide used and when the poisoning occurred. Carefully follow all instructions given to you by 911 or the poison control hotline.

If you think you have a bed bug problem in your home or business you may think that you can take care of the problem yourself and save some money but, in the long run you are putting your health at risk.  The best way to find, treat, and kill a bed bug problem is to use a professional, licensed bed bug inspection company and a professional pest control agent that specializes in getting rid of bed bugs.

Bed bugs are becoming such a problem in the US that they are starting to drain profits from viable businesses.

Who knew bed bugs could be this industrious? We all know they go to work at night as stealthy little blood suckers, wreaking havoc not just in our homes but on our businesses. They can cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to eradicate depending on whether it’s an infested residence or a commercial building. Even ridding them from a single room can be costly. Add to that the fact that exterminators often have a difficult time fully killing the pests. DDT is banned, traditional baits aren’t effective since they feed on blood, and it often takes several go-rounds before all the bugs and their eggs are rendered dead. The expenses rack up fast.

Take a look at the US lodging industry, the single largest industry to be affected by the pesky critters. Over the past few years, it’s been battling lawsuits, negative publicity, and decreased consumer confidence. Some of the more famous lawsuits include the one against Leona Helmsley’s Helmsley Enterprises, which paid a $150,000 settlement in 2004 to two customers who claimed that bed bugs at the Park Lane hotel attacked them, then infested their home. Three years later a larger bed bug case involved opera singer Alison Trainer, who filed a $6 million lawsuit against one of the leading global hospitality companies Hilton Hotels (now known as Hilton Worldwide). According to the Associated Press, she claimed to have had 150 bed bug bites after staying at Phoenix’s Hilton Suites, an experience that she said left her losing weight and afraid to sleep in a bed.

In 2010 perhaps the most publicized bed bug victims were not hotels but corporate clothing retailers. Chain stores Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Victoria’s Secret all had to temporarily close stores in New York City due to reported infestations. While Victoria’s Secret said it had taken “proactive” measures after a bed bug sighting in its Lexington Avenue store, reports came out alleging that Abercrombie & Fitch either initially ignored or was slow to respond to outbreaks in its own stores, namely its South Street Seaport location and at a huge Hollister store in SoHo. Talk about unmentionables.

In 2011 NBC Chicago said mattress manufacturers in Illinois took a hit after consumers began complaining of itchy skin. At least five stores in the Chicago area were said to have sold new or refurbished mattresses containing bed bugs, according to city officials. The stores included Best Mattress Company, Mike’s Furniture, TC Furniture, and Guadalajara Furniture. Other recent bed bug lawsuits have been filed against cruise lines, dry cleaners, furniture rental companies, and schools.

Mattress covers or encasements, the #1 bed bug protection product among consumers, has become so ubiquitous that virtually every major retailing chain, including Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and e-commerce behemoth Amazon.com, each carry different brands.

Expertise in bed bugs as they relate to property law is also a growing practice area for some law firms, according to this Wall Street Journal blog.

With the EPA designating bed bugs a public health concern, the pest control industry is enjoying especially high demand for its products and services in both the residential and commercial sectors. Terminix, the country’s largest provider of pest control services, reports it’s seen an increase in the prevalence of bed bugs in most states over the last year and it expects that trend to continue. Compiling data from 350 Terminix branches across the US, the company reports that the top three bed bug-infested cities for 2011 are New York, Cincinnati, and Detroit.

Developing products and methods for killing these pests is becoming even more urgent as conventional bed bugs evolve into so-called “super bugs.” Medical News Today reports that Canadian researchers found bed bugs from three hospital patients in a downtrodden Vancouver, British Columbia neighborhood to be carrying two types of drug-resistant bacteria, one of which is the stubborn MRSA staph. The study, released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is small and preliminary but intriguing. Who knows, perhaps the biotech industry will come up with the next big bed bug deterrent.

If you have an infestation in your home or business the first thing to do is to find out where this bloodsucking parasite is residing, so that you may eradicate it.

September will mark the first National Bed Bug Awareness Month in which U.S. Rep. Robert Dold, (R-Ill.) and 10 of the foremost bed bug experts from across the country team up to create videos, articles and interviews geared toward helping the public fight back against bed bugs.

This educational campaign serves as a comprehensive response to the continued spread bed bugs throughout the country. National Bed Bug Awareness Month will kick off Sept. 1 with the launch of an interactive, online tutorial series and culminate with the North American Bed Bug Summit being held in Chicago from the Sept. 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare.

National Bed Bug Awareness Month is an important step in educating the public about bed bugs as the pest takes root in untouched regions of the country.

“Last year bed bugs received a tremendous push in awareness due to constant media exposure. However, this year awareness is stagnating, not because bed bugs have gone away, but because they are not receiving enough coverage,” said Cooper. “In the war against bed bugs education is still critical. This campaign is aimed at creating awareness in a more engaging and interactive way.”

Research entomologist and doctoral candidate Richard Cooper of Rutgers University has been championing public education as crucial element in the war against bed bugs since 2003. Cooper acknowledges that while there is increased awareness, actual education is lacking.

“The initial lack of public education and awareness enabled bed bugs to spread and become a major problem in the United States,” said Cooper. “Although awareness that bed bugs exist has vastly improved, education has not. There are still myths and misconceptions that allow bed bugs to continue to spread. Without the proper education, prevention is not accomplished and the spread is not stemmed.”

“During the past three years bed bugs have proven to be an extraordinarily complex pest to deal with on a large scale,” said Dold. “In order to develop both practical and effective bed bug treatment methods, leaders in government, the private sector and even local communities will need to collaborate closely to find long-term solutions. The work being done at this summit is a step in that direction.”

The North American Bed Bug Summit represents the culmination of National Bed Bug Awareness Month. The summit, officially titled Bed Bug University: North American Summit, will bring together 26 of the leading entomologists and bed bug experts from around the world together with a cross-section of affected industries.

By gathering stakeholders such as government agencies, colleges and universities, health care, hospitality and multifamily housing under one roof, entomologists and experts will able to provide an educational blue-print for dealing with bed bugs across a variety of sectors.

The Summit will also demonstrate over 70 of the latest bed bug technologies including all-natural bed bugs sprays such as Stop Bugging Me!, entomologist approved mattress encasement’s such as Protect-a-Bed™ and BugZip Luggage Protectors.

If you are a property manager, landlord, housekeeper, or maintenance staff you may have run into a tenant that has a hoarding problem. This problem can lead into a major pest problem such as a significant bed bug infestation. It is important to recognize this problem and address it immediately. You may also want to find a pest control company that knows how to deal with mental health issues such as, hoarding, in a compassionate way.

Although most people don’t immediately associate hoarding with pest control or bed bug problems, there are a lot of connections. Pests need food, water and shelter. Bed bugs hitch rides into homes and apartments on used clothing and furniture that the hoarders bring home with them. If a resident’s housekeeping is poor and pests and or bed bugs get in, the pests will likely set up shop—an infestation in a hoarded home can easily get out of hand. A cluttered home makes inspection and bed bug remediation hard. A hoarded home, almost impossible.

Property managers usually inspect each unit at least annually for compliance with housekeeping standards, but regardless of the language in a property’s housekeeping standards and lease, there will be residents who don’t comply. These tenants are grouped into two categories: those who can’t and those who won’t. IN this article we will discuss people who can’t comply with inspections and have issues with pests such as, bed bugs because they have the disease of hoarding.

Hoarding is a complex disorder that is made up of three connected problems: 1) collecting too many items, 2) difficulty getting rid of items, and 3) problems with organization. These problems can lead to significant amounts of clutter which can severely limit the use of living spaces, pose safety and/or health risks, become a breeding ground for pests such as bed bugs, and result in significant distress and/or impairment in day-to-day living.

Collecting Too Many Items:

Too much shopping is the most common way that people who hoard collect items—3 out of 4 shop too much.

Roughly 1 in 2 people who hoard report excessively collecting free things. This collecting of free things such as: used clothing and furniture on the side of the road is where many hoarders run into the problem of bed bugs. The bed bugs hitch a ride into the home or apartment on these items.

The collection can also occur without any effort—for instance, food wrappers or the packing material that comes with new purchases.

Difficulty Getting Rid of Items:

The hallmark of hoarding behavior is not being able to let go of things. Throwing away, selling, giving away, or even recycling are very difficult for people who hoard.
While, to most people, the objects saved may seem worthless or worn-out, in truth, people who hoard usually can’t let go of anything and often have homes filled with otherwise useful items that are buried under the piles.

The reasons for saving are largely the same as the reasons people who don’t hoard have for saving things. The most frequent reason for saving things is to prevent waste, followed by informational content, emotional attachment, and finally, liking the way something looks or feels.

Some people who hoard believe they can get rid of items, but the process is so time-consuming they often give up, leaving the clutter to grow.

Clothes, newspapers and books are the most commonly hoarded items, but the list can include almost anything.

Disorganization:

In addition to collecting too many items and the difficulty getting rid of items, most people with hoarding problems can’t organize their possessions. These problems may be associated with information processing, problems with attention, categorization, and decision-making.

Attempts at organizing usually result in hours of moving possessions from one place to another without any effective result.

The disorganization results in piles of possessions throughout the home that consist of mixtures of worthless and valuable items, complicating attempts to de-clutter.

Recognition of the problem:

Not realizing the seriousness of hoarding is common among people who hoard.

Property managers, maintenance staff, and anyone else working in units should know to report poor housekeeping as soon as it is recognized. Property managers should take action ASAP. Early intervention sends a message property-wide that the development has high standards for cleanliness. It also helps ensure a couple of other things, including the helping to stop the start of a pest or bed bug problem, that the bed bug or pest problem does not escalate or spread to other units or apartments, and to identify if any tenants have a mental health issue, such as hoarding, that may need to be addressed.

Hoarding, as most property managers at HUD-funded properties know, doesn’t just happen on reality TV. In fact, one researcher said that hoarding is 4 times more prevalent in low-income persons than those making over $20,000 a year. Regardless of why a resident with compulsive hoarding and acquiring behavior comes to reside at a property, they deserve to be treated with respect. Don’t think of a hoarder as nasty, think of him or her as someone needing reasonable accommodation. This may take some acting on your part, but it is critical for building managers and staff to build a trust from which therapy can proceed. It is a lot easier to get a hoarder to comply with inspections for pests like bed bugs, any remediation will be easier to do, and they will be more compliant in cleaning up their mess if they feel that you are helping them with their problem and not telling them what to do.

Property managers and landlords may want to avoid having bad publicity and avoid lawsuits from tenants by acting quickly on any bed bug infestations being reported by their tenants.  They may also want to look into hiring and signing a maintenance contract with a company that specializes in bed bug inspections and exterminations.   Many pest control companies are not yet, offering maintenance programs for bed bugs.  Bed Bugs can become a complex issue to deal with that you really need someone who specializes in eradicating them.

HUNTSVILLE, AL

They are disgusting, tiny, and can be all over the place before you have a clue they are there. They are bed bugs. Residents at a local apartment complex emailed WHNT NEWS 19 to say their homes are infested with them, but they couldn’t get the proper help from their apartment complex.

“Oh, it was creepy. It was seriously scary,” said Patrick Rhodes.

Rhodes recalls what it was like when he first saw bed bugs in his apartment.

“They look like big termites, or overgrown lice,” added Rhodes.

He lives at Garden Cove Apartments with his wife and two children.

“I have to leave my lights on until 6:00a.m. for me to go to sleep. I am tired of it. I can not do it. I don’t get any rest. My wife is scared,” added Rhodes.

Rhodes showed a picture of what his family wears when they go to sleep. They had to throw their beds away. They now sleep next to each other, under the covers, and on the floor.

“That is not right. I don’t wish this one anyone. This is not good. No,” added Rhodes.

The husband and father noticed bugs all over the apartment a month ago.

“As a matter of fact there is one right there crawling. It is one that is alive. It doesn’t have to be dark,” added Rhodes.

He spent two weeks trying to figure out exactly what they were, but finally went to his property manager.

“He has been trying. Lately, there hasn’t been anyone doing as far as trying to get things resolved,” added Rhodes.

Rhodes believes the apartment’s owner is moving too slow.

“I guarantee you if it were one of their managers in one of their houses, it would have been taken care of and resolved by now,” added Rhodes.

His words tell the story.

“The eggs are hatching. They lay lots of eggs. I really do not know how these things operate. I know they bite and it hurts. I am tired of my kids getting bitten,” added Rhodes.

His bites show it.

“My children are getting eaten up and they are landing all over my counters. We should not have to live like this. It is getting ridiculous,” added Rhodes.

The Garden Cove Apartments Property Manager, Coby Giles, issued a statement regarding Rhodes’ concern:

“Management was made aware of a possible pest infestation at the beginning this week and contacted our pest control company to set up an inspection of the unit. Garden Cove provides on-going pest control maintenance to our residents. Unfortunately, bed bug treatment is not offered as part of the annual contract. I am personally taking steps to assure the resident’s issue is resolved as soon as possible. Our company procedures do not make it possible for me to issue payments on-site. The need for bed bug treatments at our property is a new issue which requires advance payment and we are looking at ways to avoid this requirement in the future.”

Bed bugs are becoming such a problem in the United States that insurance companies are now offering bed bug policies to help deal with the financial clean-up of bed bug infestations and also any litigation that may arise from having a bed bug problem.

Another tool or weapon to protect yourself from costly bed bug clean-up and litigation is to use a reputable licensed and insured bed bug inspection company that has a reporting structure that tracks your infestations.

Bed bugs infestations in the US have become so common, for instance in hotels, apartments, colleges and homes, that insurance companies are starting to offer new plans to hotels and residential property managers.

One insurer, New York-based Willis North America, announced their new plan at the end of June, explaining that that bed bug infestations “have given rise to a range of allegations and claims including bodily injury, property damage, and mental anguish”.

The financial damage comes not only from getting rid of the infestation, but also loss of income, and expenses from “managing the crisis”.

John Lafakis, Senior Vice President at Willis and Program Manager for their new bed bug insurance plan, said bed bug outbreaks can also damage an organization’s reputation or brand. Their bed bug insurance includes a 24/7 crisis hotline, and the services of an expert team to deal with regulators, public health authorities, customers, employees, and the press.

Lafakis told the Los Angeles Times recently that legislators in the state of New York Assembly are also trying to make it mandatory for insurance companies to offer bed bug cover.

Greg Gatti, a director at Aon Risk Solutions, another company that also recently announced a new policy to cover bed bugs, told the LA Times.

Using a bed bug dog for an inspection of bed bugs produces quicker and more accurate results which leads to lower remediation costs and the ability to more fully remedy the bed bug infestation.

Bed Bug dog inspection is up to 96% accurate and once a dog “hits” on a bed bug infestation problem, in many instances they can pinpoint where the bed bugs are within three feet.  This means that if you have a bed bug infestation in your bedroom, the dog should be able to tell you if it is in the mattress, closet, clothes, and or dressers.

A bed bug dog inspection can lead to less expensive extermination costs, in that only one or two rooms may need to be exterminated for bed bugs instead of a whole apartment, house, or office building.

It’s Efficient – Targeting the exact location of a bed bug problem eliminates the need to treat an entire home or business.  A property manager that owns or for-seas multiple units can save hugely  by only having to have the units that are infested by bed bugs treated instead of the whole building or facility.

Bed bug detection dogs generate quicker, more accurate results and this leads to lower remediation costs that can be quite substantial.

By using a dog for a bed bug inspection it will help in the reduction of pesticides needed for treating an infestation.  The pinpointing of a possible bed bug infestation by the dog allows your exterminator to target the area with the correct procedure in killing the bugs without having to go overboard with chemicals.  This reduction of pesticides is not only a cost savings to you, it is good for our environment.

Another advantage of having a bed bug dog inspection is that the dogs can find small infestations before they are out of control.  This allows you to end the cycle of bed bug reproduction that can snowball into a major infestation quite quickly.  One pregnant female can become 30,000 within six months

Bed Bug dog inspections cover areas not visible to humans.  A bed bug dogs sense of smell can find unseen bed bugs with up to 96% accuracy, whereas a human is only about 20 – 25% accurate in finding bed bugs in a building.

Bed Bug dog inspections can give you peace of mind that your remediation treatments were successful and that the bed bug infestation was treated in it’s entirety.

Many bed bug dog inspection companies offer proactive maintenance programs that can assure your customers that your facility is diligent in the fight against bed bugs.  This may help if any litigation pops up.

Lastly bed bug dogs are honest.  they do not work for money. All these dogs get as a reward for their diligent work is food and love by their owners and handlers.

Travel Tips
Packing clothes in large Ziploc bags when traveling can help prevent the spread of bed bugs from one suitcase to another. When arriving at a hotel, check the piping along the mattress and frame around the bed (particularly the head and footboards) and look for empty body shells under the bed and between the mattress and box spring. Check any upholstered furniture nearby as well, particularly sofa beds. Using a flashlight, check the closet for evidence of bed bugs before hanging clothes or placing anything inside.

Instead of unpacking and putting clothes in the drawers, leave them in your suitcase on a chair or luggage rack. Place shoes out in the open instead of under the bed. Upon returning home, immediately unpack (preferably in a laundry room or garage), wash your clothes, and inspect the suitcase for any freeloaders.

If you do bring bed bugs home, place any washable items in the washer using the hottest temperature possible for washing and drying. Suitcases can be put in a large bag and left out in the sun for a day. A pest strip can also be put inside the bag to help fumigate it. Purses and other unwashable items can be put in the freezer for several days or left in the sun in a plastic bag.

There is a bed bug registry (www.bedbugregistry.com) available to check hotels, rental properties and other hospitality venues or to register a location where bed bugs have been found.