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Bed Bug Control and the Effective Use of
Bed Bug Dogs to Maximize Results
By Michael Russell
VP of Sales
Action Termite and Pest Control |
The
resurgence of bed bugs over the last 3 years has been widely
reported and many property managers are affected by this
infestation.
Unhappy tenants, the loss of income and the expenditure of Bed
Bug Control are on the rise for Property Managers.
When
researching the most effective way to combat bed bugs, it is
evident that everyone seems to have a different approach. Some
companies use dogs for inspections, some don't, some companies
use steam or cryonite, some don't. This inconsistency leaves a
property manager to make the right choice. But what is the
right choice when it comes to curtailing the rise of
infestation?
The
most effective bed bug control programs always seem to have
several things in common; the use of bed bug dogs to properly
detect an infestation, the application of steam to ensure the
killing of the bed bug's egg stage, the proper application of
chemicals in a variety of forms (fogging, dusting, and crack and
crevice,) and perhaps the most important step is the
preparations made by tenants prior to treatment.
The effective use of bed bug dogs.
There
is no absolute method in the detection of Bed Bugs to date. The
closest to an absolute can be found in the arrival of the bed
bug inspection dog. At a proven detection accuracy rate of 98%,
Bed Bug Dogs can inspect an average one bedroom apartment in
about 2 minutes.
Human
technicians are about 35% accurate and would take over an hour
to do a thorough inspection of the same one bedroom unit. Bed
Bug Dogs can sweep around 25 to 30 units in an hour, as opposed
to the human inspector of one per hour.
Now
imagine you have 100 units in an apartment complex, the bed bug
dog can inspect the entire complex in about 4 hours. A proper
human inspection would take about 100 hours. Bed bug dog
inspections are about $300 per hour and the average human
inspector is about $100 per hour. In this scenario of 100 units
to be inspected, the average cost for a bed bug dog inspection
would be $1,200 with a 98% accuracy rate, where as, a human
inspector price would be $10,000 with only a 35% accuracy rate.
Bed Bug Dogs help save property managers money on the treatment
process.
No
longer does a property manager have to treat units adjacent,
above and below a unit that has been found to have an
infestation. That means for every one unit that has bed bugs,
property managers were paying for
4
additional treatments and exposing more tenants to treatments
needlessly. By using a bed bug dog for inspection, only units
that have been found to have bed bugs actually has to be
treated.
Bed
Bug Dogs have been trained by the best trainers to be hard
workers and friends to man. Nevertheless, a truly effective Bed
Bug Dog must be trained daily, kept active and healthy, and be
constantly aware of his/her objectives. Bed Bug Dogs are not
pets, they are an invaluable part of a bed bug control strategy,
and as such are treated with the love and respect they deserve.
Amazingly, they seem unerringly eager to do their jobs, finding
an obvious sense of gratification in what they do, all the while
needing only the praise and love of the handlers to fuel them
forward.
Steam vs. Cryonite
Currently, there is no effective chemical that is being
manufactured for pest control companies to kill the egg stage of
the bed bug. That means if your bed bug program does not
include either steam or cryonite (a freezing
method) you may be wasting your money, as the remaining bed bug
eggs are sure to hatch and re-infest your building.
Pest
Control Companies with the greatest track record of success
utilize steam treatments or a cryonite treatment to complement
their chemical treatments. Moreover, in the past few years,
there has been a distinct division between companies that use
steam versus those that use cryonite.
Either
method, when generating a direct contact hit against the bed
bug, will kill all stages of the insect including the egg stage,
however, it has been shown that cryonite is not nearly as
effective as steam. A recent study has shown that placing a
live bed bug under a sheet of ordinary copy paper and spraying
the paper with cryonite will not kill the bed bug.
However, doing the same experiment with steam, shows different
results in that the bed bug can not survive a steam treatment
even without having a direct hit.
How to Prepare For Treatment
To
maximize the effectiveness of a Bed Bug Treatment, it is vitally
important for tenants receiving treatment to prepare in
advance. Each tenant should be required to complete the
following before any bed bug control treatment proceeds:
1.
REDUCE CLUTTER. Now is the time to get rid of things that have
been lying about for years, items the tenants have always
intended to get rid of but haven't. Make sure tenants bag and
seal all items they are removing.
This
will help seal and protect from bugs or eggs dropping throughout
the apartment complex.
2. All
beds must be stripped. All linens must be removed and washed on
the hottest setting and dried on high heat. If you are taking
your clothing/linens to a laundry-mat for cleaning, make sure to
use new bags after you launder. Do not use the same bag you
took to the laundry unless it has been washed/dried on high
heat.
3. All
clothing should follow the same procedure as linens. Once taken
from a hot dryer, seal clothes in contractor type bags or large
Ziploc bags until further notice. A sealable Rubbermaid
container may also make life a little easier for access to clean
clothing throughout the process. All linens and clothing should
remain sealed until after the final bed bug control treatment.
If clothing is already clean, just putting the items through a
cycle in a high heat dryer will be fine.
(It's
the heat from the dryer that will kill bed bugs. Don't over
stuff the dryer.)
4. All
dresser drawers, night stands, vanity and armoire drawers must
be emptied or cleared for treatment. All items from said
drawers should remain in the same room if possible. Personal
items can be placed in bags or boxes until after the first
treatment is complete. All closets must be emptied for crack
and crevice treatments.
5. Dry
Clean/Delicates. Dry cleaning items works, however most dry
clean only items can go through a dryer cycle on high heat as
long as the items were not wet. For all questionable items, we
strongly recommend using a Packtite unit.
www.packtite.com
6.
Vacuum each room including the edges of the baseboard molding.
A crevice tool is the best option while vacuuming. This is a
very important step for the effectiveness of your treatment. Be
sure to vacuum under beds and furniture. After each time you
vacuum, remove the bag and place it in a sealed trash bag for
disposal outside the home.
If
using a canister vacuum, empty the debris into the trash for
immediate disposal outdoors and wash canister in very hot
water.
7. All
open food must be removed or placed inside of a refrigerator.
Place all drinking vessels, plates and eating utensils in a
kitchen cabinet.
After Treatment Procedures
1.
Tenant should open any windows (weather permitting) to allow
ventilation
2.
Wipe down any surfaces such as counters, kitchen tables, and bed
side tables.
3. All
furniture should be vacuumed thoroughly.
4. All
floors and along baseboards should be vacuumed thoroughly.
5.
Cover your mattress and box spring with approved bed bug
encasement covers.
What should tenants do with their pets?
Dogs,
Cats, Hamsters, etc: Animals must be removed from apartment
during a bed bug control treatment and may return at designated
safe return time.
The
following preparations are only needed when a fogging treatment
is done:
Fish:
Remove 4 inches of water level, turn off pump/filter and seal
top with plastic and tape.
Birds
and Snakes: Birds and snakes are highly sensitive to airborne
agents and it is strongly recommended that they are taken out of
the area of any treatments and not to return for 24 hours.
Because of building ventilation, both vents in your apt should
be covered while treatment is taking place and a damp towel
should be placed by front door. |
