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New Jersey Apartment Association - AIM Magazine
May 2010
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.
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