By James Rodriguez
J.T. Eaton Co., Inc., Western Territory Manager
Bed bugs are the “new black” for the industry. They’re generating a new stream of revenue — and an equal number of headaches. It’s a market that’s growing by leaps and bounds each year, but the accompanying frustrations can also burn out some pest management professionals (PMPs).
Too often, PMPs are faced with apartment building owners only wanting to pay a set price to control their costs. This may barely cover the first few treatments. Problems from municipalities with limited budgets for low-income housing, and homeowners taking matters into their own hands and using sub-standard products are additional obstacles. And let’s not forget about procedural problems, with hotels not adequately reporting a sighting of bed bugs. Other big reasons for the headaches: the risk of litigation in chemical-sensitive environments, deciding on what to use, and documenting every bit of the treatments.
What about low-income families who work in the service industry — in hotels, restaurants, airports, schools, etc.? At a nice hotel where a bed bug symposium was occurring a few years ago, I had a brief conversation with a hotel worker who had been fighting a bed bug problem for three months at home. With no success and no money to treat his home, where he ended up or whether he solved the problem, I’ll never know. But he and his clothing were coming to work each day. This occurs every day in every city.
Educating the public is an ongoing process, and may tie up your phones lines every now and then with questions and concerns. Be prepared. If you haven’t already, develop a “cheat sheet” for your techs and office staff that lists good websites, reliable products, YouTube video links and printable checklists. This will lower your time on the phone and truly help your community. Better yet, add the info to a page on your website that you can direct customers to visit at their convenience.
Remember that you’re not alone in this fight. Many industry manufacturers and distributors have an array of products, videos and printable instructions to help with any program. Another valuable resource is www.PestWorld.org, as the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) has worked diligently to educate our industry and provide up-to-date information.
Finally, regardless of whether you’re doing bed bug jobs, find ways to support local low-income families with solid and proven control methods, and good information to help with their bed bug problems. The long hours of continuing education you’ve taken over the years, and thousands of hours of practical application, makes you the right person to help keep the bed bug epidemic under control.
I found your article very interesting. As an industry member ( owner desert web inc. Yuma az) there are some other concerns as well. I’m also an licensed practical nurse and see many challenges with low income facilities for the mentally challenged. I ha be a hotel in Yuma that rents to low income families and individuals. We’ve encountered bed bugs and are challenged every day. It’s one thing when your renter cognitive abilities are good, but when you have physical or mental issues it is almost impossible to eliminate these pests. These individuals are low income, poor support systems and don’t understand the magnitude of the situation. Most don’t have the ability to take baths reg, cook or clean there apartments. How can we rid their apartments of infestations on our own with no help. It’s crazy. I’ve stayed on my own time cleaning and bagging personal items for those who were incapable of helping. The big picture is even when we rid one unit of a problem tenants bring items infested in ie old beat tresses they find, chairs etc in the trash or walk into an infected unit and transfer them to their apartment. We as an industry have a very big problem