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Bed Bugs: What's Really Working
1 Mar, 2008 By: Paul J. Bello Pest Management ProfessionalPart one of this two-part series uncovers keys to beating these bloodsucking pests
They're back! While not every pest management professional (PMP) is dealing with bed bugs, the infestations are spreading — with some companies tackling several such jobs each week, often twofold or threefold the bed bug jobs they handled last year.
"When I was a technician, we used cyanide egg gas pellets," says Austin Frishman, AMF Pest Management Services in Boca Raton, Fla.
"We ran from room to room with the pellets, working our way out of the house. The slow guys didn't make it," Frishman teased during a recent presentation on bed bugs. The PMP Hall of Famer and columnist recalls his technician days, 40-plus years ago, when bed bug work was done on a regular basis: "When a house had bed bugs, they had a lot of them. I used to strip down outside so I wouldn't bring any home."
 Separating the padded armrest of a couch from the back support padding reveals several adult bed bugs, nymphs and eggs at this account. (Photo by Paul Bello) |
IT'S A BIG JOB
Without a doubt, bed bug work is a big job that takes a lot of effort and out-of-the-box thinking.
"One of the biggest factors in our success is that we stress the need to be thorough," says Joe Kennedy, vice president of Arrow Exterminating, Lynbrook, N.Y. "We schedule bed bug jobs with at least two technicians working together because there is so much work that needs to be done. We are very thorough: A three-bedroom home can take two technicians about seven hours to complete."
Kennedy reports that Arrow's technicians will pull carpet, remove everything from walls, open all utility outlets, turn over and inspect all furniture for treatment and remove all dust covers. At one job, he recalls how "the home was so infested that we bagged all the clothing and brought it to two local laundry services ourselves."
Kennedy stresses that it is important to ensure that all cracks and crevices are treated, as well as any place bed bugs can hide.
"It's definitely a two-man job," Frishman concurs. "Technicians have to move furniture, mattresses and other things, plus turn them upside down for proper inspection and treatment."
 Thorough treatment includes the removal of outlet covers and utility penetrations where stealthy bed bugs may harbor or travel. (Photo courtesy of Arrow Exterminating, Lynbrook, NY.) |
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