Prevention starts at home

ILLUSTRATION: LEO MICHAEL

The content of this month’s cover story, “Bed Bug Horror Stories,” made me wonder how pest management professionals (PMPs) keep from bringing the monsters home. Over the years, we’ve consistently advised readers to check themselves for bed bugs before getting into their vehicles, for example. I decided to follow up with a few readers for additional tips.

Some mentioned using certain products on their vehicles, equipment, shoes and in some cases, even person. However, the legality of such strategies can vary by state, so please read and follow the labels before going that route.

I also received more universal advice. “If I know the job is going to be bad, I always wear a Tyvek suit — and it always goes in the trash afterward,” reports Rick Osters, owner of Elgin, Ill.-based ProGuard Pest Solutions.

Jason Gibbons — who also contributed to our cover story package — follows a routine: “I change my clothes in the garage and put my work clothes into a garbage bag. I throw my equipment into another garbage bag with a dichlorvos strip and tie it up. I take the work clothes inside and put them into the dryer on high heat. The garbage bag the clothes were in is put in the outside garbage can immediately.”

Once all that’s done, concludes the owner of Men in Black Pest Control Services, Naperville, Ill., it’s “throw clothes in washer, shower, nap.”

Read more from Gibbons here: Ask a LOT of questions