BED BUG
WHAT ARE BED BUGS?
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Bed bugs are parasitic insects of the cimicid family that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, is the best known as it prefers to feed on human blood; other Cimex species specialize in other animals, e.g., bat bugs, such as Cimex pipistrelli (Europe), Cimex pilosellus (Western United States), and Cimex adjunctus (entire Eastern United States).
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WHY THE NAME
The name bed bug derives from the preferred habitat of Cimex lectularius: warm houses and especially near or inside beds and bedding or other sleep areas. Bed bugs are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on their hosts without being noticed.
A number of adverse health effects may results from bed bug bites, including skin rashes, psychological effects, and allergic symptoms.[6] Bed bugs are not known to transmit any pathogens as disease vectors. Certain signs and symptoms suggest the presence of bed bugs; finding the adult insects confirms the diagnosis.
Bed bugs have been known as human parasites for thousands of years.[7] At a point in the early 1940s, they were mostly eradicated in the developed world, but have increased in prevalence since 1995, likely due to pesticide resistance, governmental bans on effective pesticides, and international travel.[8][9] Because infestation of human habitats has begun to increase, bed bug bites and related conditions have also been on the rise.
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BED BUG IN HOUSES,HOTELS AND OFFICES
Bed Bug in the Hospitality Business
If you have been in the hospitality business for even a month, you have probably brought up the or heard about bed bugs. Oh, and don't get me started on the media hype scaring the public with horrific tales of bed bug infested hotels, schools, and senior living homes. I also want you to know that they can be serious and cause property damage, costly remediation, and destroy your reputation. Detection is the most important part of any plan, and your Housekeeping and Maintenance team should be well trained on knowing where to look, and how to identify any signs of bed bugs.
I would love to see what your hotel is doing, also if you can share please do so. Executive Housekeepers around the world are always looking for more information, and I would be more than happy to post it to my website.
Stay clean-
The Housekeeping Director
Stop Bed Bugs in Hotels Safely
The New York City Department Of Health And Mental Hygiene
What Are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They are usually active at night when people are sleeping. Adult bed bugs have flat, rusty-red-colored oval bodies. About the size of an apple seed, they are big enough to be easily seen, but often hide in cracks in furniture, floors, or walls. When bed bugs feed, their bodies swell and become brighter red. They can live for several months without food or water.
What Does A Bed Bug Bite Feel And Look Like?
Most bed bug bites are initially painless, but later turn into large, itchy skin welts. These welts do not have a red spot in the center like flea bites.
Are Bed Bugs Dangerous?
Although bed bugs are a nuisance, they are not known to spread disease.
How Does A Hotel Become Infested With Bed Bugs?
In most cases, guests carry bed bugs into hotels unknowingly, in infested luggage, clothing, blankets, and pillows. Hotels with high occupancy turnover are especially vulnerable to infestation. There is little that can be done to prevent guests from bringing in bed bugs. No hotel is immune to a bed bug infestation.
How Do I Know If A Hotel Room Has Become Infested With Bed Bugs?
Have an inspection plan in place so staff can identify a bed bug infestation before guests do. Train your employees to inspect rooms upon vacancy and whenever a guest complains about bed bugs. Your staff should look for living or dead bed bugs, small bloodstains from crushed insects, or dark spots from droppings. They might find bed bug remains on the linens, the mattress and its seams, the bed springs, behind the headboard, in the seams of upholstered furniture, or even between floor boards.
How Should A Hotel Respond When A Guest Complains About Bed Bugs?
Have a plan in place to address bed bug infestations as soon as they occur, and train staff accordingly.
When a guest complains, hotels should:
Immediately offer a new room to the guest.
Provide a fact sheet about bed bugs.
Reassure the guest that bed bugs are not known to spread disease.
Offer to launder the guest’s clothes. Potentially infested clothing and bedding should be washed separately in the hottest water and dried on the hottest cycle that is safe for the materials.
Bring in a licensed pest control professional for a complete inspection and treatment of the room.
Don’t use the infested room until a pest control professional certifies it free of bed bugs.
How Can Hotels Get Rid Of Bed Bugs?
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recommends that hotels hire a licensed pest control professional to inspect regularly and quickly address infestations when they occur. Work with your vendor to make sure the following steps are taken when you receive a bed bug complaint:
Thoroughly inspect the guest’s luggage and clothing, as well as the infested hotel room and the new room to which the guest was moved.
If a room is infested, all machine-washable bedding, curtains, rugs, towels, and bathrobes should be cleaned separately in the hottest water and dried on the hottest recommended cycle. Dry clean materials if required.
Scrub mattress seams with a stiff brush to dislodge bed bugs and their eggs.
To remove some bed bugs and eggs, use a heavy duty HEPA vacuum on the mattress, bed frame, furniture, floor and carpet. Pay special attention to cracks and spaces. Discard the used vacuum bag in a sealed plastic bag before using the vacuum in another room.
Place infested mattresses or box springs in zippered plastic covers and store them for at least one year before using them again.
Securely bag all discarded materials to prevent further infestation.
Repair cracks in plaster and loose wallpaper.
Seal cracks around the baseboards of the room completely with caulking material.
Treat the room with special cleaning products and/or pesticides, if necessary. (Pest control products may only be used by professionals licensed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.)
Reinspect the room periodically to ensure that bed bugs are gone.
Make a visual inspection for bed bugs part of the staff’s cleaning routine every time a room is vacated.
Are Pesticides Necessary For Getting Rid Of Bed Bugs?
The best way to get rid of bed bugs is to clean, disinfect, and eliminate their hiding places. Since bed bugs can live for several months without food and water, pest control professionals may recommend the use of a pesticide. Make sure your exterminator:
Uses the least toxic pesticide that will be effective, and avoids “insecticide bombs” and “foggers” since they can spread hazardous chemicals throughout rooms.
Follows the directions on product labels.
Advises your hotel staff to stay out of treated rooms until it is safe to reenter.
Treats mattresses and upholstered furniture with pesticides only if necessary, and only by applying small amounts of pesticides on seams only. Pesticides should never be sprayed on top of mattresses or sitting surfaces.
How Can I Keep The Hotel’s Furniture From Spreading Infestation?
Never resell or donate infested furniture.
When you throw away an infested mattress, box spring, or other items:
Cut holes in it so it can’t be reused.
Seal it in a large plastic bag to prevent spread of the bed bugs or eggs during transport.
Tape a sign to it that says, “Infested with Bed Bugs.”
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/health or your local State or County office.
Bed Bug Training from the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force
Looking for Bed Bugs
This training module was brought to you by the Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force, I wanted to thank them for their efforts, in the training and information they have put together. It is awesome to have great organizations such as the COBBTF, which allow us to help do our jobs better as General Managers, Executive Housekeepers, and Facility Managers.
I feel this information is of great use in training our staff to identify bed bugs, since detection is the most important way to prevent bites, and infestation, we are the first line of defense.
The Housekeeping Director
Michael Chandler
Why Bother?
In the past 10 years, bed bugs have begun making a comeback across the United States. Their diet consists only of blood. Bed Bugs feed like mosquitoes by extracting blood from their meal source whether it is humans, animals or birds. They are totally incapable of eating food like other insects or mammals. Ant and roach baits have no impact. Aerosol bombs for fleas or other insects don’t work either other than making the bugs scatter to different areas of the same room or to adjacent rooms. International travel and commerce have facilitated the spread of these insect hitchhikers that have been found on airplanes, ships, trains and buses.
Bed bugs are most frequently found in dwellings with a high rate of occupant turnover. Hotels and motels certainly fall into that category along with college dormitories and apartment complexes to just mention a few.
Beginning the Search
Bed bug infestation can be recognized by
blood stains from crushed bugs or
rusty (sometimes dark) spots of excrement on sheets and mattresses and walls.
fecal spots, eggshells and shed skin may be found near their hiding places.
an offensive, sweet, musty odor from the bed bug scent glands may be detected when infestations are severe.
They’re Great at Hiding
Bed bugs do a great job of hiding so closely examine many areas of a room. Daily inspections for bed bugs by the housekeeping staff and/or maintenance staff are strongly recommended. A member of the management should also conduct additional spot inspections of random rooms. Concentrate on:
mattresses and box springs. Look around the mattress seams and undersides of box springs.
bedding, including sheets, a comforter and blanket can show evidence.
upholstered furniture around seams, edges of cushions and undersides of chairs.
wood furniture on the undersides and interiors of chests where drawers slide.
bed frames around metal joints and lips.
Also, frequently check:
Window and door frames
Crevices
Carpet tack strips at the wall
Baseboards
Electrical boxes
Pictures and other wall hangings
Drapery pleats
Loosened wallpaper
Cracks in plaster
Ceiling moldings
If bed bugs are found in one lodging room, it is advisable to also inspect adjoining units since bed bugs can travel long distances. Better safe than sorry!
Identify and Seek Professional Help
This is one problem that cannot be overlooked. To ignore the signs of bed bugs in a hotel property will not only be costly mistake but it could result in a large number of rooms being closed to the public until professional eradication has been accomplished. If the problem is ignored, thousands of dollars will quickly disappear from the hotel’s income, possibly impacting jobs.
The presence of bed bugs is not an indication that a room has not been cleaned properly. A bed bug doesn’t care where it lives as long as there is a blood source.
Professional assistance is required to rid a property of bed bugs. Be sure the company you select is experienced in bed bug eradication or hire a pest control company recommended by a fellow hotel owner or manager. A single chemical treatment is seldom effective. Multiple chemical treatments by a professional should be considered. Bed bugs are treated with chemicals and some companies are working with cryogenics, a new experimental technology using liquid nitrogen. Freezing will kill eggs and bugs. You should speak with your exterminator and decide which is best for your particular problem. A single chemical treatment may cost as much as $300 and normally three treatments during a 6-8 week period are necessary. If the problem is ignored, that cost could reach thousands for each room.
Don’t forget to inspect each adjacent room on the same floor and the room directly above. If there is a crack in the ceiling, bed bugs will find a way to get into the crack and move into new quarters in the room directly above.
Bed Bugs Discovered; Now What?
With a significant infestation, immediate action is required. According to health officials, “significant” means the discovery of bed bugs in any number in a single room. The following actions are necessary to protect your property.
Sources(https://www.thehousekeepingdirector.com/bed-bugs.html)
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