Bed Bugs-Apartments
The Key to Controlling Bed Bug Infestations in Apartments is Education
Source: multihousingnews.com
"In recent years, bed bugs have staged a major comeback, grabbing headlines and infesting resident communities across the U.S. For resident communities, bed bugs can mean lost residents, long-term damage to an establishment's reputation, the potential for lawsuits and the high cost of pest management service required to eliminate them.
MHN Associate Editor Erika Schnitzer talks to Gordon Morrison, marketing manager at Bayer Environmental Science, about how to identify bedbugs and signs of infestations, prevention techniques, and how to communicate with residents.
Morrison has served on the board of directors for the Professional Pest Management Alliance and has more than 25 years of experience in the professional pest management industry."
Headlines
Annotated Bibliography (Link Library)
Comments
Bed Bugs can be an annoying difficult problem. I know I can come to IREM FIrst for almost anything. The article was a great resource. Thank you.
I have had 5 different locations infected with bed bugs. I don't know that any of them have been totally cleared. I think the tenants stop reporting them until it gets unbearable again. The pest control companies all tell a different tale of how to treat properly. Do the tenants have to throw out their beds and couches for sure? I have had many do that. How about do we have to pull the carpet up at the edges and treat there too? I have seen clean and cluttered apartments that stay infected.
I am not in any way saying that one sector of the population is causing the outbreak, but we are noticing a trend with workers that are coming from over seas. They seem to be either bringing them into the country or have guests that do. We are now spending $800 to $1000 per apartment to "Heat Treat" the apt. I would think the US would be able to work with other countries airlines to start inspecting items for these pests.
This is a very good article that summarizes bed bugs. They are not an easy pest to eradicate, as there is "no magic bullet", as there are for most other household pests. Identification of the problem, through education, and then having the tenants comply with apartment preparation is key. They can feed off a host and live for months undetected. I know a number of companies that have resorted to bed bug sniffing dogs to specifically identify problem areas, as they are much more efficient than humans.
- Owen Ahearn | Flag this comment for review