By now, we are all aware that “bedbugs are back”. Actually, they never truly left. Once nearly eradicated by DDT (which also nearly eradicated everything else), bedbugs have seen a steady resurgence since it’s ban in the 1970s. Frequent articles, blogs, social media posts, and even TV news headlines are hard to miss. Hotels are under attack, it seems, as are schools, libraries, movie theaters, college campuses, day care centers….the list truly goes on and on.
One of the last places you would have expected to find bedbugs, however, is in the workplace (unless, of course, you work at any of the aforementioned places). But don’t let their name fool you…bedbugs are not relegated to places where people sleep. Offices, retail stores, courthouses…these places have all seen recent issues with bedbugs. In truth bedbugs can be found just about any place humans are found. As for your workplace, if there is a report of bedbugs…don’t panic! Here are some tips for you to steer clear and help prevent taking them home with you.
The annual list of the Top 50 Bedbug Cities, compiled by Orkin Pest, is here. Orkin uses the total number of bedbug calls, combining both residential and commercial properties, to compile this annual list. Baltimore drops the top spot this year, yielding that position to its southern neighboring city, our nation’s capital Washington DC. (We wonder if they are counting the politicians, too!) To see where your city ranks this year, continue reading below.
We have some BIG news of our won…Our NEW & IMPROVED website is now LIVE! Now it is even easier for hotels to:
NOBBEL, Inc is the National Organization of Bed Bug Education for Lodging. We offer expert bedbug training and certifications to the lodging industry to help battle online reviews and build consumer confidence. Concerned travelers can book rooms with our certified locations on our website at www.KnowBedBugs.com.
Connie Flores & her husband have filed a lawsuit over their “horrific experience” on board.
Couple was celebrating their anniversary
WHERE DID YOU FIND BEDBUGS?
Simple fact: Bedbugs can be found wherever humans are found. They hitchhike in our belongings to get from place to place.
Our mission is to help hotels “fight back” against bedbugs. People bring bedbugs into hotels. Hotels Are NOT to blame.
From home invasions to surprise travel mates, the Bed Bug Field Guide smartphone app provides information to assist with any encounter of the tiny pests. This app makes GREAT sense, especially to the frequent traveler.
Of course there are ways you can detect bedbug activity, even without the app. With our Bedbug Detection link, you will get all of the facts, photos and descriptions of bedbug activity that you need in order to avoid bedbugs.
CERTIFIED PROPERTY SPOTLIGHT: The following hotel properties have achieved their NOBBEL certifications. Any guest would feel better about staying in a bed bug certified property, confident that the staff is well-trained, and that the property has a plan!
Is YOUR property NOBBEL certified? Get more information or claim your property here.
Guests can click “BOOK THIS HOTEL” on our site to reserve a room. We offer direct links to our certified properties websites, and do so at 0% commissions! Yet another reason to get your property certified today. Ready to get started? Claim your property here, or email us: info@knowbedbugs.com.
DID YOU KNOW:
Bed bugs can ingest seven times their own weight in blood, which would be the equivalent of an average-sized male drinking 120 gallons of liquid.
The season is upon us, and the Holidays are a very busy time of the year for travelers and hotels alike. Family and friends gather to give thanks, break bread, share memories and make even more. The season is wonderful, but it isn’t without it’s own troubles!
The gathering of people, in any place, presents the potential for bedbug introductions. Even the icy temperatures outside do nothing to stop bedbugs from spreading, as written about in this article from the NY Times. Still, there are steps you can take to avoid bedbugs, as well as steps you can take to deal with that hitchhiker you might have brought home, and we will provide you some resources in this newsletter.
Because of the busy travel season, most hotel properties will see an increase in bedbug issues along with the increase in guests. Loss of consumer confidence AND loss of revenue make bedbugs one of the hardest issues currently facing hoteliers. This is why we started NOBBEL, Inc.
NOBBEL, Inc is the National Organization of Bed Bug Education for Lodging. We offer expert bedbug training and certifications to the lodging industry to help battle online reviews and build consumer confidence. Concerned travelers can book rooms with our certified locations on our website at www.KnowBedBugs.com.
Prevention Tips and some “DIY” Okay, so bedbugs are really NOT a “DIY” pest when it comes to treatment. They are very good hiders, have shown growing resistance to chemicals, and over-the-counter sprays may kill the bugs you see, but do nothing for the eggs that you don’t! Still, there are some preventative steps you can take to avoid bedbugs, and there are a few methods you can use to keep the bugs at bay.
First, you need to know what bedbugs are and how they operate. Get familiar with the signs of activity so you can know what to look for! Use this link to educate yourself!
CERTIFIED PROPERTY SPOTLIGHT: The following hotel properties have achieved their NOBBEL certifications. Any guest would feel better about staying in a bed bug certified property, confident that the staff is well-trained, and that the property has a plan!
Is YOUR property NOBBEL certified? Get more information or claim your property here.
Guests can click “BOOK THIS HOTEL” on our site to reserve a room. We offer direct links to our certified properties websites, and do so at 0% commissions! Yet another reason to get your property certified today. Ready to get started? Claim your property here, or email us: info@knowbedbugs.com.
DID YOU KNOW:
Bedbugs produce a pheromone that give off an unpleasant, musky odor? It’s true. If your room smells terrible, these critters might be to blame!
Bedbug Headlines * Certified Property Spotlight * Did You Know?
It’s October, and that means Halloween is near! This time of the year is both fun, and yes, even scary for some. With frequent mentions of ghosts and ghouls, zombies and monsters, our imaginations run wild with creepy thoughts and horrific costume ideas. We think this costume, for instance, is about the scariest we have seen!
Why is this so scary? Just ask anyone who has battled bedbugs. Their diet consists of human blood, they are VERY hard to get rid of, and they can be expensive to get rid of, too! For this reason, it is important to become familiar with bedbugs, and the signs of bedbug activity. Our site has all of the information you need. Trust us, you don’t want this hitchhiker coming home with you!
Bedbugs are even MORE frightening to our friends in the hospitality industry. One negative review about bedbugs can cost a loss of consumer confidence. This equals a loss of money, aside from treatment costs, and make bedbugs one of the hardest issues currently facing hoteliers. This is why we started NOBBEL, Inc.
NOBBEL, Inc is the National Organization of Bed Bug Education for Lodging. We offer bedbug training, testing and certifications to the lodging industry to help battle online reviews and build consumer confidence. Concerned travelers can book rooms with our certified locations on our website at www.KnowBedBugs.com. Join our growing list of certified properties. See what some of our certified partners are saying.
In this harrowing issue:
Headlines: The latest SPOOKY bed bug news from across the country
Certified Property Spotlight: These properties won’t give you the chills!
Did You Know?: A little fact about bedbugs for that new wrinkle in your brain
Want to increase direct bookings? Increase profits? Concerned travelers can book rooms via direct links to our certified properties, commission-free! Join our growing list of certified properties.
Treatments are becoming more expensive as the bugs take hold
Is competition good for pricing?
WHERE THERE ARE PEOPLE, THERE CAN BE BEDBUGS: Yes, hotels are a hotbed (no pun intended) for bedbugs to spread from one unsuspecting guest to another. But PEOPLE bring them into hotels. Hotels Are NOT to blame, and not the only place you find bedbugs!
CERTIFIED PROPERTY SPOTLIGHT: The following hotel properties have achieved their NOBBEL certifications. Any guest would feel better about staying in a bed bug certified property, confident that the staff is well-trained, and that the property has a plan!
Is YOUR property NOBBEL certified? Get more information or claim your property here.
Guests can click “BOOK THIS HOTEL” on our site to reserve a room. We offer direct links to our certified properties websites, and do so at 0% commissions! Yet another reason to get your property certified today. Ready to get started? Claim your property here, or email us: info@knowbedbugs.com.
DID YOU KNOW:
Bedbugs ARE visible to the naked eye, even the eggs. Still, for inspections, be sure to use a flashlight and magnifying glass to help you find signs of their activity.
Just return from a trip to find that bed bugs hitched a ride with you? If so, it can be quite unsettling. Bed bugs are notorious for being a difficult pest to control. And once a population “sets up shop” in your home and starts breeding, bed bugs can also be an expensive pest to eradicate. Complete evacuation of bed bugs can often mean a price tag in the thousands. But don’t panic! A few hitchhikers does NOT have to turn into a full-blown infestation. By using the following tips, you can increase your odds of avoiding a multi-generational bed bug infestation.
If you have been unfortunate enough to have battled bed bugs, then you completely understand how difficult treatment can be. A quick search on the web for bed bug treatments can leave you dizzy with suggestions, choices and opinions. Many websites tout home-based remedies such as diatomaceous earth, steam cleaning, vacuum cleaning, etc. There are also many over-the-counter products (too many to name in fact) that promise to “kill bed bugs overnight” or offer a “1-time bed bug treatment”. So who and what information do you trust?
Undoubtedly, if you are reading this blog, you have heard about the resurgence of bed bugs. We have written about the pests’ rapid increase in numbers as it effects the hotel industry and it’s guests, discussed the usefulness of the bedbug registry, and commented on housekeeping duties and training to help alleviate guest incidents, among other topics. And we are not the only website writing on the subject. A search for “bed bugs” on Google yields over 7,210,000 results! That is a LOT of information. Unfortunately, not all of the information can be trusted.
There have been bed bugs for thousands of years, and at least as long as people have been sleeping. However, the use of DDT nearly wiped out the now-common pest in the 40s, 50s and 60s. But DDT use was banned here in the United States in 1972, and the resurgence of bed bugs began. Within the last 10 years in specific, bed bugs have made a dramatic comeback. According to a 2015 Bugs Without Borders Survey conducted by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) and the University of Kentucky, homes are still overwhelmingly the #1 place where pest control professionals battle the bugs. In second place, nearly 3/4 (74%) of pest control professionals have also battled infestations in hotels, motels and resorts. This explains the rise of consumer concern around bed bugs (a good thing) as well the the proliferation of websites like the Bed Bug Registry (not a good thing!) Hotels, motels and resorts are on the front lines of this battle, and need to be proactive. Having a well trained housekeeping staff is the best place to start!
If you were paying attention over the last couple of weeks, you probably noticed that bed bugs are still a hot topic for news headlines across the country. Thankfully for the hotel industry AND it’s guests, the focus has shifted from the lodging industry and headlines are now discussing the growing bed bug problem in our nation’s schools. Even in the nation’s capital, a school had to be closed for bed bug and rodent issues.
At the same time, as Spring approaches and we start to make plans for our Summer vacations, focus will undoubtedly shift back to bed bugs in hotels, motels and resorts. They may already be a factor in your travel decisions. The concerned traveler may be familiar with Orkin’s annual list of the ‘Top 50 Bed Bug Cities‘, and may try to avoid destinations on the list. The pest control company based the ranking on treatment data collected from the areas it performed the most bed bug treatments between December 1, 2015 and November 30, 2016. Before you go changing travel plans, however, remember that this list includes residential as well as commercial treatments. You might want to ask yourself this question instead: Where do the people who live in the cities on this list travel? Where do they take their vacations? Are they taking bed bugs with them?
Whether you are a concerned traveler, a hotel owner, or a property manager, certainly you are aware of the growing bed bug epidemic. In fact, 1 out of 5 Americans has had a bed bug infestation in their home or knows someone who has encountered bed bugs at home or in a hotel according to a 2011 study. More than likely, those numbers have increased in the 5 years since. Yet as our previous blogstated, this epidemic does NOT rest firmly on the shoulders of the lodging industry. Hotels did not invent bed bugs. Bed bugs are in hotels because guests bring them in, plain and simple. Responsibility lies on the guests AND the lodging industry to help halt the growth of the epidemic.
