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?
Hotel Certifications, Bed Bug Headlines, Updates, Blog Posts, Travel Tips, & More!
Hi Kurt,
As you may well know, KnowBedBugs offers training, testing and certifications for the lodging industry and it’s employees. Concerned travelers can book rooms with our certified locations directly from our website: www.KnowBedBugs.com
Chesapeake Hospitality is one of the country’s leading hotel management companies, ranking among the top 30 largest independent operators in the industry. Founded 60 years ago, Chesapeake Hospitality currently manages 28 hotels for 13 equity, institution and individual owners and is an approved operator of Hilton, DoubleTree, Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn brands, as well as a number of independent and boutique properties. 2 of their properties, the Fenwick Inn and Beach Plaza Hotel, both located in Ocean City, MD, are already Platinum Certified. Look for our KnowBedBugs Certifications at their other properties in the coming weeks.
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.
Your center for bed bug news, updates, blog posts, travel tips, helpful links and more!
Hi Kurt,
Welcome to the 4th newsletter installment from KnowBedBugs. Our aim is to start the conversation about bed bugs between the lodging industry and their guests through information and education. Here you will read about the latest news, updates and discoveries as they pertain to bed bugs and the travel and lodging industries.
Failure to communicate about a bed bug issue helps spread the disease. Yes, we call it a disease. Bed bugs are communicable, they spread like a virus from person to person. Knowledge and conversation are the enemy of the bed bug. In our updates this week, a 90-year old woman DIES due to complications from bed bugs. This did NOT have to happen! We need to start the conversation.
OK… let’s start off with a quick poll: Please click the link below to answer 2 quick questions!
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!
Your weekly gathering of bed bug news, updates, blog posts, travel tips and more!
Hi Kurt,
It is hard to believe it’s the end of February already. Already in the first 2 months of 2017, our new President has been inaugurated, the West Coast has seen flash floods from the most rain in a decade, and the Travel Ban has been a constant headline…(undoubtedly the Lodging Industry has been paying some attention to the latter)
As this newsletter takes shape, we are experiencing 70+ degree temperatures here in the Mid-Atlantic region, and our thoughts are already on the coming vacation season. As traveler’s start planning for their excursions, certain factors always play a part in their decision making. Perhaps the TOP of this list is cleanliness. In our most recent video, our “man on the street” asked guests what factors they consider. Hoteliers take note: your guests ARE aware of the bed bug issue. See what they have to say:
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?
It has been a VERY active week in Bed Bug news this week, particularly with our SCHOOLS!
Yes, schools are now on the front lines of the bed bug battle. This can be a traumatic experience for the children involved. Imagine the ridicule a child receives (although unjustly) for having brought bed bugs into the classroom. It can’t help but remind me of the lice checks we all went through in school, and of those unfortunate children who were singled out once lice was discovered on them. And while we are sympathetic to all schoold and children invloved, this new battleground does add credence to our overall viewpoint about this plague.
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.
