How To Help Keep Bed Bugs Away From Your Business

You know how much a bed bug sighting can tarnish your reputation and affect your business, and that bed bugs tend to be top of mind for guests, residents and patients, as well as employees. Knowing this, having a proactive plan for managing these tiny, resilient pests can give you the confidence to help keep your operations running smoothly.

Why You Should Care About Bed Bugs

• Reproduce quickly, causing an infestation to escalate
• Adept at hitchhiking by way of luggage, clothing and other personal belongings
• Quickly infest mattresses, upholstery, cracks and crevices, making them difficult to detect and eliminate
• Negative guest reviews from a poor experience (no one likes to be bitten!)
• Low occupancy from a tarnished reputation
• Costly to eliminate once an infestation occurs

So, how can you help ensure a comfortable environment for guests, residents and patients without overwhelming your cleaning staff? Partnering with a reliable and experienced pest control professional will make sure you have an effective plan in place and help you avoid countless hours of headaches dealing with bed bug complaints. You can be proactive by following these tips:

How To Help Prevent Bed Bugs

• Early Detection: Regularly inspect rooms and common areas for rust-colored stains, insect casings and unsealed cracks/crevices. Contact your pest control provider immediately if you notice any pest activity.
• Employee Education and Awareness: Train and empower your staff to recognize the signs of bed bugs (your pest control provider might offer complimentary trainings) and how to report an issue.
• Robust Cleaning and Maintenance Protocols: You likely already maintain a high standard of cleanliness with the help of your sanitation and housekeeping team, but consider adding periodic inspections by your pest control provider to look for pest-specific sanitation and maintenance issues.
• Effective Pest Control Partnership: Communicate regularly with your pest control provider to make sure your bed bug plan is working and any updates are made promptly. This small step can help significantly reduce the risk of bed bugs gaining a foothold in your property.

Bed bugs may never go away for good, but by remaining vigilant, educating your team and partnering with a trusted pest control expert, you can help create an environment that will keep your customer experiences positive and your reputation intact.

For more tips on how to help keep bed bugs away from your people and your property, check out Orkin’s Bed Bugs Checklist.