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I just read a statistic that bed bug infestation is up 500%!! This could be a golden opportunity for those operators who do mattress cleaning. Currently I do not advertise this service but have done a few mattresses over the past year. Does anyone know if our “standard” cleaning process (i.e. 101 and extraction) will kill/eliminate bed bugs? If not, is there an additive we can add to our solution or is this best left to a professional exterminator?
Thanks
You can probably help, but leave it to the pros. Bed bugs usually hide (under mattress till you move it, under baseboards, etc) and are not microscopic like dust mites. If you don’t see them get vacuumed up, you probably aren’t helping much. They are also very resilient. I’ve seen studies that say they can withstand extreme hot and cold temperatures and can live for up to a year without eating. Mattress cleaning would be more effective for removal of dust mites vs bed bugs if you have either in your area. That said, I don’t know if our 101 plus extraction would even “kill” all of the dust mites.
I am speaking of bed bugs not dust mites. Bed bugs feed on blood and leave small, itchy mosquito bite type marks on the skin. They can live in beds, chairs, drapery, etc.
Marc,
My comments were in regards to the Bed Bugs (minus last one). They are very tough to kill. I just heard on news today that my city (Denver) is 6th worse in country for bed bugs. Local radio station had callers mentioning that they can live in dormant state for up to a year and one person said their relative had an extermination company that just bought a machine that heats the house up to over 130 degrees for days to kill all the bed bugs. If you were going to clean mattresses, I wouldn’t touch a mattress until the house had been exterminated by a professional.
Good point – I would NOT want to be the one transporting these little suckers.
Here is a good article on bed bugs. Makes a good point about how easy they are to bring into your own home (vacuums, pads, shoes, etc.) Food for thought.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/the-business-of-bedbugs/19627257/
I have recently hooked up with a pest control company that is currently using the heating process to kill the bed bugs. They heat the room to over 130 degrees like dave mentioned for 2-3 hours to kill the Bed Bugs. Once killed it is a good idea to have the carpets cleaned. That is where you can capitalize is selling these pest control companies on you cleaning the carpets after. Who wouldn’t want to have the carpets cleaned after having bed bugs. Most cases are with the hotels but I cleaned a residential home the other day that has had bed bugs for over a year and there where thousands of them in just one room. There are only a few companies actually doing this process. So find them and it may be some good biz.
Have any of you been asked about the possibility of transferring bed bugs from one location to another. I was asked to do a bid for a Marriott Hotel and part of the bid requires a written statement regarding the possible transfer of bed bugs from one location to another?. The hotel basically wants a blanket statement that if we transfer them from one room to another that we would cover the cost of correcting the problem. My concern is how the heck would they be able to prove that I transferred them or if they were already in the room.
Greg, that is a great question and I would be hesitant to sign any document like that as the “origin” of a bed bug outbreak is not easy to pinpoint. Likewise, do they go after a customer if they think they infest a room with bed bugs?
Here is another good article on cleaning and how it does (or maybe doesn’t) pertain to bed bug control:
http://www.icsmag.com/Articles/Feature_Article/BNP_GUID_9-5-2006_A_10000000000000974292
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