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December 6, 2009 - As families
head to festive gatherings this
holiday season, they had better
take note of the scope of the
bed bug problem in hotels and
motels along the way and best
practices to prevent bringing
bed bugs home.
After all, the growing problem
of bed bugs in the hospitality
industry is undeniable. The
National Pest Management
Association says the overall bed
bug problem in the United States
has grown by 71 percent since
2001. And according to recent
news, the Franklin County Board
of Health, which serves
Columbus, Ohio, recently
predicted as many as 70 percent
of hotels and motels in that
jurisdiction have had a bed bug
problem. It’s unlikely that
Columbus is unique among major
cities.
While the inconvenience and
itchy bites associated with
staying in a bed bug infested
hotel are troublesome, what’s
more of a problem is what
happens when an infestation is
brought home. Costs for home bed
bug extermination services can
run in the thousands of dollars
and create a serious
inconvenience. Bed bug
extermination requires a
detailed and time intensive
process for the residents of an
infested property over a number
of weeks.
Petra Minoff-Michael, Vice
President of the Hospitality
Division at
Protect-A-Bed, who works
with hotel owners and operators
across the country to develop
and implement an aggressive
approach to addressing bed bugs,
is all too familiar with the
problem. She’s also an expert at
offering advice and solutions.
“Vigilance pays off when you
travel,” Minoff-Michael said. “A
simple routine when you arrive
at a hotel and when you arrive
home, can go a long way to
decreasing your chances of
catching hitchhikers in your
luggage.”
“Seventy percent of hotel
dwelling bed bugs are taking up
residence in mattresses, box
springs, night stands and
headboards, so these should be
among the first places you
look,” Minoff-Michael said.
She offers the following steps
to help travelers decrease their
chances of dealing with a bed
bug problem:
Protect-A-Bed’s basic tips
for travelers to follow upon
checking-in to their hotel:
-
Using a travel flashlight,
conduct a very basic
inspection of the bed by
pulling back the bed linens
and checking the visible
edges of the mattress. Look
for evidence of live bugs,
dark brownish to black spots
or stains that could
indicate bed bugs.
-
Inspect the headboard and
the spaces between the
carpet and the wall where
moulted skins, excrement and
eggs of the bed bugs could
be found.
-
Do not place your luggage
near the places where bed
bugs are typically found –
on the bed, near the bed, on
the couch or any type of
upholstered furniture.
-
Elevate your luggage on a
luggage stand.
-
Keep your luggage closed at
all times. If possible, use
hard shelled luggage.
-
When not in use, keep items
like laptops, books,
toiletries, jewelry and
electronics in sealed
plastic bags.
-
Notify the manager-on-duty
immediately if you suspect
bed bugs or if you begin to
develop itchy welts on your
body.
Protect-A-Bed’s basic tips
for travelers to follow upon
returning home:
-
If you are a frequent
traveler, encase mattresses
and box springs before you
leave home.
-
Do not take luggage inside
your home.
-
Unpack your luggage in an
area that is well-lit and
away from furniture and
sleeping areas, such as a
garage.
-
Unpack one suitcase at a
time. Immediately place all
of your clothing that can be
hot-laundered into the
washing machine or into a
garbage bag that can be
sealed and placed aside.
-
All items being laundered
should be laundered in the
hottest possible wash cycle
and placed in the dryer on
the hottest possible
setting.
-
Place all dry-clean clothing
in a garbage bag, seal it
and place it aside. Consider
using dissolvable laundry
bags to transport your
clothes from your luggage to
the washing machine a simple
one-step process.
-
Empty items that you sealed
in plastic bags (computer,
books, toiletries, etc.) and
immediately discard the bags
in an outdoor trash can.
“While our steps for preventing
an infestation cannot guarantee
bed bugs won’t make it home with
you, they can significantly
decrease the likelihood,” Minoff-Michael
said.
Mattress encasements are an
important part of a bed bug
management strategy, and a vital
tool for those wishing to
minimize serious bed bug
infestation in their mattresses
and box springs. Protect-A-Bed
offers bed bug entry, escape and
bite proof mattress encasements
featuring the company’s patented
BugLock® with Secure Seal®.
Protect-A-Bed products are
designed to make the tell tale
signs of a bed bug infestation
more easily identifiable, and
are used as an essential part of
the bed bug management process
at most hotels and by a majority
of pest control companies
nationwide. If you’d like to
learn more about Protect-A-Bed
and its bed bug management
solutions, visit
www.protectabed.com.
About Protect-A-Bed®
Protect-A-Bed offers consumers a
complete line of protective
bedding products to create a
Healthy Sleep Zone. The unique
technology featured in
Protect-A-Bed’s mattress and
pillow protectors was developed
in South Africa in 1980 before
the company was officially
established in the United States
in 2000. Now selling in 27
countries, Protect-A-Bed is a
worldwide leader in mattress
protection innovation. The
company developed the
proprietary Miracle Membrane®
and patented Bug Lock® and
Secure Seal®, which help create
a dry, bed bug free,
anti-allergy sleep zone for
people of all ages.
Protect-A-Bed products are
listed as a Class 1 Medical
Device with the Food and Drug
Administration and have received
the Good Housekeeping Seal.
For more information, visit
www.protectabed.com. |
