Bed bugs in your hotel/motel business can be devastating to your business if someone leaves a review about it or via word of mouth. Here is how to detect and control this from ever happening.
The most common place to find bed bugs are in hospital patient rooms, waiting room areas, furniture, and laundry rooms.
Train your employees on how to detect bed bugs’ early warning signs before it gets out of hand.
- Have your employees be on the lookout for tiny bugs under the sheets, mattresses, and furniture where human contact is the most.
- Be on the lookout for brownish stains, small holes and/or tears on the sheets.
- Very small feces the size of coffee grounds.
- Musty odors and skin sheds.
Here are some common questions that we are asked about bed bugs.
Where do bed bugs come from?
Bed bugs can hitch a ride from other customers’ luggage, backpacks, purses, and other personal items. They also can be transferred from bringing in used furniture that has not been cleaned or inspected. Bed bugs also travel between rooms to find a more livable area in hotels so just cleaning one room that is infested is not enough. They will just move to another room. They must be killed and that is what we are here for.
Where do bed bugs hide?
Bed bugs will look like small brown spots to the naked eye and they frequent areas where human contact is such as beds, couches, chairs, etc. but they also hand out in the folds of curtains, the joints of drawers, under loose wallpaper, outlets, and the corners of rooms.
Can dogs carry bed bugs?
Yes, they can use them to hitch a ride to a new location but they do not live on dogs. So it is possible for bed bugs to hitch a ride on a customer’s dog when they check-in for the night and since they do not live on dogs they will move to the furniture in your hotel room.
How fast do bed bugs spread from room to room?
They travel pretty fast and can cover a distance of four feet per minute but they hitch rides on items people carry and animals to make the journey even faster.
Can you see bed bugs?
Yes, bed bugs will look like small brown spots to the naked eye.
This image will give you an idea of how small they are and help you identify them.
Do bed bugs fly?
No, they don’t but they move very rapidly and hitch rides on items and animals to move from one place to the other frequently.
What attracts bed bugs?
Bed bugs are attracted to human blood and will feast upon you. They are also attracted to your body heat and the carbon dioxide you exhale when you breathe. That is why they’re commonplace to rest is in your bed.
What kills bed bugs instantly?
High temperature can kill bed bugs and their eggs, but it would have to be 212 degrees Fahrenheit to do this. Ask us how we can do this for you. Steam cleaning can be done also if your steam cleaner can reach these temperatures.
How to recognize Bed Bug Bites
Bedbugs are nocturnal and will bite you while you are sleeping. They drink your blood through their beak and when they receive their fill which takes 3 to 10 minutes they will leave unlink the common wood tick.
When bed bugs bite it goes unnoticed until you get the itchy welt like in the picture.