by Tommy Underhill, GreenTech Heat
April 20, 2021

Congratulations: your hotel or motel survived the pandemic! You’re ready to spring back to business and thrive again! Don’t let bed bugs threaten to devour your reputation and suck your future dry.

This is the complete 5-part series on bed bugs in the hospitality industry, how to identify them, and ways to combat them and protect your reputation.

Preserve your room inventory and don’t let bed bugs lose you money. Armor & Shield has the best discreet bed bug treatment equipment that will get your rooms back in service in just 1 day!

• Part 1: Not just a problem for travelers
• Part 2: Don’t wait for bed bug complaints to make a plan
• Part 3: Where to find bed bug infestations
• Part 4: Partner with Armor & Shield for discreet 1-day bed bug extermination
• Part 5: World-class company backed by empirical results from university studies

A single breeding pair of bed bugs will create an infestation numbering well over half a million hungry, breeding bed bugs in just ten months. Anything less than 100% success is a failed treatment... and any bed bugs that survived your last treatment are ready to repopulate your hotel.

Part 1: Not just a problem for travelers

The National Pest Management Association cautions travelers that this past year-long hotel and lodging vacancy has emboldened hungry bed bug populations. GreenTech Heat Solutions wants to get the word out to the hospitality industry— including hotels, motels, hostels, and camps— that any bed bugs that survived your last bed bug treatment have been patiently waiting for their next meal to arrive.

“Bed bugs can be found virtually anywhere, and while many Americans are excited to resume travel plans as stay-at-home orders are slowly lifted across the country, it’s imperative that [hospitality managers] remember to stay vigilant against bed bugs,” said Brittany Campbell, Ph.D., entomologist for the NPMA. “Bed bugs can survive several months without a blood meal and with many hotels experiencing low occupancy over the last few months, bed bugs will be hungry and may actually come out in broad daylight to feed— a dramatic shift in behavior for a pest that is notorious for feeding at night.”

People can’t wait to travel again! Don’t assume that any bed bugs that survived your last treatment starved this past year— adult bed bugs have survived in laboratories without food for as long as 550 days and they will be hungry! As far as bed bugs are concerned, as we continue to return to business as usual— whatever that ends up looking like— you will be hosting a grand-re opening buffet special for them: a potentially unlimited supply of guests that will become their next meals. All it takes is a few adult bed bugs that did not encounter pesticides from your last treatment to feed on your customers, resume mating, lay eggs which hatch, and reinvigorate the infestation. Understanding the bed bug life cycle shows where each stage of the insect’s metamorphosis from egg to adult will continue to pester guests. Call us at 405-698-6090 to interrupt this cycle.

Part 2: Don’t wait for bed bug complaints to make a plan

Bed bugs continue to be one of the most difficult pests to control and are commonly reintroduced by hotel guests. These insects are expert hitchhikers, easily making the journey into or out of your facility by hiding in clothing, bedding, electronics, and luggage. Bites can cause irritations ranging from itching to a rash to blisters. Severe cases can result in infection or allergic reaction and may need medical treatment.

According to Brotherhood Mutual Insurance, “If a guest’s interaction with bed bugs results in injury or financial damage, your hotel could potentially be liable for any expenses incurred. Costs associated with paying medical bills, refunding a portion or all the guest’s room fees, and paying to treat the guest’s home could reach into the thousands.”

Brotherhood Mutual Insurance offers the following advice: “The following often are considered ineffective and potentially dangerous measures used by do-it-yourselfers: ammonia, bleach, fire, gasoline and kerosene, wasp spray, bug bombs, and overuse/improper use of agricultural or outlawed insecticides bought on the internet. Use of these can result in toxic fumes, serious injuries, and property damage.”

According to Grant Schwarz of Bed Bug Law in Hollywood, Florida, bed bug lawsuits in the hospitality industry often focus on a few common details:

• Simply having a bed bug treatment policy in place is not enough. Accurately following the approved protocol is no guaranteed shield from litigation or settlement.
• As management, you and your maintenance team, their inspections and treatment documentation could be subpoenaed during the course of a lawsuit. Make a habit of being complete and thorough.
• Juries tend to find liability with hotels and other hospitality properties which have not adequately attempted to treat an active bed bug infestation.
• Juries tend to find liability with hotels and other hospitality properties which have evidence of continuing and/or past infestations.

Part 3: Where to find bed bug infestations

Bed bugs continue to be one of the most difficult pests to control and are commonly reintroduced by hotel guests. These insects are expert hitchhikers, easily making the journey into or out of your facility by hiding in clothing, bedding, electronics, and luggage. Bites can cause irritations ranging from itching to a rash to blisters. Severe cases can result in infection or allergic reaction and may need medical treatment.

The problem is more widespread than just finding bed bugs in guest rooms— these insects can infest all areas of a hotel property. Prudent property managers and maintenance teams are always on the look out for multiple problem spots, including...

• Laundry facilities and laundry carts.
• Common areas including waiting areas and the lobby.
• Luggage carts.
• Dining areas.
• Business centers.
• Meeting rooms.
• Convention and ballroom spaces.
• Workout rooms and fitness facilities.
• And, of course, guest rooms.

Don’t assume it’s common knowledge that your staff will know where to look for bed bugs every time they clean or inspect a guest room, or any other area of the property. The best rule to follow is to look in tight places by where humans sit, stand, walk, or sleep. This pie chart shows the most common harborages found within a sleeping room.

The best bed bug to respond to is the one that hasn’t yet bitten a guest or employee. Make sure your team knows the signs to look for, and make it a policy for them to call Armor & Shield at 405-698-6090 to proactively respond to bed bug infestations.

Part 4: Partner with the best company for discreet 1-day bed bug eradications

Traditional pesticide-based bed bug treatments can take weeks to completely eradicate an infestation, and the continuing bites will destroy your reputation in the interim. Don’t let a block of rooms be off-line and out of use for the duration of that treatment. A heat treatment by Armor & Shield is the only one-day single-treatment protocol effective for bed bugs and other insects. Join the hundreds of hospitality managers, property management companies, and homeowners who have decided that self-treating with heat is the most effective and economical method of bed bug extermination available to the hospitality industry. One treatment by Armor & Shield kills bed bugs and their eggs.

The proper heat treatment from Armor & Shield will treat guest rooms, meeting rooms, recreation facilities, laundry facilities, and offices in a single day and then certify them as bed-bug free. Call us today at 405-698-6090 to get a heat treatment scheduled.

Part 5: World-class company backed by empirical results from university studies

Armor & Shield bed bug treatments give additional peace of mind that your guests, employees, and staff will be safe from bed bug bites. Our heat treatments get your rooms quickly back in service.

Insurance companies suggest your staff keep excellent records surrounding anything to do with bed bug: complaints, proactive heat treatments, and any repeat bed bug treatments. Hotels that keep excellent records and treatment logs according to protocol are more successful in showing that reasonable steps were taken to eliminate or control infestations, especially when routine inspections and heat treatments are conducted by certified technicians. If a claim is ever filed, your insurance company will want your records. Having well-documented procedures for regular heat treatments and inspections show that your hotel actively takes measures against infestation—and can prove it. Ensure that maintenance, and cleaning staff understand the importance of accurate documentation and preserving all records.

Bed bug claims across the hospitality industry continue to rise. The total cost of one hotel bed bug claim— medical bills, room fee refunds, replacing belongings, and paying to treat the guests’s home could reach into the thousands... even before you factor in negative word-of-mouth, online reviews, and the loss of your good reputation. Business and revenues have been down for too long and Armor & Shield knows you deserve better than that!

Be prepared for when your guests arrive... any bed bugs that survived your last treatment are excitedly looking forward to your guests this spring and summer! A heat treatment by Armor & Shield will kill bed bugs and sanitize and deodorize guest rooms (and the rest of your facility, too!) in one convenient one-day treatment.

Heat will make your home or business a better place by killing bed bugs and other insects, dust mites, bacteria and other microbes. Trust Armor & Shield to kill all your insect and microbial pests. We do it right and do it safely the first time— in a single one-day treatment that even prevents an immediate reinfestation by killing all the eggs. Call us at 405-698-6090 safely kill all your bed bugs with heat today.

Don’t take our word for it

They provided one of the best pest control services that I have known in my lifetime. They have a pleasant and communicative staff who give great attention to every little issue. Highly recommend them.

Collins Evans
5 Stars: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
January 6 2021