Prepping for Bed Bug Treatments During COVID-19

Today’s hotel guests have raised expectations for cleanliness, which means any bed bug sightings pose an even greater threat to a hotel’s reputation. From inspecting hotel rooms to post-treatment tactics, following a comprehensive checklist can ensure hotel accounts keep bed bugs under control and out of site.

1. Assess & Inspect

COVID-19 has heightened public awareness on just how important basic cleanliness can be in hotel rooms. Given the pent-up travel demand, the availability of COVID-19 vaccines and the potential for business travel to pick up, it’s important to thoroughly inspect rooms for bed bugs before guests arrive. Scan the room and take a mental note of the prep work that’s going to be required for the room before getting started with inspection. Next, what’s the damage? Check the corner of walls, curtains, sofas, and any other furniture or fabric. Even rooms that have been laying vacant for months are just as susceptible to bed bugs.

2. Prep

This step is extremely important to ensure the treatment is as effective as possible. Bag up all bedding and fabrics in the room. Open up furniture like dressers and arrange all furniture in a way that will allow for optimal treatment. Finally, once everything is moved, vacuum the entire room.

3. Treat

Right now, cleanliness and sanitation are top of mind for hotel guests and management alike. Even though the pandemic has reduced the number of stays, bed bugs are still an issue, and it’s important to not become complacent about treatment. Fortunately, many of the same procedures of successful bed bug prevention and treatment remain. It’s important that your technicians use a mix of products, like residuals and aerosols to treat the entire room including all furniture and baseboards. After treatment, turn the thermostat up to around 80 degrees. This will encourage the bugs to come out of their hiding places and get exposed to the products that were just applied.

4. Second Inspection

After 48 hours, have your technicians perform another inspection. Depending on the severity of the infestation, they should perform a light treatment to knock down any remaining bed bugs. Use a low-odor spray that dries quickly so the hotel room can safely get back to business.

5. Educate

Depending on existing hotel protocol, educate the hotel staff on what to look out for to prevent and locate a bed bug infestation. Share with staff what the entire life cycle of bed bugs looks like since the insects can look different depending on what stage of the cycle they are in.

With limited occupancy over the past year, bed bugs in hotels are expected to be hungrier and more aggressive. It will be essential for PMPs to have a set protocol in place to help prepare for these calls. By following these steps, you can help hotel customers keep these costly infestations in check.

The Best Tools for Hotel Bed Bug Treatments

The Gentrol^® family of products from Zoёcon boosts any PMP’s toolbox and can ensure no more callbacks. For reaching those tough areas of infestation in a hotel room, PMPs turn to Gentrol^® IGR Concentrate. Gentrol^® IGR Concentrate breaks the life cycle of bed bugs for up to 120 days with its active ingredient translocating deep into wall cavities, cracks and crevices.