The holidays are upon us and many of us are packing up and traveling to spend time with family and friends or hosting the festivities at your own home.
But as our travel plans get closer, we continue to see more and more in the news about bed bugs. So how can you prevent bed bugs from ruining your holiday plans?

Here are a few commonly asked questions about bed bugs that may help as you’re checking into a hotel or having guests stay over.

What do bed bugs look like?
Bed bugs are tiny, oval, brown and wingless insects approximately
1/4” to 3/8” long (5-9 mm).

Is there really a huge outbreak?
Bed bugs have made a comeback in the United States over the last
few years. The largest outbreaks have been reported in large
cities with high rates of tourism.

Where are bed bugs typically found?
Bed bugs are most frequently found in hotels. They travel by
hitching rides with unsuspecting guests by crawling into clothing
and luggage. All hotels are susceptible to bed bugs – from motels to
five star hotels.

What can I do to protect myself?
When checking into a hotel room or after visiting guests have left your
home, you can perform a simple bed bug inspection of the room.
1) Pull pillows & sheets down about 1/3 of the way from the top of the
bed and look for reddish-brown or black spots on the sheets near the
bed’s headboard. You may not see the actual bugs themselves but they
do leave a trail of spots.
2) Look for spots on mattresses, pillows, headboards and walls behind
headboards.
3) Check the inside of dresser drawers for insects & black spots.
Contact Guest Services immediately if you’ve found any signs
of bed bugs during your inspection.

If I suspect I was in a room with bed bugs, what should I do
when I return home?
1) Isolate the items in your travel bags from other items in your home –
the garage is a great place.
2) Put clothing and other heat tolerant items into your dryer for a minimum of 20 minutes – the heat will eliminate bed bugs.
3) After thoroughly heating the items, wash as normal.
4) Check all luggage before storing it away. Vacuum out luggage and
clean the exterior surface.

What if I have guests staying in my home?
When welcoming family and friends into your home who have been
staying in hotels or on a cruise ship, be aware that bed bugs may have
hitched a ride with them. After your guests leave, carefully inspect guest
rooms for any signs of bed bugs. Wash all bed linens as soon as possible.

Think again. Bed bugs are no laughing matter… even though they played a role in NBC’s hit show “30 Rock” in November when Alec Baldwin’s character Jack had a bed bug infestation of his own. He was humorously ostracized at work, forced to take the subway instead of the company car and heckled by his coworkers for having “a bad case of the chew-daddies.”

While watching the Nightly News on NBC last night, another story ran on these little creatures. (Click here to view.) Turns out that the population of bed bugs has risen 500% in recent years and that one out of four hotel rooms has had an infestation.

From the National Pest Management Association’s site pestworld.org, below are some FAQ’s on bed bugs:

Why are bed bugs so hard to treat?
Bed bugs should not be equated with filth or sanitation problems – in hotels or in homes. Bed bugs are very elusive, transient and nocturnal pests. They can live for a year or more without eating and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Bed bugs can be controlled with vigilance, constant inspection and treatment by a professional.

Why are bed bugs an issue for hotels, visitors and homeowners?
Bed bugs leave itchy, bloody welts on human skin. Once inside a hotel or home, bed bugs spread rapidly from room to room – through pipes, in vacuum cleaners, on clothing and luggage. In a hotel, bed bugs can even spread to neighboring rooms.

Are bed bugs just in beds?
Bed bugs are not just in beds. They can be in chair cushions, sofas, behind electrical outlets, cracks and crevices around baseboards, or even behind picture frames. In other words, they can live pretty much anywhere.

What can you do to protect yourself from bed bug infestations?
When staying at a hotel, inspect the mattress, bedding, headboard and nightstands thoroughly. And when returning from a trip, check your luggage and clothing.

Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.

It’s a common rhyme most children know. But are bed bugs something you think of TODAY? If they aren’t, they should be.

Maybe you thought of them as a thing of the past. Well, they were. You see, pesticides pretty much wiped them out in the 1950′s. However, pesticides only took care of them in modern, populated areas. They continued to be a problem in underdeveloped countries.

Fast forward to today. Global travel is the “in” thing to do.  Guests are visiting remote locations where bed bugs are able to thrive and they’re bringing them back. Travelers from around the country and world are acting as first-class tickets for these hitch hikers. Bed bugs can be found in planes, trains, buses, depots, terminals, hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts. Students from all over are experiencing bed bugs in college dorms, and sometimes they’re even bringing them home or spreading them to hotels. So what does this mean for the hospitality industry? It means that once again, bed bugs are something to be on the lookout for.

The thing is, there is no easy way to prevent bed bugs from getting in.  And here’s why – when guests stay in a hotel room that has bed bugs, they might pick up a bed bug or two in their suitcase or clothing. That luggage or t-shirt acts as the bed bug’s one way ticket into the next hotel room they stay in. That hotel room is then infected and the cycle continues.

So, what should you do? As there is currently no known prevention for bed bugs, the first thing you can do is train your staff to check for early signs of bed bug activity.  Dark spots and blood stains on mattresses, sheets and pillow cases and headboards and baseboards are all things to look for. If you think you might have bed bugs in your facility or would like to train your staff on how to spot a bed bug infestation call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.

It’s a common rhyme most children know. But are bed bugs something you think of TODAY? If they aren’t, they should be.

Maybe you thought of them as a thing of the past. Well, they were. You see, pesticides pretty much wiped them out in the 1950′s. However, pesticides only took care of them in modern, populated areas. They continued to be a problem in underdeveloped countries.

Fast forward to today. Global travel is the “in” thing to do.  Guests are visiting remote locations where bed bugs are able to thrive and they’re bringing them back. Travelers from around the country and world are acting as first-class tickets for these hitch hikers. Bed bugs can be found in planes, trains, buses, depots, terminals, hotels, motels and bed & breakfasts. Students from all over are experiencing bed bugs in college dorms, and sometimes they’re even bringing them home or spreading them to hotels. So what does this mean for the hospitality industry? It means that once again, bed bugs are something to be on the lookout for.

The thing is, there is no easy way to prevent bed bugs from getting in.  And here’s why – when guests stay in a hotel room that has bed bugs, they might pick up a bed bug or two in their suitcase or clothing. That luggage or t-shirt acts as the bed bug’s one way ticket into the next hotel room they stay in. That hotel room is then infected and the cycle continues.

So, what should you do? As there is currently no known prevention for bed bugs, the first thing you can do is train your staff to check for early signs of bed bug activity.  Dark spots and blood stains on mattresses, sheets and pillow cases and headboards and baseboards are all things to look for. If you think you might have bed bugs in your facility or would like to train your staff on how to spot a bed bug infestation call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Many pest service providers only service the interior and immediate exterior of their commercial properties.

To have a truly integrated pest program, a service should focus on identifying conditions, avenues and sources of pest activity. Many times these sources  can often be found away from the structure along property lines, plant bed areas, parking lot islands, trash collection areas and other property features. Inspecting these areas and putting into place corrective and preventive actions is critical to keep pests from getting in and coming back.

When selecting a pest service provider, be certain to look for one who takes these steps to assure the program is truly preventing pests and not reacting to them after they enter the structure.

To find out more about Massey’s PrevenTech Commercial Pest Prevention Program or to get a Free Pest Inspection, call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Don't let bed bugs take up residence in your hotel!

Bed bugs can get into ANY structure, so the potential for a 5 star luxury resort to have bed bugs is similar to that of an economy hotel. Why you may ask? Well… because unlike ant and roach populations, bed bug infestations are not impacted by the level of sanitation.

So how do bed bugs get in? They are almost always introduced by humans. So when guests arrive for a stay, they may be unintentionally bringing more than just their toothbrush and socks. They may also bring bed bugs that snuck in from a previous night’s hotel stay or their own homes.

Since there’s no known prevention for bed bugs, the most important step a hotel operator can take to manage bed bugs is to train their room staff. Teaching cleaning and maintenance personnel to look for early signs of bed bug activity is your best bet. Taking corrective action is much easier before the population becomes larger and more difficult to eliminate.

Inspect For Bed Bugs

How to detect Bed Bugs:

• Mattresses
• Sheets and Pillow Cases
• Headboards and baseboards

Do’s and Don’ts when Bed bugs are spotted:

• Tell a supervisor
• Bag and seal all bedding
• Secure the room

• Remove bedding from the room
• Make the bed
• Remove any furniture

If you are concerned about the threat of bed bugs in your facility or would like more information on training your staff to spot bed bugs, call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).