How Senior Living Communities Fight Bed Bugs
Any location where people gather can be subject to bed bug infestation, and nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and senior living communities are no exception. With large numbers of residents, all of the ingredients that attract bed bugs are in place—which makes it important for facility managers to be proactive at the earliest sign of a problem.
“Sometimes, people will try to treat bed bugs themselves,” says Billie Carberry, Director of Sales Western Pest Services. “However, these types of bed bug treatments are often ineffective.”
On the positive side, Carberry notes that clients are becoming more educated about bed bugs and the most effective forms of treatment. The key ingredients are comprehensive inspections and proven bed bug control techniques.
“One of our large healthcare clients actually did a complete canine inspection of all of their facilities,” Carberry notes. “Some businesses are more proactive about bed bugs than others.
Like the rest of us, senior living facilities are very concerned about bed bug problems. A difficult pest that can be tricky to eliminate, bed bugs are definitely on the radar of nursing home clients. To assist, Western focuses on bed-bug education, adding value for clients through in-service presentations that help nursing home leadership, staff, and residents prepare for and address issues proactively.
“We’ll help nursing homes understand, once they have a bed-bug situation, what they can do about it,” Carberry says. “Part of it is about eliminating fear – for instance, helping them detect the differences between bed bugs and carpet beetles, which can look similar.”
Reinforcing the importance of pre-inspection preparation is also a focus, as it can directly impact the effectiveness of bed bug treatment. By working closely with clients on preparation as well as education, Western commits to creating the fastest route to bed-bug elimination possible.
Bed Bugs in Assisted Living Facilities Require Sensitivity
Sensitivity is essential when dealing with bed bug issues in nursing homes.
If the appearance of bed bugs has ever affected your business, you understand the complications they can cause. Dealing with such an issue as this is particularly difficult in healthcare and property management; but, perhaps even more so in assisted living facilities. These types of situations need to be handled with sensitivity, as there are a number of reasons why bed bug issues can arise.
How bed bug infestations happen
- Older Furniture: Assisted living facilities often allow belongings and furniture to be brought in by residents. Unfortunately, this may also be allowing bed bugs entrance as well.
- Travel: If residents leave and come back frequently, bed bugs could very well be hitching a ride on their luggage. Similarly, with staff and visitors coming and going regularly, there are numerous other opportunities for an introduction of bed bugs.
- Sanitation: Checking for clutter should be a daily task in assisted living facilities. Bed bugs may go unnoticed by residents and signs of these pests should be known and checked regularly. The longer a problem goes on, the worse it tends to get.
What to Do
- Call a pest professional immediately for guidance on how to respond.
- Affected rooms should be vacated and cleaned thoroughly, including all garments and linens.
- Loosen any carpet around the perimeter of the room and scoot furniture away from the walls in preparation for professional bed bug treatment.
In case of a bed bug problem, your bed bug control professional can help you get the situation under control. This is something that should be handled calmly and rationally. Learn more about the Western approach to bed bug treatment preparation and rid your facility of these nuisance-ridden pests today.