The Lurking Bed Bug Dangers The Pandemic Has Created For the Rental Community – PCT Online

Depending upon who you talked to in 2020 when the pandemic was at its most critical point, the commercial market for pest control was either down, flat, or booming. A year plus later, at this point its fair to say that the majority of PMPs are suggesting that the commercial bed bug market is strong.

For many companies, the amount of business that is being generated by commercial customers across the board seems to indicate an uptick.

We get pretty heavy bed bug activity, and we have a large commercial division with a lot of hotels and apartments and more transitory places that can typically be subject to bed bug infestations, says Andrew Davitt, B.C.E, Corporate Commercial Pest Services Manager for Alabama-based Cooks Pest Control.

Revenues are always a strong way to prove the direction a market is going, and they are definitely growing, according to Kyle Kromer, Multi-Housing Operations Manager for Minnesota-based Plunketts Pest Control.

Hotels and vacation rentals unquestionably saw a lull in bed bug activity during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kromer says. We are consistently providing more bed bug work (K9 inspections, visual inspections, and treatments) at a higher rate in 2021 compared to 2020.

In 2020, we provided over $400,000 in chemical-only treatments. In 2021 through the month of September, we have provided over $570,000 in chemical-only treatments. International travel is still reduced, but when restrictions for that begin to ease further, we should see even more bed bug work in commercial facilities.

Caleb Fabry is President and Manager of Operations for Town and Country Solutions, and his firm has a big bed bug division.

Bed bugs are back for commercial when we speak of rental or multi-family, Fabry added. They are not as big as five to 10 years ago, but nonetheless, it is going up and we believe it will continue to climb throughout the pandemic.

As far as hotels, we believe certain states will see an increase but likely only those with fewer covid restrictions. States with higher restrictions are not places that vacationers are choosing to go from what we are seeing.

Davitt added that the important thing to remember is that bed bugs can be almost anywhere, and they dont need to feed as much as people think.

They can be anywhere that people sit for some amount of time. Buses, movie theaters, restaurant booths that kind of thing. The only thing a bed bug needs is a human host or just a host. But adults can last quite a while based on temperature and the cooler it is theyll go longer. They can go months and months without a blood meal. Even if an apartment is vacant then if someone moves in the infestation is still there.

On the west coast, where pandemic local and state-wide mandates are more stringent than other parts of the country, bed bug work is still growing but not nearly at the same pace as elsewhere.

I wont be surprised if it grows as other states are more open but in Washington as we get more boosters we might start seeing bed bug services start popping up in movie theaters or offices again were currently not seeing that quite yet, says Ashley Roden, Technical Manager for Tacoma, Washington-based Sprague Pest Control.

A lot in nursing homes and hospitals have bed bug issues here though. Probably every day in the company theres a hospital that has bed bugs. People can bring a lot to a hospital. We recommend they clean with normal cleaning products, and we will come in with steam and vacuuming They always end up at nurses stations because theyre going to a bunch of rooms and being close with them and then back to the station.

David Poplin, A.C.E., CEO and President of CDS Services, sees the work coming and says his company should feel the comeback next year.

I believe the commercial market is returning at a fast pace. Travel has increased and remains steady. This will in turn result in increased bed bug activity. I think we will start experiencing these increases around the middle of 1st Quarter 2022.

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The Lurking Bed Bug Dangers The Pandemic Has Created For the Rental Community - PCT Online