Pest Management Professional, January 2015

in Lawrenceville N J Hes a seasoned pro armed accordingly and ready to lead this layman through the paces of a bed bug inspection and treatment Preshow PrePPing On the drive to the job Geherty explains were on a follow up call to an apartment that hes serviced twice before where bed bug activity was primarily occurring in one bedroom although some activity was found elsewhere in the dwelling The property manager who was responding to a complaint by one of the apartments tenants initiated the service Usually if we get a call for one apartment unit well initiate inspection on all connecting units Geherty says Some jobs have even required us to look at units that are diagonal from the dwelling in question Fortunately for the building manager of this complex inspections of the apartments surrounding our target dwelling didnt turn up any additional infestations Despite this being a follow up service call Geherty still preps as he would on an initial call by pulling on heavy duty gloves and grabbing his high powered flashlight a clipboard an application canister and a giant roll of industrialsize trash bags But before we head into battle he makes sure to prep me When doing bed bug jobs we practice what we call Care and Custody Geherty explains That means a hands only approach Were careful to never brush up against any furniture with our arms or legs and to not let our clothes contact any furniture or fabric You need to know how to handle furniture and flip mattresses without the threat of picking up bed bugs and taking them home with you He doesnt have to tell me twice Protocol and Procedures Once inside I immediately notice it doesnt look like the tenants had done a thing to prep their living space for bed bug treatment That is by design Geherty says We dont want the client to do any prep work outside of basic clutter reduction he adds By clutter Geherty refers to excessive stacks of boxes piled against the walls or bags of clothes stuffed into closets anything that might prevent him from reaching the baseboards and providing effective treatment But he doesnt want clients moving furniture or stripping beds The gigantic roll of trash bags soon reveals its purpose as Geherty moves to the first bedroom site of the original infestation and begins to peel bedclothes off the bed slowly As he does this he closely examines every article of linen Bed Bug Basics dos Focus on the sleePing areas beds and couches Bed bugs are called bed bugs for a reason Research shows that the bugs are almost always on or close to sleeping areas early on in the infestation process bring a Flashlight Bed bugs are small and often hide in dark cracks and crevices Monitor Monitor Monitor If you cant confirm an infestation consider leaving monitors in place for two weeks or more to help detect any problems donts dont assuMe just because you didnt Find bed bugs they arent there Bed bugs hide well and low level infestations are easy to miss dont Play doctor The client might have so called bites but that doesnt mean theyre from bed bugs dont claiM victory too early Its too easy to miss a bug so resist the urge to declare a structure bed bug free Rather its better to communicate in writing that no live bed bugs were observed at the time of the inspection Source Jeff White BedBug Central Technical Director geherty shows me how to properly flip and inspect a mattress and box spring Continued on Page 25 www mypmp net Pest Management Professional January 2015 21