Pest Management Professional, June 2016

Locking up business Brand recognition and referrals have helped New Berlin Wis based Batzner Pest Control garner bed bug work at three correctional facilities in the state Of course having a dedicated bed bug unit with 11 technicians and four K9s doesnt hurt Initially we were fielding bed bug calls every week or two from each of the three correctional facilities says Randy Rupert team leader for Batzner Bed Bug Services Now that were in there regularly inspecting treating monitoring and educating we can go several months without a bed bug call from any of the facilities Sweetening the deal bed bug work can lead to a GPC contract says Nate Nunnally owner of Custom West Pest Control in Missoula Mont A local pre release center hired Custom West to control bed bugs Two years later the company is also managing mice ants and other pests there sponsored by control insect animal Pesty For World Pest Control it worked the other way control First the Plainville Kan based company secured GPC contracts Months later the correctional facilities Pest signed bed bug contracts World Pest Controls clients West include Rooks County Jail in Stockton Kan and the custom Aurora Detention Center in Colorado Roger Meitler control owner of World Pest Control says Rooks County Jail battled bed bugs in its female inmate bullpen last fall Pest In January bed bugs were hanging out in the officers Batzner locker room at the Aurora Detention Center Photos Inevitably we get the bed bug call from correctional facility clients Meitler says Its more than a call Its a calling to protect public health on both sides of the wall These bloodsuckers pay no mind to the big walls we build To avoid a bed bug epidemic we need to serve all Glenn Holschwander answered the call A county jail asked his Easton Pa based company Pesty Animal Insect Control to sniff Pest Management Professional June 2016 BB7 out a suspected bed bug infestation Holschwander spent four hours a day for five days straight inspecting the facility with his four legged friends Holly a yellow lab and Faith a beagle Fortunately for staff detainees and visitors the one bed bug found in the kitchen was crawling solo Holschwander and the other PMPs shared a few tips to locking up contracts with correctional facilities Bid to win Correctional facilities have limited budgets Readily shaRe RefeRences Rave reviews from bed bug or correctional facility clients are key expect Red tape Most facilities require background checks and fingerprints Convicted felons need not apply expect the unexpected Some require vendors to sign waivers acknowledging their facilities no negotiation policies in the event a supplier is taken hostage The usuaL suspecTs Inmates officers staff visitors and vendors Food uniforms books medical supplies and maintenance equipment These are just a few of the many Trojan horses bed bugs freely ride undetected in and out of even the most secure correctional facilities Equally alarming is bed bugs uncanny ability to make any correctional facility space their home Inmate intake areas Personal effects storage Laundry Jail cells Common areas Administrative offices Break rooms Locker rooms You name it theyll infest it There are so many suspects so many groups of people types of products and sorts of spaces its hard not to play the blame game admits Michael Sands owner of Natural Pest Control Co Based in Camden N J the firm serves five staterun correctional facilities While some corrections officers and staffers are quick to point their fingers at the inmates weve found that bed bug infestations are From left are Holly Faith and their handler Glenn Holschwander Randy Rupert Nate Nunnally says bed bug jobs at correctional facilities often lead to GPC contracts