Pest Management Professional, May 2018

PEST SPOTLIGHT TreaTing TracTor Trailers Chris Snyder founder and president of Quest Termite Pest Control Bethlehem Pa is the son of an overthe road truck driver He has fond childhood memories of riding along with his dad with overnights in the sleeper section of the tractor unit Fast forward to his career in pest control and Snyder says reminiscing about how a tractor cabin is like a mini home gave him an idea When he knocked on the door of a trucking company to sell service he recalls They said Well we do have some bed bug problems in a few of our tractors The company which owns its tractors vs using independent contractors who have their own had been trying to treat the problems in house with little success Considering that an out of commission truck costs the company up to 800 a day the owners were thrilled that Snyder said he could help Snyder has two technicians who work in tandem on the account as part of their route Depending on the severity of each unit they go in with a residual product some flushing and fogging products aerosols a compressed air sprayer and a high efficiency particulate air HEPA vacuum Occasionally they will use an ultra low volume space spray and if time isnt a factor with the unit theyll use dichlorvos strips We do two treatments back to back a few days apart Snyder says of a typical infestation We work with one of the mechanics to pull the truck apart Its almost like a house with bed bugs behind the wall in this case theyre behind plastic panels The company has more than 1000 trucks on the road nationwide but they primarily use one brand of truck he adds Over time weve learned the hot spots like pulling out the built in TV in the sleeper section Its a lot of work but weve fine tuned the process In the beginning Quest regularly treated up to five trucks a week Sometimes the infestations are still that heavy but Snyder notes that being able to treat the trucking hubs lounge and shower facilities has helped immensely He estimates that the majority of infestations occur at rest stops when drivers set down their duffel bags to take showers If their bags are infested at a rest stop at least if they set them down in the companys hub lounge bed bugs wont spread to other drivers Quest also partnered with a colleague farther south so if one of the trucking companys infested vehicles is closer to the Southern hub than the Pennsylvania hub the driver can pull off to that hub for treatment Snyder has been working with an industry manufacturer to create a mattress encasement for the cabins odd sized mattresses but for now any infested mattresses are destroyed and tossed in a dumpster So far bed bugs are the primary pest he has encountered beyond a German cockroach here and there We havent had to treat the trailer section of any of the trucks yet either he notes but I can see it being a possibility with trucks being used to move house contents cross country or a smaller mattress delivery truck that hauls away old mattresses The places PMPs encounter bed bugs may be surprising With the re emergence of this pest opportunities abound for PMPs who know where to look PmP You can reach GOOCH at hgooch@ northcoastmedia net or 330 321 9754 Chris Snyder right stands with Quest technician Tom Heller who is specially trained to do bed bug inspection and treatment on tractor trailer cabins 42 May 2018 Pest management Professional mypmp net Photos Quest termite Pest Control The majority of infestations tend to happen at rest stops when a driver sets down his overnight bag in an infested area