Identification is the first step toward eliminating bed bugs. Keep an eye out for bites, welts, and small blood spots in seams of mattresses or box springs, furniture cracks or crevices as well as fabric window treatments or anywhere else they might have taken up residence.
Items that can be washed in the machine, like clothing, blankets, curtains, and pillows can often be salvaged; any that cannot be washed and have become infested should be thrown away immediately.
Frequently asked questions about bed bug treatment and extermination should be answered in order to give customers the best possible advice for ensuring total bed bug elimination.
Marketing
Marketing strategy development for your bed bug treatment business is an integral step toward success. Your marketing plan will enable you to determine how much to charge for services as well as compare to similar companies in your region, helping ensure you remain cost competitive while growing your business. Doing competitive research will keep your company at an advantage compared to its rivals and ensure its growth.
Encourage your customers to be vigilant about prevention when it comes to bringing used furniture and clothing into the store, particularly as bed bugs can quickly spread from one room to the next without proper precautions being taken.
Preventative measures such as using mattress and pillow encasements or interceptors (available at home stores) under each leg of your bed to capture bugs as they try to climb up from the floor will help stop further spreading of infestation. You could also utilize fans during heat treatments in order to disseminate heat more evenly across all corners of the room.
Certification
If you plan to establish a K9 bed bug detection business, your scent-trained dog and handler must first obtain certification from the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association. This step ensures your team has received top-tier training that enables it to detect bed bugs and their eggs accurately.
Bed bugs were once seen only as an issue for hotels and movie theaters; now, however, they are an increasing problem across homes, multifamily apartment complexes, schools and colleges, offices, public transportation vehicles, public facilities as well as vehicles for public transit services – not to mention businesses involved in these industries that may incur lost revenues and have their reputation altered by an infestation of bed bugs.
Customers often prefer treatments that don’t utilize potentially toxic chemicals, such as heat treatment for bed bugs. Heat treatments eliminate the need for pesticides while being safe for both children and pets; thus many customers choose this approach over traditional pesticides.
Equipment
Providers of high-quality bed bug services require costly equipment. Any attempt at cutting corners to save on equipment could end up costing them customers and reputational damage; using pest strips improperly or spraying chemicals directly onto the skin could result in allergic reactions, for instance.
Wellbank states that customers seeking non-chemical treatments such as heat or freezing require access to appropriate equipment. According to them, some customers prefer treatments that do not involve harsh chemicals and require more thoroughness.
Professionals use temperature-regulated heating units, temperature sensors, and industrial strength fans to bring structures to an evenly heated temperature of over 115 degrees Fahrenheit and kill bugs quickly without damaging furniture or walls. Encasements may also be used on mattresses and box springs while desiccants (chemicals that dry out bugs) may also be employed as viable strategies against bed bug infestation. Though insurance carriers generally won’t cover companies offering sole bed bug heat treatment solutions alone are usually profitable businesses.
Location
Bed bugs are persistent pests that require professional help to eliminate, as their presence makes home remedies and consumer pesticides ineffective. An investment into the bed bug business is therefore often worthwhile for those possessing the required skill set.
Infestations is most prevalent in homes, hotels, motels, and movie theaters that experience frequent turnover in residents or employees. Bedbugs are adept hitchhikers that can quickly enter suitcases or clothing boxes where they remain undetected for an extended period.
An effective approach to treating bed bug infestation requires cleaning and disinfecting. This involves taking steps such as removing and washing clothes, toys, books, and other objects that could harbor pests like bed bugs as well as lifting dust ruffles to allow airflow under and around the mattress and box spring to ensure all areas affected are being addressed effectively and prevent spreading to new parts of a building or house.
