KNOCKOUT – Bed Bugs are Off to School

August 27, 2010

First, let me thank you all for the calls and e–mails encouraging me to continue this blog; and from the many service calls and e–mails we get on a daily basis – BED BUGS are still a major problem and a hot topic to blog about. Here at Knockout Pest Control we’ve recently received lots of questions about Bed Bugs in college dorms – from college students, parents of college students, and college professors. Unfortunately the whole concept of kids traveling from around the country and around the world, to come into crowded school dormitories and off campus apartments is an ideal gathering place for Bed Bugs to infest. Keep in mind that Bed Bugs are “the pests that travel best” and like hotel rooms, dorm rooms are ideal Bed Bug habitats – usually small rooms, filled with “hand me down” or “found” used furniture, with the usual teenager clutter of clothes and papers, creating tons of places next to a bed or sofa to hide. Best of all for Bed Bugs, dorms are filled with a “host” of warm blooded people. In the past few years, colleges all over the US have reported increased cases of Bed Bugs – from the University of Florida, Texas A&M, and Ohio State – to – John Jay College, NYU, and Manhattan College right here in NY, have all had incidents of Bed Bug infestations. Even Ivy League schools like Harvard have reported Bed Bug problems. No college is immune. The best way to protect a college student from Bed Bugs is the kids being aware and educated about Bed Bugs. The first things is to know what they look like, where they may hide in a room, and what a Bed Bug bite looks like. At the first sign of Bed Bugs in a dorm room… call your Resident Assistant! If you’re in an off campus apartment… call your landlord! Bed Bugs are NOT a pest you can deal with yourself. Bed Bugs are one of the toughest pests to get rid of. Only a Pest Control Professional will be able to properly treat a room without driving the Bed Bugs out to other hiding spots and spreading them into other locations, rooms, or apartments. If a student does have Bed Bugs, DON’T allow visitors into the room until the room has been treated and cleared by a Pest Control Professional. There are a few ways to be PRO–ACTIVE and help prevent/control Bed Bug infestations they are: Keep Bedding off the floor and bed slightly away from the wall. There are small Bed Bug “Interceptor cups” available, to place a bed’s legs into, that can trap Bed Bugs attempting to climb up into a bed. There are also Bed Bug mattress and box spring covers that can limit places for Bed Bugs to hide without all the seams and folds typical mattresses and box springs have. Many people also use these covers after treatment to assure that no Bed Bugs slip through the treatment and it does also lend to having more peace of mind when going back to sleep in bed. And just so you know, Knockout Pest Control sells these products. We also have the revolutionary new ActiveGUARD mattress covers that go on top of box spring and under the sheets and best of all they contain trace Permethin, that remains contained within the cover’s vapor trap and NOT in the air, that KILLS Bed Bugs on contact and PREVENTS Bed Bug re–infestation for up to 2 years. Just call our toll free number 1–800–244–PEST (7378) and speak to one of the Customer Reps. And lastly, although hygiene has nothing to do with Bed Bug infestations, having a messy room with clothes, shoes, backpacks and books all over the floor are perfect alternative places for Bed Bugs to hide and a much bigger task to treat for Bed Bugs. The big thing to remember is to keep things in check before they become a more serious problem, because Bed Bugs can take over an entire dorm building very quickly…and worse…students will take ‘em back home with them on weekends and breaks.

Comments

COMMENT BY:  Mary Fiordelisi – 09/01/2010

SERENDIPITOUS - On the 15th my son told me that some of his friends told him there were bed bugs in one of the other dorm rooms. On the 16th I researched the net to find out how he could help protect himself. All of the sites on the internet talk about how to find and kill bed bugs, but none offered any way to prevent them from getting into a bed… and then I came across your blog, posted that very day, which promoted the Active Guard bed covers. I called you the very next day and ordered 2 sets – one for my son and another for his roommate. Your blog was posted just in time to put a mother’s mind at ease. I’m thinking about getting another set of Active Guard to put on his bed at home. Just in case he brings something home with him. I just want your blog readers to know how helpful Knockout has been.

COMMENT BY: JOEL – 09/03/2010

U R SO FOCUSED ON BB WHAT ABOUT TERMITES? CN U GET RID OF EM? THEY R A BIGGER PROBLEM 2 ME THAN BB. HAD EM X2 IN 2 YRS. I NEVER USED KO. CONVINCE ME.

COMMENT BY: RebKa T – 9/29/2010

U GUYS R GR8 / UR 411 ON BED BUGS WAS MY 911 THIS WKD/ I TRVL ALOT/ HOTEL NYC ? BB/ HRD U ON WOR RADO/ CKD U OUT/ BSTS/ NO BB/ THX. WL BY HOT BX NT TIME ON RTN FRM TRP. AND WILL BY LINERS 2/ I LUV U GUYS. THX ARTHUR

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