While the press has recently been full of stories about the resurgence of bedbugs, there has been little coverage about the role that the professional cleaning industry can play in helping to eradicate these pests. This gap in coverage is unfortunate, since our industry actually offers effective and proven methods for eliminating bedbugs that are often more environmentally responsible than using only pesticides (the usual first line of defense).
The following “Q&A” should help answer some of the key questions jansan professionals might have regarding bedbugs, including safer and healthier ways their clients can use to eliminate them.
What are bedbugs?
Known by the scientific name of Cimex lectularius, bedbugs have had a parasitic relationship with humans throughout history. In fact, these insidious little bugs, who feed on the blood of their victims with their needle-like mouth parts, have often been more loathed than cockroaches.
Bedbugs are usually about seven millimeters long, can live for up to a year, and are wingless and reddish brown. They emerge at night, attracted by the warmth of human bodies and the carbon dioxide we exhale. Bedbugs multiply very quickly with each female laying three to five eggs every day, usually in the crevices and depressions of mattresses, carpets, curtains, and upholstered furniture. Bedbugs are also extremely effective hitchhikers, climbing onto clothes, luggage, shoes, and other items and then spreading from one area to another.
Do bedbugs transmit disease?
Although pathogens have been found in bedbugs, public health officials do not believe that bedbugs transmit disease.
Do bedbug bites hurt?
Bedbug bites are usually painless; however, irritation usually develops at the site of the bite within a few days. Also, bedbugs tend to bite the same general area of the body repeatedly, making the irritation all the more noticeable.
How can the presence of bedbugs be detected?
Bedbugs sometimes leave blood smears, brownish black specks (their feces), and/or amber-colored shells (their shed exoskeletons) on bedding. Most facility managers, however, only find out that they have a bedbug problem when someone complains about their bites.
Managing or Eradicating Bedbugs
Historically, very strong insecticides have been used to kill bedbugs. However, many of these have actually been banned over the years and are no longer available for use. Others simply no longer work well. What’s more, many facilities today are doing whatever they can to minimize the use of pesticides due to their impact on the environment and human health.
But there are ways to reduce the need for pesticides in the fight against bedbugs, and this is where jansan professionals can help. These methods include:
Vacuuming. Bedbugs and their eggs tend to adhere to surfaces. However, a properly equipped vacuum cleaner can usually remove a large number of active bedbugs and their eggs from mattresses and other surfaces, which is why this should always be the first step in eliminating these pests. The cleaning professional should vacuum the entire room thoroughly, especially the crevices and indented areas of mattresses and upholstery.
However, it is important to be aware that vacuum cleaners can actually turn into a source of bedbug distribution if proper precautions are not taken. To help prevent this, the machine’s filter bag should be sealed in a garbage bag and disposed of outside of the facility after each use. It is also important to use a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filtration, which controls the dispersion of insect allergens during vacuuming.
Steam. Heat has proven to be the Achilles’ heel of bedbugs, which means that the use of professional steam vapor cleaners can be an incredibly effective tool in the fight against these insidious blood suckers. Studies have shown that temperatures of 104F (40C) kill adult bedbugs, and temperatures of 140F (60C) are lethal to their eggs. Professional steam cleaning units are capable of producing steam at up to 248F (approximately 120C).
A professional steam vapor cleaning unitnot to be confused with a retail store or home steam cleanerproduces steam that can kill bedbugs in all of their life stages, including eggs. It is also important to select steam cleaners that can be refilled while they are still being used. This is because stopping work to refill the machine gives the bedbugs an opportunity to literally run away from the area being cleaned, escaping eradication.
Vacuuming and steam cleaning can dramatically reduce the amount of pesticides needed in the bedbug eradication process, making it a much more environmentally friendly approach. In fact, vacuuming and steam cleaning can provide such an effective kill rate that pesticides can be used only for their residual kill benefit, rather than as the primary weapon in the fight against infestation.
