Barely the size of an apple tree seed, a tiny bed bug creates big heads for business owners. An unpleasant pest that does not transmit the disease, the dubious fact that bugs feed on human blood produces a level of aversion that does not correspond to their minimum size. When this parasitic insect infects a retail store or commercial office, the public stigma associated with bugs on the bed can cause panic, send customers to run, damage the business reputation of the firm and tarnish its corporate brand. This is a heavy price to pay for a problem because of which business owners have no control.
Unlike other pests, bedbug infection is not an indication of poor sanitation or poor maintenance. Bloody bugs end up in a retail store or office building hidden in clothing and in the hands of customers and employees. “The bugs are a hitchhiker, they travel with people and with objects that travel with people,” said Missy Henriksen, spokeswoman for the National Pest Control Association (NPMA), in an interview with USA Today. What upsets business owners is that they are responsible and burdened with the costs of getting rid of a problem that they have not created.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), since the United States was almost unfair a decade ago, in 2005, infected bugs have died in the United States. The main headache for hoteliers since they began to return to the United States in the luggage of foreign tourists, typical problems for travelers with the bed at home and in the past year are increasingly found in commercial buildings. In a 2010 survey conducted by NPMA and the University of Kentucky, 20% of US pest control companies reported treating infections with bloody errors in commercial buildings, compared with less than 1% in 2007.
Being the busiest international gateway of the nation, New York suffered at the beginning of the invasion of the national trap and turned out to be an indicator of the growing structure of bed bugs penetration to other cities. In recent months, bloody bugs have spread beyond hotels and residential buildings, and they are increasingly reported in NYC retail stores, popular entertainment venues, and commercial office buildings. Bedbugs also hit hotels and motels throughout the country, government offices in Washington, federal offices in Philadelphia and Kentucky, and more recently, the famous high-rise business tower in Chicago.
Adherents-hitchhikers, bedbugs are easily transported between houses and work in backpacks, purses, briefcases, wallets, sports bags, cases for laptop computers and luggage of frequent travelers. Customers, employees, vendors, cleaning staff, and maintenance contractors — anyone can bring bedbugs to the workplace. Beds were found in office furniture and supplies transported in an infected truck. When bedbugs invade, file cabinets, wooden tables, soft chairs, cabin walls, carpeting, staff lockers, soft benches in locker rooms and cluttered books provide an attractive barrier. “They (bugs) prefer fabrics and wood, but they can be attracted to heat and ultimately almost everywhere,” warned Michael Potter, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky, an expert on the common issue of errors in English, in an article in August 2010 year published in Forbes. com
Referring to the “alarming rebirth” of bedbug populations in the United States, the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a joint statement that bloody bugs have become a serious public health threat and said: “Bugs cause many negative physical health, mental health and economic consequences. ” Although almost half of the victims of bedbugs do not react to their bites, bedbug bites can cause mild and severe allergic reactions and, in rare cases, life-threatening anaphylactic shock. But this is the heartache that many victims of bedbugs experience, most of them refer to public health officials. Anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress and paranoia are common. “Probably one of the most misunderstood problems is the heartache that comes with bedbugs,” said Henriksen in an interview with USA Today.
No business is protected from bed bugs. Some of the elite hotels in Manhattan were brought to high-level lawsuits from guests claiming they were bitten by bugs. While hotels and apartment buildings still make up the bulk of lawsuits with errors in bed, the latest costumes were also intended for dry cleaners, laundries, furniture stores, relocation companies, universities and cruise lines. Most companies prefer to solve problems with mistakes on the bed to avoid negative advertising and potentially high jurors. The amount of the calculation is usually much less than the amount awarded by the jury, which fix national headlines. Lawyers say that many biting insect victims expect to receive compensation for mental disorders associated with the reimbursement of the costs of treatment and replacement of infected marriages. "If I try to solve the case, I can offer $ 8,000, $ 10,000, and the person wants millions." Bloomberg Businessweek in a 2007 article.
In 2003, when the Chicago jury awarded two victims of a bloody murder, $ 382,000 in fines and compensation for bites suffered in a budget motel. A generous verdict unleashed an avalanche of trials with bedbugs. In 2004, a famous hotelier placed a crib suit, bought against his luxury hotel in New York for $ 150,000. In 2007, a Chicago couple filed a $ 20 million lawsuit against the Catskills resort after a woman had to be hospitalized for a serious allergic reaction to bedbug bites. In 2008, an employee of the news channel sued the owner and manager of the building where the studio is located, where he works for bedbug bites obtained at work. In 2008, a pair of New Jersey, stating that furniture, covered with beds, was sold in an upper department store, received 49,000 dollars. In March last year, older people and people with disabilities in two Des Moines apartment houses filed a lawsuit against building owners and managers for inadequate control over bedding.
Although lawsuits harm the bottom line business, negative advertising can deliver a knockout punch. Consumer reports on this insect activity on BedBugRegistry.com, a new bug tracking application in bed or popular insect blocks, can scare off potential customers and undermine brand value. Unfortunately, for business owners, self-rated websites do not make any effort to check consumer reports on bedbugs and do not update reports when bugs are fixed.
There is no magic bullet that will make insects disappear. “The main defense against biting insects is education and awareness, because everyone plays a certain role in pest control, and it is much easier to cope if you catch it at an early stage,” said Edwin Rajott, professor of entomology and coordinator at IPM in Penne. State University, Forbes.com said in a recent article about the bloodiest cities infected with bugs. Confidentiality questions do not allow questioning employees, visitors and suppliers about the personal effects of pests or conducting visual inspections of clothes and things, but there are effective, proactive measures that business owners can take to reduce the risk of insect infestation.
• Prevention. Planning for regular inspections of facilities by a licensed pest control company with demonstrated expertise in biting insects ensures early detection of pests. Early detection may contain bed bug activity in a small area, minimizing the destruction of your business and the cost of deduction. Pest control specialists can also recommend comprehensive pest control (IPM) procedures to help keep your business clown free. To prevent bed linen from being transported between home and work, some companies now provide tightly sealed plastic containers for storing personal items while employees are working.
• Education. Maintaining a free working environment without bedbugs is a collaborative effort that requires employee collaboration. Employees should be taught how to identify bedbugs and signs of infection, where to look for bedbugs, the preventive steps they can take to prevent bedbugs from working or to take them home, and what to do if they see or suspect bed bug activity. Licensed professionals can help train employees.
• Action plan. A crime action plan that clearly outlines the responsibilities of employees and the employer should be implemented and communicated to managers and employees. The importance of early detection should be emphasized.
• Communication. Employees should be advised to report problems with errors at work or at home and be confident that this will not result in penalties and will not jeopardize their employment. Employers should immediately inform employees of any problem with an error in bed and tell employees what steps are being taken to combat the infection.
• Treatment. Bed handling protocols should be developed and used to ensure prompt response and treatment by a licensed pest control specialist if scrap activity is detected.
• Personnel training by specialists. ChemTec Pest Control provides comprehensive training for commercial customers in how to prevent and control the presence of bedbugs. Many other pest control firms across the country are following the lead; understanding that prevention and careful monitoring will allow early intervention and treatment to reduce damage to a business; reputation.
