By 
Barely the size of an apple seed, the tiny bedbug is causing major headaches for business owners. A nuisance pest that does not transmit disease, the unpleasant fact that bedbugs feed on human blood generates a level of disgust out of proportion to their small size. When this parasitic insect infests a retail store or business office, the public stigma associated with bed bugs can cause employees to panic, drive customers to flee, damage a company’s business reputation, and tarnish its corporate brand. That’s a high price to pay for a problem business owners have no control over.
Unlike other unsightly pests, a bed bug infestation is not an indication of poor sanitation or careless maintenance. Bed bugs enter a retail store or office building hidden in the clothing and possessions of customers and employees. “Bed bugs are hitchhikers; they travel with people and with items that travel with people,” Missy Henriksen, a spokeswoman for the National Pest Control Association (NPMA), told USA Today in an August 2010 interview. business owners is that they are held accountable and charged with the cost of getting rid of a problem they did not create.
Virtually unknown in the US a decade ago, bed bug infestations have tripled in the US since 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A major headache for hoteliers since they began returning to the US in the luggage of foreign travelers, bed bugs have gradually spread into travelers’ homes and in the past year have been discovered in increasing numbers in commercial buildings. In a 2010 survey by the NPMA and the University of Kentucky, 20% of U.S. pest control companies reported treating bed bug infestations in commercial buildings, compared to less than 1% in 2007 .
As the nation’s busiest international gateway, New York City has suffered early in the national bed bug invasion and has proven to be an indicator of the growing pattern of bed bug infiltration in other cities. In recent months, bed bug infestations have moved beyond hotels and residential buildings and have been increasingly reported in New York City retail stores, popular entertainment venues and commercial office buildings . Bed bugs have also affected hotels and motels across the country, government offices in Washington DC, federal offices in Philadelphia and Kentucky, and most recently, a well-known high-rise commercial tower in Chicago.
Expert hitchhikers, bed bugs are easily transported between home and work in backpacks, shopping bags, briefcases, purses, gym bags, laptop cases, and the bags of frequent travelers. Customers, employees, vendors, cleaners, and maintenance contractors – anyone can bring bed bugs into a workplace. Bed bugs have been found in office furniture and supplies transported in an infested delivery truck. When bed bugs invade, filing cabinets, wooden desks, upholstered chairs, cubicle walls, rugs, employee lockers, padded locker room benches, and bookcases crammed with books provide an attractive haven. “They (bed bugs) tend to prefer fabric and wood, but they can be attracted to heat and end up almost anywhere,” said national bed bug expert Michael Potter, an entomologist at the University of Kentucky, in an article in August 2010 published in Forbes. com.
Citing the “alarming resurgence” of bed bug populations in the US, the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a joint statement calling bed bugs as a serious public health threat and stated that “bed bugs cause a variety of negative physical effects”. health, mental health, and economic consequences.” While nearly half of bed bug victims do not react to their bites, bed bug bites can cause mild to severe allergic reactions and, in rare cases, life-threatening anaphylactic shock. It is the mental anguish that many bed bug victims experience that public health officials are most concerned about. Anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress, and paranoia are common. “Probably one of the most under-reported problems is the mental anguish that comes with having bed bugs,” Henriksen told USA Today.
No business is immune to bed bugs. Some of Manhattan’s elite hotels have been sued in high-profile lawsuits by guests who claim to have been bitten by bedbugs. While hotels and apartment buildings still account for the majority of bed bug lawsuits, recent lawsuits have also focused on dry cleaners, laundromats, furniture stores, moving companies, universities and cruise lines. Most companies prefer to settle bed bug claims out of court to avoid negative publicity and potentially high jury awards. Settlement amounts are generally much less than the jury-awarded sums captured by national headlines. Lawyers point out that many stinging insect victims expect to be compensated for mental anguish over and above reimbursement for medical treatment and replacement of infested belongings. “If I’m trying to settle a case, I could be offering $8,000, $10,000 and the person wants millions. They feel violated,” said Christian Hardigree, an attorney and hotel law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Bloomberg Businessweek in a 2007 article.
Bed bug lawsuits first gained attention in 2003 when a Chicago jury awarded two bed bug victims $382,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for bites suffered at a budget chain motel. The generous verdict sparked a flood of bedbug lawsuits. In 2004, a well-known hotelier settled a bedbug lawsuit brought against his posh hotel in New York City for $150,000. In 2007, a Chicago couple filed a $20 million lawsuit against a Catskills resort after the woman had to be hospitalized for a severe allergic reaction to bedbug bites. In 2008, a news channel employee sued the owner and manager of the building that houses the studio where she works for bed bug bites suffered on the job. In 2008, a New Jersey couple who claimed a major department store had sold them bedbug-infested furniture received $49,000. Last March, elderly and disabled residents of two Des Moines apartment buildings filed a class action lawsuit against the building owners and managers for inadequate bed bug control.
While lawsuits hurt a company’s bottom line, negative publicity can do the killing blow. Consumer reports of bed bug activity on BedBugRegistry.com, the new iPhone bed bug tracking app, or popular bug blogs can turn off potential customers and erode brand equity. Unfortunately for business owners, self-reporting sites make no effort to verify consumer reports of bed bug activity or update reports when bed bug problems are corrected.
There is no magic bullet that will make insects disappear. “The main defense against insect bites is education and awareness because everyone has a role to play in managing pests, and it’s much easier to manage if caught early,” said Edwin Rajotte, professor of entomology and coordinator of IPM at Pennsylvania State University. Forbes.com in a recent article on the cities most infested with bedbugs. Privacy concerns prevent questioning employees, visitors, and vendors about personal exposure to pests or conducting visual inspections of clothing and belongings, but there are effective, proactive steps business owners can take to reduce the risk of infestation of insects
• Prevention. Scheduling regular facility inspections by a licensed pest control company with proven experience with biting insects ensures early detection of pest activity. Early detection can contain bed bug activity to a small area, minimizing disruption to your business and extermination expense. Pest control professionals can also recommend Integrated Pest Management (IPM) procedures that can help keep your business bed bug free. To prevent the transport of bed bugs between home and work, some companies now offer airtight plastic containers for the storage of personal belongings while employees are at work.
• Education. Maintaining a bed bug-free work environment is a community effort that requires the cooperation of employees. Employees should be taught how to identify bed bugs and signs of infestation, where to look for bed bugs, preventive steps they can take to avoid bringing bed bugs to work or taking them home, and what to do if they see or suspect bed bug activity. Licensed pest control professionals can help with employee training.
• Action plan. An insect action plan that clearly outlines employee and employer responsibilities should be implemented and communicated to managers and employees. The importance of early detection must be emphasized.
• Communication. Employees should be encouraged to report bed bug activity at work or at home and ensure that doing so will not result in a penalty or jeopardize their employment. Employers must notify employees immediately of any bed bug activity and tell them what steps are being taken to control the infestation.
• Treatment. Bed bug treatment protocols should be developed and in place to ensure prompt response and treatment by a licensed pest control professional if bed bug activity is detected.
• Staff Training by Professionals. ChemTec Pest Control provides comprehensive training for business customers on how to prevent and monitor bed bugs. Many other pest control companies across the country are following suit; understanding that prevention and careful monitoring will allow for early intervention and treatment that will mitigate damage to a company’s reputation.