Tips For Controlling Bed Bugs In Your Bed-And-Breakfast Establishment
While you can have regular pest control treatments to keep roaches and other pests out of your bed-and breakfast establishment, there isn't much you can do to keep your guests from bringing in bed bugs with them. The best defense is to always be alert for the bugs and look for signs of them every time you clean a guest room. Quick action is important when you suspect your bed and breakfast has bed bugs so that you can stop them early before they have a chance to multiply and harm the reputation of your business. Here are some ways to deal with bed bugs.
Keep Mattresses Encased And The Rooms Vacuumed
Reduce the number of hiding places in your guest rooms so that if bugs are present, they can be spotted more easily when cleaning the rooms. By encasing mattresses, beds are easier to clean, and bugs are easier to see. Plus, you can exchange mattress covers more easily than you can get the bugs out of a mattress. Vacuuming regularly pulls the bugs out of the carpet so that you can control their numbers when they're present. Vacuuming around the bed frame routinely could be a good idea too since the bugs will probably be close to the bed when your guests sleep.
Use A Steam Cleaner
Steam and heat kill bed bugs, so you may want to use a steam cleaner when cleaning rooms too. If a guest brings in a few bugs, you might get lucky and kill the bugs and stop an infestation if you take careful steps to deep clean the room with steam once the guest checks out. Steam kills bed bugs as long as the steam touches them, but when the bugs are hidden behind walls, it won't be effective. In that case, you may need to call in a professional for bed bug control.
Get Professional Treatments
If you've verified that bugs are present, you'll probably want to call a professional for help. Bed bugs can ruin your reputation, especially if a guest gets angry and posts negative comments about your B&B online. An exterminator may use heat treatments or dry ice to kill the bugs. Both of these are effective methods. Dry ice freezes bed bugs on contact, but it has to reach the bugs to work. Heat can penetrate the entire room, so any bugs hiding behind wallpaper or inside electrical outlets will be killed during the treatment. The pest control company will help you choose the right treatment, taking into consideration how important it is to wipe out the bugs immediately when you run a bed and breakfast.