Archive for May, 2011
Don’t Let Bed Bugs Take a Bite Out of Your Business Reputation
Barely the size of an apple seed, the tiny bed bug is creating major headaches for business owners. A nuisance pest that does not transmit disease, the unsavory fact that bed bugs feed on human blood engenders a level of revulsion well out of proportion to their miniscule size. When this parasitic insect infests a retail store or commercial business office, the public stigma associated with bed bugs can cause employees to panic, send customers fleeing, damage the firm’s business reputation and tarnish its corporate brand. That’s a heavy price to pay for a problem over which business owners have no control.
Unlike other unsavory pests, a bed bug infestation is not an indication of poor sanitation or lax maintenance. Bed bugs ride into a retail shop or office building hidden on the clothing and in the possessions of customers and employees. “Bedbugs are hitchhikers; they travel with people and with items that travel with people,” National Pest Management Association (NPMA) spokeswoman Missy Henriksen told USA Today in an August 2010 interview. What frustrates business owners is that they are being held accountable and burdened with the cost of getting rid of a problem they did not create.
Virtually unheard of in the U.S. a decade ago, bed bug infestations have tripled in the U.S. since 2005, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A major headache for hoteliers since they started returning to the U.S. in the luggage of foreign travelers, bed bugs gradually spread to travelers’ homes and in the past year have been increasingly discovered in commercial buildings. In a 2010 survey conducted by the NPMA and University of Kentucky, 20% of U.S. pest control firms 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 for other cities. In recent months, bed bug infestations have moved beyond hotels and residential buildings and been increasingly reported in NYC retail stores, popular entertainment venues and commercial office buildings. Bed bugs have also hit hotels and motels nationwide, government offices in Washington D.C., Federal offices in Philadelphia and Kentucky, and most recently a well-known high-rise business tower in Chicago.
Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs are easily transported between home and work in backpacks, shopping bags, briefcases, purses, gym bags, laptop computer cases and the suitcases of frequent travelers. Customers, employees, vendors, cleaning staff, and maintenance contractors — anyone can bring bed bugs into a place of business. Bed bugs have been found in office furniture and supplies transported in an infested delivery truck. When bed bugs invade, file cabinets, wooden desks, upholstered chairs, cubicle walls, carpeting, employee lockers, padded benches in changing rooms and cluttered bookshelves provide attractive harborage. “They (bed bugs) tend to prefer fabrics and wood, but they can be drawn to warmth and end up almost anywhere,” warned national bed bug expert Michael Potter, a University of Kentucky entomologist, in an August 2010 article posted on Forbes.com.
Citing the “alarming resurgence” of bed bug populations in the U.S., the EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a joint statement calling bed bugs a serious public health threat and stating, “Bed bugs cause a variety of negative physical 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. But it is the mental anguish that many bed bug victims experience that most concerns public health officials. Anxiety, insomnia, depression, stress and paranoia are common. “Probably one of the most under-reported issues is the mental anguish that comes with having bedbugs,” Henriksen told USA Today.
No business is immune from bed bugs. Some of Manhattan’s elite hotels have been sued in high profile lawsuits from guests claiming to have been bitten by bed bugs. While hotels and apartment buildings still garner the bulk of bed bug lawsuits, recent suits have also targeted dry cleaners, laundries, furniture stores, moving companies, universities and cruise lines. Most businesses 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 that capture national headlines. Lawyers note that many bed bug victims expect to be compensated for mental anguish above reimbursement for medical treatment and replacement of infested belongings. “If I’m trying to settle a case, I might be offering $8,000, $10,000, and the person wants millions. They feel violated,” Christian Hardigree, a lawyer and professor of hospitality law at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, told Bloomberg Businessweek in a 2007 article.
Bed bug lawsuits started attracting 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 unleashed an avalanche of bed bug lawsuits. In 2004, a well known hotelier settled a bed bug suit brought against its posh hotel in New York City for a reported $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 bed bug bites. In 2008 a news channel employee sued the owner and manager of the building that houses the studio where he works for bed bug bites sustained at work. In 2008, a New Jersey couple claiming they had been sold bed bug-infested furniture by a top department store was awarded $49,000. Last March, elderly and disabled residents of two Des Moines apartment buildings filed a class-action suit against building owners and managers over inadequate bed bug control.
While lawsuits damage a business’ bottom line, negative publicity can deliver the knock-out punch. Consumer reports of bed bug activity on BedBugRegistry.com, the new bed bug-tracking iPhone app or popular bed bug blogs can scare off potential customers and erode brand value. Unfortunately for business owners, self-reported sites make no effort to verify consumer reports of bed bug activity nor do they update reports when bed bug problems are corrected.
There is no magic bullet that will make bed bugs disappear. “The main defense against bed bugs is education and awareness because everybody has a role to play in managing bed bugs, and it’s much easier to manage if you catch it early,” Edwin Rajotte, professor of entomology and IPM coordinator at Penn State University, told Forbes.com in a recent article on the most bed bug-infested cities. Privacy issues prevent questioning employees, visitors and suppliers about personal exposure to bed bugs or performing visual inspections of clothing and belongings, but there are effective, proactive measures business owners can take to reduce the risk of bed bug infestation.
Prevention. Scheduling regular facility inspections by a licensed pest control company with demonstrated bed bug expertise ensures early detection of bed bug 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 bed bug transportation between home and work, some companies now provide tight-sealing plastic containers for storage of personal belongings while employees are at work.
Education. Maintaining a bed bug free work environment is a communal effort that requires employee cooperation. Employees should be taught how to identify bed bugs and signs of infestation, where to look for bed bugs, preventative 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 may be able to assist with employee training.
Action Plan. A bed bug action plan that clearly spells out the responsibilities of employees and employer should be implemented and communicated to managers and employees. The importance of early detection should be emphasized.
Communication. Employees should be encouraged to report bed bug activity at work or home and be assured that doing so will incur no penalty or jeopardize their employment. Employers should inform employees immediately of any bed bug activity and tell employees 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 commercial clients in how to prevent and monitor for bed bugs. Many other pest control firms nationwide are following suit; understanding that prevention and careful monitoring will allow for early intervention and treatment mitigating damage to a business’ reputation.
Jesse Eaton is a member of the pest professional team at ChemTec Pest Control. This New Jersey based pest control firm serves commercial and residential clients. ChemTec Pest Control is located at 186 Saddle River Road, Saddle Brook, NJ. You can reach the bed bug experts at ChemTec Pest Control at (201) 843-0780 or by email at wecare@chemtecpest.com. Please visit us on the Web at www.ChemTecPest.com (http://www.ChemTecPest.com).
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Spring Time And The Wasps Are Out!
If you have a lot of wasps appearing this spring you may have a nest somewhere in either your loft, garden or house. The type of nest that a wasp will produce does depend on the species of wasp and the location. Social wasps create nests that are made from paper or chewed up wood fibres. The kind of wood they use can vary for each species therefore they all have different coloured nests. Have you even noticed a wasp stripping your wooden garden furniture or fences?
The social wasps tend to use other materials for their nests and you may find the nests near your paddling pool or trampoline at home. Nests in cavities such as holes in the ground, walls and lofts are common places to find them. The best and only way really to get rid of these nest is to call on a professional pest control company that can come to your home and spray the nest where the wasps will generally fly away and die. Once a nest has been treated they will never return back to the same location.
After emerging from hibernation early summer the young queen wasps start to search for a nesting site. When they have found their colony they will then construct the nest and begin to lay eggs. This laying of eggs continues all summer therefore they continue to produce thousands of wasps over the spring summer months.
When looking at your options of wasp spray killer and wasp powder killer that are available at garden centers you may find that they are only a short term answer and don’t kill off all the wasps and all the eggs.
Pests like wasps are increasing becoming more and more of a problem every year. Both at home and in any public space like parks, pub gardens and restaurants. It is recommended that you contact a professional pest control company some of which specailise in wasps nests. The internet is a great way to search and find a company that is local to you and that can be with you as soon as possible to eliminate your problem safely and effectively.
So there is no need to suffer this summer for under a £100 you can have the problem resolved and enjoy a garden free of wasps for you, your family and pets to enjoy and not to worry about wasp stings which are painful and very unpleasant for everyone. Summer is time for fun and you want to enjoy the sunshine don’t let the pest wasp ruin your day!
Much more to see at Pest company Bucks or the Wasp nest removal on the pest control website
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Recognizing Pest Difficulties via NYC Bed Bug Exterminator
Envision your returning household from a long days function. It has been a tiring day and you’re currently excited to go to bed to lastly loosen up and relaxation all your tense muscles. But when you’re about to loosen up you commence to have an itching sensation rather quickly it spreads all over your body then you can’t cease the continual tossing, scratching, and turning, just ending up with slumber deprivation, a grumpy mood, a sever rash, and a handful of joyful bed bugs just waiting for you to return to bed and suck on some blood. If you’re living a busy New York existence then wouldn’t it be superior to call an NYC bed bug exterminator?
Bed bugs are ridiculously persistent and annoying nocturnal parasites that exist for the goal of ruining your sleep and traumatizing you, not wanting to get on your bed ever yet again, I really should know simply because I’ve suffered from this just before. They’re opportunists, only attacking when you’re at your weakest. You could be pondering what hurt could a tiny insect do? Nicely a good deal really, the most visible results are the rashes. These insects can bite you anywhere that wherever they chunk they depart rashes, back again then I experienced rashes all more than my forehead I stored on scratching my forehead till I’ve recognized it was currently bleeding, it was not a great web site to see. The unhealthy factor about these bugs is that they’re truly hard functioning when it comes to breading, female bugs lay eggs of about one to five per working day and about 200 to 500 in their lifetime. If you permit them to preserve on growing in quantity you’ll come across your self getting the host of an all evening blood sucking buffet. Also through time, since of the mixture of bed bug molted skins, feces, and outdated egg shells there is a certain stink that you get to odor every single time you enter the room. Anyway calling your nearby NYC bed bug exterminator will be a excellent option rather than struggling needlessly.
There are many methods to get rid of bed bugs the regular way is to get a person from pest control to locate this parasites then spray them with pesticide to end their days. But in some ways it has turn out to be inefficient, detecting bedbugs is really difficult even for an specialist and specially if the spot they breed in has quite a few crevices, furniture, or appliances. I’ve observed a a lot more radical and efficient answer when it will come to bed bug detection. Educated puppies can superior pinpoint the place of bed bugs. They can give a much more thorough investigation since they can scent through walls, beddings and floors extended just before any human can see visual signs. You don’t will need to fear about the dogs currently being the ones to spread the bugs since they stick to strict grooming protocols to stop this.
No much more getting to suffer from delays of spraying pesticide to destroy bed bugs, there is a superior way now. Back again then the only way to make confident that you could get rid of pests like bed bugs is that you spray the complete house. It was bothersome, you can’t enter the residence right up until the chemical compounds have faded, when you can use the house once again there are some lingering pesticide smell that could be a wellbeing issue plus there is a chance that the chemicals didn’t operate since the pest had already created immunity. Now a new kind of insect killer that meets the rising demands for a a lot more efficient and environmental friendly solution has appeared and it’s called Instant Freeze. It does not only destroy bed bugs but also their eggs and larvae by means of freezing them with liquid carbon dioxide gasoline that is not hazardous at all as opposed to other pesticides. You only have to have to apply it to the contaminated place like cracks, pipes, machinery and can be even utilised in electrical retailers. Its remedy doesn’t have to have any evacuation, the space can be employed right away after the pest have been exterminated that the very best element about it.
If you’re an individual who has these issues then locate assist rapidly! There are a lot of infestations like this in New York, so you better locate a great NYC Bed Bug Exterminator. Keep in mind a small bed bug dilemma can easily turn out to be an infestation if you don’t act rapidly, let’s all make an work to get rid of this pests. So sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite… http://www.metrobedbugdogs.com
There are a lot of bed bugs infestations like this in New York so you better find a good NYC Bed Bug Exterminator. Act now! So you can sleep tight and don’t let the bed bugs bite…
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Bed Bugs in New York
Bed Bugs in New York, the Most Populous City in the United States The hated bed bug has become quite a problem in New York. From hotels to residential homes, bed bugs have become quite an epidemic. It seems New Yorkers are quite plentiful and have very tasty blood because that is exactly what these nasty creatures feed on.
While you sleep peacefully, bed bugs bite into your skin and suck your blood. A fully-fed bed bug even looks different than a non-fed bed bug because of the amount of blood that is absorbed in a single feeding. These blood suckers are known to take in seven times their own body weight and can feed up to seven minutes at a time. This means a bed bug that has just gorged itself will be quite plump. It will then take its fat, happy self back to its hiding place and if female that is pregnant may lay eggs. Bed bugs multiply like crazy and can be quite difficult to eliminate. Once bitten by a bed bug, a person will sometimes have one or more red marks for several days or more. Bed bugs will feed anywhere on the body that allows them to access blood.
The bed bug problem in New York hotels stems from travelers unknowingly carrying bed bugs in suitcases and other travel bags and releasing them from one hotel to the next. Bed bugs are extremely tiny and agile so they are not easily seen with the naked eye in their early stages. The spread of them into homes comes from residents bringing in second hand beds, couches or other furniture or visiting a hotel where these creatures already live. Torn fabrics are the ideal spot for bed bugs to lay their eggs.
So how do you get rid of these pests once they have taken over? It depends on the severity of the problem. Vacuuming can do it in mild cases where there are only a few bed bugs. Pesticides may be an option but will not solve the issue as there is no chemical being manufactured that effectively kills the egg stage of the bed bug. Steam treatments are proven to be the best option in conjunction with a chemical application.
There are also professionals that can take care of this problem for you. Also note, it is best to use a professional bed bug dog detection and control service who can detect the problem areas, how severe they are and treat the problems once and for all. The use of professional K-9 detection teams works best in identifying the problem areas immediately, saving both time and money. For a trusted bed bug detection and control service provider in the New York area, please visit Bed Bug New York.
New York Bed Bug Dogs is the author of this article on Bed Bugs New York. Find more information about Nyc Bed Bug here.
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Rats as Pets
There is an increasing craze for the domestic rats or we can call the pet rats. The scientific name for a pet rat is Rattus norvegicus. It is really important for you to keep your pet rats as happy and as healthy as possible. You must gather as much informative knowledge as you can about pet rats.
Basic nature and look of Rats as Pets:
Domestic rats are really intelligent, adorable, and clean giving them a chance at having a good relationship with humans. These rats are quiet different in nature and activities from their ancestors. The difference is that these pet rats are very low on aggression, and rivalry towards other rats and humans. These rats are sensitive as well as playful in nature. They can be trained to answer to their pet names and to do various tricks and activities. The rats are from the rodent family but they need really high maintenance. Moreover, the pet rats must be given at least 1 hour of quality play time out of their cages and nest boxes on daily basis. Rats are nocturnal; therefore, they are more active during night time.
Handling of pet rats:
It is important to understand that the more attention and care you provide to your new domestic rat, the faster the rat will get used to your smell, your voice, and your presence. Your rat will become friendly with you. Give proper handling to your pet rats whether or not they act like they like it. They will definitely learn to get along with you in a playful manner. One of the best ways to handle your pet rats is to allow them to ride freely inside your home, your sweater and on your shoulders. Always lift the rats by positioning your hands under the rat’s chest just from the backside of the front legs. You have to be careful- do not squeeze them.
If your pat rats are very lazy and calm, it is advised to see a vet as soon as possible. If they are not interested in food, not playing, and their fur is quiet messy, this shows that are going through some health problem and illness. Provide the best treatment to your rats to keep them happy and lively.
Toys for your pet rats:
Do you know that pet baby rats love to play with toys? Baby rats are entertained while playing with the toys and even with one another. Adult pet ratsutilize the toys to sleep and relax. The best toys for pet rats are as follows:
Long plastic made drain pipes.
Old clothes.
Cardboard boxes.
Bigger glass jars.
Longer and wider drainage pipes.
Gerbils and hamsters are good for small baby rats.
While wheels can be given to rats to play, they generally do not use the wheels because they are really intelligent and know that their head, leg or tail may get injured.
Moreover, experts say that toys made for parrots and ferrets are usually safe and secure for the rats too.
Visit Legacy Cages now to find a high quality rat cage or their sister site, Quality Rat Cages for more rat cages.
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