Inspection Services
Vacation Homes | Hospitals | Hotels | Assisted Living
Movie Theaters | Inspection Checklist
Scarlet is our bed bug dog detector and both our handler and our dog are extremely discreet in all that we do, say, and find. You can rest assured that we understand that renting this home is your livelihood and we would not want to do anything that might stigmatize or jeopardize your rental income or business.
So, you own or manage a vacation rental home? Maybe you’ve never encountered a bed bug being brought into the home by a guest. If this is the case, you can consider yourself to be very blessed. Unfortunately, as the problem continues to grow, it may only be a matter of time before you do have these unwanted guests or should I say bugs. I know what you’re thinking, “Why would anyone who can afford to rent an expensive vacation rental be contaminated with bed bugs. Surely if they have enough money to take an expensive vacation they have enough resources to take care of any pests problems.”
Well, it really isn’t that simple. First of all if your guest(s) are driving from a distance they may break the trip up by staying in a hotel prior to arriving at their destination, “your home”. They may have stayed in a high-end hotel, they may have even checked the beds first, and their skin may not have reacted to the bed bugs bite or if it did they may have dismissed the bite as being from a mosquito. In other words, your guest may have no idea that they have just contaminated your home with bed bugs. They may have hitchhiked in their luggage, on their pet, purse, coat, in a stroller, baby carrier or other such items. The problem gets even messier once the guest sees one of the bugs and assumes they have rented a home that has bed bugs. They may never believe that they are actually the ones who have infected your home and most often believe that you have ruined their vacation and caused them much grief. It’s almost pointless to try and point the finger. Honestly, it is even hard to know for sure which tenant brought them in. Was it the group that checked out on Saturday morning or the group that just checked in on Saturday night? I mean, as a property manager, what are you going to do? Ask the bug bed dog sniffer to sniff each guest before they are allowed to enter the home? Sounds like a great idea, but not very practical. There are still those who are not as familiar with bed bugs and you don’t want to alert people as they may assume there has been a problem at the home. So, what is an owner or manager to do to protect there interest?
We suggest getting on a program in which the local bed bug dog sniffer and his/her handler will come thru and check the home on a regular basis. For those who rent frequently and in dense communities you may opt to have the inspection done each Saturday morning after guest check out, but before the new guest arrive. If you only rent during certain season you may only need to have inspections during your peak season(s). Whatever the case, it is wise and much more affordable to be proactive verses reactive. Our certified bed bug dog (Scarlet) will be able to detect the live bugs and live eggs very early in the game. Detecting early and treating quickly is the key to resolving this problem completely. By being on one of our programs you can have the peace of mind to know that when and if these pest invade your rental home you will respond quick enough to ward off cost associated with lost rental income, litigation, unhappy guests, and God forbid bad reviews posted on the vacation rental websites. As you know, this last one can ultimately stop your rentals in its tracks. You really don’t want to have to answer the phone and hear someone say, “I have found a bug on my bed and when I killed it blood gushed out. I think this is bed bugs and I want a refund and to be relocated immediately. My family is terrified!” If this were to happen, you should be prepared to deal with the situation in a manner that is acceptable to all parties involved. When and if this situation arises it may be your worst nightmare, but being proactive may help save you in the end. For instance, if the home were inspected prior to a new group coming into the home, there would be documentation from an external third party that this home was swept and documented to be bed bug free as of a certain day and time. If the guest who is complaining knows that you are on a schedule for inspecting the property each week, they may not be as quick to bring litigation, and may in fact begin to retrace their own steps. Where did we sleep last night? Did anyone in the group notice any bites before we arrived? Did anyone in our party fly and stow luggage in the overhead? What taxi company was that? Hasn’t the dog been scratching a lot? How long have you known your friend that you invited to come with us? Etc.
Instead of becoming angry and threatening towards you, they may begin to question their own guilt and liability for possibly bringing these bed bugs into your beautiful rental home. You can’t imagine how much difference this will make! I mean, who wants to go online and write up a review that says, “Hey, we think we may have accidently brought bed bugs into this home, but the owner had the home treated and it is probley safe now?” I seriously doubt it. They will probley just be relieved that you know enough to help them clear up the problem before they end up taking them back home with them.
If you are interested in getting on one of our home inspection check out routes please do not hesitate to give us a call or send an email as we are happy to discuss discrete options that are available.
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Most hospitals are not an ideal living place for bed bugs as patients are usually rushed in and out by insurance companies. The rooms are turned over often and staff uses sterilization chemicals to reduce disease and viruses.
One area that hospitals do have problems with is in the maternity ward. People tend to bring suitcases for the mother as well as the baby and additional items like car seats, blankets, etc. Another area of concern is for those admitted to psychiatric wards where they too are staying for longer periods of time and bringing suitcases and items with them. If you are a hospital administrator and would like to have Scarlet come by and sniff around in your problem areas feel free to contact us for a quote or even some free advice.
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For owners and managers in the hotel industry, we offer a proactive scheduled inspection service. Basically, we can set your hotel or motel up on a weekly , bi-weekly, monthly or yearly check-out inspection with our bed bug certified dog, Scarlet and her handler will do a room by room inspection. This would be done discreetly as we are in plain clothes and Scarlet does not bark to alert handler to beg bugs. If Scarlet does detect a live bed bug odor or live bed bug egg odor the handler will verify the hit is accurate by looking to find the actual bed bug and capturing it for management. Managers can keep the specimen as a training tool -showing housekeepers what bed bugs look like and help them become more familiar with this pest.
As in any business, being proactive verses reactive makes good business sense. By keeping the hotel inspected you would be able to catch an infestation before it becomes widespread throughout the hotel, you my decrease the chance that your business will be sued by a guest who claims to have gotten bed bug from your establishment, and you would decrease negative reviews that can be posted online by your previous guest. In addition, it is much cheaper to treat a few rooms than an entire floor and your chances for success at eliminating the pest increase dramatically.
If a room is found to have bed bugs you most likely will need to heat treat that room, the room above and below it and the rooms to either side . The reason for this is that high heat will definitely kill bed bugs, but they are able to run pretty fast and will try to escape thru the walls, outlets, duct work, etc. If you are hitting the areas they can run to then there is no escape.
Give us a call today and let us discuss how we can help protect your establishment from these ever increasing pests.
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If you own or manage a long term care facility you should know that with the increase in the bed bug population your establishment is at risk for several reasons. If you are dealing with an elderly population you will have people who have failing eyesight, decreased awareness and sensitivity to the bed bug’s bite, there can be open sores which make feeding easier for the bed bug, and overall confusion by patients and staff. Some patients are misdiagnosed by staff who may think bites are a rash or a reaction to medication or even such things as patient’s nerves or scabies due to the intense itching. Long term care facilities are often pegged for anything that may be considered filth and poor care.
If you run a long term care facility you do not want to get stigmatized as being dirty and having sanitary concerns as these impressions can last for years. Preventing bed bugs from entering patients’ quarters is the key to avoiding infestations. You need to train staff in what to look for regarding bed bugs. Encasing both mattresses and box springs is extremely helpful as bugs cannot hide in the seams and buttons thus making them more visible. You do not want to infringe upon a patient’s rights, but you need to monitor items that are being brought into the facility to ensure they do not harbor these pests unknowingly. Finally, you should consider getting on a routine inspection check out with a certified bed bug dog detector. Finding bed bugs early and treating with thermal heat can be the most effective way to prevent these pests from spreading throughout the facility.
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People have long feared sitting back and relaxing their heads on the movie theater chairs in fear of catching head lice. There is now another concern which should not be dismissed quickly. Bed bugs are making a comeback and have already invaded several movie theaters. They are shy little critters and as you already know they like to come out in the middle of the night when it is dark to feed on humans. Theaters are often kept dark and cool and with many chairs being filled by humans each and every day.
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