NATIONAL REPORT—“One way to prevent bed bugs from establishing or spreading is by using ActiveGuard® Mattress Liners on mattresses or box springs, as they will continuously impact any bed bugs, lethally or sub-lethally, that come into contact with them. This means that bed bugs will either die within a short period of contacting the liner or the contact will interrupt their feeding and reproductive capabilities, preventing further activity and infestation growth. Liners works differently than encasements, which can only block or trap bed bugs.”
This excerpt from the Rentokil Steritech white paper—“What’s Your Bed Bug Defense?”—highlights a national leader in pest control and its innovative approach to combatting bed bugs in the hotel industry. According to the white paper, bed bugs are seeing a resurgence in many environments, but the hospitality business continues to be significantly impacted, and many hotel professionals are taking notice. According to company research, 77% of hoteliers believe a bed bug incident made public would result in a decrease in occupancy. In fact, some have indicated that the negative impact of bed bugs on occupancy can actually exceed 20%.
Conventional treatment from pest management professionals is certainly effective and often necessary. However, the environment of a hotel is such that by the time a bed bug is introduced to a room and sufficiently problematic enough to be noticed by the guest, the situation has already snowballed out of control. You need to be proactive.
Preventing, rather than simply treating bed bugs is the only way to protect revenue and reputation.
Eric Braun, technical services manager at Rentokil Steritech, underscored the point, “The ActiveGuard liner is ideally suited for use on bedding, as it keeps the material (the active ingredient that prevents bed bugs) where it needs to be—in the liners and in contact with the mattress and box spring, which is where bed bugs are most likely to reside.”
While active mattress liners are critical, they alone are not the sole solution. Integrated Pest Management includes education, monitoring, inspections, select use of environmentally low impact/high residual agents, along with liners. This strategic approach will help hotels reduce their risk of an infestation that can be financially devastating.
To implement a solid, field-proven bed bug prevention program, hoteliers should start by installing active mattress liners on mattresses or box springs to stop infestations from occurring and prevent a bed bug incident from turning into an expensive, embarrassing, and potentially litigious situation. Large convention and casino hotels have prevented the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars as a result of implementing an active mattress liner-based program. Smaller hotels enjoy equivalent savings consistent with their property size.
Learn more about bed bug prevention in hospitality and how you can avoid being the subject of the next negative bed bug review on TripAdvisor. Sign up for a free one-on-one webinar. While you are at it, help us educate the industry on the true cost of bed bugs by taking our survey. We look forward to sharing the results.
About Allergy Technologies
ActiveGuard Mattress Liners kill bed bugs. Easily installed on mattresses or box springs, these liners offer two-year continual prevention and control against any adult bed bugs, nymphs or eggs. ActiveGuard has no cautionary signal words or use restrictions on its label. Only four sizes—single/twin, double/full, queen and king—fit almost every available mattress or box spring and accommodate up to extra-large in length and 17-in. in depth. Underlying is ActiveGuard’s formulation; a unique and proprietary delivery system that offers sustained bioavailability of permethrin for two years. Newest research supports that after a short exposure to ActiveGuard of only 10 minutes, bed bugs regardless of their level of resistance, begin to show significant reductions in feeding (biting) and a dramatic inability to lay eggs. This results in discontinuation of population growth thereby halting progression of an incident to an infestation. If you are seeking a pro-active preventative approach, ActiveGuard should be considered as the centerpiece of your long-term solution to keep bedding from being infested. ActiveGuard Mattress Liners are covered under U.S. Patents 5,916,580, 6,214,365, 6,440,438 and pending patents. For more tips on preventing bed bugs and uncovering infestations early visit us online at www.hotelbedbugprevention.com.
