12 Steps to a Bed Bug Free Hotel
TWELVE STEPS TO A BED BUG FREE HOTEL
The resurgence of bed bugs is a particularly pesty problem for the hotel industry. Your rooms are only as bug free as your last guest and a room that is bug-free on Monday may not be on Tuesday. There is no way to stop bed bugs from being brought into a hotel. New guests are arriving every day from all over the world, and bringing their potentially infested luggage with them. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs enter hotel rooms in guests' luggage or on their clothing. Many won't leave with the guest but instead, will try to set up their nest near your beds and their food source - your next guest could be their next meal!
Prevention, in the hospitality industry, is really early detection. Bed bugs must be detected very quickly after they are brought in – and eradicated - before they bite a guest.
1. To promote the best earliest bed bug detection possible, all hotel employees should receive some bed bug training. This includes the reception staff, housekeeping, facilities personnel, hotel managers, event planners, the maintenance staff, catering staff, bell hops, cooks, janitors and everyone else. Why everyone? Bed bugs don't just live in beds, they could be in the seating in the hotel restaurant, in the lobby, and anywhere a variety of people sit on a regular basis. When everyone is looking and on the alert, the chances of early detection improve greatly. Here is a framework you can use to customize a training program for your personnel.
2. While the entire staff is responsible for bed bug detection, your housekeeping personnel are at the forefront. They should inspect sheets each time the bed is made. Blood spots or tiny specks of black fecal matter indicate the presence of bed bugs.
3. Each time a guest checks out of a hotel, all bed linens (Sheets, blankets, and bedspreads) should be laundered at high heat to kill any bed bugs the guest might have brought to the hotel with him. Industry literature cites temperatures of as low as about 113 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes is sufficient to kill bedbugs.
4. While the linens are off the bed, the mattress and box spring should be inspected for the presence of bed bugs at any stage of development or eggs. Invest in a magnifying glass and a good LED type flashlight for this inspection. Adult bed bugs are about ¼" long and their eggs can be the size of one stitch in the mattress seem and are translucent.
5. Invest in mattress and box spring enclosures. These enclosures will prevent bed bugs from entering your mattresses and box springs and – if bed bugs are already in residence – the enclosures will prevent them from leaving the mattress to feed.
6. Use vacuums with HEPA filters. HEPA filters (high efficiency particulate air) are tested to be able to trap 99.97% of particles that are .3 microns and larger. (For perspective, a human hair is about 50 microns.) This means you're catching far more allergens, bed bugs and their eggs, pollen, dust and more than you would with just a standard filter.
7. In hotel rooms, the back of the headboard seems to be the most popular place for bed bugs. It is close to their feeding source (your guests) but in an area not regularly disturbed by housekeeping staff. On at least a monthly basis, the back of the headboard should be inspected. Most hotel headboards are attached to the wall, not the bed and can lifted off its support to give access for the inspection. Pay careful attention to screw holes, cracks, staples or any crevices where they might be hiding.
8. Carefully check the bed stands, paying close attention to the back and take out the drawer and check the bottom. Don't forget to check the pictures in the room, starting with those close to the bed. Look carefully around the back as well as any gaps between the frame and the picture.
9. Take care to examine any upholstered furniture. Bed Bugs don't only live in the bed, they are being found in movie theaters, airplanes, anywhere a variety of different people sit.
10. Bed Bugs can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms and those above and below. They travel easily through vents, ducts, wall voids and plumbing and electrical conduits. Check the electrical outlets. Remove the face plate and look for evidence.
11. Make sure that any peeling wallpaper is repaired and gaps in woodwork and moldings caulked to eliminate a potential bed bug home. Check under the edges of carpeting, inside light fixtures.
12. Bed Bugs primarily depend on people to move from room to room. It's possible for housekeeping staff to transport them during regular servicing of the hotel. Be sure that housekeeping carts are check daily.
With all of the bed bug lawsuits focused on hotels over the last decade, you must be proactive with formalized training and early detection practices. Here is a basic checklist you can customize for your staff to use in a regularly scheduled "Bed Bug Hunt".
www.american-wellness-supply.com
The resurgence of bed bugs is a particularly pesty problem for the hotel industry. Your rooms are only as bug free as your last guest and a room that is bug-free on Monday may not be on Tuesday. There is no way to stop bed bugs from being brought into a hotel. New guests are arriving every day from all over the world, and bringing their potentially infested luggage with them. Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs enter hotel rooms in guests' luggage or on their clothing. Many won't leave with the guest but instead, will try to set up their nest near your beds and their food source - your next guest could be their next meal!
Prevention, in the hospitality industry, is really early detection. Bed bugs must be detected very quickly after they are brought in – and eradicated - before they bite a guest.
1. To promote the best earliest bed bug detection possible, all hotel employees should receive some bed bug training. This includes the reception staff, housekeeping, facilities personnel, hotel managers, event planners, the maintenance staff, catering staff, bell hops, cooks, janitors and everyone else. Why everyone? Bed bugs don't just live in beds, they could be in the seating in the hotel restaurant, in the lobby, and anywhere a variety of people sit on a regular basis. When everyone is looking and on the alert, the chances of early detection improve greatly. Here is a framework you can use to customize a training program for your personnel.
2. While the entire staff is responsible for bed bug detection, your housekeeping personnel are at the forefront. They should inspect sheets each time the bed is made. Blood spots or tiny specks of black fecal matter indicate the presence of bed bugs.
3. Each time a guest checks out of a hotel, all bed linens (Sheets, blankets, and bedspreads) should be laundered at high heat to kill any bed bugs the guest might have brought to the hotel with him. Industry literature cites temperatures of as low as about 113 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes is sufficient to kill bedbugs.
4. While the linens are off the bed, the mattress and box spring should be inspected for the presence of bed bugs at any stage of development or eggs. Invest in a magnifying glass and a good LED type flashlight for this inspection. Adult bed bugs are about ¼" long and their eggs can be the size of one stitch in the mattress seem and are translucent.
5. Invest in mattress and box spring enclosures. These enclosures will prevent bed bugs from entering your mattresses and box springs and – if bed bugs are already in residence – the enclosures will prevent them from leaving the mattress to feed.
6. Use vacuums with HEPA filters. HEPA filters (high efficiency particulate air) are tested to be able to trap 99.97% of particles that are .3 microns and larger. (For perspective, a human hair is about 50 microns.) This means you're catching far more allergens, bed bugs and their eggs, pollen, dust and more than you would with just a standard filter.
7. In hotel rooms, the back of the headboard seems to be the most popular place for bed bugs. It is close to their feeding source (your guests) but in an area not regularly disturbed by housekeeping staff. On at least a monthly basis, the back of the headboard should be inspected. Most hotel headboards are attached to the wall, not the bed and can lifted off its support to give access for the inspection. Pay careful attention to screw holes, cracks, staples or any crevices where they might be hiding.
8. Carefully check the bed stands, paying close attention to the back and take out the drawer and check the bottom. Don't forget to check the pictures in the room, starting with those close to the bed. Look carefully around the back as well as any gaps between the frame and the picture.
9. Take care to examine any upholstered furniture. Bed Bugs don't only live in the bed, they are being found in movie theaters, airplanes, anywhere a variety of different people sit.
10. Bed Bugs can spread rapidly to adjoining rooms and those above and below. They travel easily through vents, ducts, wall voids and plumbing and electrical conduits. Check the electrical outlets. Remove the face plate and look for evidence.
11. Make sure that any peeling wallpaper is repaired and gaps in woodwork and moldings caulked to eliminate a potential bed bug home. Check under the edges of carpeting, inside light fixtures.
12. Bed Bugs primarily depend on people to move from room to room. It's possible for housekeeping staff to transport them during regular servicing of the hotel. Be sure that housekeeping carts are check daily.
With all of the bed bug lawsuits focused on hotels over the last decade, you must be proactive with formalized training and early detection practices. Here is a basic checklist you can customize for your staff to use in a regularly scheduled "Bed Bug Hunt".
www.american-wellness-supply.com
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