Bed bug products, facts and up-to-date news about bed bugs. Blog by Bedbug.com – The leading manufacturer of SecureSleep bed bug proof mattress covers and travel encasement products.
Recently, we reported about the University of Nebraska’s bed bug infestation. Well, they have dealt with the infestation, but at quite a hefty price! The cost to get rid of bed bugs at the University of Nebraska was estimated at over $300,000!
Getting rid of bed bugs in dorm rooms
Getting rid of bed bugs in dorm rooms, or anywhere, is a painstaking job. The University had 2 different pest control companies search room by room for the tiny critters.
One big challenge that the University faced was that of bed bug phobia or the social stigma that students faced in acknowledging that they had bedbugs in their dorm. Many students were afraid of admitting they have bed bugs; while other students admitted that they would be weary of “hanging out” with a student who had an infestation. Naturally, this causes a problem when searching for and eliminating bed bugs.
Preventing bed bugs in dorm rooms
The University of Nebraska has taken measures to warn students not to bring used furniture and mattresses back to the dorms – all in an effort to avoid future infestations. But is it enough? What about bed bugs in carpets and clothing? And, what if student’s simply can’t afford to heed that advice?We recommend that students, and even University’s, begin investing in bed bug mattress covers. In fact, in response to the recent bedbug outbreaks at college campuses across the US, Bedbug.com has created the scientifically engineered and bed bug proof smart buy for dorm rooms. This package deal saves student’s money by including the essentials for bed bug prevention!
Bugs in Bed Challenge on “I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here”
This past week on the “I’m a Celebrity” show, the blue team won the horrific “Beat the Bugs Challenge”, also known as the Bed Bug Challenge. Imagining your warm bed at home infested with bed bugs is bad enough, but these participants had to spend the night in beds within Perspex boxes with all kinds of jungle critters crawling around.
Each team got to choose which “bed bugs” went into the other teams boxes – snakes, rats, cockroaches and crabs are just a few of their options. The team that spent the most time in the bed bug infested beds won the challenge. The blue team won with 35 hours and 56 minutes, while the orange team only had a total of 29 hours and 22 minutes. Maybe if the orange team had bed bug protection, they could have stood a chance against the blue team.
This challenge kept many of the participants up all night and had many of them in tears. But then again who could sleep with so many bugs in bed? After watching that episode of the TV show, its not easy crawling into bed while hoping nothing else is crawling in. Sleep better with a bed bug mattress encasement that can keep the bed bugs out.
Bed Bug Lawyers – An Increasingly Popular Profession
As bed bug infestations are showing up in more and more places, bed bug lawyers have become more and more popular. Getting rid of bed bugs is the least of commercial property owners’ worries now that these new lawyers are filing bed bug lawsuits. These new indirect costs that bed bug infestations are creating for bed bug lawyers and bed bug insurance far exceed the direct costs of bed bugs such as for bed bug mattress encasements and bed bug extermination.
In Baltimore, on October 24th, the first bed bug lawsuit was reported by ABC news as “the first of what could end up binge many.” In this bed bug lawsuit, Kristen Saunders won $40,000 in damages because her apartment management took over a month to get rid of bed bugs from within her apartment. In Ohio, Knights Inn is facing its second bed bug lawsuit for failing to do their part in preventing bed bug infestations and inefficiently removing bed bugs from their motel rooms. Theres even a bed bug lawsuit against Knox County Jail, filed by a woman who claimed to be injured due to bed bug bites in her eye during the time she served in the jail.
These new lawsuits are perhaps more frightening than the bed bugs are themselves. Property owners better figure it out sooner than later that unless they take preventative measures they will not only face a bed bug infestation but likely, a bed bug lawsuit.
Bed bug extermination can cost between $4K and $10k or even more, depending on the size of your facility, and the degree of infestation. Buy encasements in bulk and save tons of money of mattress replacement while keeping the bed bugs out at the same time.
Use metal headboards and closet hanging bars when ever possible
Educate tenants about the threat of bed bugs. Tell them what bed bugs look like, how to spot them, and what to do if they turn up.
Keep halls and public areas free of clutter
Contact your local health authorities to learn more about your legal obligations regarding bed bugs, and have a plan of action ready to go if bed bugs turn up.
Read more about bed bug lawsuits at http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/hotel-faces-2nd-bedbug-lawsuit-1274614.html
Getting rid of bed bugs is no easy feat. How much money have you spent on pest management this year? Is there truly any limit on how much money you are willing to spend to make sure you do not wake with bed bug bites?
Based on a recent poll by the Bedbug.com Bed Bug Blog, 90% of voters have spent over $100 getting rid of bed bugs, with 27% having spent between $501 and $1,000 and a whopping 31% having spent between %1,000 and $3,000!
Does taking care of bed bug infestations really cost an average of $500-$3,000? While quotes vary depending on the severity and conditions of the situation, it is definitely not unusual to get a quote anywhere upward of $500-per-room for pest management.
This year a rising number of hotels have had to get rid of bed bugs from many of their rooms, and this definitely does not exclude hotels in the glamorous Hollywood.
I guess not everything is picture-perfect in Hollywood. A couple staying in one of Hollywood’s hotels found a bed bug crawling across a pillow as they lay down to sleep. To their horror, the bed bug was not alone – as they found multiple bed bugs crawling all over the bed when they pulled down the sheets. Perhaps the most frightening part of the story is that the hotel, presented with the bed bug situation, only offered to switch the couple’s room – which they very smartly declined. The couple returned home and ended up getting rid of all their stuff to prevent bed bugs from spreading. The couple reported that the hotel handled the situation very poorly and only called for exterminators 17 days later.
The bed bug attacked couple have attempted to receive compensation from the hotel for doctor visits, damaged items and the “stay” at the hotel but the hotel refused. Part of the law suit that has resulted from this bed bug case, is the requirement that the hotel provide the proper information for how to deal with bed bugs if similar future cases arise.
In North Carolina, a woman dies after attempting to kill bed bugs using 18 cans of insecticides. In fact, she is just one of an already known 110 individuals harmed by bed bug insecticides in the past three years. CDC officials are suggesting that people rely onexterminators rather than attempt to fight the bed bugs themselves. It could mean their life!
The sudden scare of bed bug insecticides has encouraged people to take preventative measures. Bed bug mattress encasements and pillow covers can keep bed bugs out and prevent the need for using these harmful insecticides.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about this increasingly common occurrence is that the bed bugs themselves do not spread sickness. Even though the bloodsucking critters are a huge bother, it is the insecticide products used to kill them that cause the most harm.
Read more about avoiding bed bugsso you do not have to resort to using harmful products.
In Kreta Ayer, Singapore a new volunteering program has been created – the Stop Pests Project. This projected two-month program, beginning on September 11, 2011, aims to help clean 150 bed bug infested houses on Block 51 – a main rental block in Kreta Ayer.
‘Stop Pests Project’ targets 150 bed bug infested homes
Many elderly and poor individuals, living in this area, are unable to afford getting rid of bed bugs in their houses and so they live alongside the blood-sucking critters. This Stop Pests Project has already racked up corporate investors and has taken public donations to help cover the estimated cost of $250,000.
The Stop Pest Project has employed an Origin Exterminators’ beagle to help locate the bed bugs within the many houses. This use of dogs to find bed bugs is a new practice that has been growing both within the United States and out. Once the bed bugs have been located, over 100 volunteers have begun packing up houses for extermination.
This two-month project is only a test run of what could be a huge campaign to help clean the city of infestations and perhaps prevent bed bugs in the future. In addition to increasing the number of houses targeted by this volunteer program, head of the Stop Pest Project, Dr. Neo hopes to eventually have enough funding to replace the infested furniture and bed bug ridden mattresses.
Read more about protecting your mattresses from infestations at http://lnk.nu/bedbug.com/1s15.aspx