Doc Summary
Bedbugs are hard to control and are resistant to many types of products. These treatments are left to only the most experienced and detailed technicians. Great inspection, monitoring, and an IPM approach involving many different products and materials are needed to achieve control. This outlines the basic program, but it can vary depending on the sale. One follow-up is mandatory. This is set at 10-15 days based upon life cycle. Bedbugs can go as long as 1 year without a blood meal. Basic mentality is to protect the customer from bedbugs ASAP while letting the residual do its work over time as well to eliminate the whole infestation.
Initial Inspection: #
During inspection, question the resident about bedbug activity and rooms. Try to find out how the area became infested and how the bedbugs could have been introduced into the area. If they are sleeping in multiple rooms, you must assume that all rooms are infested and need to be treated to give the guarantee. Have a flashlight, screwdriver, and sharp edge handy. A spare change of clothes, flushing agent, and gloves are preferred for the inspection as well. The inspection should usually take 10 minutes for each infested room. Take your time. Check behind pictures, tight spaces, headboards, and dressers. Inspect the mattress area for blood spots. Get the box spring and cut the cheese cloth off the bottom for inspection with permission from the homeowner. It needs to be removed for treatment anyway. Inspect the box spring and bed frame. Once establishing that there are signs of an active bedbug infestation, put together your treatment strategy and present the price.
Multi-unit Inspection: #
The surrounding units of the infested units need to be inspected, and residents need to be interviewed. Charge for lengthy inspections of multiple units (more than 4). It is common to perform heavy pest treatment in adjoining units where we find activity. The price per adjoining unit should be around $75 – $100 per unit. This will help prevent the bedbugs from spreading.
Pricing: #
See pricing manual.
- Mattress covers: Charge $75.00 extra for each mattress cover. They are available for box springs as well. You can sell mattress covers for $100.00 apiece as a standalone if needed with no treatment guarantee. Get the sizes of the mattresses.
Warranty: #
30-day warranty after last scheduled follow-up treatment.
Bedbug Monitoring Program: #
Did not find live activity? Place monitors and return in two weeks.
- The price is often $125 to place monitors and to return and check them in two weeks. Arrow utilizes climb-up monitors and some “sticky” monitors.
Bed Bug Initial Preparation Process: #
(Available on website and contract agreement). Do not start treatment and offer our guarantee to a customer who has not completed the preparation list. Proper preparation often determines treatment success.
- Strip the beds and launder all sheets, pillowcases, mattress pads, and blankets.
- Remove everything from bedroom closets and place in sealed plastic bags.
- Remove everything from dresser drawers, nightstands, and dressing tables, and place in sealed plastic bags.
- Have all clothing and fabrics laundered (hot wash/hot dryer cycle) or dry-cleaned.
- Remove drapes and have them laundered, dry-cleaned, or replaced.
- Discard cardboard boxes, shoeboxes, paper and plastic bags, old newspapers, stacks of magazines, and related items in all potentially infested rooms.
- Vacuum all infested rooms, including the floor, mattresses, bedsprings, couches, chairs, closets, and closet shelves, shoes, inside dresser drawers, and bedside drawers. Vacuum bags are to be placed in a sealed plastic bag and discarded outside. Do not reuse plastic bags.
- All loose items that are not discarded need to be placed in a sealed bag in the infested room for inspection and treatment.
- Establish a lock-up procedure with the client when you exit the structure.
Equipment Needed: #
- Aerosol or aerosol machine if possible. Extension cord.
- PPE (respirator mandatory), Dust & Dust Applicator, Screwdrivers.
- Adulticides & IGRs, Mattress covers (if purchased).
- Bed bug monitors (if needed) (2-4 per bed).
- Steam machine and attachments if sold with steam treatments.
- Flashlight & Knife, Extra clothes to change into to prevent spread.
- Trash bags for throwing away bedding or putting your change of clothes into.
Material Prep: #
Compression sprayer – mix 1-2 adulticides with different active ingredients and your IGR in the 1-gallon sprayer together at the high rate. ½ gallon will be used for each room normally. Products must be labeled for bedbugs.
- Aerosol machine – mix ¼ gallons of the two adulticides and IGR in the aerosol machine. Use your respirator. No more than 2 regular aerosol cans should be used per home.
- Dust – use and fill as normal.
Initial Treatment: #
- The bed – In each bedroom, start from the bottom up. Take off the mattress and box spring so the bed frame is exposed. Treat with a coarse fan spray covering the carpet under the bed until wetness is visible. Treat heavily around the bed frames’ contact points with the floor. Dust may be more appropriate in some areas. Treat the bed frame with liquid, dust, and aerosol machine. This is done. Next is the box spring. Ensure the cheese cloth is removed and disposed of. Treat the box spring with the aerosol machine and coarse fan spray until noticeably and uniformly damp. Treat the bottom and top. Place the box spring down onto the bed frame. Put a layer of dust on top of the box spring according to the label.
- The mattress: Many products cannot be used directly on the mattress. This is why you wrap it in a bedbug cover. We prefer a mattress cover only for the mattress and not the box spring. This will provide immediate protection to the client and allow you to apply heavy treatment to the box spring and bed frame without the mattress becoming contaminated. If available, treat the mattress with mattress-safe approved products.
- Baseboards – Take your duster and dust in the EMPTY dressers, behind pictures, behind headboards, and cracks and crevices. Also dust in outlets and between the carpet and baseboards every foot. Next, take the aerosol machine and go over the same areas (not the electric outlets). This will stir up the dust for better penetration and get the bedbugs running because of the moving air they hate.
- Baby, sickly, or elderly rooms – Go over the treatment process with the homeowner. They need to consult with a doctor on their re-entry time. Do not treat these areas or apply lightly as a flea job (less heavy). Throw away any products that may become contaminated and take special precautions.
- Closet – Treat with dust and liquid like a flea job. Do not directly treat clothes.
- Bathrooms – If possible, treat the pipe voids in the sinks and toilet along with dusting outlets. Treat the bath trap if possible. Do not contaminate any hygiene or care products.
- Door entrances – Treat door entrances and door frames heavily to prevent bed bugs from traveling to other rooms as much as possible.
- Adjoining rooms – Treat all adjoining walls to the infested room at the baseboards and electrical outlets.
- Living rooms – Treat baseboards the same as the bedroom and treat furniture until uniformly damp. Take the cushions off and treat all sides of cushions. Dust and aerosol the furniture based on infestation pressure and inspect in that area.
- Kitchen/food – Do not apply these products around exposed foods. They need to be sealed up or thrown away.
- Walls and ceilings – Treat all walls and adjoining walls to a uniform application where droplets are forming and beginning to run down the walls. Treat the ceiling with a straight steam spray where the ceiling meets the walls.
- Attics – Depending on infestation, the attic may need to be dusted heavily above the infestation site or more.
- Laundry room – A common site for bedbugs traveling on clothes. Treat heavily between appliances, on walls, and ceilings.
Required Follow-up: #
At approx. 10-15 days after initial.
- Preparation – Preparation for the follow-up needs to be the same as our flea follow-up procedures for the inside of the home at the minimum. Additional preparations are optional for the customer and encouraged.
- Inspection – Before treating, interview the resident on activity levels. Check monitors if placed.
- Treatment – Most follow-up treatments are like a heavy flea infestation. You will utilize dust and liquids mostly during this treatment. The client still needs to leave for 4 hours after treatment.
- Monitoring – Place out monitors at the end of the follow-up treatment and inform the client on how and how often to check for activity.
Guarantee: #
- A one-time bed bug job will get a 30-day warranty after the last follow-up treatment. This is so because re-introduction is a possibility.
- Single-family residential homes are eligible for Bedbug + Prime Pest Guarantee.
Selling and Marketing Tips: #
See pricing manual.