[Book Excerpt] Dealing with a Bed Bug Crisis

Editor’s note: Pest management professionals can use the following excerpt from the “Bed Bug Handbook — The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control” by Lawrence Pinto, Richard Cooper and Sandra Kraft to communicate the necessary steps when dealing with a bed bug infestation. See page 86 for more information about this book.

A bed bug infestation is not something to take lightly. You cannot ignore it. It will not go away by itself, but will just get worse with time. As bed bugs spread, and you can be certain that they will, they will affect more people, and even spread to other locations. You will be held accountable, whether the “you” is a hotel manager, apartment manager, or the owner of a pest control company. Mishandle the problem, be unresponsive or show that you are unsympathetic to those being bitten, and a bed bug infestation can quickly evolve into a public relations and even legal nightmare.

BED BUGS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS. A bed bug infestation can damage a company’s image. Reports of bed bug bites, for example, can seriously impact a hotel’s reputation. When deciding what action to take to prevent bed bugs or when determining how much money and effort to commit to control a possible infestation, managers and owners of hotels, motels, apartments, nursing centers and other commercial sites should weigh the potential impact on their company’s reputation, especially if the problem gets out of hand and into the media.

A major news article titled, “Family sues hotel after suffering 500 bed bug bites in one night” is not good for the hotel business, nor is “Sixteen tenants withhold rent at apartment complex because of bed bugs.” The media likes bed bug stories; they have human interest. They are shocking. They always include a victim, and a villain, and a ritzy hotel or a landlord is a ready-made villain. It can be hard to recover a business reputation once it becomes tainted by a bed bug horror story.

BED BUGS AND THE LAW. Guests who are bitten by bed bugs in hotels, residents whose apartments become infested by bed bugs, or homeowners who rent infested furniture tend to be outraged. If the bed bug problem is not addressed sympathetically and aggressively, they may withhold payment, report the infestation to the local health department, or contact a lawyer for legal redress.

When a health department or other inspection agency investigates a bed bug complaint, they may inspect the premises. States differ in laws and regulations related to rental units, whether apartments or hotels, but usually require them to be habitable, fit to live in, and in compliance with state and local health codes. If there is a problem with compliance, the owner usually has a duty to correct it. There are often specific regulations requiring owners to keep the facility free of vermin. If a health department inspector finds bed bugs, the department may issue an order for the business to eliminate the bed bugs by a certain date, or they may issue a citation for a violation of a health regulation with an associated fine. An administrative hearing may be ordered, or the landlord or owner may be issued with a summons to appear in municipal court.

Apartment residents may have their rents reduced in rent court or before a rent board because of bed bug infestations. Such reductions commonly range from 40 percent to 60 percent.

Residents who withhold their rent because of bed bugs, and who are then evicted, can sue for “constructive eviction,” and some have done so successfully. Courts have ruled that bed bug infestations are an “intolerable condition.” In contrast, some property managers have begun evicting tenants based on noncompliance with bed bug control programs, or because the residents were thought to be responsible for repeated bed bug infestations. It is too soon to say how the courts will view such evictions.

When a bed bug lawsuit is filed, the damage claimed is typically for such issues as “pain and suffering,” “emotional distress,” “social ostracism,” “itching, scratching and fear of scarring,” and even “post-traumatic stress syndrome.”

Lawsuits have been filed against hotels asking for millions of dollars, and actual awards have on occasion reached nearly $200,000 per guest for punitive and compensatory damages. Awards this large have been upheld on appeal. Lawsuits have not only included damages for the trauma of being bitten, but also for the damages caused by carrying the bed bugs back to infest the litigant’s home.

Additionally, lawsuits have been filed against furniture rental companies for delivering infested furniture and infesting homes. So far, pest control companies have not been a major target of lawsuits involving bed bug infestations in hotels or residences. This may change as more lawsuits are filed.

BE PROACTIVE. Even with a good bed bug prevention program, you can never be 100-percent sure that a room or a piece of furniture does not have bed bugs. A hotel room could have been inspected today and be completely free of bed bugs, only to have bugs introduced later when the next guest checks in. Or bed bugs may have been present in a piece of furniture, but in such low numbers or in such inaccessible hiding places that they could not be detected.

Still, people do not want bed bugs biting them in their hotel room, infesting their apartment or hiding in their rental furniture. When someone discovers that they have bed bugs, especially if they or their family members have been bitten by those bugs, they are shocked and outraged. They want to know why it happened, they want management to act responsively, and they want the bugs eradicated.

If managers do not have an action plan in place and do not take aggressive action as soon as bed bug problems are first discovered, a small infestation can quickly turn into an all-consuming, expensive, public relations calamity.

An Essential Bed Bug Reference Book

“Bed Bug Handbook: The Complete Guide to Bed Bugs and Their Control” by Lawrence Pinto, Richard Cooper and Sandra Kraft is a complete and up-to-date guide to bed bugs and their control. The book is 275 pages long and sections include:

• History and impact of bed bugs
• Bed bug biology and habits
• How bed bugs spread
• Medical and social considerations of bed bug infestations
• Practical step-by-step guidance for preventing bed bug infestations and for dealing with bed bug outbreaks
• Bed bug inspections

Also included are checklists for preventing and controlling bed bugs in specific kinds of facilities, such as apartments, hotels, medical facilities and furniture rental warehouses. Written primarily for professionals — pest control specialists and the managers of hotels, apartments and other commercial operations susceptible to bed bug infestations — the “Bed Bug Handbook” is a valuable resource for anyone interested in bed bugs and their control.

Order from the PCT Bookstore at 800/456-0707 or at www.pctonline.com/store.

React Quickly to a Bed Bug Crisis

Lodging facilities at risk of bed bug infestations (hotels, motels, school dormitories, apartments, etc.) as well as furniture rental and used furniture companies should have 1) procedures and inspections to prevent or detect new bed bug infestations, and 2) a formal bed bug action plan to quickly respond to any new infestation.

Respond sympathetically to people reporting bed bug problems; do not make light of their concerns.

Be proactive. As soon as the first bed bug problem is reported and verified, assume that there are more and act aggressively.

Hotels and motels should immediately move guests out of bed bug-infested rooms, and have procedures in place for moving the guests, and not the bed bugs, to their new accommodations. The procedures may vary in complexity based upon how long the guests have been staying in the room(s) and the extent of the bed bug activity observed in each room. Action is needed in the infested guest room; in the rooms next to, above and below the infested room; and in the room the guest has been moved to (assuming they decide to stay). Lodging management should consider “comping” the room, offering to wash or pay for dry cleaning of all the guests’ clothes, and even having a pest control firm inspect or steam-treat their luggage to reduce the likelihood that the guests will take bed bugs home.

Lodging facilities should take a bed bug-infested room out of service and have the room serviced by a professional pest control firm that is experienced in bed bug control. How long the room should be kept out of service will depend on the size of the initial infestation, conditions at the site, and the outcome of the inspection.

The pest control company should also inspect or treat adjacent rooms or apartment units as necessary or as specified in the action plan.

If a property experiences bed bug infestations scattered in different parts of a building or in multiple buildings, the infestation is likely widespread. All rooms or apartment units may need to be inspected and, if infested, serviced as appropriate.

In order to ensure tenant cooperation in apartments and other rental units, properties should have wording in the lease or a lease addendum requiring access for pest control inspections and service for bed bugs, and also specifying what actions are required by the resident in cooperating with the service.

Follow-up with inspections and retreatments until successful control has been confirmed.

To reduce liability, accurately document all of the actions taken to identify, control and prevent bed bugs; this applies to the management of the facility as well as to the pest control company.

PCT Bed Bug Seminars

Pest Control Technology magazine announced the dates and locations of three comprehensive Bed Bug Seminars:

• July 29 — San Francisco
• August 5 — Washington, D.C.
• August 12 — Atlanta

Dr. Michael Potter, extension entomologist, University of Kentucky, and Richard Cooper, technical director, Cooper Pest Solutions, will share their bed bug observations and insights.

Christian Hardigree, professor at the University of Nevada, will discuss liability and legal considerations with bed bugs.

Attendees also will receive an educational handout binder and be given the opportunity to ask questions and exchange ideas with others in the industry. To learn more or to register for a seminar, visit www.bedbugseminars.com or contact PCT’s Lola Perez Wenham at 800/456-0707, or via e-mail at conference@giemedia.com.