[BED BUG SUPPLEMENT] Game Changer

It’s almost impossible to turn on the television, log on to the Internet, or open a paper without learning how bed bugs have infested public transportation, hotels, schools, police cars, college dormitories, office buildings, funeral parlors, theaters, clothing stores, and just about every other place humans inhabit.

Never before has a pest — or the pest management industry — been such a focus of the media spotlight. All this attention and free publicity begs the question: Are bed bugs changing the public’s opinion of the pest management industry? And what does this mean for pest management professionals moving forward?
 

Homeowners seek smart PMPs.
Before the tenacious pests became media darlings, PMPs were considered a “necessary evil” for controlling rodents, termites and roaches, said Terminix Vice President of Service Administration Fred Strickland.

Now, consumers seek out PMPs to learn prevention tips and best treatment approaches. Strickland recalled one technician who was mobbed — in a good way — in the grocery store. Nowadays professionals are considered value providers, he said.

The growth of residential bed bug service has the potential to raise “our public perception to a different level,” he said.

Consumers and mainstream media have a “greater appreciation of the profession’s talents,” agreed Orkin Technical Director Greg Baumann.

So far, the media has done an “appropriate job” forming public opinion, said National Pest Management Association Public Affairs Vice President Missy Henriksen, who’s been interviewed about the pests countless times by national media.

Yet, it’s “a little premature” to say the pests have improved the industry’s image, said Virginia Tech Entomologist Dr. Dini Miller.

A 2010 Professional Pest Management Alliance survey found only 44 percent of past pest control users and 20 percent of non-users had positive impressions of the industry. (Sixty-six percent of current users had favorable impressions.) One in four respondents doubted the honesty of pest control professionals.

Miller said PMPs who have studied the entomology, who know what’s going on in the field and how to provide cost-sustainable service are becoming recognized experts.

But she feared others rely on the “misleading crap” found on the Internet, which contributes to bed bug hysteria.
 

An evolving story.
As news cycles go, the bed bug story is a changing beast. Initial stories were of bed bug infestations. A Terminix news release ranking the top 15 cities for infestations last August got tremendous media coverage and “continues to have a heartbeat,” said Strickland.

Next came stories on how to minimize infestations, and then what to look for when hiring a professional.

Baumann said reporters have done a good job portraying PMPs as “protectors of health and people’s living and working environments.” They’ve communicated “bed bugs can be controlled” and that “we’re pretty creative as an industry.”
Unfortunately, stories of unethical business practices and price gouging have cropped up.

Those hurt because the actions of a few bad companies reflect poorly on the entire industry, said Jeff White, research entomologist at Cooper Pest Solutions and BedBug Central in Lawrenceville, N.J. White has been interviewed by NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC Street Signs, Dateline and more. 

“People are looking for a reason to be angry and blame somebody,” he said.

Henriksen advised professionals to continue to emphasize the qualifications and experience needed to do the job right.
The media spotlight has been a good thing, “unless people start to feel the continuing bed bug spread is the result of repeated failures on the part of pest management,” Miller said.
 

Job #1: Calm everyone down.
Bed bugs elicit strong emotional responses from people. They strike in the sanctuary of one’s bed, they’ve had a skid-row reputation since recorded history, they’re a relatively “new” pest and they’re making people rethink their daily behavior.

“Unfortunately consumers are panicky,” said Henriksen. They’re desperate for information, and some misinformation is very strong. Within seconds she rattled off a list of wacky concoctions and myths (e.g., bed bugs can’t crawl on silk sheets) winding through the public psyche.

Education can calm consumers, help them separate fact from fiction, and prevent them from making knee-jerk reactions, Henriksen said.

Teach the public how to minimize infestations, how to inspect and what to look for, and what to expect if treatment is necessary. Some PMPs are hosting educational events for commercial businesses and residential groups in their communities.

Consumers will remember if you’ve been part of their support system, she said. And that includes how you deal with emotional people from the time of their initial phone call.

Providing concerned customers with good information “provides a higher level service,” said White, who believes the stigma of bed bugs will lesson over time. When people don’t understand a pest, they tend to overreact, he said.

White created BedBug Central TV to help “take hysteria out of the equation.” Consumers can watch videos and learn about bed bugs in a calm, informative fashion, he said.

No surprise, professionals are flocking to educational programs on “how to operate in the new world of bed bugs,” from both business and customer service perspectives, said Henriksen. “It’s the dawning of a new era.”

NPMA recently formed a Blue Ribbon Task Force to determine how best to educate the public, identify treatment tools and strategies, and foster open communication among legislative, regulatory and industry stakeholders. (See related story on page 130.)
 

Commit to the bug.
Experts agreed bed bugs are going to be an issue for some time.

To do the work and do it well, Miller said PMPs must get into the business in a big way, or stay out of it. “You don’t dabble in bed bug work, you become an expert at it. Right now, we don’t have that many experts out there,” she said.
PMPs need dedicated staffs, bed bug-specific contracts, significant training, and letters of recommendation from clients. They also must set expectations for partnerships, communicate well with all parties, and have the ability to design long-term comprehensive programs for the prevention, suppression and elimination of the pests.

The industry also needs cost-sustainable treatment protocols, Miller said. Treating unit by unit is expensive and will be difficult for clients to continue over the long term.

White and other professionals are working on lower-cost treatment methods to appeal to a broader range of budgets. Some of these methods rely more heavily on pesticide use.

It’s created a “weird dynamic,” especially for firms advocating non-chemical control methods, said White. Encasement, steam, vacuums and other devices are effective but “take a lot of time and therefore cost a lot of money. Pesticide treatment takes a lot less time.”

Because bed bugs were absent for such a long time, the industry experienced a “brain drain” in terms of their control, said Strickland.

Baumann has encouraged the industry to work together to develop the most effective ways to control the pests. Keep up with new technology such as monitors and detectors, and test it in the field. This reflects on the industry’s professionalism.

People want and expect pest control companies to be the experts on bed bugs, observed Miller. “We just need pest control companies to be the experts,” she said.
 

New doors opening.
Ultimately the increased attention on the pest control industry is good for business, and not just bed bug services.

The pests have given PMPs an opportunity to talk about what they do and how they do it with a new group of consumers, said White.

According to NPMA, 25 percent of consumers used a pest professional in the past year. Experts said this number will grow as bed bugs expand their reach.

“This has definitely opened up new users to our category,” said Strickland.

“We have a whole new crop of customers out there,” agreed Baumann. PMPs can leverage their bed bug work to open doors to services like ant or roach control.

The author, a frequent contributor to PCT magazine, can be reached at anagro@giemedia.com.

Bed Bugs by the Numbers
In 2009, bed bug revenue was 5 percent or $258 million of total general pest revenue, said Specialty Products Consultants President Gary Curl, who annually surveys more than 800 pest management professionals.

Bed bug services made up 9.5 percent of revenue in the Northeast, 6.3 percent in the Midwest, 4.6 percent in the West, and 2.7 and 2.1 percent in the Southeast and South Central regions, respectively.
 
Nearly 68 percent of pest control companies nationwide offered bed bug services in 2009. In the Midwest, that number increased 38.7 percent from 2007.
 

Love is in the Air…Unless You Have Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are affecting people’s love lives: Forty-five percent of those responding to an AreYouInterested.com survey on Facebook said they would cancel a date if someone admitted to a bed bug infestation.

The same percent said they would use bed bugs as an excuse to get out of a bad date.

Here are more findings:

56%  would leave their date if they noticed bed bug bites on his/her skin.
47%  would ask if their date had bed bugs before going back to his/her place.
35%  have changed their usual dating spots because of a fear of bed bugs.

Opportunity to Educate
Pest management professionals have the proverbial stage. Experts said now’s the time to communicate key messages to customers and potential ones:

Bed bugs are difficult to control. Customers need to know there’s no quick fix to controlling bed bugs, said Virginia Tech entomologist Dr. Dini Miller.

Pesticide-resistant populations are widespread, and introductions of new active ingredients are unlikely due to the high cost of R&D and the short time frame manufacturers have to recoup their investment in a niche market like bed bug control. “It’s not even good business sense to be working on something for bed bugs in the United States because of our registration process,” said Miller.

The lack of comprehensive, affordable treatment plans for multi-unit housing will prevent the industry from getting rid of bed bugs. How many times can people or properties afford to pay for expensive treatment, Miller asked. In some cases, suppression programs may be the best defense.

What you get for the money. Everyone in the industry has had to address customer “sticker shock,” said Orkin Technical Director Greg Baumann.

Take time to explain why treatment is expensive, and not gouging. Jeff White, research entomologist at Cooper Pest Solutions and BedBug Central in Lawrenceville, N.J., likened treatment to getting a car’s transmission replaced. The part costs nothing compared to the labor, and bed bug treatments are labor-intensive. Emphasize your education, licensing, training and insurance. In the next five to 10 years, White said bed bug treatments will become more affordable — $400 to $600 compared to today’s $800 to $1,200.

Treatment expectations. The more customers understand the treatment strategy and the role they play in it, the better the outcome. Treating beds and bedrooms limits professionals’ treatment options, so client cooperation is paramount. Controlling clutter and changing storage practices are key, said Terminix Vice President of Service Administration Fred Strickland.

Prevention best practices. Customers need to know how to prevent bringing home bed bugs in the first place, said Miller. Educate people on how to change their behavior, “or we’ll never get ahead of this thing.”
 

Bed Bugs in 'da house
Bed bugs are funny. OK, not if you have them, but they are hilarious material for satire, late night TV and snarky e-cards. Here’s a smattering of our favorite bed bug references. Don’t see the one that made you LOL? Send it to us!

The Colbert Report: ThreatDown
September 16, 2010

Stephen Colbert asks Mississippi State University entomologist Dr. Jerome Goddard how to stop the growing number of  bed bug problems that seem to have come about during the Obama administration. Hilarious!
See for yourself: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/359383/september-16-2010/threatdown---bedbugs---environmentalists---jerome-goddard

The ONION
Online news spoof site

“Cockroach King Concerned Over Recent Rise of Bedbugs,” October 20, 2010
“We must not allow this ignoble parasite to usurp our rightful place as the most feared and reviled pest in all the land,” said King Leopold. Full story at http://www.theonion.com/articles/cockroach-king-concerned-over-recent-rise-of-bedbu,18289/

“White House Infested with Bedbugs After Biden Brings in Recliner off the Curb,” February 3, 2010
“The White House suffered a severe bedbug infestation last week after Vice President Joe Biden reportedly ‘scored’ a discarded recliner chair that ‘someone was just throwing out.’” At http://www.theonion.com/articles/white-house-infested-with-bedbugs-after-biden-brin,7070/

Saturday Night Live Weekend Update with Seth Meyers
October 2, 2010

SNL’s “Weekend Update with Seth Meyers” included a segment reporting that Howard Stern’s studio in New York City was found infested with bed bugs in September.
“‘Man, it is disgusting in here,’ said the bed bugs,” Meyers reported.
Source: http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/

Late show with David Letterman
“Top Ten Signs New York has a Bed Bug Problem,” August 23, 2010

1.  Twice this week Mayor Bloomberg’s been mistaken for a bed bug.
5.  Bed bugs getting into turf wars with cockroach gangs.
8.  Fire hydrants modified to dispense anti-itch cream.
10. Instead of rude and irritable, New Yorkers now rude, irritable and itchy.

Watch the rest at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxat2ZCw0vY

Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me with Peter Sagal
Public radio’s oddly informative news quiz
October 30, 2010

SAGAL: Candles, soft music and flower petals strewn across the bed will not save your date, once your date notices, wait a minute, those aren’t flower petals. They’re moving.
(Soundbite of laughter)
SAGAL: Exterminators in New York are getting more and more calls from people who say that bed bugs are destroying their love life. One attorney told CNN, quote, “I was dating a guy and he asked me, do you have any bed bugs in your apartment, because if you do, you won’t be seeing me,” unquote. Apparently, the attorney’s date was willing to get into bed with one rapacious blood sucker but not hundreds of them.
Listen to the rest at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130923374

"Congratulations on not having bedbugs despite the high turnover rate of people entering your bed."

Someecards
Online supplier of free, edgy e-cards
We’re not sure who this love-note is intended for…maybe someone with a seven-year itch?