[Bed Bug Supplement] News & Notes

Editor’s note: Suppliers and PMPs, if you have a bed bug control product or service you’d like to have highlighted in an upcoming issue, please send a press release and a high-resolution photo to jdorsch@giemedia.com.
 

First Person: Making a Difference via P.E.S.T. Relief International

Ever since my first mission trip in 1997, I have been “hooked” on touching people’s lives who are in need and desperate to find hope. At the first Bed Bug Summit in Chicago, I was interviewed by a local news station, and my interview was aired on a national morning show. From that interview, I received an email from a woman in Italy who told me the people in Europe who have become accustomed to living with bed bugs don’t live with them because they want to, they live with them because they have to. They don’t have the money to eradicate them. I was so stricken with the reality that many people are in this same state of need. It was at that moment I thought, “wouldn’t it be great if we could all join together in the pest management industry and touch people’s lives who cannot afford to get rid of bed bugs and help people in need all over the world?”

Of course, my first thought was that I could supply mattress protectors for people who are in desperate situations. So from time to time, we started donating our Mattress Safe mattress covers that were “seconds” to various shelters in the United States when they could not afford to buy them.

Then in 2012, I took a mission trip to Honduras and took mattress covers for three different orphanages — one of which I had the pleasure of personally installing these mattress covers on their beds. We placed those encasements in the hands of the children, and they had something of their very own. They were so excited and were thrilled to see their beds transformed into a fresh new sleeping area. It was the highlight of my life. I actually was making a difference in a child’s life who otherwise was sleeping in unsanitary conditions.

Also, I was also able to participate in a feeding program, which we now support. The first time I dipped my spoon into the rice and fed the child who had the gift of this one meal a day, I almost cried from emotion. I was so happy and so filled up that I could use my service to touch someone else’s life. I could give them a smile, put food on their plate and give them hope.

That trip to Honduras is when P.E.S.T. Relief International solidified in my heart. About a year later, I began the process of organizing the company after taking my second trip to Honduras. I have now completed four trips to Honduras and cannot wait to return and deliver more mattress covers.

It was also at that time when I learned of an opportunity to build an orphanage in Atlanta where a church and surrounding community would support it. At this point, we have a planning and development team in place. The children’s home will accommodate children from the ages of 8 to 11 and/or sibling groups where there are too many siblings for one family to house in the foster care system. My hope is to fund the building of this children’s home from the pest management industry and be able to proudly sustain this operation for years to come. The Vine Community Church has land allocated for this project, and groundbreaking will commence as soon as the funds are raised.

Currently, our platform for P.E.S.T. Relief International is in the United States and Honduras. My hope is to have a presence in all regions of the country as well as other parts of the world. This is only the beginning. Imagine how we can show the world what the pest management industry can do together. Please visit www.pestreliefinternational.com and join us in bringing relief and hope to the hurting. You have the power to change lives. — Andrea Hancock, vice president, Mattress Safe

New Bed Bug Help Guide

Do You Have Bed Bugs? is a guide for the identification of bed bug infestations and was produced by Stephen Doggett, director of medical entomology at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. Doggett is also the principal author of A Code of Practice for the Control of Bed Bug Infestations in Australia. Doggett is an award-winning insect photographer, and twice won the PCT Best Pest Photo Contest.

Do You Have Bed Bugs? is 48 pages, contains more than 80 full-color images, and is printed on high-quality gloss paper. Included are images of all life stages, the signs of bed bugs, bite reactions in patients, as well as shots of where bed bugs can be found.

For pest management companies, Do You Have Bed Bugs? acts as a marketing tool. On the back of the guide is space for a company stamp or sticker. The guide can be given out to current and potential clients.

Do You Have Bed Bugs? is available in the United States through BioQuip Products at http://bit.ly/1GIeXii. Price is $7 per copy, $6.50 for 6+ copies and $6 for 12 or more copies), plus postage and handling.

Temp-Air Hosts First Thermal Remediation Bed Bug National Conference

In March, 150 people traveled to Grapevine, Texas, from as far away as Greece and Canada to spend two days interacting with speakers at the first Bi-Annual Thermal Remediation Bed Bug National Conference. “The conference not only served as an educational event but also included multiple cocktail receptions, allowing for in-depth industry technology and treatment procedure discussions to take place,” said Amanda Rahn, the firm’s marketing manager. “We are already looking forward to our next conference which will take place in 2017.”

Speakers included:

• Keynote Address: Bed Bugs, We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!, Dr. Austin M. Frishman, AMF Pest Management Consulting
• Using Pesticides to Optimize Heat Treatment Results, Joseph Barile, Bayer Environmental Science
• DNA-Based Bed Bug Detection, Ernest Colaizzi, president, Research Associates Laboratory
• Equipment Update: What You Need to Know About Thermal Remediation, Chris Strom, national sales manager, Thermal Remediation from TEMP-AIR
• The Perfect Fit: The Benefits of Encasement Products to Your Bed Bug Control Program & Pest Relief International Overview, Andrea Hancock, vice president, Mattress Safe, Pest Relief International
• Bed Bugs and Public Health, Dr. Austin M. Frishman, AMF Pest Management Consulting
• Practical Tips for Successful Use of Canines, Brian Taggart, president, National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association
• Bed Bug Liabilities: What Today’s Pest Pro Really Needs to Know, Daniel Whitney, managing partner, Whitney & Bogris
• Bed Bug Research Update, Dr. Stephen Kells, entomologist, University of Minnesota
• What’s Working for Us, Jeffrey White, Cooper Pest Solutions
• Thermal Remediation: It’s More Than Just Bed Bugs, Dr. Raj Hulasare, senior scientist, Thermal Remediation from TEMP-AIR
• New Technology to Remotely Control Heat Treatment Temperatures, Vasilis (Billy) Sotiroudas, AgroSpeCom
• The Walking Dead and Other Bed Bug Myths, By Dr. Roberto Pereira, entomologist, University of Florida
• Bed Bugs: Lessons Learned From the Field, Paul Bello, industry consultant, PJB Pest Management Consulting
   

Catch Bed Bugs Before They Enter Furniture

The Bug Outlaw is a bed bug pitfall trap, an interceptive glue trap and an all-purpose monitoring station for most types of pests.

The Bug Outlaw was designed to be placed under the legs of beds. It also works well under the legs of shelves, sofas, chairs, tables, desks and work stations, the manufacturer reports.

The Bug Outlaw intercepts bugs/pests before entering through the legs of furniture. It works on all flooring types and is ideal to use as a monitoring station before and after treatments, the manufacturer says. The product’s rough edge perimeter allows pests easier access to an impassable, adhesive area.

Learn more at www.bugoutlawinc.com.

Veteran-Friendly Business Launches New Product

Thermal Safe recently announced the launch of its new bed bug product, designed to control bed bugs without the use of pesticides.

Founder and Thermal Safe President Rick Mladek worked as a pest management professional in the 1980s. Today, he is totally and permanently blind, he says as a result of working in the pest management field.

“My vision loss was one of the primary reasons why I developed Thermal Safe,” Mladek says. “I wanted to develop a way of eliminating bed bugs that wasn’t only extremely effective, but also safe. I’m committed to making sure families and exterminators don’t hurt themselves, or damage property.”

The result of Mladek’s mission is the Thermal Safe, a heated vault. To use Thermal Safe, pest management professionals place belongings into the cabinet, which is heated to 135°F. The Thermal Safe is also equipped with safety measures that protect in case of system failure, the firm says.

As his company expands, Mladek has committed to hiring as many disabled veterans as possible. Many veterans already bring knowledge of bed bugs to the table, as soldiers often deal with bed bug problems on ships and/or in barracks, Mladek says.

To mark the launch Thermal Safe, Mladek announced a Kickstarter campaign to offer the product at a discounted rate. To learn more about the Kickstarter campaign and Thermal Safe, visit www.kickstarter.com/projects/1533424201/thermal-safe or www.thermalsafe.com.