‘Uninviting’ Bed Bug Hitchhikers from Semi-Truck Cabs

LAWSON, Mo. – “Big Ben, this here is Rubber Duck, my ETA is 9 p.m., and I’m bringing with me bed bugs.” This is a radio call no driver wants to make, but it has become a fact of life for many of our nation’s long-haul truck drivers, a transient profession where numerous hotel stays and sleeper cabs are a way of life – a recipe for bed bug infestations.

“Most truck drivers live in their trucks - it's their home on the road,” said Jeff Preece, owner of ZipZap Termite & Pest Control, Lawson, Mo. “They are around a lot of people at diners and other places, or sometimes they will buy a truck that already has bed bugs in it.”

When these truck drivers do discover bed bugs, one of the companies they have turned to is ZipZap, which has developed a reputation for quickly and effectively eliminating bed bugs by fumigation.

ZipZap’s fumigation service for semi-truck cabs grew organically. Preece said ZipZap had experience using U-haul truck trailers to fumigate items from apartments.

“Then one time we got a call from a truck driver who said, ‘Hey, I've had my truck heated a couple times and I don’t think they are doing it right,’ because he was still finding bed bugs,” Preece recalled. He began thinking that fumigation might be the ideal choice in this situation because you are dealing with a small, confined space and the treatment needs to be a one-time solution, as truck drivers need to get back on their routes as soon as possible. “I told the truck driver that he would be a candidate for fumigation because we treat the whole truck and everything that is in it,” Preece said.

This experience lit the proverbial lightbulb in Preece’s head. He began thinking that there might be a market opportunity for semi-truck cab fumigation services for bed bugs. His son made a dedicated webpage for this service, and it soon took off in popularity.

One reason it has worked for ZipZap is location. The company is in the Kansas City, Mo., area, which is a transportation hub. I-35 is a major north-south highway, while I-70 runs from the East Coast to the West Coast. “I don’t know that much about trucking, but when we receive calls we ask, ‘Can you get a route through here, or close to here,’ and a lot times they can.”

Although Preece is an experienced fumigator, he said he has learned, adapted and developed protocols specific for this type of work. For example, Preece has built a pad on the back of the ZipZap property where the fumigation takes place. He also cuts and creates customized 40-foot by 50-foot tarps and he’s learned how to install these tarps so that they don’t tear. Also, on ZipZap’s five-acre site is a waiting room, so truck drivers can drop their truck off in the morning, let ZipZap do the fumigation and get their truck back by late afternoon.

“It’s been a nice service for us,” Preece said. “It’s not a big-ticket item. If we do two per day you are talking $400,000 to $500,000, which to big companies is chicken change, but for a small company like ours…it’s just fine."