It’s a whole new world to bed bug control in 2020. Here are some handy tips to help keep your employees safe.
1. Upgrade. Pest control companies are already requiring bed bug technicians to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) such as long sleeves, gloves, Tyvek coveralls, overshoes, and respirators when product labels so require.
Also, to allay employee (and consumer) fears during COVID-19, many companies are requiring technicians to wear additional equipment such as face masks and / or face shields.
For example, Plunkett’s Pest Control in Fridley, Minnesota now meets all of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s PPE requirements in addition to those required by product labels. The company will not do bed bug work in quarantine units.
2. Disinfect. ABC Home & Commercial Services of Austin, Texas, may conduct a sanitization service prior to treating bed bugs to protect employees, said Alan Brown, an entomologist who heads the company’s bed bug and fumigation division.
“In some cases, we may be working in shelters and places that may have COVID-positive patients so we need to be very aware of that,” he said. As a result, disinfectant is applied to areas where treatment is planned to kill the virus before bed bug technicians are potentially exposed.
If customers are at high risk for COVID-19 and are concerned about contracting the virus from technicians, the company conducts a disinfection service after bed bug treatment and before the customer returns to the premises.
3. Make it fun. Tom Sieminski, a former high school teacher and trainer, said his bed bug technicians do their best job when a small friendly competition is part of the inspection and treatment process. “I do it like a game,” says the owner of Team Pest Control in Sayville, NY
The team gathers on the construction site at 8 a.m. Each team member is assigned to a different room or area, and Sieminski presents challenges such as, “Who will be the first to find a mistake?” At 10 am the team takes a break and it’s time to see who did the best job that Sieminski put on Check off his quality control checklist.
The work remains exhausting. The employees are wearing full PPE and it’s hot. They lift mattresses, install cladding, move furniture and carry heavy garbage bags full of clothes. Nevertheless, Sieminski found that “gamification” prevents employees from focusing on the negative. “I’ve made it challenging and reasonably competitive and my boys enjoy it,” he said.
4. Reconsider your protocol. Plunkett’s pest control recently switched its bed bug protocol from heat to conventional chemical treatment. This change has made things easier for employees in many ways. First, they no longer lug heavy heaters, fans, and cables around, often down stairs. “Everything on a heater is heavy,” said Jeremiah Riopel, the company’s multi-housing sales and marketing director. Your risk of injury is also reduced. “Knees and back are expensive,” he emphasized.
Driver safety has been improved as the employees do not haul heavy heat trailers. “Towing a 7,000-pound trailer is dangerous, even if you are the safest man in the world,” said Riopel.
After all, it’s easier for technicians to schedule conventional bed bug treatments. “You have a lot more say when these jobs are done,” said Riopel.
Its technicians who work in production can now make more money because they have the flexibility to schedule bed bug jobs and seasonal work into their existing routes. In comparison, planning the heat treatment is less flexible and “it eats up a large part of your day,” said Riopel.
