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Commercial Partnership

Bed Bug treatments in commercial properties requires for the property management company to be much more pro-active in being aware and involved in the treatment of Bed Bugs. Because of their very nature, Bed Bugs will spread to adjoining area in search of their food source. If one given area stays vacant for too long or if the infestation reaches a certain level, Bed Bugs will migrate. This poses additional challenges in commercial properties since the actual bed bugs are not as easy to contain in a given geographic area as, say, a residential home.

Bird and Bee Removal will create a course of action with every property manager, to ensure that the Bed Bug infestation is contained and eradicated. We will develop this course of action based on the unique conditions of the given commercial property. As such, we cannot provide a quote or even a guestimation of our work for a given property without first doing an initial inspection.

At Bird and Bee Removal, we have been at the forefront of the bed bug challenges in South Florida since 2004 and are expertly trained to properly detect and eliminate bed bugs.

• We can provide discreet and cost effective education, training and treatment.
  • Topics for editorials on newsletters.
  • Handouts for educating occupants/tenants.
  • Comprehensive staff training on methods of detection and handling of challenges between unit owners/tenants.
  • Training can be held either at your facility or at our hands on training center in Hollywood.
  • Consultation services if and when disputes arise amongst unit owners/tenants and between them and management.
  • Educational seminars during community events to raise awareness.
  • Educational seminars during industry specific association meetings and trade shows.
  • Effective treatment of infested units and inspection of surrounding units.

If you are ready to take the first step toward education and legal protection, or are already in the middle of a challenging situation and need expert help, please contact us for a complimentary evaluation and assessment.

Background:
Unless you are over 65 years of age, you probably don’t remember bed bugs!

• They were practically eradicated from the United States after World War II by the regular use of strong, residual pesticides like DDT and Malathion.
• Between the 1970’s and the 1990’s there was a growing concern for the environment and pesticide toxicity, so the pest control industry adopted more targeted approaches to dealing with crawling pests that were commonly found; cockroaches and ants.
• Bed bugs were not a problem back then, so very little to no research was being done on them.
• The last ten years saw the first cases of bed bugs back in the United States and has seen their rapid spread due to:
  • Reduced residual pesticide usage.
  • Increases in international travel.
  • Lack of public awareness.
• South Florida has two major international passenger shipping ports and two major international airports.
• Between 2004 and 2007 the hospitality industry saw the first wave of bed bugs in South Florida.
• Between 2007 and 2010 residential settings started to have challenges with bed bugs as the people moved the bugs from the hotels to their homes.
• Earlier this year, we started seeing the movement of bed bugs from people’s homes to their places or work and now even in retail clothing stores.

Challenges:
Bed bugs are difficult to detect, eliminate and impossible to prevent.

• Commercial properties, multi-family dwellings and condominiums pose legally complex relationships between owners, managers and tenants.
• Bed bugs are cryptic, hide near our sleeping places and come out to feed when it’s dark and quiet.
• In the case of an office building, the bed bugs feed during the day on workers that spend an extended period of time sitting at their work stations.
• Condos pose several legal challenges when it comes to their proper detection and control. Issues surrounding adjacent units come in to play.
  • By laws require the owner of a unit experiencing a challenge in their own unit to notify Management if it may affect the adjacent unit (up, down, left or right).
  • The best example of this is when you have a plumbing leak and how it will affect your neighbor below.
• Traditional pest control techniques for other crawling insects are not effective on bed bugs and may be counterproductive. For example, it is not recommended to use total release “bomb” insecticides to treat for bed bugs. In many cases all it does is drive the bed bugs in to adjacent units through conduits and utility chases.
• Bed bugs travel on our belongings, therefore it is impossible to prevent their introduction. The only proactive thing that can be done is client education in order to ensure early detection.
• Units that previously may have had bed bugs and are now vacant pose their own unique challenges. Detection is extremely difficult since their food source is no longer present.
• Commercial buildings and multi-family residential dwellings have high furniture turn over and an infested item may be easily introduced.

Solution:
When considering solutions, your first priority is legal protection. What can be done to prevent a tenant or occupant from suing the Owner because the bed bug challenge in the unit next door went undetected and spread to their unit?

• Education is the first step.
  • Do I educate my tenants/occupants on how to find bed bugs? Periodic editorials in newsletters are a great way to do this. They also document your proactive approach to this challenge.
    • Reasons for education:
      • Reduced liability on building owner/landlord/manager.
      • Problem is found before it becomes an epidemic.
    • Reasons against education:
      • Brand Exposure and concerns about your property’s reputation.
      • Problem may go unnoticed for a long time and bed bugs may have spread to other areas and surrounding units.
    • You have to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. Ignoring this potential challenge is not an option.
• The earlier a bed bug introduction is detected and properly eliminated, the less expensive it is for everyone. Bed bugs can quickly spread throughout a building if the original introduction is not treated quickly and properly.

Bed Bug Training and Consulting

The work we do with our commercial customers is very involved. Our goal is to share our expert knowledge in bed bugs with businesses that are susceptible to these pests but may not be as knowledgeable. We provide bi-monthly seminars where we train staff from different businesses in the tri-county area. If the business is looking for more personalized training, we offer on-site training and consulting.

Our bed bug seminars are held every other month at our classroom facility centrally located in Hollywood, FL in our main office building. Our seminars provide four-hours of educational and hands-on training opportunities, where hotel, motels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools, apartments and any facility manager can send their staff to learn the answer to the most important question in the fight against these pests – How do I find and eliminate bed bugs before my guest/resident sees them?

For upcoming seminar dates, please click here. For additional information on our seminars, please click here.

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