Fears and Facts
Bed Bug Fears
The fear of bed bugs is pervasive and it’s not just hosts who are worried. According to the National Pest Management Association’s 2011 Bed Bugs in America Survey, nearly 80% of respondents were apprehensive about encountering bed bugs in hotels. The survey further revealed this fear impacts consumer behavior. A notable 25% of people surveyed had actively checked hotel rooms for bed bugs, 17% had gone to the extent of inspecting or vacuuming their suitcases after traveling, and 12% had even altered or canceled their travel plans due to bed bug anxieties.
Myths and misconceptions about bed bugs continue to persist as well. The same National Pest Management Association’s 2011 Bed Bugs in American Survey found that “nearly half of respondents incorrectly believed that bed bugs transmit disease despite the research to date finding that bed bugs do not transmit disease to humans. Twenty-nine percent of respondents inaccurately believed that bed bugs are more common among lower-income households, and thirty-seven percent believed that bed bugs are attracted to dirty homes. In fact, bed bugs do not care about household income and are found in both clean and dirty homes.”
Bed Bug Facts
Before we dive into prevention tactics, let’s get to know our enemy.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), adult bed bugs are about as large as an apple seed, measuring up to a quarter-inch in length, and have a lifespan of about one year.
They aren’t always easy to spot, especially because their appearance changes depending on whether they’ve recently fed. Before a meal, they are flat and brown, but after feeding, they swell and turn reddish brown. Another clue to their presence, which is often overlooked, is a peculiar musty odor they emit from their glands.
However, it’s not just the adult bugs you need to watch out for. The younger life stages, known as nymphs, pose their own set of challenges. These nymphs are much smaller and almost invisible to the naked eye due to their translucent coloring. Bed bug eggs are tiny, pearl-white specs that only become noticeable after five days when an ‘eye spot’ appears on them.
How Do Bed Bugs Spread?
Bed bugs are spread by traveling unnoticed in luggage, clothing, or even electronics. Their small and flat bodies facilitate this discreet mobility, allowing them to move into new areas easily. Once established, they can multiply rapidly and become extremely difficult to eradicate.
Why Are Bed Bugs So Hard To Kill?
Pesticide Resistance: A major challenge in tackling a bed bug problem is that they have developed resistance to commonly used pesticides such as pyrethroid.
Efficient Reproduction: A single female bed bug can lay 200 to 500 hundred eggs during her lifetime, creating the potential for a handful of bugs to launch a full-fledged infestation. If not caught and handled quickly, a small issue can escalate into a full-blown crisis.
Physical Characteristics: The small, flat shape of a bed bug allows it to hide effortlessly in various hard-to-reach places like mattress seams, behind baseboards, and in electrical outlets. Their nocturnal nature makes them difficult to detect and even more challenging to eradicate.
Longevity Without Feeding: Bed bugs can survive up to 400 days without a meal, which means even vacant properties can harbor infestations. Their ability to ‘wait it out’ complicates the eradication process and can prolong the time and resources needed to clear an infestation completely.
Steps to Preventing Bed Bugs In Your Short-Term Rental Property
Train Your Team to Conduct Regular Inspections: Be sure that your cleaning and maintenance team knows what bed bugs and an infestation look like. Have the cleaners check the mattresses, bed area, and upholstered items each time they clean your property.
Additionally, during seasonal deep cleanings, have your maintenance team use a flashlight to examine the seams of mattresses, crevices in furniture, and behind electrical outlets for any signs of bed bugs.
High-Quality Mattress and Pillow Encasements: Invest in bed bug-proof mattress and pillow encasements. These covers are designed to be impermeable to bed bugs and can serve as a preventive barrier, making it easier to manage and isolate any potential infestations.
Luggage Racks: Provide luggage racks or designated areas where guests can store their luggage away from beds and furniture. This minimizes the potential contact points for bed bugs to transfer from guests’ belongings to your property.
High-Temperature Laundry Protocols: Bed bug adults and eggs can be killed when exposed to temperatures of 118 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Residential clothing dryers heat to a range of 125 to 135 degrees and are effective at killing the bugs and eggs. Creating a laundry protocol for your Airbnb that includes regularly washing and drying all linens including quilts, duvets, curtains, and even throw rugs in hot water, followed by a high-heat drying cycle is effective in killing both adult bed bugs and their eggs.
Seal Cracks and Crevices: Bed bugs can hide in the smallest of spaces. Seal cracks in walls, floors, baseboards, and furniture with caulk or other sealants can help eliminate potential hiding spots.
Vacuum Regularly: A high-quality vacuum can help remove bed bugs from carpets, baseboards, and other hard-to-reach areas. Just be sure to dispose of the vacuum bag or clean the canister outside the property immediately after use to prevent re-infestation.
Avoid Used or Second-Hand Furniture: While it might be tempting to save money by acquiring used beds or sofas, they pose a higher risk of introducing bed bugs. Ideally you should stick with new furniture.
Combining these strategies can create a multi-layered defense and prevention strategy against bed bugs in your short-term rental.
What To Do If You Get Bed Bugs At Your Airbnb or Short-Term Rental
Even if you’ve done everything right, sometimes bed bugs still crash the party, but don’t worry—finding bed bugs isn’t the end of your business. What comes next is crucial, though. The following steps aren’t just your typical to-do list; they’re your full-blown action plan for tackling the problem head-on and making sure it doesn’t happen again.
Guest Assistance: If guests are currently staying at your property one way to help salvage your relationship is to assist them with making arrangements to move to another location, whether it’s a different unit you own or a nearby hotel.
Contact Your Insurance: If your insurance policy has bed bug coverage you’ll want to notify them and begin the claims process. Because your property will be out of service during the extermination process, you can also inquire about activating loss of business income coverage. Your typical home owner policies do not have these coverages, so it’s important that you get an insurance policy for your property that is specifically designed for vacation rentals.
Professional Pest Control Inspection and Treatment: Contact a pest control company specializing in bed bug extermination to conduct a thorough inspection of your property, and determine whether you actually have bed bugs and the extent of the problem. DIY methods are generally ineffective for complete eradication. A professional’s guidance is crucial so you can get the bugs out of there and start welcoming guests again soon.
Inspect Adjacent Units: If your rental property is part of a larger building, inspect neighboring units for signs of the infestation spreading to them, or to determine if the bugs are coming from an adjacent unit.
Quarantine Affected Items: Seal off infested furniture, bedding and other items in sealable plastic bags. Do not move these items to another location until they have been treated or encased to avoid spreading the infestation.
Conduct a Deep Clean: Once the affected items are quarantined, conduct a thorough deep clean of the property. This includes vacuuming all surfaces, laundering all bedding in hot water, and wiping down furniture. Keep in mind that cleaning alone will not get rid of bed bugs; professional treatment is also required.
Follow Extermination Guidelines: Adhere to all guidelines and timelines provided by the pest control experts. This may involve multiple treatments and follow-up inspections.
Inform Future Guests As Needed: If you have reservations on the calendar within a couple of weeks of discovering a bed bug problem you should consider reaching out to inform the guests your property may be out of service.
Conduct Follow-Up Inspections: Partner with your pest control specialist to conduct follow-up inspections at regular intervals to ensure that the infestation has been fully eradicated.
By following these steps meticulously, you can mitigate the impact of an infestation, safeguard your reputation, and reassure guests that you take this issue seriously and run a professional operation.
Conclusion
In an era where both information and misinformation spread like wildfire, the last thing you want is for your Airbnb or short-term rental to become the epicenter of a bed bug problem. It’s not just about dealing with the immediate crisis, but also preserving your hard-earned reputation as a host who prioritizes guest comfort and well-being. Remember, you’re not just offering a space; you’re providing an experience, and every detail matters.
Dealing with bed bugs—or any other crisis for that matter—is a lesson in humility and proactive communication. It’s about acknowledging that despite all precautions, things can go wrong, and when they do, your reaction can make all the difference. Your swift and empathetic response can turn a potentially damaging experience into a showcase of your commitment to guest satisfaction.
As you move forward in your hosting journey, be vigilant, be prepared, and above all, be a host whom guests can trust. Your reputation is not just built on the absence of problems but also on the presence of solutions.