In its April 2010 issue, Mobility magazine recently noted that bed bugs have grown to become an $80 million issue for the hospitality industry. Anyone who has ever had to deal with bed bugs before will tell you that customer service issues become a nightmare, and that it is not as easy as moving the client into a new property.
Bedbugs can go months without eating, and adult bedbugs, nymphs, and bedbug eggs can easily be carried from one property to the next by a business traveler. Luckily most corporate housing is already weaponed with the simplest method to rid yourself of these insects forever– a clothes dryer. A corporate traveler will need to place all of their clothes, shoes, backpacks, and especially bath towels and bedclothes, into the clothes dryer and run it on high for 10-15 minutes. Bedbugs cannot survive the heat of the dryer, and this is one of the most effective ways to destroy the bedbugs living on a traveler’s personal belongings. Another idea is to place all of your items into a plastic bag and leave them in a car on a sunny day. As long as the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees for at least two hours, you will be able to kill off the infestation.
The furnished apartment itself will need to be fumigated exhaustively. The owner will want to destroy any large items covered in cloth that cannot fit in the dryer, and also of any upholstered furniture. Exposed brick walls will require extra care, as bed bugs can easily hide here. Mattresses will need to be replaced, and new mattresses will need to be enclosed in a plastic lining when the tenant returns, in the event that they have carried the bedbugs back in with them. Make sure you vacuum the apartment thoroughly after fumigation is complete .
Bedbugs in and of themselves are costly to get rid of, and what’s more, a litigious renter may even sue the property owner for damages. Landlords should try and document communication with tenants from the beginning in the event that a lawsuit should arise. Blame is difficult to place when it comes to a bedbug infestation in a rental unit, particularly in one that has been used for corporate housing by an earlier corporate tenant. Because international business travel is so prevalent , it is difficult to say when or who brought the bedbug infestation into an apartment.
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Lisa Brown is a Sales and Marketing Associate for Almost Home USA (Atlanta Corporate Housing), a corporate housing company whose goal is to provide such excellent experiences that clients feel almost home.
