24 buildingoperatingmanagement SEPTEMBER <strong>2011</strong> while we sleep in our beds, violating a sense of personal space and ability to control the situation in a way that mosquitoes, for example, do not. This has fueled a healthy trade in all manner of products claiming to kill bed bugs. “Steam and heat are the most effective non-pesticide tools,” says Jody Gangloff Kaufman, urban entomologist with Cornell University. Of the pesticides that are available to effectively deal with bed bugs, none are available over the counter. “Ant and wasp sprays, insect foggers — these do not work,” says Changlu Wang, assistant professor in the department of entomology at Rutgers University. “There are no data showing they have a significant effect on bed bugs. Don’t just buy over the counter. Professionals have professional products they can use.” Sensitivities of a facility’s population will influence which bed bug treatment options are pursued. When a few bed bugs were found in an elementary school in the Anchorage School District, the administration wanted to deal with the issue decisively, says Darin Hargraves, director of operations. “We didn’t want these things going from our schools back to people’s homes,” Hargraves says. “We wanted it to stop with us.” Because the infestation coincided with a three-day holiday weekend, the district, covering 8 million square feet and serving 50,000 students, didn’t have time to give the parental notice required to use a pesticide solution. So over the course of two days, when the outside temperature was 10 F, their pest control contractor brought different rooms in the affected wing of the school up to 135 F for over an hour. “The reality is that bed bugs came to our school through our population that uses the facility,” says Hargraves. “No sooner do you get it cleaned out, it’s very possible that the next person coming in can bring one.” Though 69 percent of affected survey respondents report a one-time infestation, 31 percent have had an average of three infestations about four months apart. But dealing with children, and as a public entity, the school district never considered making affected children stay home. They have, however, instituted some protocols to address the situation. Students might go to the nurse’s office to have their clothing and personal items heat-treated; the school has a clothes dryer and a heat treatment box. “But we do this with the permission of the parents and as discreetly as possible,” Hargraves says. Lessons Learned The experts agree that the chief weapon against bed bugs is education and having a plan in place. “Staff training and awareness on bed bugs is going to be your first defense,” says Gangloff Kaufman. Understanding what they look like and how they travel is important. “There’s a lot of misinformation about bed bugs still, even in the media,”she says. She suggests facility managers check out the New York Department of Health’s bed bug page at www.nyc.gov/bedbugs for layperson training materials. Yost recommends having a plan in place ahead of finding a bed bug at your facility, including who will be contacted and what resources are available. Norray agrees. “The thing is having a policy in place,” he says. Especially in high risk areas, have a consultant come in and do an assessment. “And from that consultation, write policy.” How FMs Are Fighting Bedbugs 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% ■ Hired a pest management professional ...........87% ■ Washing/drying fabric at high temp ................36% ■ Heat Treatment ...............................................35% ■ Cold Treatment ................................................9% ■ Encasement .....................................................26% ■ Throwing Away Affected Items ........................47% ■ Using Pesticides ...............................................30% ■ Using Non-chemical pesticides ........................12% ■ Increased Cleaning .........................................25% ■ Other ............................................................... 8% Source: BOM Survey Developing a response plan involves deciding how internal and external communications are going to be handled. At Wake Forest, the focus was on keeping everything out in the open. “We didn’t want anything to come back that Wake Forest was trying to hide anything,” says Yost. Of course, releasing information to the school’s external relations department meant that it was picked up in short order by the local and national media. At the Council for Foreign Relations, the entire population was notified about the first bed bug incident, a practice that was not repeated for the second event. “It became too much water cooler gossip,” Norray says. Whichever way communications are handled, facility managers should take note of the occupants’ reaction and keep it from getting it to the point where people are going overboard about bed bugs. Hargraves suggests positioning the facilities department as being informed and on top of the issue. “When information comes to us that we have an issue, we immediately respond,” he says. “And we respond visibly.” For example, he talks to the teacher in the affected classroom and might put up a carbon dioxide emitter to monitor for additional bed bugs. Even if a facility has not experienced bed bugs yet, experts say it is likely to happen in the future. “The (bed bug) population will grow until it gets to the point that people are very well educated and begin to take action,” says Wang. “Then we may see the peak. Our society is not quite ready or educated yet. Learn about bed bugs. Don’t be panicked, but be prepared.” ■ Email comments to naomi.millan@tradepress.com.
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