Bed Bug Office Plan
Does your office have a bed bug plan? Most don’t. As a CEO or office manager, you should have a bed bug plan in place. As a boss, you might think ” Not in my office, we don’t have those type of people”. Well you should know that bed bugs do not discriminate and are equal opportunity suckers. As the leader of an office there are a few emergency plans you should have– A fire plan, an escape plan, and after today, you will have a bed bug office plan. For a more customized bed bug office plan consult a local pest control company. Here is some ideas we recommend. One of your employees in the office just think they killed a bed bug, heres what to do:
- Keep the bug. This can save a lot of stress an aggravation. Drugstore beetles, Shiny spider beetles and other beetle species look a lot by bed bugs. If you take your employee word for it, you could end up spending tens of thousands of dollars on a whim. Again, SAVE THE BUG! This is all the evidence you have that there may have been a bed bug problem in your office.
- Once you have confirmed with a pest professional that it is indeed a bed bug, hire a K9 bed bug inspection team to find out any further information about your problem. Find a reputable K9 company where the dog handler follows up on the dog alerts with a visual inspection on all alerted areas. We would usually recommend a visual bed bug inspection, but some offices are just way too big. K9 teams can cover a large area in a small amount of time. Hopefully the K9 team found no further evidence. TIP: Hire a K9 team that is not affiliated with any pest control company and make sure they do not recommend anyone for treatments. Having a K9 team that performs inspections only takes the confusion out of things.
- If the inspectors detect any evidence that would lead them to believe there is more bugs present– your now in the market for a bed bug treatment in your office. Before hiring a company, find out about any chemical sensitivities in your office (allergies, asthma) This information may limit your treatment plans. Find a company who is reputable, licensed and has much experience is an office setting. Due to privacy policies many companies will not give out references to prove that they have treated other offices. Ask their approach and ask many questions. Ask if they can provide insurance to your insurance company.
- Have a meeting with all your employees, at all levels. Explain to them that clarity is important is this situation and thats why you are telling them about the problem in the office. Try to have the pest control professionals present at the meeting to answer any questions that your employees may have. Stress the importance that they have a bed bug inspection performed at home. One employee may be the source of the problem, or may be a victim of the office infestation.
- After all treatments are performed, have the K9 team return and give you the ‘All Clear’.
- Shop around for early bed bug detection products to prevent future problems. Bed bug monitors could be placed under all office chairs and any sofas in break rooms. After training the cleaning crew on how to identify evidence on a monitor they can check these monitors on a weekly basis.
- Educate.Educate.Educate. Ignorance may be bliss, but bed bugs love ignorance. Teach your employees the do’s and dont’s/ true’s and false’s about bed bugs.
Knowledge and clarity are key in these situations. As a boss you have to make your office a safe place for an employee to come to speak about such a problem at home. ASAP have a meeting with your employees and discuss your new Bed Bug Office Plan so everyone understand what the steps are to take. Also discuss that if they have a problem at home, to let you know immediately. You may want to give them paid days off until their problem is solved (very cost effective in the long run). If you need any advice creating or implementing an bed bug office plan in NYC please feel free to let us know. We are here, always to help!
