The First Facility Management Blog

In April 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a summit to address a developing pest problem—bed bugs in homes and other buildings. This first ever National Bed Bug Summit was held under the auspices of EPA’s Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee.

Bed bug infestations have grown at a steady clip over the last handful of years. Frequent international travel and hotel stays have helped bed bugs to make a comeback after near extinction in the U.S. The bugs find their way into suitcases and end up being carried home here to the States.

In a follow up on this topic, TFM spoke with an expert from Orkin, Inc. who attended the EPA Summit in April. Ron Harrison, Entomologist, Ph.D., is director of technical services for Orkin, Inc.

Ron Harrison, director of technical services, Orkin, Inc.

TFM: Before this most recent resurgence, in what types of settings were bed bugs most often a problem?

Harrison: About seven years ago, bed bugs were little more than a bedtime nursery rhyme in the U.S. In international locations, however, bed bugs were an established presence, especially in hostels with high volumes of travelers coming and going daily. The resilient nature of bed bugs combined with the potential high costs associated with eradicating the pests made low-end housing a key target as well.

TFM: When did this most recent resurgence of bed bug infestations begin? What have you found to be the cause(s) of this resurgence?

Harrison: The bed bug resurgence began around 2002 or 2003. We attribute it to an increase in international travel, which in turn increased the potential for bed bug migration. In addition, stronger chemical treatments previously employed to keep the problem under control are no longer permitted. For instance, DDT—a highly effective, yet highly toxic chemical—was formerly used to help manage bed bugs. Because it and other chemicals like it were banned due to health and environmental concerns, and the industry has moved from blanket treatments to targeted applications, keeping bed bugs at bay is an increasing challenge.

TFM: How is this current resurgence different from in the past in terms of the types of facilities and places within those facilities being affected?

Harrison: The current resurgence is actually very similar to past bed bug appearances. However, since the pest had been gone for such a long time, people were not prepared for its reemergence and had little awareness how difficult it is to eradicate bed bugs. This unfamiliarity allowed bed bugs to spread quickly, and through more than just hotels. Now bed bugs can be found in virtually any commercial facility.

TFM: What threats to personal comfort and safety do bed bugs pose to facility occupants today? What threats do they pose to property?

Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed.

Harrison: Bed bugs are not known to transmit disease, nor can they damage property. Overall, they present little to no health risks to humans. If bitten, some victims will experience minor to moderate skin irritation in the form of small, red bumps. For the most part, bed bugs are nothing more than a headache for facility managers.

TFM: How can a facility manager identify a bed bug infestation?

Harrison: About the size of an apple seed, bed bugs are flat and oval shaped. After feeding, typically on human blood, the pest will turn a reddish color from its normal brown. Since most bed bug activity takes place at night, though, facility managers might have more luck identifying the small, rust colored stains bed bugs leave behind.

Small, rust colored stains are evidence of bed bug presence.

Knowing the signs of bed bugs is extremely important for facility mangers since an undetected infestation can create a larger problem. In just six months, 40 adult bed bugs can generate a population of nearly 6,000.

TFM: A March 2009 article in Infection Control Today stated that “bed bugs are extremely difficult to eradicate. No evidence-based interventions to eradicate bed bugs or prevent bites were identified. Pesticide control of bed bugs is complicated by insecticide resistance, lack of effective products, and health concerns about spraying mattresses with pesticides.” With this statement in mind, what do you recommend facility managers do if they do have a problem with bed bugs?

Harrison: The facts are the facts. Bed bugs, unfortunately, are extremely difficult to eradicate. But that doesn’t mean facility managers should give up hope if they find an infestation in their facility.

We recommend that companies conduct regular inspections for bed bugs, checking areas that offer harborage close to hosts including beds, soft furniture, behind pictures, and even around wall outlets. But, since bed bugs can be difficult to prevent in any facility, the best thing a facility manager can do if they find evidence of the pest is to immediately call a pest management provider. Addressing the issue as soon as possible can keep the pest from spreading or reproducing.

TFM: As it relates to the concerns of facility managers in hospitality and other public facilities being affected by bed bugs, can you provide insight into the discussion that occurred at the EPA National Bed Bug Summit in April 2009?  What have been the developments in this realm since?

Harrison: The EPA and National Pest Management Association hosted the National Bed Bug Summit to discuss the state of the bed bug problem across the country and share ideas for how to address them. Professionals from several industries debated the issue and came to a few conclusions.

There are many unanswered questions about bed bugs since they have not been aggressively studied since the middle of the last century. This lack of information has led to widespread speculation, and it is the duty of the industry to set them straight.

For now, evidence regarding the health risks of bed bugs is inconclusive. At this time, there is no proof that bed bugs actively transmit pathogens to humans. Even though they don’t transmit disease, bed bugs can still be a health risk. In extreme cases, bites can lead to serious medical reactions. Bed bugs have also been linked to respiratory issues and sleep deprivation. For these reasons, bed bugs could be viewed as more of a public health concern.

Bed bugs will continue to be a challenge and one that the industry is working together to resolve. I suggest facility managers stay informed and work closely with building occupants to monitor facilities. Partnership is a key element to keeping bed bug issues from becoming a nightmare.

Questions for Dr. Harrison on this topic can be submitted via the comments section below.

At one point in time or another, nearly every facility has a problem with unwanted visitors. Sometimes they come in the form of rodents or birds–both capable of causing unhygienic conditions in and around buildings and offices.

In this particular instance, the office is being bugged. Literally. Specifically, there is a problem with ants in and around one of the work stations. A nearby printer is also acting up.

So what’s going on? Check out this video:

This Web Exclusive is written by Jordan Fox on behalf of Bird-X.

Contemplate the beauty of nature for a moment. It often enhances our everyday lives—whether it’s manifested by the numerous species of small, cute mammals that scurry around close to our homes, the colorful gardens in our parks, or the grandeur of a summer sunset. Bird watchers will tell you how beautiful their favorite creatures are too, yet that beauty can be marred when birds become a nuisance or even a threat to life, health, and property.

The threat that birds can pose to life was vividly demonstrated recently by the safe emergency landing of the U.S. Airways passenger jet in New York City’s Hudson River. Birds were implicated in that mishap. And the threat was further emphasized in a newspaper article that cited the fact that over the past two years, commercial airline crews reported more than two dozen emergency landings, aborted takeoffs or other scary incidents due to collisions with birds.

Turning to Bird-X
In Borden, Canada, not far from Toronto, the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace and Engineering experienced another sort of bird problem. Though not as dramatic, it was nevertheless significant. The Canadian military unit turned to Bird-X, Inc., the Chicago, IL manufacturer of bird repellent technology, to solve that problem.

Master Warrant Officer Ted Poper says, “We’re a Canadian Air Force school for aircraft technicians, and we train new servicemen and women who have completed their basic training and are beginning their military careers as airplane mechanics,” he explains. “We have approximately 240 students going through the Aviation Technician course of study at any given time. We train about 800 Aircraft Technicians of various trades each year. The trainees here work on about 20 airplanes housed inside a massive airplane hangar, which encompasses about 40,000 square feet.

“Some months ago a multitude of pigeons, purple martins, sparrows, and other small birds found something about our hangar that was very much to their liking and began nesting there. You can probably guess the rest.”

Immediate Complaints
According to MWO Poper, the staff and trainees would come to work on a Monday morning after a weekend away from the hangar and unhappily find bird excrement everywhere, including the tops of the planes. Their complaints were immediate, loud, and clear.

“Bird excrement, unabated, can be corrosive and harm the surfaces of the aircraft and the hangar itself. And it poses a threat to health. Lung disease can occur in humans after too much exposure to it,” he adds.

They had to do something fast and first hired a cleaning contracting company to do away with the nests and clean up the excrement. “The contractor couldn’t believe all the straw that it found,” says Poper. “The staff cleaned all the rafters and the hangar doors.

“We then purchased and installed a BirdXPeller PRO, a Bird-X, Inc. sonic repeller. That’s a digital, programmable device that uses birds’ own natural distress calls and the squawks of predator birds to create a ‘danger zone’ that scares and keeps birds away.”

Installing Bird Nettings
Poper continues, “The cleaning contractor undertook the necessary effort of installing bird netting to keep the rafters out of reach of the nesters. It took three weeks to stretch the netting across the hangar ceiling.”

The BirdXPeller PRO was created about 15 years ago by Bird-X as a single species repellant, according to David Kogan, the company’s marketing director. “But over the years, we’ve upgraded it by adding seven more different bird repellant noises—the cries and calls of pigeons, starlings, and other pest birds and bird predators. And we’ve added electronic noises as well.”

Kogan explains that Bird-X research and development studies found that birds react more to bird distress cries and predator noises than from the blasts of shotguns.

“The whole idea was to create a behavior modification tool that doesn’t harm birds, but rather scares them away. Our company’s philosophy is to take a humane approach to pest bird abatement rather than to kill them. You can cull a few from the flock, but that doesn’t work. The survivors keep coming back unless they’re scared away. The idea is to make them leave of their own volition. If they do that, in their own way they teach other birds, by example, to stay away from the area,” Kogan explains.

Poper had used another Bird-X product with success when he was posted in Victoria, BC: the ultrasonic Quadblaster QB-4. He used it to get rid of the birds that had developed a special affinity for a hangar at a Maritime Helicopter Squadron.

A Second BirdXPeller PRO And Eight Terror Eyes
This time, after consulting with Bird-X representatives and describing the situation at the training school, Poper decided to purchase and install a second BirdXPeller PRO, along with eight Bird-X Terror Eyes.

The BirdXPeller PRO comes in a green, rectangular sealed box with a Plexiglas-hinged door in front. Inside is a switch offering a choice of low, medium, and high frequencies. It comes in three different versions, according to Kogan. Version one emits noises that repel pigeons, starlings, sparrows, and gulls. Version two repels crows, blackbirds, grackles, ravens, and cormorants. Version WP repels woodpeckers.

Users can customize the BirdXpeller by selecting the frequency, volume, direction, and hours of operation. Its variable settings enables the product to be adaptable to many bird control situations.

The Terror Eyes, Kogan explains, are shaped like big, orange beach balls prominently decorated with the image of a giant horned owl, a predator of smaller birds.

“The image’s eyes are holographic, so it always seems like the ‘owl’ is glaring at the birds from different angles. Because they are suspended in the air, winds blow and spin them around, which freaks out the pest birds,” says Poper.

Success!
“Now, about six months after we first confronted the bird problem by putting the netting, BirdXPeller PROs, and Terror Eyes in action, we can report great success,” he says.

“Of all the birds that originally messed us up, only two pigeons remain—we named them Healthcliff and Gertrude. They don’t cause much of a mess, but our maintenance people take no chances. They wear dust masks, leather gloves, and goggles when they clean up after them. Why do Healthcliff and Gertrude refuse to leave? We’re not sure, but they seem to handle the noises emitted by the sonic repellers. We may have to trap them and evict them.”

Poper advises users of the BirdXPeller PRO to change the sound frequencies often. “Otherwise the birds might get used to the noise. We change the frequency daily— from high during the day to low at night. The low frequency noises are heard by both birds and humans, and are especially disturbing to both. The high frequencies are only heard by the birds.

Effective Deterrents Used in Combination
“All of our products are effective deterrents, but used in combination (i.e. a sound device plus a visual device plus a physical roost inhibitor), they yield significantly greater results than any one product alone. This is especially true in situations where pest birds are particularly stubborn, where they have nested in one place for extended periods, or where an area provides food, warmth, or shelter. A combination of Bird-X products works synergistically to create an aurally, visually, and physically undesirable environment for bird and animal pests,” says Kogan.

Bird-X Inc. was established in Chicago back in 1964. The company’s mission is to provide non-lethal, humane, environmentally safe, and ecologically sound products.

“We regularly receive referrals from the Audubon Society, the Coalition to Prevent the Destruction of Canada Geese, the Humane Society of the United States, and the Animal Damage Control division of the USDA,” says Kogan.

Bird-X products include physical barriers, such as bird spikes, sticky gels, and bird netting; sound repellers, including the BirdXPeller, Critter Blaster, and Goose Buster; ultrasonic sound deterrents such as the QuadBlaster QB4 and Ultrason X; taste aversions, including bird repellent sprays and solutions; and visual deterrents, such as the Bird Blazer, Terror Eyes, and 3D Coyote.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is one of a number of groups that took part in creating a plan to reduce pest- and pesticide-related risks in all U.S. public schools by 2015. Development and implementation of  “School IPM 2015: a Strategic Plan for Integrated Pest Management in Schools in the United States” is also supported by the USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), in partnership with the Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Centers, the University of Arizona, and the IPM Institute of North America.

“School IPM 2015″ calls for a 70% reduction in both pest complaints and pesticide use in schools. It relies on the coordinated efforts of teachers, custodians, food service staff, school administrators, pest management professionals, Agricultural Extension staff, regulators, architects, and parents to reduce pesticide risk in schools.

Pests and pest management can have long-term health effects and affect school attendance. Schools that adopt IPM should have less pesticide residue, fewer pest problems, and lower pest-related allergens. Studies show that IPM reduces pest complaints and pesticide use in schools by 70% to 90%, with no long-term increase in costs.

Read the plan…