We get calls from managers and maintenance people frustrated at their bed bug issues and the remediation of such. Their frustration is valid and costly.
There are 2 ways to be in Bed Bug management (Proactive) or (Reactive)
It's much less frustrating and cost effective to be proactive !
I have seen both many times. We had one property with a total of 468 units.
238 active bed bug units. Confirmed visible activity after K9 responses. This was a Bed Bug mess. It took weeks for treatments to be completed and a lot of treatment money was spent.
What's really frustrating is they went through all of this and had it under control and then changed management. To a Reactive manager. Now they are close to being back where they were. Ugghhh. We had another one with twice as many units but they continued the K9 and treatments and now they rarely have an issue.
Here's how it works in the Real World !
Bed Bugs have no comprehension of money. Anyone can be a bed bug victim. Some of it is just bad luck. Just being checked into room 217 instead of 406. How did 217 get them ?
They were transported in by humans somehow 98% of the time.
Initially any bugs brought in will be satisfied with the hosts in that room. They may have been brought in with clothes in a suitcase. From an infested home. They will wait patiently for a host.
That host produces CO2 and that's how they find them to feed. They don't fly or jump but can crawl very well on cloth or wood. After a successful blood meal they do not go back to the suitcase, ever. They found what they want and will hang out close to the host. Until someone sees a bed bug nothing is done. After feeding reproduction speeds up and over time will grow into a transferable scenario.
If you notice the white specks - those are bed bug eggs. Those can easily adhere to clothes and be transferred to other areas or units. As soon as someone sits near this area the bugs will start planning their attack.
If this would have been detected earlier and treated properly the spread would have never occurred.
We have many clients that we do quarterly K9 sweeps for. For the cost of one bed bug treatment they can have their whole complex inspected accurately and quickly.
If you can find them in small numbers before they spread you can win the battle much easier ! It's a numbers deal !
Our K9's are calibrated daily like a scientific instrument. They know the difference between a live bed bug and a dead bed bug. They only respond to live bed bugs and viable eggs. After a response we verify evidence. The dogs are never rewarded without evidence. It's like anything else. Keep doing it over and over and it's easy. They are not vision oriented ,which makes it difficult to understand for us humans. They discriminate with their olfactory senses.
They are so much fun to work with because of their attitudes!
Here's a link to info about bed bugs from the CDC. https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2011/09/29/bed-bugs/