Adult bed bug flanked by a bed bug egg on either side; rice grains provide scale.
Little Bug. Big Risk.
Take control. Manage the risk.
Match your degree of bed bug risk to appropriate protocols to safeguard your property and family and achieve peace of mind for yourself.
Canadian Public Health Inspectors report bed bugs have increased eight per cent annually on average over the last three years (Abell Pest Control, July 18 2013). The number of bed bug infestations continues and shows no sign of abating.
The reason? Bed bugs present challenges unlike other pests. One challenge is their size. This picture compares grains of rice with an adult bed bug and two bed bug eggs. Their diminutive size provide a significant challenge to locate these pests in the seam of a mattress or in headboard upholstery. It is folly to rely upon a visual inspection alone to expose bed bugs in the early stages of an infestation.
Bed bug avoidance and early warning protocols are necessary to protect homes, families and businesses. These bed bug protocols must be efficient and cost-effective to implement and maintain and must quickly indicate the presence of even a single bed bug.
An effective, workable solution would allow a layered approach which could be tailored to individual risk management levels. Such a system would:
- create an elevated bed bug awareness built upon a solid understanding of bed bug behaviour and biology – know the enemy
- involve monitoring protocols for detection at the earliest point possible, and
- require quality control checks to ensure protocols are working
Risk Management Assessment
Bed bug risk management involves matching your risk assessment level to cost-effective mitigation steps.
For individuals, a low risk for contracting bed bugs involves residing in a stand-alone house, and little or no travel, use of public transit or exposure to the public. Minimal risk mitigation rests upon a thorough understanding of bed bugs and their habits. Through comprehension, heightened bed bug awareness is adopted and appropriate bed bug avoidance practices are natural. Risk is lowered.
Bed bug risk is increased by residence in a multi-unit building and repeated use of public transit, public gathering venues and frequent travel. The addition of passive monitoring protocols adds an additional layer of protection to offset the higher level of risk.
For businesses, risk assessment is related to the degree of public exposure, staff turnover and the type of business activities. A hotel at the height of its busy season is at a high risk level; add high staff turnover and the potential for an undetected infestation is multiplied.
Note: certain activities, e.g. acquisition of pre-owned items or exposure to a known infestation raises the risk level.
PAWS - Pro-Active Warning System
Match your level of risk to the appropriate combination of these three simple, achievable and cost-effective steps of the Pro-Active Warning System. The PAWS approach is geared towards bed bug early detection. Professionals agree the key to bed bug control and limiting financial costs is early bed bug detection; identifying the problem at the earliest possible opportunity before the population escalates. The PAWS approach involves:
- Education: understanding how bed bugs interact with man combined with the ability to correctly identify all stages of bed bugs naturally leads to bed bug avoidance practices. A twenty to thirty minute investment safeguards your property and your family. Start your educational investment here.
- Monitoring: patented passive monitoring technology requires a 30 second visual check when changing bed linens. This approach allows a single bed bug to be detected within 12 to 72 hours of its introduction to a room. Purchase this monitor here.
- Quality Assurance: the most accurate and efficient bed bug detection method is certified canine-assisted inspections. Routine random quality assurance inspections, on a predetermined interval, validate education and monitoring protocols. Read more about K9 inspections here.
Rewards of the PAWS Approach
A small investment of time for educational purposes provides a life-time of avoidance practices and develops the skill to recognize the signs of bed bugs and identify these bugs in all life stages. Risk is permanently lowered.
BB Alert passive monitors provide a discrete 24-hour warning system. The monitors are simple to use with no working parts requiring maintenance. Costing as little as 8¢ a night they offer exceptional value.
Canine-assisted inspections provide a quality assurance check ensuring on-going bed bug mitigation practices are effective.
For an individual, PAWS provides discrete protection of one's home and loved ones and builds peace of mind.
For a business, PAWS discrete protocols, demonstrates due diligence, reduces the risk of litigation and adverse public relations while protecting brand identity.
Bed bug early detection and risk management rewards
Know Your Enemy - What is a bed bug? How do you get bed bugs? Is this a bed bug? Read more...
Monitor? Trap? Dector? What's the difference? What's best for me? Read more...