Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Bed Bugs Can Spread in Apartment Laundry Rooms

According to a recent article in American Chronicle, the bed bug population in the US is on the rise and becoming a real problem. This could affect your coin laundry business by having customers bring the critters into the store and spreading the love. The article states, "Bed bugs have been sharing beds with humans for centuries. After World War II, DDT effectively annihilated the pest in America and Western countries, although bed bugs continued to flourish in less developed countries. The banning of DDT coupled with the growth of international travel has caused a resurgence of man´s age-old nemesis. Since the 1990s, reported bed bug infestations in the U.S. have increased 500%. Bed bugs are now common in all 50 states with infestations regularly reported in apartments, condominiums, hotels, college dormitories, office buildings, hospitals and private homes.

Adept hitchhikers, bed bugs travel into apartments on residents´ clothing, mattresses, furniture and inside packing boxes. Several recent infestations have been traced back to moving vans. Adult bed bugs are reddish brown and about the size of an apple seed, but nymphs and eggs are microscopic. Nuisance pests that feed on human blood, bed bugs do not transmit disease; but their bites can cause itchy, red welts, psychosomatic stress and severe allergic reactions. Feeding on sleeping humans at night, they hide in tiny crevices in or near beds between feedings. As an infestation grows, bed bugs spread to adjacent units through wall voids, electrical and plumbing conduits and air ducts. Bed bugs can easily be spread through an apartment complex via shared laundry facilities or maintenance workers."

So what happens if they are brought into your coin laundry business? We'll, there are a couple of things you can do to rid yourself of the infestation. First I would call a professional exterminator and have the store sprayed, or you can try to spray yourself with an off the shelf insecticide. If customer's clothes display signs of bed bugs, have them wash the clothes in hot water of 120 degrees or more with borax soap laundry detergent. Borax sells under the name 20 Mule Team, and can be found on the laundry aisle of many major supermarkets or Wal-Mart. Once washed, then dry the clothes for at least 35 minutes on high temp.

Click the link below if you would like to learn more about the coin laundry business and listen to a FREE call explaining how to get started in this exciting business!