9 Bed Bugs & Lodging: Proactive & Reactive Engineering Controls & Procedures

BED BUGS & LODGING
Proactive and Reactive Engineering Controls and Procedures.

DAILY MINDSET THE BUGS ARE HERE AND THEY WILL FIND YOUR GUESTS

YOUR DAILY CHALLENGE
FIND THE BUGS BEFORE YOUR GUESTS DO!

YOU WILL NEVER BE SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT
A CAREFULLY PREPARED WRITTEN PLAN
WELL TRAINED MOTIVATED ASSOCIATES

GENERIC HOTEL BED BUG PLAN
1. AWARENESS / TRAINING
Train all Manager on Duty (MOD), Housekeeping (rooms and laundry) and Maintenance department associates utilizing the “Bed Bugs: Facts and Prevention” DVD.
Training must be documented.
Ensure that all Front Desk Guest Service Representatives are aware of the need to promptly obtain the assistance of the General Manager or MOD whenever a guest reports experiencing bug bites, has seen bugs and / or asks about bed bugs.
Information regarding home infestations by associates must be kept confidential. It is also appropriate to ask an associate living in an infested residence to very carefully check all clothing (inside and out) for bed bugs before leaving home.

2. ENGINEERING CONTROLS
Each headboard shall have all joints/ seams (unfinished backside only) completely sealed using a latex based caulk approved for use on wood products. Also place a small bead of caulk around each headboard bracket. ENSURE THAT THE HEADBOARD IS NOT INADVERTENTLY CAULKED TO THE WALL BRACKET.
The removal and careful inspection of each headboard and inspecting the top, bottom and sides of each wall bracket must be included as a headboard task on the Guest Room Preventive Maintenance Checklist.

Housekeeping carts and vacuum cleaners are to be assigned by floor rather than to individual housekeepers; i.e, do not move equipment from floor to floor. Each cart and vacuum must be clearly marked to indicate which floor it has been assigned to.
Room attendants must carefully inspect guest room linens including pillow cases, top and bottom sheets for signs of bed bug fecal matter and blood spots, mattress seams at the top end of the bed, the underneath side of the bed skirt corners near the headboard and around the headboard area. A small bright single LED mini flashlight must be used to carefully inspect dimly lighted areas.
Empty vacuum cleaners at the end of each shift and ensure that all trash (including vacuum dirt) is taken directly to the dumpster.
Use a separate house utility cart for soiled and clean linen. Each cart must be clearly marked as either SOILED ONLY or CLEAN ONLY.
Roll-a-way beds must be thoroughly inspected before delivery to a room and again before returning the bed to storage.

3. NOTIFICATION
Upon acknowledging the existence of a bed bug infestation (or any allegation of bugs by a guest) the MOD immediately notifies the exterminating contractor. If guests have reported bug bites an incident report must be prepared and notify the hotel’s General Liability Insurance Company.

4. GUEST REPORTS BED BUGS TO THE FRONT DESK
Trained MOD investigates to determine if an infestation exists.
If yes – Guest clothing must be bagged before removal from the room. Even if there is no immediate evidence of bed bugs implement #3 – Notification and relocate the guest as detailed in this procedure.
Dry cleaning or high temperature washing and drying is warranted. Luggage can be visually examined to determine if it has been infested and a vacuum cleaner with a hand tool attachment is useful to further ensure that no bugs or eggs are present.
If a vacuum is used it must remain in the infested room and will be treated by the exterminating contractor.
Caution is warranted to prevent the transfer of bugs when moving a guest to another room. Always advise the exterminating contractor if a guest has been moved so the relocation room can be inspected and treated as necessary.
Place each floor vacuum cleaner into the infested room for inspection and treatment by the approved exterminating contractor.
Refer to Number 3, “NOTIFICATION,” and Number 8 “SURROUNDING ROOMS REGARDLESS OF OCCUPANCY.”
Launder all linen, bedding including the bed skirt, comforters, pillows, etc. from infested rooms with a water temperature of 140 degrees F. (if 140 degree F. water is not available place in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes and then wash at the highest available temperature).

5. HOUSEKEEPING DISCOVERS AN INFESTATION
Housekeeper immediately notifies the Executive Housekeeper and MOD.
Do not remove soiled linen (this needs to be inspected by the exterminator and possibly vacuumed and / or treated prior to removal) or continue to clean the room.
If a stay over room is involved, see 4 above. Caution is warranted to prevent the transfer of bugs when moving a guest. Always advise the exterminating contractor if a guest has been relocated so the relocation room can be inspected and treated as necessary.
Place each floor vacuum cleaner into the infested room for inspection and treatment by the approved exterminating contractor.
Carefully inspect each room attendant cart assigned to the floor where the infestation was found to ensure there are no bugs. Also check the hotel’s soiled linen carts.
Refer to Number 3, “NOTIFICATION,” and Number 8, “SURROUNDING ROOMS REGARDLESS OF OCCUPANCY”.
Launder all linen, bedding including the bed skirt, comforters, pillows, etc. from infested rooms with a water temperature of 140 degrees F. (if 140 degree F. water is not available place in a dryer on high heat for 30 minutes and then wash at the highest available temperature).

6. A BUG IS DISCOVERED IN THE LAUNDRY
Associate immediately notifies the Executive Housekeeper and / or the Manager on Duty.
Inspect all soiled and clean linen in the laundry, all soiled and clean linen carts, laundry bags on each room attendant cart, throughout the hotel and the associate locker area. Note – Carefully inspect but do not automatically rewash all linen. As it is very unlikely that a bed bug could survive a cycle in the dryer pay extra attention to soiled linen that was recently brought into the laundry.
Follow step 3 “Notification” above and if no other evidence is found you do not need to notify an exterminator.

7. SURROUNDING ROOMS REGARDLESS OF OCCUPANCY
Remove and check the headboard, carefully inspect the mattress, box springs, skirting, sofa bed, draperies, and upholstered chair in rooms above, beside and below the infested room.
If there are signs of bed bugs the room(s) would then be treated as infested warranting a search of additional surrounding rooms. As a precaution unoccupied surrounding rooms should be placed out of order until inspected and released by the approved exterminating contractor.

8. EXTERMINATING CONTRACTOR SERVICE DIRECTIVES follow within this document.

9. REFURNISHING THE ROOM
Will be completed by the hotel only upon receiving clearance from the exterminator .
All exposed surfaces that were treated must be wiped down using an all purpose cleaner and vacuum the carpet. IMPORTANT – a chemical residual will remain on the carpet to help prevent a re-infestation i.e. do not shampoo the carpet.

10. REINSPECTION OF A TREATED AND RELEASED ROOM
Will occur daily for the first seven days and at least twice weekly for three additional weeks thereafter regardless of occupancy.
Each inspection must be documented to indicate the date, time and person completing the inspection.

BED BUG EXTERMINATING CONTRACTOR SERVICE DIRECTIVES
EXTERMINATING CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS / APPROVAL
The professional exterminating contractor must be adequately insured and have extensive knowledge and experience with bed bugs in hotels.

INSPECTION
Although hotel management should have already completed a visual inspection of infested and surrounding rooms, the exterminating contractor will also carefully inspect the guest room of suspected infestation and each adjacent surrounding room (including rooms above and below) to determine if bed bugs are present.
An adjoining room with an interconnecting doorway should be highly suspected of also being infested. If a guest was relocated refer to RELOCATION ROOM below.
Remember, an infestation is defined as the presence of one or more live or dead bugs, eggs, cast “skins” or dark colored fecal spots.

INFESTED ROOM(S)
To prevent bugs from being disturbed and scatter the room should not be broken down until the exterminator has arrived. At that time hotel maintenance will remove all artwork, mirrors, wall mounted lamps and electrical outlet covers, etc.
Carefully examine and place all bed linens into an Isowash biohazard recovery bag for laundering.
Draperies that have been carefully inspected and show no signs of infestation do not needed to be laundered.
Always keep potentially infested linen separated from other linen during laundering.
It is important that the contractor must first vacuum all areas of suspected infestation harborage before applying chemicals.

Chemical treatment will vary depending upon the exterminator but may include at least two applications with a minimum 48 hour waiting period between each treatment and inspection. Depending upon the chemical used regulations may require a longer waiting period of up to 7 days between applications.
Although in the event of a larger infestation more than two treatments may be necessary, ideally a room will not be out of service for more than 7 days i.e. the initial treatment, up to a maximum 7 day waiting period followed by another treatment with a room release.
In the event of an infestation in a double room, these Service Directives apply to both beds.
If a sleeper sofa and / or roll-a-way bed mattress is infested and cannot be effectively treated to ensure that it remains clear of bugs, it must be vacuumed, treated once, wrapped in plastic and discarded.

TREAT AND RE-USE
The headboard (removing all signs of fecal matter), bed skirt, all furniture including the box spring(s) and mattress(s), each floor vacuum, room attendant cart including soiled linen bag and appropriate other harborage sites such as at least 36 inches beneath carpeted areas at the headboard wall above and beneath the carpet padding and both sides of carpeted cove base along the headboard wall.
Bed frames must be disassembled, vacuumed and treated.
If after a minimum of two treatments there is no evidence of live bugs the mattress and box springs must be encased with an approved bed bug proof cover.
Special note – Movement of the box spring against a frame bracket may cause the protective cover to tear and compromise the integrity of the encasement. To prevent this from occurring place several layers of duct tape directly to the cover at each bracket contact point.
AFTER TWO TREATMENTS any evidence of continued infestation will result in another treatment and waiting period.

RELOCATION ROOM
The room will be inspected and as a precaution even if no bugs are discovered will be treated once.
All bed linens will be laundered and as a precaution box spring and mattress encasement covers must be provided.
The extermination contractor must inspect the room 48 hours after treatment with follow-up inspections by the hotel each day for seven days and twice weekly for three additional weeks.
Each inspection must be documented to indicate the date, time and person completing the inspection.

THE FUTURE OF BED BUGS

IS SECURE!
THANK YOU
SLEEP TIGHT AND DON’T LET THE…
(WELL, YOU KNOW THE REST)

9 Bed Bugs & Lodging: Proactive & Reactive Engineering Controls & Procedures

by Central Ohio Bed Bug Task Force on Sep 14, 2011

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9 Bed Bugs & Lodging: Proactive & Reactive Engineering Controls & Procedures — Presentation Transcript