No one would ever anticipate having bed bugs in an office building, but it does happen. At SenSci Online, we want to provide you with information and training on opportunities that may present themselves when bed bugs make their way into office settings.
Proactive Monitoring in Office Buildings
In order to prevent the commotion that may occur when bed bugs are found in an office building, you can offer proactive monitoring to your clients. Proactive monitoring is a service that can notify technicians when bed bugs first appear in the office and where to locate them. Early detection of a bed bug problem can drastically reduce the chances of employees bringing them home.
Since the office setting isn’t a home, you may opt to use a discreet bed bug monitoring device like the SenSci Volcano™. Although we always recommend that office management inform the employees that a bed bug problem may exist, this free-standing interception device is discreet in design and may often go undetected by the employees of the building. The SenSci Volcano’s design offers your clients the effectiveness of an interception device without alerting others that it is a bed bug “trap.”
When you use the SenSci Volcano™ proactively, you can pair it with the SenSci Activ™ bed bug lure, creating what is called an Activ Volcano. By incorporating the lure, you may increase your chances of capturing bed bugs if they are present. The lure can attract up to twice the amount of bed bugs into the Volcano than if used without the lure.
How to Proactively Monitor in an Office Building
Now that you have decided to implement a proactive monitoring program within your client’s office, what do you need to do to execute it? How many interceptors do you use and how far apart do you space them?
It is recommended that one SenSci ActivVolcano be placed in every cubicle within the office building but budgetary restrictions may cause you to install them less frequently. The decision will ultimately be between management and the pest management company.
While the Activ lure may attract bed bugs from a few feet of its placement depending upon airflow within the office space, so you want to keep that in mind when you’re placing the ActivVolcanos throughout the office building. You can place the ActivVolcano under the desk inside the cubicle in a location that won’t be disturbed. If desktop computer towers are located at floor-level, place one ActivVolcano behind it near the fan of the computer. This will potentially increase the chance bed bugs are captured since the fan will increase the movement of the attractant.
A slight citrus odor may be noticeable by employees of the office building within the first two hours of opening the SenSci Activ™ bed bug lure packets. The odor should dissipate after two hours and shouldn’t be an issue once the Activ Volcanos have been placed at floor-level. Be sure to advise the property management of this so they can plan accordingly.
The amount of interceptors and bed bug lures used can be adjusted according to the needs and financial restraints of the office building.
Reactive Monitoring in Office Buildings
When bed bugs are already present in the office building, interceptors can help pin-point a location that they may have originated from. Reactive monitoring can help specifically target the bed bug treatment locations within the office settings.
As with any bed bug monitoring program, commercial or residential, be sure to read your environment. This will help you identify the key locations to place your interceptors. If you’re unsure of where the bed bugs may be originating, you can place one SenSci ActivVolcano under each cubicle. If budgetary restrictions exist, a deployment plan may need to be discussed with office management.
Once the office building has been cleared of any current infestations, you can then offer the property manager the proactive monitoring bed bug service to help protect them from any future bed bug infestations that may arise.
The SenSci Volcano™ and Activ bed bug lure are versatile and effective bed bug tools that can provide your business with a recurring revenue, especially within the commercial setting. For more information on the SenSci products, check out BedBug Central’s website. You can purchase the SenSci products from BedBug Central’s store or through your local distributor.