In recent years bed bugs have been on the radar of pest control companies, the hospitality industry and other commercial environments and rightfully so. Unfortunately bed bugs have also had an impact on guests and customers. And while they’ve certainly been to blame for ruining vacations, infesting businesses as well as causing legal, media and reputation trouble for companies, they are not always to blame. In some cases, what was first thought to be bed bugs turns out to be another type of pest. That’s right, it’s not just bed bugs who are causing disturbances in hotels and other businesses in the hospitality industry in Portland, OR, Seattle, WA and throughout the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain regions.
Fortunately regular bed bug inspections and preventative bed bug treatments have become a norm for many businesses, especially those more prone to have bed bug problems. This is a great opportunity to make sure that rooms are safe for guests to enter and the business has done its part in preventing bed bugs. At the same time it is a great opportunity to find other sources of pest problems including carpet beetle infestations and even evidence of rodents.
Carpet beetles are often mistaken for bed bugs because of the nature of their behavior. People go to bed fine and wake to itchy red bumps...must be bed bugs! Carpet beetles find humans in the night just like bed bugs, through the release of our carbon dioxide. They do not feed on our blood though, carpet beetles just have hairs that tend to cause skin reactions that may appear to be bed bug bites. But if there are no signs of bed bugs in the vicinity, then it is possible that another pest like carpet beetles are to blame.
Another common issue that hotel management and pest control professionals are finding in their bed bug inspections is evidence of other pest problems like mice and rats. Sometimes the search for tiny, almost microscopic evidence of bed bug excrement ends in the finding of much larger rodent droppings. Or perhaps you were looking in those hidden areas like upholstered furniture or around the woodwork for bed bugs and instead you found gnawing or rub marks, which are other indications of a rodent infestation.
Regardless of what could be lurking in your business, partnering with a pest management firm and receiving regular inspection and treatment will ensure your facility is protected from bed bugs and other pests. For more information on effective bed bug control as well as our other commercial pest solutions like rodent control, please contact us today. At Sprague Pest Solutions we provide pest control service to businesses across the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain regions including pest control in Portland and Seattle.