Orkin Warns Bed Bugs Are Spreading to Commercial Properties

Posted on August 19, 2010

Orkin, an Atlanta based pest control company, reports that bed bugs are moving into commercial properties. You know the bed bug situation is serious when CDC and Department of Defense officials attend a bed bug crisis meeting.

Orkin says new analysis of its commercial bed bug treatments over the past 10 years reveals that bed bugs, initially confined to the hospitality industry, have steadily increased their presence in multifamily and, more recently, commercial real estate properties. Orkin conducted a survey with the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International in early 2010 and found that one in 10 respondents reported bed bug incidents in a commercial property.

"Ten percent may not sound significant at first," said Ron Harrison, Ph.D., Orkin's director of technical services. "But it is a concerning statistic when you consider that these properties don't represent the typical bed bug habitat - a place where people sleep."

Bed bugs are reddish-brown blood-feeders roughly the size and shape of apple seeds. Orkin says the nocturnal pests surfaced from nearly a half-century of inactivity in the early part of this decade, predominantly in hotels. Increased international travel and a more targeted approach to pest control contributed to bed bugs reestablishing a presence in the U.S. Nationally, Orkin saw bed bug treatments double from 2008 to 2009. Orkin exects the doubling trend will continue this year. While New York City has been in the news recently for its efforts to curb bed bugs, the top five hot spots for bed bug activity, according to Orkin treatment data, are Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, followed by Chicago, Denver and Detroit.

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