As the owner of a bed and breakfast, it is your job to invite customers into your place of business, make them feel at home, and most importantly, give them a peaceful night of rest. Unfortunately, if a bed bug problem takes root in your bed and breakfast, it can ruin your reputation and affect everything about how your customers feel about staying with you. Bedbug numbers continue to grow across the country, and places where travelers frequent are at high risk of an infestation. To protect your B&B from bedbugs, there are a few simple measures you should be taking.
Examine the room after each guest.
Checking after every guest leaves is the key to catching an issue with bed bugs early. If guests bring in a few bugs with them, you may not spot them right off if you don't check the right places. Make it a habit to completely change all bedding, examine the mattress, vacuum carpeted floors, and do a general check around the room. Keep in mind that bed bugs can be quite small and hide easily in folds and even under wallpaper. So a thorough examination with a trained eye will be necessary.
Invest in preventative measures.
There are several things you can do to protect your B&B from bed bugs in advance instead of waiting until there is an issue. A few examples of preventative measures to take include:
- Investing in bedbug proof mattress covers for all beds
- Having a commercial pest control company implement bedbug traps and do regular inspections
- Training all staff members to recognize bed bugs, their eggs, and signs that they are present
With a good preventative plan in place, you will be less likely to see a small problem or incident with just a bug or two turn into something major. Therefore, whatever you can do to prevent an issue is well worth the money.
Provide on-site laundry services.
Providing laundry services at your bed and breakfast allows those staying with you to launder their clothing instead of piling it on the floor in the room, which can help prevent bed bugs from transferring from clothing and onto the floor. Just make sure you also provide sealable laundry bags as an added measure of safety. Your guests will appreciate the small gesture and you can transfer dirty laundry straight from the bag into the washing machine for cleaning.
For pest extermination and prevention tips, contact a company like Paffy's Pest Control.
