Mr. Pest Control Q&A

Q. I’ve had a problem with a couple of bed bug jobs. I will have my customers prep their home and then schedule treatments at two-week intervals. Afterwards, the homeowner will go a month with no bites or sightings. Then, out of the blue, they will call about finding a dying bed bug. I think it was there the whole time and just taking time to die. Do you know how or why this happens?

— Mike, OH

A. One reason could be that a bed bug harborage was overlooked during treatment. Even if you’ve done your best, that’s just the nature of bed bugs. It’s not unusual to have a challenging job where it takes multiple visits to find that last bed bug hold out. Another possibility is that bed bugs continue to be introduced into the home. Unfortunately, customers may not have any insight as to how they got bed bugs in the first place. It may be a recurring visitor to their home or, if this is an apartment, a neighboring infestation. The longer a customer goes without a bed bug bite or sighting, the likelier it is to be a re-infestation. Within one month, however, it’s difficult to make that call.

 

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