The hazards of hoarding are an all-to-common experience for some property owners or property managers. Unfortunately, a lack of awareness of mental health issues attached to hoarding leads to ineffective and premature bed bug treatments. Why can’t you bring in pest control companies first? Let’s discuss what happens if we put ‘the cart before the horse’ so to speak.
Bed bugs can become a scourge for anyone but homes that are severely cluttered pose an even greater challenge for effectively treating a bed bug infestation. Pest control companies agree there is little chance of eliminating a bed bug infestation unless the excess belongings are removed beforehand. Keep on reading below to learn a bit more.
What Are Pest Control Companies Saying?
My years of experienced have permitted me to meet and pick the brains of many pest control companies. On each occasion they have shared the following concerns:
- The residences cannot be properly prepared for bed bug treatment because of the congestion in the home. If a person is unwilling to, or incapable of, clearing the residence for themselves they may not permit others to support them in clearing the excess.
- Bed bugs and other pests love clutter and dark spaces where they can hide, reside, and breed. The more clutter and dark spaces the better for bed bug survival.
- With so many spaces to hide, the harder it becomes to inspect and locate the bed bugs.Consequently, pest control treatment is harder to administer. Pest control companies need to see where the bed bugs are hiding. With so many hiding spaces and inability to treat all of the hiding spaces, effective bed bug treatment is unlikely.
- The congested piles and stacks makes it nearly impossible for pest control companies to move around the residence and locate infected areas. Bed bugs will bury themselves deeply into every pile in the residence. Treating every infected area is impossible given the massive number of piles.
- Piles and stacks in severely congested residences often contain large pieces of furniture stacked on top of one another. These stacks and piles includes large tube TV’s, dressers, tables, chairs, etc. Pest control employees are at-risk for serious injury by toppling piles or collapsing stacks. Additionally, we have found the stacks of furniture will also hold items such as heavy tools, used syringes, rotting food, and other hazardous items. This results in jeopardizing the health and safety of personnel.
- Infestation of one unit of a building quickly leads to infestation of the neighbouring units. Competition for ‘food’ encourages bed bugs to crawl through outlets, vents, and under doors to locate their next meal. Application of treatment in neighbouring units, without effective treatment of the original unit, guarantees the bed bug problem will remain.
But What Can You Do?
Experienced property owners and property managers know that Compulsive Hoarding is not a result of laziness but is a serious mental health issue that requires the involvement of specialized counselling services such as the services offered through Integrated Hoarding Response. Further resources include waste removal companies and potentially the use of enforcement agencies such as the local fire department. Working with Compulsive Hoarding is a slow process but to create long-term change and sustainable outcomes, rapid clean-outs and superficial bed bug treatments will not combat the bed bug infestation. As a Compulsive Hoarding expert, I will always advise addressing the hoarding behaviour first.
Just a Little FYI…
Just a closing fact for those who are feeling particularly nerdish… a female bed bug mates once and she is impregnated for life! Every egg she drops is a viable bed bug and she may drop anywhere from 1-7 eggs per day. If you do the math on that, one female can lay 365- 2555 eggs in one year. Imagine how many of her eggs from day one are female and repeating the same egg laying numbers! No wonder bed bug populations can hit over 1 million bugs in a matter of months.
Comments
Post a Comment