This month’s EcoRaider Interview is with Robert Landry, Executive Director of the Glens Falls Housing Authority. Situated on the eastern edge of New York, Glens Falls is about 60 minutes north of Albany and three hours north of Manhattan.
ECO: How much of a problem are bed bugs?
RL: They’re a big problem and in many cases everyone has the wrong impression of what bed bugs are. If you have bed bugs in the building everyone panics and in the community they decide they aren’t sending their mom or their dad to that specific senior housing facility. So there’s an overreaction and then the second problem is prevention. You can’t control where people go when they leave your buildings. It’s very easy to feel you’ve eradicated all of the bed bugs and we’ve come to the conclusion as long as we provide education and detection that’s the best we can do. That’s what everyone does and that’s how you control bed bugs but just having them is a black eye that we all in this industry have to deal with.
ECO: How did bed bugs first become a problem for you?
RL: Originally we hired a heat guy and that blew them throughout the building. So we put up a gallant battle and once we got them under control, our staff started using detection devices and monitors and we developed a plan where our maintenance people were checking for bed bugs more often. Do we still have bed bugs time to time? Absolutely. Do we still have hysteria in the building? Absolutely not. It cost us a lot of money in the beginning but I think we have a good plan and program in place.
ECO: How did you hear of EcoRaider?
RL: A friend of mine in New York City has a pest control company and he gave me a lot of suggestions and he said to get EcoRaider until the exterminating company can get here since we aren’t in the middle of a big city. That has really worked and helped kill the bed bugs quickly. We’ve also used your enewsletter to help educate our tenants to show them we have a protocol in place and that EcoRaider is a part of it. We have some used high capacity dryers now so we can take items to a special place to heat their clothes to eradicate bed bugs.
ECO: Where are most of the bed bugs found?
RL: The largest infestation was in the bedroom, second would be the living room area in most cases. The majority of bed bugs were found in bedrooms though and on whatever piece of furniture the residents frequent the most.
ECO: Are there any trends regarding bed bugs?
RL: The trend that I’ve found is that bed bugs have been coming from primarily our active tenants who go out in the community every day rather than those who just go to the grocery store, for example. So we’ve sat down with those who frequent social clubs and those who frequent facilities that provide mental health services because both have people coming and going from areas that may have no pest management.
ECO: Do you use encasements?
RL: Yes. It’s been hard to tell if just one thing is effective so we regularly monitor and treat quickly. It’s been hard to say that works well but from everyone we talk to it encasements seem to be a good thing. Our protocol is about quick inspections and responding quickly to a bed bug – we provide large bags for mattresses and box springs and furniture so we can do what we can to control any further spreading of the problem.
ECO: How important is it to have a Green or Natural bed bug solution?
RL: It’s big to us and we’re tree huggers so we’re environment by nature. It’s also a protocol that we bid that out every three years that they use chemicals that are environmentally friendly. We attempt to do that with everything we do and that’s why EcoRaider is good as a green product. The reason we do that is because senior citizens don’t want us to spray a bunch of chemicals so we go out of our way to provide a green solution.
ECO: How have you used EcoRaider? RL: If we have bed bugs then our guys can take EcoRaider and they can spray a little around if there’s been traffic to kill the bed bugs immediately. We’ll put a little here or there as a preventative product too.
ECO: Is having a product that’s preventative important?
RL: Yes absolutely. To me it’s top of the list. We are now proactive and looking for problems to solve them immediately and if someone has seen a bed bug there’s a good possibility if we get in there we might be able to isolate the location quickly and rather than wait two days to get someone in there to see them we can take care of it immediately.
ECO: What advice would you give to a peer who handles bed bug situations at another housing authority?
RL: To remember that it’s not a disaster but you do have to have a bed bug plan before you have a bed bug outbreak. Educate tenants, have a protocol plan and I think that’s what we all can do. Housing authorities are tremendously underfunded but we can still do the job. To me having a plan in place is the key because bed bugs can be very costly if you approach the problem wrong.
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/bed_bugs_-in_-public-housing.jpg306534trinityhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngtrinity2016-01-14 11:59:012022-03-03 00:03:42Dealing with Bed Bugs? Interview with the Glens Falls Housing Authority
This month’s EcoRaider Interview is with Michelle Perkins, Executive Director of The Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb. Home to Northern Illinois University, DeKalb is about 75-90 minutes west of downtown Chicago.
ECO: How much of a problem are bed bugs?
MP: It’s a national epidemic and even though we are incredibly proactive and our pest control firm is great and they have great documentation sometimes you just have more reclusive tenants that keep to themselves or they have shame with the bed bug stigma so the only time we find out is when it traveled to another unit.
We try to let them know it’s a part of quality living and it’s not about being dirty, it’s an issue and they were brought in from somewhere. Bed bugs will travel, they will hitchhike and it’s not that they have necessarily done something wrong. We’ve tried to demystify that.
ECO: Is there any pushback from residents?
MP: The biggest issue is trying to get them to comply. The procedures are somewhat complex when there’s an infestation so having the tenant bag everything in a clean bag put it in the free dryer to clean everything, and then put everything in a new clean bag while we’re working to get the unit decluttered – that is the biggest stumbling block.
ECO: Where are most of the bed bugs found?
MP: Definitely in the mattresses and you’ll find them in a Lay-Z-Boy or in couches. They’ll generally be there but they can hide everywhere: in dressers, cracks in wood, in outlets and they travel and hitchhike on shoes and backpacks on seats in theaters, planes and buses. Kids leave with backpacks and go everywhere with them and there’s all sorts of contact.
When someone is suspected of bed bugs, either they’ll come notify us or our pest management professional will find it during an inspection and come tell us that they think we have a live situation and we’ll have to talk about treatment and go from there. Bed bugs can lay dormant for like 18 months without a blood meal so without a mattress encasement or getting rid of them completely, they’ll come back again.
ECO: Are there any trends regarding bed bugs?
MP: People are paying more attention now. We are in a college town and there’s lots of college housing and any multi-family housing that’s where you’ll see the problems. I know you see them in single-family homes but it’s a much bigger problem in multi-family units. The fact that the bed bug issue is being talked about in city codes and in the media, and tenants are complaining to landlords wondering who’s responsible who’s the bad guy … That conversation is continuing to be had as people are paying more attention to the issue.
ECO: Do you use encasements?
MP: Yes we purchased them on a grant and the residents could pay us back $10 a month and that would allow them to use it. It helped and they were happy about it and they wanted them. It’s a good thing to do too because it’s proactive.
ECO: How important is it to have a Green or Natural bed bug solution?
MP: It’s very important. We don’t use any chemicals. Green responsibility is something that’s incredibly important to us. Also so many tenants have sensitive needs like respiratory situations and some fear the chemicals so we have a handful of units that are literally designated as “no spray.” The heat treatment is not a full solution you have to be 100 percent prepared to fight bed bugs. You can apply heat in one part and green products in another but there’s no perfect solution.
ECO: What advice would you give to a peer who handles bed bug situations at another housing authority?
MP: The worst thing you can do is panic. Be diligent and open the lines of communication. If you panic you’ll set off all sorts of bells and whistles and that stops the communication and that’s the key to getting things done. You have to be diligent and follow up and stay on top of it.
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Housing.jpg374800trinityhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngtrinity2015-12-22 13:31:412022-03-03 00:03:42INTERVIEW: How Bad are Bed Bugs? This month's Interview is with a Midwest Housing Authority Executive Director
Introducing The EcoRaider College Trial Program – The Only Bed Bug Solution that Meets University Budgets, Kills 100 percent of Bed Bugs, is All-Natural and Student Friendly!
Unlike most products geared to kill bed bugs, EcoRaider is “The Most Effective Natural Solution” for bed bugs (According to the Entomological Society of America) and is now available for university and college use. The product, which is all natural, doesn’t stain bedding and is safe for students and pets.
The product is easy-to-use and has been rigorously tested by Rutgers and Purdue universities and has been named the most effective natural product on the market. EcoRaider is cost-effective and kills 100 percent of bed bugs on contact. In addition, Pest Management Professionals that use EcoRaider are suggesting their customers use the product as a preventative solution between treatments – to prevent bed bug infestations before they occur!
TRIAL PROGRAM – To try EcoRaider with zero commitment, email our College Contact Ed DeMask or call him at 630-389-0572 to arrange to have product delivered to your college or university … completely free.
EcoRaider, which kills bed bugs and is effective on all stages of the pest without lingering environmental effects, was named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology.
EcoRaider is a ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.
https://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.png00trinityhttps://ecovenger.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/EcoVenger-R-header-340x70-1.pngtrinity2015-12-15 15:53:072022-03-03 00:03:42Introducing The EcoRaider College Trial Program
Dealing with Bed Bugs? Interview with the Glens Falls Housing Authority
/in Uncategorized /by trinityThis month’s EcoRaider Interview is with Robert Landry, Executive Director of the Glens Falls Housing Authority. Situated on the eastern edge of New York, Glens Falls is about 60 minutes north of Albany and three hours north of Manhattan.
ECO: How much of a problem are bed bugs?
RL: They’re a big problem and in many cases everyone has the wrong impression of what bed bugs are. If you have bed bugs in the building everyone panics and in the community they decide they aren’t sending their mom or their dad to that specific senior housing facility. So there’s an overreaction and then the second problem is prevention. You can’t control where people go when they leave your buildings. It’s very easy to feel you’ve eradicated all of the bed bugs and we’ve come to the conclusion as long as we provide education and detection that’s the best we can do. That’s what everyone does and that’s how you control bed bugs but just having them is a black eye that we all in this industry have to deal with.
ECO: How did bed bugs first become a problem for you?
RL: Originally we hired a heat guy and that blew them throughout the building. So we put up a gallant battle and once we got them under control, our staff started using detection devices and monitors and we developed a plan where our maintenance people were checking for bed bugs more often. Do we still have bed bugs time to time? Absolutely. Do we still have hysteria in the building? Absolutely not. It cost us a lot of money in the beginning but I think we have a good plan and program in place.
ECO: How did you hear of EcoRaider?
RL: A friend of mine in New York City has a pest control company and he gave me a lot of suggestions and he said to get EcoRaider until the exterminating company can get here since we aren’t in the middle of a big city. That has really worked and helped kill the bed bugs quickly. We’ve also used your enewsletter to help educate our tenants to show them we have a protocol in place and that EcoRaider is a part of it. We have some used high capacity dryers now so we can take items to a special place to heat their clothes to eradicate bed bugs.
ECO: Where are most of the bed bugs found?
RL: The largest infestation was in the bedroom, second would be the living room area in most cases. The majority of bed bugs were found in bedrooms though and on whatever piece of furniture the residents frequent the most.
ECO: Are there any trends regarding bed bugs?
RL: The trend that I’ve found is that bed bugs have been coming from primarily our active tenants who go out in the community every day rather than those who just go to the grocery store, for example. So we’ve sat down with those who frequent social clubs and those who frequent facilities that provide mental health services because both have people coming and going from areas that may have no pest management.
ECO: Do you use encasements?
RL: Yes. It’s been hard to tell if just one thing is effective so we regularly monitor and treat quickly. It’s been hard to say that works well but from everyone we talk to it encasements seem to be a good thing. Our protocol is about quick inspections and responding quickly to a bed bug – we provide large bags for mattresses and box springs and furniture so we can do what we can to control any further spreading of the problem.
ECO: How important is it to have a Green or Natural bed bug solution?
RL: It’s big to us and we’re tree huggers so we’re environment by nature. It’s also a protocol that we bid that out every three years that they use chemicals that are environmentally friendly. We attempt to do that with everything we do and that’s why EcoRaider is good as a green product. The reason we do that is because senior citizens don’t want us to spray a bunch of chemicals so we go out of our way to provide a green solution.
ECO: How have you used EcoRaider?
RL: If we have bed bugs then our guys can take EcoRaider and they can spray a little around if there’s been traffic to kill the bed bugs immediately. We’ll put a little here or there as a preventative product too.
ECO: Is having a product that’s preventative important?
RL: Yes absolutely. To me it’s top of the list. We are now proactive and looking for problems to solve them immediately and if someone has seen a bed bug there’s a good possibility if we get in there we might be able to isolate the location quickly and rather than wait two days to get someone in there to see them we can take care of it immediately.
ECO: What advice would you give to a peer who handles bed bug situations at another housing authority?
RL: To remember that it’s not a disaster but you do have to have a bed bug plan before you have a bed bug outbreak. Educate tenants, have a protocol plan and I think that’s what we all can do. Housing authorities are tremendously underfunded but we can still do the job. To me having a plan in place is the key because bed bugs can be very costly if you approach the problem wrong.
INTERVIEW: How Bad are Bed Bugs? This month’s Interview is with a Midwest Housing Authority Executive Director
/in Uncategorized /by trinityThis month’s EcoRaider Interview is with Michelle Perkins, Executive Director of The Housing Authority of the County of DeKalb. Home to Northern Illinois University, DeKalb is about 75-90 minutes west of downtown Chicago.
ECO: How much of a problem are bed bugs?
MP: It’s a national epidemic and even though we are incredibly proactive and our pest control firm is great and they have great documentation sometimes you just have more reclusive tenants that keep to themselves or they have shame with the bed bug stigma so the only time we find out is when it traveled to another unit.
We try to let them know it’s a part of quality living and it’s not about being dirty, it’s an issue and they were brought in from somewhere. Bed bugs will travel, they will hitchhike and it’s not that they have necessarily done something wrong. We’ve tried to demystify that.
ECO: Is there any pushback from residents?
MP: The biggest issue is trying to get them to comply. The procedures are somewhat complex when there’s an infestation so having the tenant bag everything in a clean bag put it in the free dryer to clean everything, and then put everything in a new clean bag while we’re working to get the unit decluttered – that is the biggest stumbling block.
ECO: Where are most of the bed bugs found?
MP: Definitely in the mattresses and you’ll find them in a Lay-Z-Boy or in couches. They’ll generally be there but they can hide everywhere: in dressers, cracks in wood, in outlets and they travel and hitchhike on shoes and backpacks on seats in theaters, planes and buses. Kids leave with backpacks and go everywhere with them and there’s all sorts of contact.
When someone is suspected of bed bugs, either they’ll come notify us or our pest management professional will find it during an inspection and come tell us that they think we have a live situation and we’ll have to talk about treatment and go from there. Bed bugs can lay dormant for like 18 months without a blood meal so without a mattress encasement or getting rid of them completely, they’ll come back again.
ECO: Are there any trends regarding bed bugs?
MP: People are paying more attention now. We are in a college town and there’s lots of college housing and any multi-family housing that’s where you’ll see the problems. I know you see them in single-family homes but it’s a much bigger problem in multi-family units. The fact that the bed bug issue is being talked about in city codes and in the media, and tenants are complaining to landlords wondering who’s responsible who’s the bad guy … That conversation is continuing to be had as people are paying more attention to the issue.
ECO: Do you use encasements?
MP: Yes we purchased them on a grant and the residents could pay us back $10 a month and that would allow them to use it. It helped and they were happy about it and they wanted them. It’s a good thing to do too because it’s proactive.
ECO: How important is it to have a Green or Natural bed bug solution?
MP: It’s very important. We don’t use any chemicals. Green responsibility is something that’s incredibly important to us. Also so many tenants have sensitive needs like respiratory situations and some fear the chemicals so we have a handful of units that are literally designated as “no spray.” The heat treatment is not a full solution you have to be 100 percent prepared to fight bed bugs. You can apply heat in one part and green products in another but there’s no perfect solution.
ECO: What advice would you give to a peer who handles bed bug situations at another housing authority?
MP: The worst thing you can do is panic. Be diligent and open the lines of communication. If you panic you’ll set off all sorts of bells and whistles and that stops the communication and that’s the key to getting things done. You have to be diligent and follow up and stay on top of it.
Introducing The EcoRaider College Trial Program
/in Uncategorized /by trinityIntroducing The EcoRaider College Trial Program – The Only Bed Bug Solution that Meets University Budgets, Kills 100 percent of Bed Bugs, is All-Natural and Student Friendly!
Unlike most products geared to kill bed bugs, EcoRaider is “The Most Effective Natural Solution” for bed bugs (According to the Entomological Society of America) and is now available for university and college use. The product, which is all natural, doesn’t stain bedding and is safe for students and pets.
The product is easy-to-use and has been rigorously tested by Rutgers and Purdue universities and has been named the most effective natural product on the market. EcoRaider is cost-effective and kills 100 percent of bed bugs on contact. In addition, Pest Management Professionals that use EcoRaider are suggesting their customers use the product as a preventative solution between treatments – to prevent bed bug infestations before they occur!
TRIAL PROGRAM – To try EcoRaider with zero commitment, email our College Contact Ed DeMask or call him at 630-389-0572 to arrange to have product delivered to your college or university … completely free.
EcoRaider, which kills bed bugs and is effective on all stages of the pest without lingering environmental effects, was named “the most effective bio-insecticide for bed bugs” by Entomological Society of America-published lab data in the Journal of Economic Entomology.
EcoRaider is a ready-to-use, naturally derived bio-insecticide that can be applied anywhere bed bugs are found without restriction. EcoRaider can be used in various environments, including schools, health-care facilities and public spaces.
For more information, call (201) 751-0011. Also, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.