“Current pest detection
methods often centre on manual inspections of
passive traps – a practice which hasn’t significantly changed in decades.”
Technology leads the fight against pests
Early detection is the key to effective pest control, says Robert Fryers, CEO of Spotta Smart Pest Systems.
Insect pests cost the world around £320bn each year, affecting industries as diverse as hospitality, farming and forestry. From bed bugs in hotels to flies in restaurants, these small pests can devastate businesses, causing financial damage as well as destroying reputations. Who wants to stay in a bed at a hotel reported to have bed bugs? Who wants to buy their sandwich from a fly-infested café?
As cleaning professionals know, you can’t deter all the potential pest threats by having an immaculately clean facility: effective waste management, good housekeeping and the upkeep of facilities go a long way to reducing the chances of pest infestations but sometimes, nature will still find its way. London’s Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea advise: “70% of good pest control is good housekeeping; 25% is good repair of buildings and the remaining 5% is the use of pesticides.”
With the world using 4m tonnes of pesticides each year, the environmental damage from pesticides and increasing resistance is leading pest controllers to be more proactive in managing pest infestations. Insect populations grow exponentially, making early detection critical in minimising damage and reducing pesticide use.
Bed bugs on the rise
Globally, bed bugs are on the rise. The French Union of Pest Control estimated cases in France increased from 180,000 in 2018 to 400,000 in 2020. Australia is estimated to have seen a 5000% increase in the pests from 2000 to 2017. One in five Americans reportedly have experienced the pests, with a global estimate of 4500% increase in bed bug cases in the 21st century.
28 | PEST CONTROL
Bed bugs can be easily confused with other pests such as fleas and cockroaches: the National Pest Management Association (USA) ‘Bugs without Borders survey’ in 2018 found 84% of pest control professionals were initially contacted about a different type of pest before identifying them as bed bugs.
Sadly for already struggling hospitality businesses faced with empty hotels during COVID-19, the pandemic won’t magic the pests away. Bed bug expert Dr Richard Naylor confirmed the tiny pests can live for up to a year without feeding, so may be lying in wait for guests to return to an infested hotel.
Treating bed bugs is difficult: extreme temperatures – either freezing or heating – or pesticide use are common treatments and best done by a pest management professional. So how can businesses best tackle bed bugs? Early detection is essential as it provides the opportunity to treat the pests before infestations grow.
Early detection vs traditional methods
Current pest detection methods often centre on manual inspections of passive traps – a practice which hasn’t significantly changed in decades. Manual inspections have high labour costs: in most businesses, this requires facility service managers and housekeeping teams to add the task to their ‘to do’ lists. Frequency and coverage of inspections are generally low, leading to late identification of pests’ presence, or sometimes missing them altogether.
The later the detection, the more chance pests have to ‘bed in’, increasing the cost of treatment when they are identified,
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