Bed Bug
Greeting + “How To” S.O.P.
- Park truck on curb/street in front of customer’s home
- Open Pest Pac, click Time In
- Grab a pair of booties(don’t put on yet)
- Walk up to front door by using the sidewalk(do not walk in yard)
- Ring doorbell and step back so customer has room to open the door
- Introduce yourself with “Either Good Morning or Good Afternoon, I’m “your name” with Environmental Pest Management”.
- Ask customer if you can enter their home, once they say yes place booties on right before you step into the home
- Ask customer about their pest issue, let them express their concerns, once they are done say “I can certainly help take care of your pest issues”
- Start asking probing questions such as where do you see the activity, how long have you been dealing with the issue, have you had the issue in the past, have you used any of your own products, how many are you seeing, etc.
Visual Inspection SOP
**During a Bed Bug inspection you are looking for three things. Live Bed Bugs, Dead Bed Bugs, and Bed Bug fecal matter**
- Start in the bedroom and inspect all corners of the walls and along baseboards.
- Next move to the bed and start inspecting the sheets and pillows, once you’ve inspected those. Remove bedding and begin to inspect the tufts, folds, and seems of the mattress and box spring.
- Make sure to inspect the under side of the mattress and box spring.
- Next move to any other furniture in the bedroom ( headboard, nightstand, dressers, desks, curtains, picture frames, etc.)
- Complete the same process in each bedroom.
- Complete same inspection in the living room on the furniture, picture frames, TV stands, etc.
- If you find live bed bugs, dead bed bugs, fecal matter YOU MUST take pictures of this.
- If the inspection is positive with live bed bugs, YOU MUST rate the infestation (1-10) with 10 being the heaviest infestation.
Chemical Treatment SOP
- Check for preparedness (Refer to our Bed Bug preparation). If home is not prepared for treatment, inform customer why they are not prepared, take pictures of reasons why is not ready and upload into Pest Pac
- If prepared, Inform customer ALL people & pets will need to vacate home & remain out for 3 hours following treatment to allow chemical to dry; Begin treatment
- Put on a pair of gloves
- Add 1 gallon of water to B&G
- LIGHT infestations (.04 oz. Demand CS) MEDIUM (.04 oz. Demand CS, Optional Stryker 2.12 oz.) HEAVY (.04 oz. Demand CS and 2.12 oz. Stryker)
- Properly place respirator on your face (make sure respirator is properly sealed on your face)
- Adjust the sprayer tip for a heavy fan setting and treat all baseboards in all rooms including the kitchen and bathroom
- When treating baseboards, make sure to saturate enough for chemical to bleed behind the baseboard and also into the carpet tack stripping
- Use fine fan and treat all ceiling corners, door trims, ceiling trims, window trims, shelving, and sliding closet tracks
- Treat ALL furniture including but not limited to couches, recliners, mattress, and box springs, interior of dressers and drawers, backs of dressers, nightstands etc.
- When treating mattresses only treat tufts and folds. Do NOT broadcast spray mattress or box spring( Heavy infestation use PI directly on bed bugs)
- When treating couches & recliners only treat around seams of furniture & cushions. Do NOT broadcast over top cushions
- When treating box springs and furniture, also treat interior by cutting/poking small holes in dust cover
- Repeat the same process in all bedrooms, closets, living room, basement ( if there is furniture/beds in basement )
- If no furniture is present in basement, technician will still need to spray residual around baseboards & sill plate
- Complete a leave behind notice for customer including any instructions you may have
Heat Treatment- Hooking up Trailer SOP
- Check tire pressure of all 4 trailer tires and all 4 truck tires.
- Check gas levels on trailer
- Use a spotter to back the truck up to the trailer’s hitch. Make sure the trailer is raised high enough to allow truck hitch to clear it.
- Lower the trailer onto the ball of the truck hitch. Make sure the hitch lock on the trailer is pulled all the way back. Once it is set, move the hitch lock to the locked position. Place locking pin through hole to secure the trailer to the ball hitch. (Insert picture)
- Connect power cord, tow chains, and emergency brake cord. Chains should be twisted if necessary to prevent dragging. Make sure to cross the chains as well. (Insert picture)
- Have the spotter help you to complete a function check. Check turn signals, brakes, and hazard lights.
- Remove wheel chocks and place in the bed of the truck or inside trailer. Make sure to turn any overdrive in the vehicle to the off position. Also make note that the towing package braking system is operational and and working correctly.
Heat Treatment-Parking and Setting up Heat Treatment SOP
- After finding a suitable spot to park the trailer, make sure to set up the cones to allow for easy exit once treatment is complete (area should have easy access to a window to the unit). Cones should also be placed over any cords that might be a tripping hazard.
- Begin treatment by inspecting unit and ensuring that an adequate treatment can be completed.
- Complete a BB chemical treatment of structure. This will be limited due to the preparation for a heat treatment.
- Open trailer doors and put doors in the locked . Remove the splitters and box of equipment from back, remove and set up ramps. Insure the ramps are spaced property so heaters can be rolled down correctly. As you remove the heaters remove the locking pins on the heater(one heater at a time).
- Heaters should be placed at the center of each room/hallway. Heaters may be moved, however, depending on the situation. This can also be done during the heating phase. (Insert Picture)
- Fans should be placed in each room, near the baseboard. Walls and doors should be used to create a circular effect with the air in each room. DO NOT turn fans on until unit is up to temperature. Plug all fans into ensure no breakers will pop. Fans should be adjusted during heat treat to ensure heat is penetrating all bed bug harborage areas. (Insert picture)
- Bring in all pertaining cords. This will include the generator power cords, and the splitter/heater cords. Generator power cords are wrapped on the walls of the trailer behind the heaters. The large cord is for the 4 way splitter, and the smaller cord is for the 2 way splitter. (Insert picture) The splitter/heater cords are placed on the trailers shelf near the front.
- Bring in and place the needed splitters. You can usually place these near the window you will be using to run your cords.
- Keep in mind which heaters will need longer cords, as they come in a variety of lengths. Connect all splitters/heater cords. Make sure to twist the cords in the equipment as this will lock them in place. (Insert picture of diagram)
- Connect and twist the generator power cords into the splitters and then into the trailers power connections.
- If the unit is occupied, make sure to adjust the furniture, stored items so the heat will penetrate all areas. This includes making sure clothing is not tightly packed, and all furniture/mattresses/box springs are tilted up to maximize heat circulation. all loose papers and items should be secured, and a final check that no restricted items on the prep list are present
Heat Treatment-Powering on Heat System SOP
- Insert and turn the key to the main power of the trailer. Once LCD screen is lit, press “Manuel”, then “Start.” A safety countdown will appear on the screen. Once countdown is complete, you can turn the switch for the generator on. In the winter, an extension cord may need to be plugged into the “block heater.” This will warm the engine up on cold days and allow it to start properly.
- You can use the two menu keys to cycle through pertinent information. This includes generator temperature, and fuel level. (Insert video)
Heat Treatment-Tear Down SOP
- To tear down, start by wrapping up all cords. It makes it easier to wrap them while they are still hot. When putting away the generator power cords, it’s easiest to lay out the entire cord straight, and then begin to wrap it around the power cord wall mounts. Place the splitter/ heater cords back on the shelf.
- Unplug and wrap power cords around all of the fan motors. Carefully place back into the trailer.
- Remove all heaters and lock them back into place on the trailer. Make sure to engage at least one wheel brake on each heater.
- Load up the ramps, splitters, and cones into the trailer. Ensure there is no equipment left in the unit. Check to make sure all doors are shut and padlocks locked.
- If trailer had to be unhitched, follow the same steps listed in “Hooking up trailer.”
- If unit is a level 9 and above do one final chemical treatment in unit.
Completion Of Treatment
- Following completion of any treatment, once equipment is all put away, final check in with customer
- Final check in will include notes from service, such as specific treatment areas, follow up services if any, collection of payment if needed
- Once final check in is over we then walk back to truck, put all notes & materials used during service into Pest Pac order
- If payment was collected this will also need placed into Pest Pac with either credit card numbers, check number or cash amount
- After all notes are placed into Pest Pac technician then clocks out & heads to next stop on outlook schedule