Mattress Retailers' Proactive Defense Against Bed Bug Infestation

Mattress retailers should be ensuring that their merchandise is coming straight from production by the manufacturers to the warehouses. There should be absolutely no food source in mattress warehouses. Without a food source, a warehouse will not be an environment conducive to support the existence of bed bugs. Moreover, no bed bugs should ever been found in the inventory storage areas of any of mattress facility. It would be almost impossible for bed bugs to live in the new bedding that is delivered directly from manufacturers and stored in the mattress warehouses if no food source is located there.

However, even by adhering to the above guidelines, mattress retailers do understand the public's misconception and concerns aboutbed bugs in stores. Therefore, they should be taking the following proactive measures to ensure that their merchandise does not become a host to bed bugs:

1. Each mattress warehouse should be inspected weekly for all types of insects and vermin and treated, as a preventative measure, by a professional exterminator.
2. Warehouse employees should be trained in the detection of bed bugs and all other types of pests. On occasion, they should even use dogs that have the ability to recognize the smell of bed bugs to confirm that their facility is bed bug free.
3. Mattress retailers should require that their third-party delivery companies have their trucks inspected and fumigated regularly. The trucks should even vacuumed prior to treatment. Treatments should be recorded and documented.
4. Independent truckers should be required to undergo thorough training on the detection of bed bugs and other insects. The instruction should be mandatory. The drivers should also be given periodic bed bug-related memos and articles in a weekly delivery newsletter.
5. If a driver notices a bed bug infestation in a customer’s home, the driver should be instructed to not deliver new merchandise to the home, nor to accept the return of exchanged merchandise.
6. Since bed bugs may be passed by casual contact, mattress retailers should take proactive measures by scheduling regular visits from a professional exterminator to inspect and preventatively treat for pests and vermin in their showrooms.