BED BUG HOT BOX CHAMBERS ARE A GREAT WAY TO GET AHEAD OF AND PREVENT THE SPREAD OF BED BUGS
In analyzing our 2020 customer data so far we have identified that an ever-increasing percentage of customers are purchasing our bed bug heater packages for preventative purposes.
More specifically they are deploying them in “bed bug hot box” or decontamination chambers.
Since opening in 2012 we would sell the occasional bed bug hot box heater mostly to direct service non-profit customers like shelters, housing authorities and permanent supportive housing facilities for those experiencing homelessness.
Our electric bed bug heater and fan would typically be deployed in an existing, well insulated room or very large closet but more and more we are being asked to assist architects in designing dedicated rooms for this purpose in brand new facilities.
Prior to individuals or families moving in, their personal belongings, including furniture, would be effectively “cooked” until the internal temperature reached at least 122° F.
This is the temperature where bed bugs and bed bug eggs die quickly without harming any of the items.
By heat treating their resident’s personal items during the intake process they would be ensuring that any living bed bugs or bed bug eggs would be destroyed prior to moving into their shared housing facility.
But prevention isn’t fool-proof and bed bugs will undoubtedly find their way into living units at some point. And you want to be ready when they do and be able to quickly kill bed bugs when they are first noticed before the problem spreads and becomes an expensive, embarrassing problem to have to solve.
Since our commercial bed bug heater is mobile and easily moved long distances on built-in caster wheels, these customers have the flexibility to use them in any unit that might become infested despite their best efforts at prevention. Fixed heaters that are hard wired into these hotbox rooms do not offer that mobile flexibility throughout the facility.
Bed Bug Hot Box Chambers Can Be Permanent or Temporary
Now that we are in the middle of a viral pandemic (this is being written in mid-December 2020) the topic of viral and bacterial pathogen decontamination is top of mind.
Anyone professionally involved in housing (landlords, lodging, senior living, prisons, hospitals, etc.) has been put in the position of being responsible for keeping people safe in their facilities from the spread of microscopic human pathogens like Covid-19 and whatever future mutations happen down the road.
We have recently partnered with a company in Canada who has engineered a decontamination chamber fashioned from steel shipping containers which employs both our industrial grade bed bug heaters and fans with ultraviolet lights.
These “Decon Pods” are initially being deployed across Canada to hospitals and senior living communities to kill viruses on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other items that may have been contaminated like beds and other, larger pieces of medical equipment. This protocol allows them to re-use one-time use PPE which continues to be in short supply or have confidence in their quality due to so many pop-up vendors flooding the market.
CEO of Delta 9 commented that "I think there is a large opportunity if we're to consider say, a hospital-type setting that is spending millions and millions of dollars a year now on very often single-use PPE. If this can even get one or two or three additional uses out of say, an N95 mask, it will increase the availability of PPE for our health-care system, it will decrease some of the strain and it will save our governments and health-care facilities in the process."
CTVNews Article Here
RSR Project Management Photos Here. (PestPro Thermal bed bug heater is grey box at end of container).
Because the Decon Pods are mobile they can be deployed on short notice to wherever the next outbreak happens moving from facility to facility with ease.
Simple heat will kill pretty much any human pathogen, mold or pest including bed bugs and bed bug eggs without the need for repeated toxic spray chemicals.
Read details here
Toxic spray chemicals are not safe for people or pets over time and should only be applied infrequently if at all.
Read details here
The United States Air Force acknowledges that vapors from toxic disinfectants are proven to be harmful to their personnel so are now using electric heaters to decontaminate the interiors of their aircraft. PestPro Thermal Systems provides electric bed bug heaters to numerous USAF pilot quarters around the globe because of policies forbidding toxic pesticides from being used. The air force wants to protect the investment they are making in training these highly skilled heroes and they understand the dangers in using toxic chemicals in places their personnel spend 1/3 of their lives.
“Our goal with this test was to demonstrate the ability for any Air Force base to assist with aircraft disinfection utilizing only commonly available equipment and materials,” said Doug Lewis, 711th Human Performance Wing Protection Systems Team Lead, who is heading the anti-viral aircraft heating efforts. “We knew that if we could prove the ability of this equipment to heat aircraft interiors to temperatures in the +120°F range, we were potentially demonstrating an Air Force wide disinfection capability, pending further laboratory results.”
Read details here
Being able to prevent the spread of bed bug infestations in residential facilities as well as having the ability to decontaminate personal and medical items are great examples of the power of simple, dry, electric bed bug heaters making the world a safer and more comfortable place.
A temporary way to set up a bed bug hot box is to simply create temporary walls using spring loaded poles (like Zip Wall poles available at most hardware stores) to hold temporary "walls" of plastic sheeting in place on the ceiling, floor and walls. See photos below.
