How to Help Reduce the Risk of Bed Bugs in Your Business
Bed bugs are a persistent threat to many businesses, especially in common areas and back-of-house zones. These hidden pests can impact your reputation, disrupt operations and cause costly issues if not addressed. By focusing on high-risk, often overlooked areas, facility managers can take effective steps to help reduce infestations — because the best solution is stopping them before they spread.
This blog outlines practical infestation prevention strategies based on expert Orkin knowledge. You'll learn how staff training, regular inspections and targeted treatments work together to keep your property protected.
Where are Bed Bugs Most Common in Back-of-House Areas for Businesses?
Bed bugs are great at hiding in places you might not expect. While guest rooms or public seating areas often get attention, here are some common areas that can be vulnerable:
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Lounges/Waiting rooms: High foot-traffic areas with hiding places between soft furnishings.
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Break rooms: Lockers with staff personal belongings can harbor pests.
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Office furniture: The cracks, seams, and cushions of desks and chairs provide dark, undisturbed hiding spots — and because people spend long hours sitting there, these are prime infestation points.
These spots provide convenient hiding places and easy access to human hosts. Controlling bed bugs in these zones is critical to a comprehensive infestation prevention plan.
How to Help Reduce Bed Bugs in Your Business Common Areas: 6 Effective Ways
Managing bed bugs infestations in your business starts with proactive measures that help reduce the chances of an infestation before it ever takes hold. From staff training to routine inspections, taking consistent steps creates a less hospitable environment for these pests. Here are some strategies you can implement to help keep your workplace protected.
1. Train Your Staff
Educate employees about bed bug identification and the importance of reporting suspicious signs immediately. Train managers or team members how to recognize signs like small blood spots, shed skins or the bugs themselves. Well-informed staff act as the first line of defense, catching issues early before they spread. Ongoing training ensures that every team member can quickly spot and respond to potential infestations, reducing the risk of costly outbreaks.
2. Conduct Regular Inspections
Establish a routine inspection schedule for all high-risk areas, including common and back-of-house areas. Use a consistent checklist to guide the process and ensure nothing is overlooked. Focus on common signs of bed bugs such as small blood spots on upholstery, shed skins or live insects in cracks and seams. Document findings after each inspection to track patterns over time and catch emerging issues early.
3. Choose Furniture That Limits Hiding Spots
Select furniture designed with minimal seams, cracks, and crevices where bed bugs could hide. Hard materials like plastic or metal are less inviting, while upholstered chairs with simple construction and fewer seams make inspections easier and reduce risk.
4. Seal Cracks and Crevices in Common Areas
Bed bugs can slip into wall gaps, baseboards, and furniture joints. Declutter where possible and use caulking or sealants to close off cracks and crevices, removing potential hiding places and making treatment more effective if pests are introduced.
5. Maintain a Cleaning Routine
While bed bugs aren’t attracted to dirt, regular cleaning reduces hiding places and helps you discover them sooner. Ensure frequent vacuuming, laundering of fabrics and cleaning of upholstered furniture. A consistent cleaning routine disrupts potential breeding grounds, making your business less hospitable to pests.
6. Implement Targeted Treatments
When an inspection reveals the presence of bed bugs, Orkin Pros use targeted treatment options — like heat or residual insecticides — to eliminate infestations with minimal disruption to operations. Professional treatments deliver fast, effective results that help protect your business continuity and customer trust.
Why Collaboration is Key to Reducing Bed Bugs
Success in reducing bed bugs depends on the combined effort of your team and expert pest management professionals. Orkin understands that bed bug infestations are the ultimate hospitality nightmare, threatening your reputation and bottom line. We offer customized plans that help you put a defense in place before bed bugs become an issue.
Orkin Bed Bug ProAct® uses regular visual and canine inspections, targeted crack-and-crevice treatments, and detailed documentation to keep bed bugs from developing into full infestations. With frequent visits and thorough record-keeping, you gain visibility into service performance and emerging risks — so you’re never caught off guard.
What it Takes to Stay Ahead of Bed Bugs
Helping to reduce bed bugs requires vigilance, education and a clear strategy focused on all areas of your property — including the common and back-of-house spaces that often go unnoticed. An ongoing proactive defense, not just reactive fixes, is the most effective way to help safeguard your property long-term. By empowering staff, committing to regular inspections and leaning on Orkin for help, you can protect your business reputation and help deter pests.
Ready to defend your property? Contact an Orkin Pro™ today to learn more about customized bed bug management solutions designed with your business in mind.
Bed Bug FAQs for Businesses
1. Where are bed bugs most likely to hide in my business?
Bed bugs often hide in upholstered furniture, cracks and crevices, behind baseboards, inside lockers and among clutter in break rooms and staff areas.
2. What can my staff do to help prevent bed bug infestations?
Training employees to recognize signs of bed bugs and promptly report concerns is essential. Educated staff provide early detection, helping to stop infestations before they spread.
3. Why are back-of-house areas vulnerable to bed bug infestations?
Back-of-house spaces offer ideal hiding spots and less frequent scrutiny, making them easy for bed bugs to establish themselves and multiply unnoticed.
4. What are the most effective inspection practices for bed bug prevention?
Regular, thorough inspections focusing on bedding, furniture, storage areas and common spaces help detect early signs like live bugs, shed skins or small blood spots.
5. How often should a business schedule bed bug inspections?
The frequency depends on the type of facility and risk level, but routine inspections — often monthly or quarterly — are recommended to maintain protection.