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MARCOR Takes The Bite Out of Bedbugs
Experts Decontaminate Apartment Infestation
3/20/2007–Philadelphia, PA–An elderly couple, who had rented the same apartment for nearly 50 years, suddenly suffered hundreds of insect bites that irritated their skin and drew blood in some places. They smashed some of the tiny, reddish-brown bugs, and carried the remains to the apartment complex’s management office to complain. The remains were determined to be bedbugs. A property management official contracted MARCOR Remediation, Inc. (MARCOR) to decontaminate the premises as soon as possible.
A MARCOR crew from Downingtown, Pa. quickly mobilized to the scene. Technicians first removed and disposed of all visible clutter and belongings with the exception of large furniture pieces. Then they applied a chemical-free, high-heat technology for a set time period to kill the wingless, bloodsucking insects, including their larvae and eggs. Strategically placed thermal probes ensured that all areas were effectively treated. Following application of the high-heat technology, the MARCOR crew performed restorative cleaning services to remove the bedbug carcasses, molted skins, excrement, and eggs so the elderly couple could return to a clean, pest-free apartment. Unfortunately, the couple had inadvertently carried the bedbugs to another location, which had to be treated, as well.
Bedbugs are proliferating in the U.S. and elsewhere due to increased resistance to insecticides, increased world travel, and use of newer pest control methods that replace hazardous, phased-out pesticides. Studies show an increase of up to 800 percent in recent years aboard cruise ships, in homeless shelters, and even in the finest hotels.
"MARCOR's services are driven by customer needs such as this,” said Ms. Linda DeNenno, MARCOR's general manager. “We continually explore and/or develop new, cost-effective technologies and improved methods to solve our customers' environmental problems."
Notoriously hard to eradicate, adult bedbugs are only 3/16 of an inch long and are flat and thin when unfed, but they plump up and become redder in color after feeding. They gain six times their weight after one meal and can survive on that meal for up to a year. A female can lay from 200 to 500 eggs in a lifetime. During daylight hours, the insects hide in tufts and seams of mattresses, behind baseboards and other moldings, in luggage, under electrical cover plates, behind paneling or wallpaper, or in other cracks, crevices, and otherwise inaccessible nesting places. They feed on humans and their pets (mammals or birds) exclusively at night.
MARCOR Remediation, a specialty contracting company founded in 1980 with a current staff of 700 and headquarters in Hunt Valley, MD, performs a full range of environmental contracting services. These include industrial cleaning, asbestos and lead hazard abatement, mold remediation, plant/process decommissioning and demolition, soil and groundwater remediation, emergency spill response, gun range remediation, storage tank management, and restorative cleaning projects. Customers typically include industrial hygienists, commercial and industrial clients, government agencies, environmental consultants, real estate development and property management firms, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT), the hospitality industry, educational institutions, health care facilities, and others. Each of the company’s 15 offices is staffed with the necessary mix of senior technical management, regulatory compliance experts, and experienced HAZMAT labor force. For more information, the Web site is www.marcor.com.
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