Best Practices for Bed Bug Management Mattresses

Best Practices for Bed Bug Management of Mattresses, Bedding, and Upholstered Furniture Guidance Document for the Reuse/Resale and Recycling Industries in Connecticut (2011) Dr. Gale E. Ridge The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Ms. Diane Jorsey Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Ms. Sherill Baldwin Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Ms. Joan Jordan Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Attorney Judith R. Dicine Office of the Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney Ms. Pamela Kilbey-Fox Connecticut Department of Public Health Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs Best Practices for Bed Bug Management of Mattresses, Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Guidance Document for the Reuse/Resale and Connecticut Coalition Against Bed Bugs Recycling Industries in CT (2011) Contents Page Introduction 3 Definitions 4 Mattress and Box Spring Recycling 7 Develop a “Bed Bug Action Plan” and Documentation 7 Education and Staff Training 7 Images of Human Bed Bugs 9 Commonly Misidentified Arthropods and Materials thought to be Bed Bugs 12 Recycling, Rebuilding, and Reuse: 13 Collecting Mattresses, Box Springs and Upholstered Furniture 13 Responding to a Bed Bug Incident in Your Facility 13 Used Mattresses, Box Springs, Couches, Chairs and Other Upholstered Furniture for Resale, including Furniture Liquidation: 14 A Plan of Operation 14 Instructions for Rental Return, Commercial Return, Exchanges, Charities, Business, Private Pickup, and Resale 14 Cleaning and Sanitization of Vehicles, Docks and Work Areas for Reuse, Recycling, and/or Renovation 14 Self-protection 15 Treatment of Mattresses and Box Springs for Reuse, Refurbishment, Renovation, and/or Resale 15 Treatment of Mattresses, and Box Springs for Recycling 17 Decision Making on Pesticide Use; Decisions and Choices on Self-use, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and Hiring of a Pest Management Professional (PMP) 18 Common Sense Approach to Interior Pest Management 18 Abandoned Mattresses & Other Used Furniture from Litter Cleanups 18 Resources 19 Appendix 1: Used Bedding and Furniture Sanitization Log 22 2 Introduction Bed bug populations have increased in the United States due to an increase in international commerce, recreational travel, and a change in pesticide use practices in buildings. Social stigma and a reactive public response permit many bed bug populations to get out of control, compounding an already difficult situation. Bed bugs have been a nuisance to humans as blood-sucking temporary ectoparasites for thousands of years. Over 100 scientific studies have shown they cannot transmit disease organisms. Bed bugs do cause a range of anxieties and skin reactions from small slightly itchy red spots to severe blistering and secondary bacterial infections; in severe infestations, anemia. Bed bugs do not like to associate with people other than for food. If they are seen on clothing, which is being worn, it is because they were trapped there or were caught hiding in a fold or pocket in the belief they were “safe”. Because of the habit of seeking a hiding place after feeding, bed bugs can be accidentally picked up and carried to a home or business on articles, personal items, or on the person themselves. Bed bugs cling to materials until perceived motion ceases, when they scurry away to find another hiding place. Bed bugs are often accidentally introduced to a residence or business through no fault of the resident or the employee. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection regulates bedding and upholstered furniture under the “State Bedding and Upholstered Furniture Act, now codified in Connecticut General Statutes, Chapter 420a, entitled “Manufacture of Bedding and Upholstered Furniture” (http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/pub/Chap420a.htm). This law makes it illegal for any storefront/retailer to sell, rent, or renovate any used bedding or upholstered furniture (defined as anything with hidden filling material used for sitting, resting, or reclining) without the proper license and permit, and proper sanitation/sterilization methods. It carried a civil penalty of $200 per violation. Regulations adopted under the act provide the standards for which covered activities must be conducted. For example, a specific yellow tag is required to show a second hand item and date of sanitization. This law was enacted in the 1930‟s to prevent the use and/or sale of dirty, unsanitized filling materials in the renovation or sale of new and used bedding and upholstered furniture; Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 21a-233d states “New bedding or new filling material shall not be transported with secondhand bedding or secondhand filling material that has not been sterilized.” Additionally and more specifically the law states; Sec. 21a-232. (Formerly Sec. 19-420). Prohibited acts; sterilization; sanitation; permits; exception. (g) No person shall sell any secondhand bedding or filling material unless (1) it has been sterilized or sanitized and has a tag bearing the secondhand dealer‟s license number and the permit number of the person performing the sterilization or sanitization, or (2) in the case of secondhand bedding or filling material manufactured at least twenty-five but no more than fifty years prior to the date on which such secondhand bedding or filling material is offered for sale, the secondhand dealer notifies the consumer, in writing, that such secondhand bedding or filling material has not been sterilized or sanitized. (o) Nothing in this chapter shall apply to automotive upholstery, private sales from the home of the owner direct to a consumer, bedding offered for sale at public auction in the home of the owner, and bedding manufactured at least fifty years prior to the date on which the bedding is offered for sale. 3 Connecticut‟s Solid Waste Management Plan outlines a 58% recycling rate by the year 2024. The Plan also defines strategies to implement how to reach that goal which includes developing more opportunities for bulky-waste recycling. Bulky-waste or oversized municipal solid waste (MSW) includes mattresses and furniture. Facilities which process waste materials, including mattresses, require an authorization or permit from the Connecticut Department Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The purpose of this document is to provide practical industry compatible protocols for the reuse and recycling industries that sell used upholstered furniture and/or dismantle upholstered furniture and bedding materials for refurbishing and/or recycling purposes in Connecticut. This is a best management practices guide designed to eliminate bed bugs from the used mattress/furniture stream, protect workers so bed bugs are not brought home, and provide future users of these articles a pest free product. Definitions Bed bug(s): A secretive insect that is a temporary ectoparasite which feeds on a limited array of warm-blooded vertebrates, primarily bats, birds, and humans. Worldwide, there are approximately 100 species in the family Cimicidae. Two species primarily feed on people; the common bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. and the Tropical bed bug C. hemipterus (F). A third species of human feeding bed bug is Leptocimex boueti Brumpt, currently confined to West Africa. In North America, some other species may occasionally feed on people. These are the pigeon bug C. columbarius Jenyns, bat bug C. adjunctus Barber, and the swallow bug Oeciacus vicarius Horvath. Bed bug infestation: New or established population of live bed bugs in a dwelling or in mattresses, bed frames, bedding and/or other furniture, and/or personal items. Canine certified bed bug detection: Dogs that are trained at an accredited facility and certified by the National Entomology Scent Detection Canine Association (NESDCA) to detect bed bugs. Bed bug infestations, particularly small populations that are not obvious by visual inspection, can often be detected with trained, certified bed bug detection dogs and their handlers. Dogs must remain with the handlers they were trained with. Daily training is expected, to maintain detection sensitivity and focus of the dog. Dogs may not always be 100% accurate due to fatigue, distraction, a difficult environment, or the skill of the handler. Dogs are useful in high volume settings, such as multi-unit housing complexes, hospitality industry spaces, college and university dormitories etc., where a high volume of mattresses/furniture may need inspection during one visit. It is good practice to have either a second dog or a skilled technician check a dog‟s alerts. Control: The regulation, suppression or elimination of an arthropod deemed as a pest through, chemical, biological, mechanical or other means. Integrated Pest Management: CGS Section 22a-47(dd) means the use of all available pest control techniques including judicious use of pesticides, when warranted, to maintain a pest 4 population at or below an acceptable level, while decreasing the unnecessary use of pesticides. Cryogenic treatment: The control of an insect, such as a bed bug using cold by exceeding the kill temperature threshold of a specific arthropod species and maintaining this temperature for a set time period. This technique employing CO2 or refrigeration is used on museum artifacts and items which cannot tolerate heat. Bed bugs can be killed with refrigeration temperatures below 0°F (-19°C) for upward of four days. Some non-cold-hardy populations may be killed at less cold temperatures but still need exposure to freezing for extended

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