SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Eco-Pest, a pest management company based in Sun Valley, Idaho, has just announced a new bed bug service offering developed specifically for local hotels and motels. It's called the 24/7 Bed Bug Service, and it will provide bed bug treatments at any hour of the day or night for hotels and motels in the Wood River Valley of Idaho.

"Our area is built around the tourism industry, and with the growing bed bug problem our local businesses will need a quick response when infestations are found," says Jeff Ledford, owner of Eco-Pest. "It can happen late at night, when a guest wakes to find bed bugs. In order to keep guests happy and avoid damaging their reputations, hotel and motel managers need to act quickly. Now, they can call a local company anytime of the day or night for a rapid response."

Eco-Pest uses an integrated approach to bed bug services, utilizing heat, steam, vacuuming and product applications to combat these pests. So far, the Wood River Valley area in central Idaho hasn't seen a lot of bed bug activity, but Ledford feels that will soon change. "We are going to see this problem grow in our area. It has to. Our local area has a lot of hotels, motels and vacation rentals. We get a lot of people coming to the resort area from all over the world, and realistically, there is just no way to keep it from happening. But with our rapid response service, we are ready to help our local businesses."

Ledfored added, "The lodging industry has been hit especially hard by the bed bug explosion, and with the economy still struggling, areas like ours that depend on travel, lodging and tourism for their local economy can get hit hard when this pest begins to spread in an area. We saw a need and developed a specialized service to meet that need."