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KONA, HAWAII — Nov. 24, 2008 — Kama’aina Termite & Pest Control recently completed work at the largest structure ever to be fumigated for bed bugs: an upscale hotel in Kona, Hawaii. The 4.5 million-cubic-foot hotel had been plagued by bed bugs for several months with no acceptable control from topical applications.
“Bed bugs are stubborn pests,” says Mike Miske, president of Kama’aina Termite. “When topical treatments fail, fumigation is a sure-fire way to get rid of them.”
To prepare for the massive fumigation, Kama’aina Termite made a more than $100,000 investment in new tarps, clamps and other equipment. The company flew three safety monitors from the company’s headquarters in Honolulu to Kona to survey the property and devise a comprehensive safety plan before the fumigation crew arrived. Daily safety meetings were conducted during the week leading up to the fumigation.
Kama’aina Termite flew a crew of 16 to Kona for the fumigation, along with 80 55-by-75-foot tarps, 12 rolls of water snakes, more than 5,000 clamps and other equipment, including secondary locks and warning signs.
“This was an extremely challenging fumigation,” Miske says. “The structure was massive, there was a strong wind coming off the coastline and we had to meet an extremely tight deadline. We had to take special safety precautions to keep our employees and the public safe.”
During the fumigation, safety officers were positioned around the structure to ensure worker safety. In addition, any fumigator going more than 10 feet off the ground to lay a tarp was required to wear a safety harness and retractable lanyard.
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After the hotel had been secured, VIKANE® gas fumigant from 14 cylinders was released into the building. To ensure no one entered the structure after the fumigant had been introduced, Kama’aina Termite hired a security company to post guards on all sides of the structure throughout the fumigation. Warning tape also was used to keep unauthorized persons from entering the structure.
The entire time for setup, fumigation exposure period of three days, tarp removal and aeration was just seven days. The hotel has remained bed bug-free since the fumigation. For residual control, each room also was treated with an insecticide labeled for bed bugs.
For more information on whole-structure fumigation with VIKANE gas fumigant, contact Miske at Kama’aina Termite through www.KamaainaTermite.com or visit www.TermiteTenting.com.