Photo: Daily Mirror
There’s nothing worse than waking up on vacation and finding unwanted company in your hotel room. That’s exactly what happened to some travelers Paris is in bed bug frenzyAnd other cities fear their spread because these tiny insects can be brought home.
„They are ferocious and not only can they bite, but they can also hide in clothing and luggage to take to other destinations and can ruin a vacation,” says Robert Cole, senior research analyst at FocusRite. Experience bed bugs in hotels.
While travelers can take some steps to protect themselves, technology companies are fixing the problem and believe they may represent the future of bed bug control.
It’s important to find a new way to fight bed bugs, says Martim Gois, founder of smart bedbug technology company Walpass.
„Bed bugs have been on the planet long before beds, since the dinosaurs,” he says in an interview with PhocusWire. „If we stubbornly try to control them as before, they will become resistant and with insecticides used when they are already widespread, what happened in Paris will soon happen around the world.”
Robert Pryers, founder and CEO of pest control technology company Spota, admits that the fight against pests like bed bugs could be hugely profitable for technology.
„Insect pests are a huge and often unrecognized challenge that is costly [medio billón de dólares] Every year,” Fryers wrote on the company’s website. „Intensive use of pesticides cannot continue. „We’re bringing advanced technology to a step forward in the sustainability and profitability of the way the world manages insect pests.”
Here’s what you need to know about how technology is helping bed bugs and who’s using technology to fight the raging pests overseas.
Which companies are using technology to combat bed bugs?
While it’s more common to resort to an exterminator or insecticides, companies like Walpass, Spota and Delta Five are using technology to combat bed bugs.
Some aim to spread the use of technology to eliminate pests. Last week, Valpass launched a petition to convince the mayor of Paris to encourage the use of bed bug prevention technology in hotels and rental properties by using reactive insecticides.
How are startups using technology to fight bed bugs?
Walpass, Spota, and Delta Five may have a common enemy, but their battle styles are slightly different.
Walpass uses clever hotel bed legs to capture bed bugs as soon as they arrive in a location. When bed bugs are detected, hotel staff can be notified via smartphone and staff can be sent to the room to empty their feet, avoiding the problem because bed bugs start small, the company said.
Delta Five uses an electronic lure it calls an „E-Lure” that is placed at the head of the bed to attract and trap bed bugs. According to the Delta Five website, the device is odorless and works quietly. Once alerted, hotel staff can evacuate the device.
For its part, Spota isn’t just focused on bed bugs: The company uses smart capsules that can be placed anywhere to detect and report the pests, Briers explains in a video posted on Spota’s website. In the video, Spota shows how a capsule is placed under the mattress.
„It attracts insects with a pheromone and our sensors detect them,” Briers explains. „If the algorithms identify that it’s a bed bug, the system sends an email alert so the owner can take action before someone gets bitten.”
According to Bryers, the device, which is part of Spota’s „AI-based bed bug detection system,” is the size of a deck of cards and can be placed anywhere bed bugs are found: hospitals, theaters, hotels, etc. .
What advantages does technology have over traditional methods?
Most traditional mitigation methods are applied after a bed bug „infestation” is too late to prevent „physical, mental, material and financial damage,” Koise explains.
„They are often pesticide-based and have a high environmental footprint,” he added.
Briers believes that technology is the only way to fight bed bugs: „Technology is the only affordable and scalable solution. You can resort to manual surveys and dogs, which are very effective, but they are not scalable,” he says.
How many hotels implement bed bug technology?
Valpass has 60 „bedbug-proof” hotels in Paris that are identified by the Valpass „Bedbug-Proof” label, which informs travelers that hotel operators use Valpass in all rooms for „permanent „bed bug protection.” Worldwide, Valpass is in 220 hotels, and this year He added that the company plans to add 40 more companies by the end.
Delta Five advertises on its website that its technology has been installed in „thousands” of hotel rooms.
Spotta’s Fryers says on its website that it has partnered with companies and governments around the world to prevent pests such as bedbugs in hotels, as well as working in agriculture and forestry to prevent other types of infestation.
„We’ve secured over a million hotel nights in Europe and North America,” says Briers.
The option of subscribing to a technology company like Valpass isn’t for all hoteliers, according to Cole’s analysis.
„I know Valpass, I’m a fan, but it’s not cheap. If it’s in a city like that [Nueva York] Or Paris, it makes sense,” he said. „With hotel fees and rare bed bug incidents, owners resist the expense.”
Given the longevity of insects, Gois is betting that hotel brands that invest in technological prevention will benefit in the long run.
„Hoteliers who take advantage of this moment to make their brands bed bug-free and pesticide-free will gain loyal customers until they eventually become sustainable,” he says.
Over time, Cole believes the technology will serve as a primary mitigation measure in the long term.
„I’m not an expert, but it’s an entomological problem and the adaptability of insects is difficult to combat,” Cole says. „I see this as a long-term ongoing problem, the solution is technology, probably these devices [internet de las cosas] Attract, capture and keep statistics on these little monsters.”
But all that aside, bed bugs can still be overwhelming. „Look like cockroaches,” Cole says. „They were there long before humans and will be here long after we’re gone.”