Good Knight bed keeps bed bugs at bay

Hoteliers may be unable to prevent guests bringing bed bugs into their establishments, but a trio of Canadian entomologists have come up with a chemical-free way of zapping the pests.

The http://goodknighthotels.ecobugdoctor.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer">Good Knight bed (which safely kills and traps the bugs) has been developed by Paul Maloney and his children Laurel and Tim, who recently lost their three-year-old bed-bug-detecting golden retriever to a nose tumour which was caused by sniffing pesticide-treated beds.

Patent-pending technology converts the self-cleansing beds into sterilising heat treatment chambers between room changes that destroy all stages of the bed bug life cycle. Hidden traps continue to protect the purified bed from re-infestation.

The system also eliminates dust mites, moulds, bacteria, allergens, odours and VOCs.

"The hotel industry is the cross roads for beg bugs. It is not a question of ‘if' they will get bed bugs but ‘when'," said Maloney.

He estimated that bed bugs cost New York hotels an average $7,700 per room per year in lost revenue and extermination costs, and said the Good Knight would pay for itself in less than a year, as well as boosting revenues and customer confidence.

The Maloneys' company, Eco Bug Doctor Inc, has developed a number of prototype beds and is now working with manufacturers and hotels to produce a range of attractively-designed models for hoteliers.

It is kicking off with a queen-size hotel bed, but Maloney said the beds would eventually be produced in all sizes.