Philly Affordable housing gets bed bug prevention program

Allergy Technologies LLC, the manufacturer of ActiveGuard® Mattress Liners, is teaming up with Philadelphia Councilman Mark Squilla and other local housing management to address the bed bug problem in Philly. 

Allergy Technologies, as well as other researchers, created the ATAHC (Allergy Technologies Affordable Housing Control and Prevention) Program to combat bed bugs.

In addition to the new program they are launching, Allergy Technologie has donated over $100,000 of their ActiveGuard liners to the Philly Housing Authority building complex. 

The program is the first of its kind, which was created to be a sustainable and affordable model to control bed bugs in affordable housing, according to a release. 

The ATAHC method is different because it incorporates initial facility-wide remediation, which ultimately helps decrease the bed bug population.  

“The ATAHC Program will make a huge difference for managers, staff, and residents of affordable housing,” Joseph Latino, President of Allergy Technologies said in a release.

Latino added, “The turnkey nature of the Program and the ability to protect residents from bed bugs further highlight this groundbreaking initiative.”

A release states that the program’s success focused on early detection and intervention, which is possible by emphasizing engagement by education staff and residents. 

 “I’m determined to eliminate Philadelphia from all lists of worst bed bug cities. Bed bugs have significantly impacted the lives of Philadelphia residents, apartment owners, and other commercial establishments. I appreciate the work done on the ATAHC Program by Allergy Technologies – a great Philadelphia area company – and the cooperation of management, staff, and residents at the property.” Councilman Mark Squilla said in a release.

According to terminix.com, in 2019, Philly ranked number one on the 50 most bedbug-infested cities. 

“The fact that our hometown is ranked as one of the topmost bed bug-infested cities in the country is not acceptable, so we decided to do something about it,” Gus Carey, Managing Director and founder of Allergy Technologies said in a release.

Carey added, “While this demonstration alone will not immediately solve the overall bed bug problem in Philadelphia, it will ultimately showcase an effective and cost-sustainable strategy for bed bug control and prevention that will improve the quality of life for Philadelphia residents.”  

Jeffrey Lipman, Esq. has focused on the legal consequences of bed bugs. In addition to that, he often sees the emotional and financial consequences of infestations. 

In a release, Lipman said, “In addition to the costs of treating the continuous challenges of bed bugs for residents of affordable housing, budget constraints can often contribute to delayed treatments and therefore worsen the problem.” 

Lipman added, “I applaud this program’s core preventive objective that will alleviate the burdens placed on residents as a result of this insidious pest.”

ATAHC will be trusting Corbett Exterminating to implement the demonstration. Corbett has a lot of experience in affordable housing. Other pest control companies such as Bayer Environmental Science, Target Specialty Products, Key K9, Rockwell Labs, and MGK have donated products and their time to help support the effort.