Pest Management Professional • November 2022 • Sterifab

New York City is known for a few things: busy streets, great food and the occasional pest. Brandon Gomez, director of operations at Abalon Exterminating, has been in the pest industry since he was 16, balancing high school with being a pest technician, and gradually working his way to where he is now.

One of the worst pests to have in the Big Apple, according to Gomez, would be bed bugs. Because Abalon treats a mix of commercial and residential properties, the team needed something that would handle bed bugs in everything from studio apartments to huge hotels. When they were introduced to Sterifab, the team immediately began employing it at all bed bug accounts.

“In New York City, we constantly have tourists going in and out of hotel rooms. We do our best to keep our accounts pest-free, but when someone comes in from elsewhere, there is nothing anybody can do about that,” explains Gomez. “The best thing about Sterifab is that it’s effective, efficient and convenient. It’s like a Swiss Army knife: It kills the bed bugs and also disinfects the area.”

Sterifab is the only virucide, disinfectant and insecticide in one product that is registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which sets it apart for the team at Abalon Exterminating. The techs can use the product not only to kill bed bugs, but can also disinfect the areas they are treating. This, according to Gomez, really sets the product apart.

“It dries the bed bugs up right away, and it’s a contact kill. So, when you spray the bed bug, you’ll see it literally die on the spot,” Gomez says. “We’ve had customers come with us while we’re inspecting a room just to show them the bed bug treatment, and my technicians will have Sterifab on hand. Most people are scared of bed bugs, so when the techs spray a bed bug and it dries up and dies, it’s impactful to see the effectiveness. Pair that with the disinfectant, and it’s a winning product to us.”

The team at Abalon Exterminating works closely with the Sterifab team, keeping the lines of communication open and constantly asking questions. Because of this, the team at Abalon is comfortable using and recommending Sterifab to colleagues.

“We can use Sterifab anywhere with our clients. It’s everything you could possibly need on hand,” Gomez says. “It’s safe for everybody. It’s the perfect tool for a technician learning about pest control.”

WAR STORY: For New York City pest technicians, few things are worse than bed bugs in multi-family housing. When the techs at Abalon Exterminating experienced multiple callbacks to one apartment for bed bugs, Director of Operations Brandon Gomez realized the best product for the job would be Sterifab — to stop the infestation while also cleansing the area.

“We took apart the whole bed and treated everywhere, but there was still an issue,” Gomez says. “Eventually, we got another callback, and finally found that the bed bugs were coming from behind the headboard. The techs went in with Sterifab and treated the area. When the customer came back, the bed bugs were eliminated. Plus, the customers commented positively on the clean smell.”