Joseph Latino, president of Allergy Technologies, led a panel discussion for affordable housing leaders at the national Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) National Conference and Exhibition. PHOTO: ALLERGY TECHNOLOGIES

Allergy Technologies President Joseph Latino led a panel discussion for affordable housing leaders at the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) National Conference and Exhibition in San Diego on Sept. 22.

Titled “Bed Bug Prevention and Control in Affordable Housing,” the panel included two pest management professionals; the president of a Philadelphia, Pa., affordable housing resident association; and a property manager; as well as a member of Philadelphia’s City Council who was participating virtually.

The discussion focused on the launch of Allergy Technologies Affordable Housing Control (ATAHC). ATAHC is a collaborative, proactive and facility-wide approach to bed bug prevention and control in affordable housing that has reduced bed bug incidents to near-zero levels in a 480-unit housing complex over a 30-month period.

“This turnkey strategy for the prevention and control of bed bugs in affordable housing was extremely well received, particularly because it not only saves time and money for those in affordable housing communities, ATAHC also improves ‘Quality of Life’ for residents and staff in the industry,” Latino said.

ATAHC and Prevention Program incorporated an initial facility-wide screening and subsequent treatment of infested residential units, immediately lowering the bed bug population. The installation of long-acting preventive measures property-wide ensures that the bed bug population stays under control.

The program was approved based on the success of a pilot program that was launched in the city in 2020.

Allergy Technologies will initially provide education for staff and residents as part of ATAHC’s implementation. In the pilot program, ATAHC was proven to cut bed bug incidents by over 99 percent in affordable housing communities over two years, with a goal of achieving zero bed bug infestations.

ATAHC was designed by Allergy Technologies to be an affordable and sustainable model of control and prevention of bed bugs in affordable housing. This first-of-its-kind pilot program launched has yielded results:

Ellen Wagner is the digital editor for PMP magazine. She can be reached at ewagner@northcoastmedia.net.

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