GBS says testing shows its product stops bed bugs

Pests can't escape Allergy Sentry Mattress Encasement

David Perry -- Furniture Today, August 11, 2009

SUTTON, Neb. — Laboratory tests provide good news for consumers worried about bed bugs, according to a supplier of mattress encasement products.

GBS Enterprises says its Allergy Sentry Mattress Encasement product was successfully tested for bed bug protection by Snell Scientifics Entomological Laboratory in Barnesville, Ga.

The testing revealed that no bed bugs were able to escape the Allergy Sentry product. The product testing focused on whether bed bugs could escape through the fabric itself, the seams of the product, the zipper or the zipper closure, GBS officials said.

Additional testing showed that live bed bugs were not able to feed through the fabric of the mattress encasement product, the officials said.

Those findings should give consumers peace of mind when they are looking to protect themselves from bed bugs, a growing problem in the United States, according to GBS officials.

"With bed bugs making their way back into homes in the United States, it is more important now than ever to encase a mattress," said Mike Svoboda, CEO of GBS Enterprises. "If your mattress is encased, it can prevent bed bugs from getting into the mattress should the tiny pests hitch hike their way into your home."

Added Dave Powers, president of GBS Enterprises: "This is incredible news for customers and hotel owners who find it financially straining to discard their mattresses following professional treatment of their bed bug infestation. Our Allergy Sentry Mattress Encasement offers them a reasonably priced and effective way to keep their mattresses without the concern of bed bugs escaping to re-infest their home or property."

Powers noted that the National Pest Management Assn. recommends that consumers get professional help to treat a bed bug infestation. "Bed bugs are elusive creatures," he said, "so it is imperative to seek professional pest control to address an infestation."

The company's Allergy Sentry Mattress Encasement features a waterproof, breathable backing that neither bed bugs nor dust mites are able to penetrate, he said.

GBS Enterprises markets its products under the Protect-All, Healthy Sleep and Rest Assured brand names.