Affordable housing has always been an environment where bed bugs thrive, because of cramped living conditions for residents and the considerable expense involved in controlling the bugs for managers and housing authorities, alike. In creating the ATHAC™ Platform, Allergy Technologies has produced impressive, long-term results in bed bug reduction, driving an improvement in ‘Quality of Life’ for residents while saving housing authorities and building managers time and money. ATAHC has proven so powerful and effective that it has become an “operational platform strategy” upon which other programs can be launched: it is a template for tackling issues arising in affordable housing communities.
ATAHC™ is a complementary series of comprehensive, prevention-based programmatic solutions for bed bugs and other pests in affordable housing environments. They join a growing list of esteemed pest-remediation companies partnering with ATAHC, including Terminix, Rentokil, Corbett Exterminating, Anti-Cimex, Orkin, and Harpoon Pest Solutions.
Allergy Technologies’ ATAHC programs are the only property-wide, sustainable initiatives that significantly reduce bed bug, rodent, roach, and other public health pest infestations through a comprehensive, prevention-based method that is both cost-effective and sustainable.
The Philadelphia Housing Authority, the first site to implement ATAHC Bed Bug, has experienced a reduction by greater than 95% over the first 3-4 years of program inception. Most recently, over the 2024/2025 time period for adopting ATAHC Plus (general pest control targeting structural public health nuisance pests, e.g., cockroaches and rodents), close to 3500 units have enjoyed reductions of approximately 98%.
ATAHC initially distinguished itself by innovating a systemic approach to reducing the affordable housing bed bug population. This consists of an initial facility-wide screening, subsequent treatments, and continued inspections of residential units. Complementing its approach was the installation of long-acting preventive measures property-wide, including ActiveGuard® Mattress Liners, the only EPA-registered and labelled for-sale product that prevents bed bug infestations for two years. This overall process immediately lowered the bed bug population to non-detectable levels in its first rollout at a landmark Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) property. PHA then continued to contract with ATAHC for an added collection of living communities throughout its portfolio, with comparable results. This has spearheaded ATAHC to expand nationwide and gain visibility.
What was behind all of this, however? ATAHC’s sustainable success was more than treatment and technology. It is derived from its core pillars of treating residents with empathy, respect, and dignity. Those traits have allowed ATAHC technicians to limit ‘forced entries’ into individual units, traditionally a lingering problem for parties trying to treat pest-related issues. ATAHC personnel’s rapport with residents has made representatives trusted and welcome in communities ATAHC serves.
The ATAHC™ Approach
Traditional pest control methods often rely solely on reactive treatments that fail to address the long-term root causes of infestations. ATAHC’s proactive strategy delivers sustainable results by addressing both common and unique challenges head-on. This comprehensive program employs cutting-edge technology, a variety of product applications, best management practices, and—most importantly—builds a true partnership with residents.
A key differentiator of ATAHC is its emphasis on engagement and trust-building. Gaining access to units is a common challenge in pest control for affordable housing, with forced entry rates reported to reach up to 35% — a complication that not only disrupts pest-remediation efforts but also creates (and often exacerbates) tension between residents and property management. ATAHC’s collaborative and empathetic approach has successfully reduced forced entry rates to just 2% or less. Not to be discounted, the goodwill between ATAHC and residents also significantly improves PMP working conditions.
Tying these elements together is a vast amount of data-gathering by the ATAHC team, measuring unit-by-unit work and community statistics. These metrics allow ATAHC to rapidly detect areas of concern while showing housing authorities the powerful return on investment ATAHC yields.
All stakeholders have become aligned in the process, to the benefit of the program. Pest management professionals are met with resident cooperation and new business opportunities. Property managers and housing authorities collaborate with residents, improving relations and allowing management to focus on other community issues. Residents find an improvement in living conditions, the ultimate goal of ATAHC.
ATAHC’s progress has resulted in meaningful opportunities. The ATAHC model has proven so successful that it has become a strategic approach targeting other areas of concern in affordable housing beyond bed bugs. The Platform now includes programs such as ATAHC Plus (General Pest Control of public nuisance pests), ATAHC Complete (a simultaneous combination of Bed Bug and Plus programs), and ATAHC Asthma (with laser focus on allergen-promoting pests), with more to come. The tenets of respect, dignity, and empathy for residents will allow the ATAHC platform to continue providing residents with an improved ‘Quality of Life’ in a manner that housing authorities and property managers will find efficient and cost-effective.