Bed bug removal is about one of the most common and in-demand services in the United States plainly because the bed bug problem has since been the country’s most prevalent form of pest infestation. According to history, bed bugs have coexisted with humans for a very long time and although these troublesome critters had been completely exterminated for quite some time in the past, they managed to reappear back in the 1980s. Because of their low-key approach to attacking their host and growing their colony, bed bugs prove to be difficult to wipe out. Moreover, a bed bug infestation is usually not always detected early on. The bugs’ tiny size, which is equivalent to that of an apple seed, is also the reason that they can easily hide away from human reach. Aside from your mattresses, these nuisance pests can tuck themselves into the smallest cracks on your walls, drawers, cabinets, bookshelves, and upholstered furniture.
To combat bed bugs, several remedies and pest control methods have been created. Among these are regular vacuum cleaning, applying the hot and cold technique, using diatomaceous earth, and using bed bug heat treatment and chemical methods. However, the majority of pest control professionals prefer heat treatment because it is a lot safer and more convenient to use.
Heat Treatment
The efficacy rate of this type of bed bug removal technique ranges from 95 to 100 percent. Unlike chemical treatment, heat treatment or heat remediation is considered to be environmentally friendly because it does not utilize chemicals or pesticides to kill pests. Basically, it only requires the use of specialized heaters which shall be installed in various parts of your household. Moreover, remote thermometers and wireless sensors are mounted throughout the entire room to guarantee that the desired temperatures are achieved.
To exterminate bed bugs, the pest control agent will have to raise the temperatures inside the house to as high as 130 degrees Fahrenheit depending on how severe the infestation is. Within several minutes under this heat, your nocturnal bloodsucking nemeses, including their eggs and larvae, will surely perish.
Here are other facts you need to know about the heat remediation method:
- As opposed to chemical treatment, it will only take you less than 24 hours—4 to 10 hours approximately—to exterminate the bed bugs using heat treatment.
- With the absence of chemicals during the bed bug removal process, people need not evacuate their homes and can even still enter or walk around the treatment zone. However, items that are non-resistant to heat and pets should be taken out of the room being treated.
- The heat treatment session is only done once and your bed bug problem is already solved. In other words, it is less costly as compared to chemical treatment which entails two or more sessions to complete the process.
- During heat treatment, it is made sure that the hot air circulates and penetrates every single space, crack, hole, crawling area, and linen inside the house. To achieve this, fans are used to blow and move the hot air around. Only heat treatment is capable of piercing through potential hiding areas no matter how far, small, or difficult to reach they are.
- In case you are embarrassed to admit that your home is infested by bed bugs, bed bug heat treatment is a discreet process so you should not worry about getting the attention of your neighbors. With this one-time method, your neighbors will not be able to tell that you are dealing with bed bug problems at home.
Bed bugs cannot stand being exposed to a hot environment. That’s why removing bed bugs through heat treatment is a proven effective scheme. However, it has its share of drawbacks, too. Since heat remediation only demands a single visit from the pest control service providers, a resurgence of these bothersome parasites is still likely to occur. For this reason, experts suggest conducting a follow-up preventive measure to ensure there will be no re-infestation. An example of a procedure that you can apply after heat treatment is chemical treatment.
Overall, bed bug heat treatment is more favored by pest control experts because it is less time-consuming, less expensive, and less harmful especially to human health and the environment in general. Nonetheless, homeowners must bear in mind that this method must only be executed by professionals in the field.