Bed bugs are one of the most challenging pests to eradicate. You could believe that applying insecticides to the afflicted area or tossing away objects that serve as their home is straightforward, but it isn’t. Hiring a professional for pest control services near me is almost always the best option.
So, How Do Bed Bug Exterminators Get Rid of Them? Pest Control Professionals follow a precise approach to ensure that bed bugs are exterminated from your house. They assess and examine the infested area, develop a treatment plan that may involve pesticide application, and monitor the issue with follow-up visits as needed. Contact our Spokane professionals at (509) 681-3949 to learn more, and visit our website for pest assistance and services!
Overview of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are nocturnal insects that only feed on blood. There are two types of bed bugs that are typically encountered in homes:
- Cimex lectularius.
- Hemipterus Cimex
These insects lack functioning wings, are brown to reddish brown, and have flat, oval bodies. They range in size from 1mm to 7mm. Bed bugs, unlike other insects, cannot fly or jump; instead, they crawl from one location to another.
Bed bugs’ lips inject anticoagulants when they bite, which produces rashes on humans who are bitten. Individuals who are sensitive to the chemicals released by bed bugs will develop severe rashes, posing several health hazards.
Bed bugs thrive in dark, warm environments, which is why they are so widespread in the tropics. Other types of bed bugs can also be found in caves. These creatures eat bat blood. Bed bugs are thought to have originated in the Middle East, where bats live in caves.
Three Methods for Getting Rid of Bed Bugs
There are numerous bed bug treatments available. Mattress covers, furniture interceptors, vacuuming, and steaming are all tactics you’ll hear about on YouTube or pest control forums. Customers frequently inquire about these, wondering if they are viable solutions.
The quick answer? They are all useful in their way.
When we work with a customer to eliminate bed bugs, we nearly always use a combination of these strategies. But none are powerful enough to make a difference in isolation.
Chemical therapy, cold treatment, or heat treatment are the mainstays of bed bug control. This post will go through these three-bed bug remedies in further detail.
Chemical Therapy
Seeking quick and easy solutions is a fairly typical and understandable trait. Most people with illnesses would prefer a single tablet throughout physical therapy for treatment. For obvious reasons, nine out of 10 people will take the medication. The same holds for pest control.
Here’s a little history lesson. Getting rid of bed bugs for years required a pesticide, usually fumigation. We’ve used sulfur and mercury chloride for a century.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (we couldn’t either) DDT altered everything. We had a chemical that would destroy existing and new bugs. This mystical substance may kill bed bugs from eggs to adults.
Why isn’t this the silver bullet?
Two-word phrase: insecticide resistance. In the 1960s, we thought bed bugs were gone in the US. We’re facing a nationwide epidemic. It’s scary.
DDT-resistant bed bugs have emerged. Science developed DDT alternatives lindane, chlordane, and diazinon, but all lost their effectiveness.
Bed bugs have behavioral, morphological, and biochemical barriers to chemical treatments. They simply got stronger. We used more chemicals, and they became more resistant.
This brief history of our chemical battle against bed bugs shows why chemical treatments are rarely the definitive solution. Helpful. We needed improved bedbug tools. Chemicals require multiple treatments, causing more disruption and costing more money.
Cold Therapy
When the entire scope of chemical resistance became understood, exterminators faced the issue of devising a new strategy. One way we came up with this was cold therapy.
It is rather self-explanatory. The exterminator’s goal is to snap-freeze and insta-kill all bed bugs and bed bug eggs on a treated surface using a device that delivers frozen Carbon Dioxide.
Cold treatment avoids the entire chemical resistance problem, and because it focuses on dramatic environmental change, bed bugs have little time to establish biological resistance.
This is a non-toxic remedy, which strengthens the case for cold over chemicals. We’re talking about no residues, no dangerous contaminants, and a lot better overall environmental consequences.
Do you foresee a “but”?
Here’s the big issue with cold treatments: Sure, bed bugs may not be able to adapt resistance as they have with poisons over the years, but bed bugs are naturally cold resistant. Did we mention these insects are insanely tough?
Cold simply isn’t the greatest way to get rid of bed bugs. A bed bug can live peacefully in temperatures as low as -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, you’ll need to keep temperatures near that level for several days before you can be certain the population has been eradicated.
If you think that sounds difficult, you’re correct.
Oh, and did you know that bed bugs live in cracks and crevices such as mattresses, bed frames, pillows, and clothing? All of that material is insulation. The deeper a bed insect burrows, the more difficult it is to expose it to a fatal cold. The bed bugs you should be most concerned about are generally unaffected. That’s not cool.
The main truth is that, while it may increase our alternatives somewhat, it still lacks that silver bullet effectiveness.
Thermal Treatment
The heat. No fancy graphics are needed to understand why this strategy works. Ultra-powerful heaters and fans are used to move hot air throughout a property.
Which heat? The aim is 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
According to the research, bed bugs die at 110 degrees. If you raise it above 120, bed bugs die very instantaneously. We’re nearly there. Bed bugs are tough, but heat may be their one weakness.
Heat is easier to produce than cold. 130°F sounds hot. We agree that the heat is unbearable. Raising a house’s temperature to this level is easier than reducing it to -15F.
All that bed bug-loving insulation? It’s less heat-resistant than cold. Heat reaches crevices where cold and chemicals can’t.
Then what? Is heat the only bed insect treatment? Is this the solution we’ve wanted? Each.
Controlling bed bug infestations is challenging. Bed bugs are sneaky, resilient, and contagious. Heat is one of the most effective treatments for treating the bugs where they’re weakest.
Most solutions require additional chemical treatment. In our experience, heat is the best way to kill bed bugs. It should be part of any bed bug elimination approach.
You must also consider simple logistics.
- Chemical treatment is less disruptive.
- Cold therapy is less difficult to achieve.
- The industry’s safest and most cost-effective solution.
Finally, how can pest control companies get rid of bed bugs?
Bed bugs are an issue in any home. They can be avoided totally with adequate care and maintenance. If an infestation has already happened, hiring a Pest Control Professional is recommended to address the situation and eliminate these pests from your home. Our Spokane pest control professionals are always available and eager to help you with any pest management concerns you may have. For more bed bugs treatment info, call (509) 681-3949, and if you’re wondering “How Much Is An Exterminator For Bed Bugs?” see our site now!