A few bed bug facts you should know about bed bugs. To begin with, you should have a basic understanding of the frequency of bed bugs, their life cycle, and the reasons why infestations are difficult to control in order to better understand your treatment options.
Why Are They Difficult to Treat?
Bed bugs are really crafty. They naturally tuck themselves into tiny, difficult-to-reach crevices because of their diminutive size. They can conceal themselves in areas that are only a finger’s width across, and they can stay there for months at a time without being observed in between feedings.
Finding bed bugs is difficult, and once you do, getting rid of them is harder.
How Fast Should I Treat the Problem?
Adult female bed bugs can produce up to a dozen eggs per day. In its lifetime, it can lay up to 500 eggs. A bed bug colony will therefore quickly proliferate. But the problem is much more complex than that. The way they move only makes it worse.
A female bed bug is hard-wired to run away from other bed bugs before laying her eggs. This suggests that bed bugs often travel from one room to another. A tiny colony in one bedroom can swiftly grow into an infestation of the whole house.
Let’s evaluate your treatment options now that you are familiar with bed bug behavior and why infestation control is so difficult.
Option 1: Heat Treatment
In order to kill bed bugs, heat therapy entails raising the temperature in your home.
Your home will be fitted with specialized heaters by a pest control expert who will gradually raise the temperature to above 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
Your home’s bed bug-infested sections are turned into a convection oven by carefully positioned fans that circulate heated air.
A bed bug will perish if it is subjected to temperatures between 110 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit within an hour or two.
They will instantly perish as the temperature exceeds that.
That is the desired temperature.
A single generator powers the entire covert operation, which is finished in under a day.
Heat treatment Advantages
- It usually only takes one treatment: If done correctly, a heat treatment for bed bugs will only need one treatment. Multiple visits are typically necessary for chemical treatment.
- It targets bed bugs where they are most susceptible because they are hardy insects and excel at hiding from view. Additionally, some types are pesticide resistant. Heat has the advantage of being universal, unlike chemicals. No matter how many layers of clothing or bedding a bed bug is hidden beneath, the heat will still be able to reach it and kill it. Bed bugs are likewise fatally affected by heat at all phases of their life cycles. Although they may flee, they cannot hide.
- There are no permanent consequences; all that remains after the temperature in your home returns to normal is a large number of dead bed bugs. If you are concerned about chemical residues in your home, this is a benefit.
- Since you probably don’t want to tell your neighbors that you’ve had your home treated for bed bugs, heat treatment is discrete. Treatment with heat is discrete. The only item that can be seen from the street is a generator, which you could use to power anything from fans to a steam cleaner to dry paint.
Heat Treatment Disadvantages
- The use of heat won’t prevent bed bugs from coming back because it has no lasting effects. They might come back if residual chemicals aren’t there to act as a barrier. However, maintaining a clutter-free house and routinely cleaning your bedding completely are both good non-chemical bed insect prevention strategies.
- You’ll need to get your house ready: During treatment, your entire home—including your pets—will need to be moved out. Additionally, you should definitely remove any heat-sensitive goods from the house, such as wax, and crayons. Our pest control specialists can provide guidance on what should be removed from your house and what can be safely left there.
Things to consider when using heat
Heat therapy is a great option. It is rapid and inconspicuous, and it can quickly spread the infection to areas that are challenging for insecticides to reach. But you’ll need to put together a preventative strategy. A great solution to consider is the use of heat in conjunction with chemical treatments around the perimeter of your property.
You can do this to lessen the number of chemicals in your house while still maintaining a chemical barrier in the areas where it will be most useful.
Option 2: Chemical Treatment
Chemical agents are introduced throughout the residence as part of the treatment process. A pest control specialist will typically use three different chemical types: a contact insecticide to quickly eliminate bed bugs that are easy to reach, a residual (long-lasting) chemical to kill bed bugs continuously, and dust to offer more durable protection in cracks and crevices inside and outside of infested rooms.
Reaching the bed bugs is necessary for chemical therapy to be effective. Chemical therapy is site-specific in contrast to heating. To ensure that all bed bugs are treated, treatment is often spread out over several visits.
Chemical Treatment Advantages
- Chemical therapy is often quite effective at getting rid of bed bugs, especially if you catch the condition when it is still in the early stages. Additionally, by mixing fast-acting insecticides with dust and residual chemicals, you may effectively attack bed bugs over time and throughout every phase of their life cycle.
- The remaining insecticides may act as a deterrent and protect against future infestations. Even though it may not be everyone’s preferred solution, having chemicals around the house all the time undoubtedly offers long-term security.
- Effectiveness in terms of cost: Chemical treatment for bed bugs is typically a little less expensive than the heat treatment alternative.
Chemical Treatment Disadvantages
- There must be extensive preparation for chemical treatments in order for the chemicals to reach the bed bugs. This implies that in order to ensure that the chemicals get to where the bed bugs are hiding, you’ll need to completely prepare contaminated regions by taking down as many barriers as you can. A chemical treatment needs time, planning, and preparation.
- It exposes your home to leftover chemicals: Although these chemicals are acceptable for residential usage, the chemical treatment option might not be for you if you have pets or others who are chemically sensitive in your home.
- Sadly, chemical remedies can’t completely get rid of bed bug eggs. It’s important to remember that a female bed bug lays at least 5 eggs per day.
- No matter how many different remedies you are thinking about, none of them can completely get rid of your bed insect problem. This is due to the fact that chemical treatments necessitate carefully identifying and focusing on the areas where bed bugs are most common. You are well aware of how intelligent these animals are. As a result, the best effects are frequently obtained by using chemical treatments two or three times over the course of a few days or weeks. It is often a less practical and stealthy option as a result.
Things to Consider When Using Chemicals
The fact that chemical treatment offers enduring protection against bed insect infestation is a major incentive for many customers.
The disadvantage is that it typically calls for numerous applications, and some individuals could feel uneasy about chemical residues in their homes. Additionally, keep in mind that your home must be adequately prepared in order for the chemicals to effectively reach the desired regions if you want the treatment to be effective.
The Best Bed Bug Treatment
So, let’s go back to the crucial query: what is the best course of action to take if you have a bed bug treatment?
Obviously, all the elements that have been discussed in this tutorial will determine whether you choose heat treatment or chemical treatment. Others believe that chemical treatment is long-lasting protection that justifies the possible drawbacks of keeping residual chemicals in your home, while some people are drawn to the ease of heat’s one-treatment approach.
Overall, some will advocate heat treatment bed bug experts in York, PA; you will love this option because it spares you from having to get rid of furniture because of bed bugs. It appears to be the best method for overcoming the innate cunning and persistence of bed bugs because it is quick, covert, and efficient. Bed bugs are reliably destroyed by heat treatment, according to years of experience. Clients who have had their homes treated chemically for bed bugs only to have the critters reappear a few weeks or months later.
However, if you do want to take preventive action, you can always use chemicals to surround the outside of your property with a barrier while using heat to deal with the current issue.
