If your home is infested with bed bugs, a bed bug extermination service can help. You can also take some steps to get rid of the bugs yourself, but it is important to know that this can be a difficult and time-consuming process.
The best way to get rid of bed bug infestation is to contact a professional who has the experience and equipment to get the job done right. If you have bites caused by bedbugs, a bed bug bite treatment medicine may be necessary to help relieve the itchiness and swelling. Most people tend to ask, can bed bugs be on walls as well? Well, there are many places where bed bugs can hide, so it is important to inspect your entire home thoroughly.
You may also be wondering, can you ever get rid of bed bugs for good? The answer is yes, but it will take time, effort, and patience. If you think you may have bed bugs, the first step is to contact a professional to come and inspect your home. They will be able to identify the type of bug and provide you with a plan of action to get rid of them.
Bed bugs are an annoying and potentially dangerous intruder in any home that loves to come out to eat during the very early morning hours before the sun rises. The size of the bite marks that they can leave on your skin might make you wonder: Are bed bugs tiny? They are tiny and measure about 3 mm when they are adults. Any local exterminator can apply pesticides to kill them off.
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Once the bed bugs are gone, you can take precautions to keep them away. While there are bed bugs outside, they cannot survive long in an outdoor environment. The parasites need relative warmth and bodies from which to feed. You can search the seams on your bed to see if there are bed bugs visible on mattress parts. They can grow to about the size of a pencil lead and leave dark spots where they defecate on mattress materials.
Some might think that there are bed bugs only in beds, but that can attach to clothing, bed coverings, and carpeting in the corners of the room. Bed bugs can be found indoors and wherever they can locate a warm spot to hide until it is time to dine.
Whether it’s at home, in a college dorm in a nursing home or on public transportation, bed bugs seem to be popping up everywhere. According to the National Pest Management Association’s (NPMA’s) 2018 survey, 97 percent of pest professionals treated for bed bugs in the past year.
The top three places pest professionals report finding bed bugs in the highest numbers are apartments (95 percent), single-family homes (93 percent) and hotels and motels (75 percent). Bed bugs are small, dark colored and only seven millimeters in length, so spotting them isn’t always easy.
The influx in bed bugs makes things more difficult for pest control services. In 2015, 68 percent of U.S. pest control workers stated that bed bugs were the most difficult pest to control, according to a survey from the NPMA and the University of Kentucky.
One way to rid a place of bed bugs is through bed bug heat treatment. Bed bugs are parasitic and depend on the blood of a host i.e. humans for survival. Most bed bug infestations happen a short distance from where bed bugs have attacked their host such as a bed or closet. Knowing where the bed bugs are will help you to determine the best spots for bed bug heat treatment.
If you’ve got a bed bug problem, you’re probably wondering, does bed bug heat treatment work? The short answer is yes, but there isn’t one common cure-all to fix the problem. However, there are several methods of bed bug heat treatment that have proven effective if used correctly.
- Hot Box: Much like a hot box in cooking is used to keep food warm, a hot box works by placing clothing and other items into a hot box, which is then cranked up beyond a lethal heat range to permeate all the items inside the box to kill whatever bed bugs are there. When using a hot box, it’s important to use proper ventilation, keep the items inside away from the walls and to use a proper heating source to avoid causing fires.
- Steam: This form of bed bug heat treatment is meant to kill bed bugs in all stages, but it doesn’t penetrate as deep as a hot box does. That being said, it is effective in killing bed bugs in places like bed frames, blankets, pillows or box springs.
- Dryer: Dealing with a bed bug problem can be as easy as throwing infected items in your clothes dryer at home. Running the dryer on high heat is usually enough to kill bed bugs. Keep in mind though that some items can be run through a dryer, but not washed such as stuffed animals.
- Home Heat Treatment: This method sees a professional bed bug exterminator or pest control services go into a home or apartment building and raise room temperatures to lethal levels, much like the way the hot box works. Keep in mind that this can be a costly form of treatment and it is usually combined with pesticide application to fully rid a place of bed bugs.
According to the NPMA’s 2018 survey, more than 50 percent of pest control professionals say summer is the busiest time of year for bed bugs. If you’re in need of bed bug removal and are thinking about bed bug heat treatment, sites such as Angie’s List can help you find reputable exterminators and pest control services.
Keep in mind that you can also rent a bed bug heater for home use. If you’re looking for alternative methods to get rid of bed bugs, there are many DIY options as well.