What Does It Take To Fully Eliminate Bed Bugs?
If you’ve ever battled against an invasion of bed bugs in your home before, you know that fully removing each and every bed bug can feel like the toughest task you’ll face all year. Notoriously difficult to locate and even harder to eliminate, bed bugs have evolved to escape eradication - meaning it usually takes quite a bit of effort to get the job done.
Whether you’re up against a full-fledged infestation or simply trying to keep a small nest from spreading, fully eradicating bed bugs is a job best left to a professional. Here’s a look at everything it takes to get your home bed bug free, and why this is one task you likely won’t be able to take on yourself.
1. Contact a Bed Bug Removal Professional
Although it might be tempting to simply pick up a “bed bug solution” at the store and solve the problem yourself, don’t bother - this is simply not going to be enough to do the job. In the vast majority of cases, a bed bug infestation is a job best left to a trained, experienced professional.
Bed bugs - apart from being extremely hard to spot with the naked eye - are also highly proficient breeders. That means that even a single missed bed bug can represent an easy pathway for the colony to re-establish itself in your home. When it comes to removing a bed bug infestation, it has to be all or nothing - and only an experienced professional can ensure each and every individual bed bug has been identified and eliminated.
2. Conduct A Thorough Inspection of Affected Areas
One of the main reasons bed bugs can be so tricky to fully eliminate is that it doesn’t take many to get a colony going - in fact, a single bed bug can lay hundreds of eggs in a very short time, meaning each individual left undisturbed can represent just another way for the infestation to come right back.
That’s why it’s critical to have an experienced, diligent bed bug professional conduct a thorough and meticulous sweep of the affected area, looking extremely close at major gathering points like carpets, furniture, bedding, closets, and other hiding spots.
Because missing a single bed bug can spell disaster for your removal strategy, it’s important to identify all likely bed bug hiding places before conducting a throughout removal procedure designed to eliminate all bed bugs - even those potentially still in hiding.
3. Create and Execute A Treatment Strategy
An effective bed bug treatment strategy can utilize several different methods of actually eliminating individuals, but at the end of the day all will accomplish the same basic goal: to completely kill any and all bed bugs that may be inhabiting your space.
Wash & Launder with High Heat
If you suspect that bed bugs may have infiltrated your favorite linens, bed sheets, or clothing, it can be tempting to simply dump the m all in the trash and start from scratch. But while this may be a quick solution, it can also be expensive - and, with the right heat wash strategy, unnecessary.
Generally, bed bugs cannot survive heat levels between 120-135 degrees Fahrenheit. That means that those homeowners with access to high-heat laundry can effectively eliminate all bed bugs and eggs with a thorough hot wash and dry cycle.
Utilize Heat Treatment
Operating on the same principle as high-heat laundry, heat treatment is an effective bed bug elimination strategy for everything from linens and drapes to carpeting and other spaces in your home.
Our bed bug professionals utilize specially-designed equipment to bring temperatures in affected areas up to temperatures lethal to bed bugs, helping to eliminate all bed bugs and eggs present in an area.
This method, combined with the close monitoring of a professional, not only improves your chances of eliminating all active bed bugs but also helps prevent bed bugs from becoming resistant to other chemical treatments in the process.
Liquid Treatment
While heat treatment may be among the most effective methods of eliminating bed bugs, it is not an absolute guarantee. That’s why our bed bug removal specialists may also recommend liquid treatment, which pairs the immediate effects of heat treatment with the lasting follow-up effects of residual liquid elimination solutions.
This one-two punch of elimination strategies makes the removal process significantly more effective and resistant to relapse, especially for high-traffic areas with a history of bed bug resurgence.
4. Protect Your Home From Further Infestations
Removing a bed bug infestation from your home may be challenging in its own right, but keeping your home free from bed bugs moving forward can be its own challenge altogether.
For most homeowners, the initial appearance of bed bugs can by traced back to a single point of entry - perhaps a visitor who brought them along in a suitcase, a part-time renter, or the introduction of some foreign fabric. Regardless, our bed bug removal specialist can help you identify this entry point, and take action to prevent infestations from settling in again in the future.
Active Trapping & Monitoring
As with many other pests, the key to preventing bed bugs from spreading is early detection. With our Active Trapping and Monitoring strategy, it’s possible to keep bed bugs from spreading quickly while keeping close tabs on exactly where bed bugs can be located in your home.
For some homeowners, we recommend Active Bed Bug Monitors, which are placed between each leg of your bed frame and your floor. These small cups are designed to allow bed bugs to climb in, but not out - giving you an early look at where bed bugs may be accessing your bed and which direction they may be coming from.
For other homeowners, we recommend taking basic actions like adding a bed bug preventing mattress encasement, which makes it more difficult for bed bugs to get settled on your mattress and bed sheets. This simple prevention tool can help prevent bed bug bites, as well as the spread of bed bugs from person to person prior to elimination.
5. You’re On Your Way To Bed Bug-Free Living
A bed bug infestation is no fun - and, for most homeowners, a major headache with no easy solution. Luckily, our bed bug removal professionals bring the tools, skills, and experience needed to help get your home bed bug free now and in the months and years ahead.
Whether you’re dealing with a difficult bed bug problem today or are hoping to avoid one tomorrow, get in touch with our experts and see what we can do to help stop bed bugs before they get started - each and every one of them.
