How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs Fast
When you’ve decided the bed bugs crawl into your bed at night, you need to act quickly. The longer you allow infestation to continue unchecked, the more expensive it becomes to get rid of bed bugs. But don’t panic and throw out your mattress thinking your dilemma is solved.
Are Bed Bugs Hard To Get Rid Of?
Yeah, the short answer. This is not a dilemma that can be solved by hitting the roach spray can under the sink. Even licensed pest control firms normally expect at least two treatments to get rid of your home bed bugs. Why can bed bugs get rid of? There are many explanations for notoriously hard-to-remove bed bugs.
Here’s The Deal:
Pyrethroid (Pesticide) Resistant – Pyrethroids are a class of chemicals widely used in pest control. Many pyrethroids have low mammal (people and pets) and bird toxicity, are fast-acting, and require low doses of active ingredient to kill insects. However, some bed bugs have defied this chemical class. Entomologists compared bed bug mortality rates reared in the laboratory for 30 years (no exposure to pyrethroids) to bed bugs collected from homes around the world. When a pyrethroid insecticide was added, lab-reared bed bugs had a 100% mortality rate. Field-collected bed bugs showed pyrethroid pesticides close immunity.
Depending on the bed bug population, tolerance varies, but both experts agree that pyrethroid resistance leads to the difficulties of getting rid of bed bugs. Bed Bugs Multiply Easily – Another aspect that makes getting rid of bed bugs challenging is how fast they multiply. The number of eggs a female bed bug in her life depends on her access to blood meals. A bedbug’s average lifespan is around a year. Bed bugs normally feed on meals every 3-7 days. One laid about 113 eggs in her lifetime. A present host and comfortable air-conditioned temperature will double bed bug populations every 16 days under optimal conditions.
Bed Bug Actions – Movement, behaviors, and behavior inherent in bed bugs make it hard to get rid of. Bedbugs have a secretive lifestyle; they’re active at night and gather throughout the day in tiny cracks and crevices. Their flat bodies make them fit no wider than a toothpick into a crevice. They tend to sit by their next meal (bed or sofa) and mostly gather in mattress tufts and folds, box springs, bed frames, headboards and side tables. They are also found behind wall panels and baseboards.
Bedbugs have no central “nest” like ants or termites. They’re likely to wander. If a single pregnant woman remains after a bed bug procedure, the infestation process will start again. Bedbug actions combined with their life cycle makes them very difficult to get rid of. Present U.S. bed bug epidemic started in the 1990s. Being diligent when staying in hotels or holiday rentals, or carefully checking used furniture you carry home, is not yet rooted in our community. One night in an infested room is enough to carry home bed bugs in your pockets. It also takes several months to know the itchy welts on your skin are from bed bugs.
They hide throughout the day, and the bite is painless. An introduction rapidly becomes infestation. Resistance to chemical remedies, cryptic lifestyle, and rapid reproduction rate combine to establish a condition where bed bugs are hard to get rid of. Stay with me, seeing how easily we can get rid of bed bugs:
Here’s The Deal:
Learn about different treatment methods and decide which approach aligns with your goals and budget. Typically getting rid of bed bugs is not a quick, simple, or inexpensive operation. DIY First Steps to Monitor – Try these remedial measures to make some bed bug killing progress quick while waiting for your treatment appointment. Put it in a plastic bag and dispose of it outside. Vacuuming alone won’t solve a bed bug infestation, but it will help keep numbers down. Avoid moving objects from room to room as this will spread the issue to other parts of the building. In a jar, clutter and waste should be sealed and taken out immediately.
After vacuuming bed bug-infested areas, wipe out the vacuum immediately. Scrub infested areas with a stiff brush to dislodge eggs and an efficient vacuum. Vacuum along all bed seams, holes, cracks, crevices, and baseboards. If you have a good heat steamer, you will easily destroy bed bugs, make steam slow passes on your bed and bed frame. Keep away from steam wall outlets! Wash all bedsheets and linens, and dry on your dryer’s hottest setting. For at least 1 hour, throw shoes, stuffed animals/plush toys, blankets, pillows, seat cushions, and cloth bags in the dryer. Consider putting a spring enclosure on your bed and bed bug traps on your bed foot.
Both of these acts will easily get rid of some bed bugs, but will not fix the issue without other interference. Heat treatment – If you’re concerned about quickly destroying bed bugs, heat treatment might be a good choice. Heat treatments will kill a licensed pest control company in one day. The affected room heats from 135°F (57.2°C) to 145°F (62.7°C). Some experts say the rising room temperature lures bed bugs from daytime hiding places. When a bed-bug (and bed-bug eggs) reaches 122°F (50°C), they die immediately. A good heat treatment for bedbugs requires a highly qualified technician. Mattress, furniture and concrete are excellent insulators. If any bed bug refuge doesn’t make it to bed bug killing temperature, the treatment fails.
Likewise, too much heat will kill sensitive electronics. Appointment for this service will take about 8 hours. Although heat destroys bed bugs quickly and efficiently, there’s no residual impact. If a residual pesticide is applied in combination with sun, any bed bug that can hitchhike from another part of the house can revive the infestation. Traditional Chemical Bug Treatment – An insecticide-based treatment is far more affordable than heat treatment, but it takes patience. Bedbugs accessed directly during your care can die easily. Most bed bugs, however, touch the insecticide indirectly, meaning they step on it during their evening hunt for meal.
Bed bugs only hide every 3-7 days for a meal. Many insecticides often don’t destroy bed bug larvae. A follow-up pesticide application is usually required to destroy the egg hatching nymphs after the first application. This application aims to kill nymphs before they become adults capable of reproducing. Although chemical control for bedbugs is successful, killing bedbugs is not the fastest way.
Heat Bed Bug Treatment – Pros And Cons
Whole room heat treatment is another non-chemical process used to destroy bed bugs. Bedbugs and their eggs die at 122°F temperatures. With traditional chemical bed bug treatment, you’ll wait weeks to contain the infestation. If heat treatment is performed right, the same day, you will be bedbug-free. The service takes about 8 hours, requiring advanced heaters, fans and temperature sensors. Your pest control technician will heat the room slowly from 135°F (57.2°C) to 145°F (62.7°C). Hot air rises; fans circulate the air to ensure that the whole room hits the temperature killing bed bug. A advantage of this procedure is that you don’t have to locate the bed bug hiding space and risk overlooking part of the infestation.
Any bed bugs exposed to excessive heat would be destroyed. Heat treatments are a quick, efficient non-toxic treatment for bed bugs, but not without defects. Generally, a room-wide heat treatment is the most costly choice for treating a bedbug. Like a Cryonite bedbug cure, heat therapies do not deliver reinfestation residuals. Most pest control firms strongly recommend integrating residual spray, mattress and box spring enclosures and active monitoring in combination with heat treatment for optimum safety. Although overwhelmingly effective heat treatments, heat treatments often fail. What makes heat treatments for bedbug fail? Generally, heat treatments fail to remove 100% bed bug s due to technological error. Many factors decide if heat treatment is sufficient for infested space.
Heat treatments work best in tight, low-ceiling spaces. Concrete absorbs a large amount of heat that affects heat transfer to other room areas. If these variables are not adequately accounted for, room will not reach the temperature required to get rid of bed bugs. Some researchers claim the increasing room temperature attracts the bugs from their hiding places. However, reported and observed that insufficient heat treatment will push bed bugs farther away, such as into the attic, making them even harder to handle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bedbug therapies are highly priced. A chemical treatment for a bedroom varies from $300.00 – $1000.00. Know, this procedure is time-consuming, requires a wide variety of chemicals and supplies, and requires a well-trained and skilled bed bug technician’s careful eye. A second or even third application is not unusual. A low-end price of this range potentially loses some or more of these important components. If you want a room-wide heat treatment, expect to pay between $800-$1500. The room’s size and construction style determines how much material is required to properly heat the room.
The equipment used is costly and highly advanced. An skilled, well-trained person is at home for at least 8 hours. All businesses aim to produce outstanding results at fair rates. However, when contemplating a low-ball bug removal plan, we advise caution. Hard to kill insects that require time, product, and expertise. After handling a professional chemical bed bug, you can see an immediate decrease in bed bugs. Don’t expect a cure immediately. Considering bed bug biology and elimination methods, it can take a few weeks for each bed bug to come into contact with chemicals and die. Sometimes a second treatment a few weeks later is required to destroy the egg hatching nymphs after initial treatment.
A bed bug treatment is deemed effective if there is no proof of 30-day bed bugs. Whole room heat treatments boast removal same day. Although there are negative concerns with a heat treatment (discussed above), the fast solution is a serious plus. Combining residual chemistry and dust with heat treatment is a fast and efficient way to destroy bed bugs.
