Have you ever woken up in the morning and noticed some red swollen marks on you or your loved ones body? Do these marks leave a burning itchy sensation? Have you found randomly sized blood spots on your sheets? Unfortunately these are the signs and symptoms of bed bugs, and your home might be infested. Bed bugs are small insects that feed on human blood. They can live for a year without food, and hide during the day and feed at night. Fortunately there are ways to kill bed bugs and treatments to prevent the re-infestation of those unwelcome guests in your home. Keep reading to learn the different types of bed bug treatments.
Bed Bug Heat Treatment
According to the University of Minnesota, Bed Bugs and their eggs die when they are in 118℉ (48℃) for longer than 90 Minutes, or 122℉ (50℃) will kill them immediately. When pest management professionals (or PMP) use whole room heat treatments to treat bed bugs, they will bring in specially designed equipment to raise the temperature in the area. They place remote thermometers throughout the area to make sure the whole room archives the proper temperature. During heat treatment, the area will usually get to temperatures around 135℉ (57.2℃) to 145℉ (62.7℃) so you want to make sure any pets and items that might melt or be damaged in temperatures that are around 150℉ are removed from the area. Heat treatments typically take six to eight hours, depending on the size of the area and the conditions of the area being treated. You and your PMP should go over areas that should not be heat treated and they should find another way to treat that area.
The advantage of heat treatment is that there are no residual effects, however the downside is that not all areas can be exposed to these high temperatures, and even in areas that can be heat treated, a residual insecticide will still need to be applied on the border of the home or room being treated as a preventative measure to avoid re-infestation.
Insecticide Treatment
Another great treatment plan to rid your home of bed bugs is insecticide. The most effective bed bug treatment plan uses three types of insecticide. 1. a fast-acting insecticide that is used around high touch areas such as sofas and beds, 2. a residual insecticide for the inside of furniture, 3. and/or a dust insecticide for areas such as electrical outlets and baseboards. Most insecticide treatments require 2-3 visits as not all bed bugs will be killed in the first treatment. The pest management professional will let you know when it is safe to return to the area that was treated, usually when all the insecticides have dried. Before the Pest Management Professional comes and treats your home, they will provide you with a detailed list of instructions about how to get your home ready for the treatment. For the most effective treatment, it’s important to follow your PMPs instructions properly and thoroughly. Improper preparation is the biggest reason why some bed bug treatments fail and bed bugs are able to re-infest.
How Much Damage Bed Bugs Cause
Here in Oklahoma it’s good for homeowners to get their houses checked for bed bugs quarterly with professional help. Bed bugs ‘season peaks in the summer with August and September being the most populated as this is when most families are returning home from travels, giving these tiny hitchhikers a ride to your home. Many homeowners will try saving money with DIY methods to rid their homes of bed bugs, such as bed bug killer sprays you can buy from the store or dryer sheets, however these methods mostly don’t work with hit and miss accuracy based on location and they don’t come near the effectiveness and long-term prevention of bed bugs infesting that a professional pest management company can provide. As bed bugs can quickly reproduce and multiply, you want to get your home treated as soon as possible and leave the treatments to the professionals to avoid you or your loved ones getting a myriad of illnesses and diseases. With methods like heat treatment and insecticide, you can talk to your PMP about other methods like container head, steam applications, or even freezing infested items.
Bed Bug Treatment OKC – Priority Pest and Mosquito Solutions
If you think you have bed bugs, the first step is to contact a professional, and who better than us, Pest Control OKC locals trust? We offer quarterly home pest inspections and protection to ensure you and your home are safe from the destruction of bed bugs. If you don’t have bed bugs, but rather a different kind of pest, check out our website to see all of our services. We specialize in treating mosquitos, cockroaches, fleas & ticks, gophers & moles, bed bugs, and more. We get that there are no days off when it comes to a pest problem, that’s why we’re open 24/7, 365 days a year! Your safety is our top priority, give us a call, text us, send us an email, or stop by in person and we guarantee that we will take care of your pest problems.
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