Just the mention of bed bugs is enough to make most people cringe. From how easy it is to get them to how hard it can be to get rid of them, bed bugs are a problem that no homeowner wants to deal with.
How bed bug infestations happen
Bed bugs tend to first come in to a home as hidden stowaways. If you’ve recently been to a hotel or another person’s home where bed bugs were present, or if you have kids who have been in school, it’s very possible that a few of these little troublemakers might have found their way into your luggage, clothing or backpack. Once back at your place, bed bugs will move out of their travel digs and take up residence in the places around the house where they’re most comfortable (and usually most hidden).
Mattresses, of course, are a popular nesting spot for bed bugs, but it’s also pretty common to find them among clothing, dug into thick carpeting or hiding behind draperies. That is, if you CAN find them. Bed bugs are great at staying hidden – tucking themselves into crevices and creases – which not only makes them hard to find in the first place, but also that much harder to get rid of since it’s hard to be sure you’ve found them all.
How to get rid of bed bugs
Once bed bugs have been spotted, most homeowners are understandably interested in getting rid of them as quickly as possible – by any means necessary. Unfortunately, this means that many will instinctively turn to chemical sprays and insecticides – because when you have bugs, you spray them, right? Maybe some bugs, but not bed bugs.
Quite simply, most chemical products won’t work to completely get rid of bed bugs – you’ll miss some, the poison won’t work on the ones you do find or the survivors will just retreat until the chemicals lose their potency and then resume their reproducing.
No, in order to get rid of bed bugs, there’s only one truly effective strategy – heat treatment. Not only is extreme heat the most lethal weapon against bed bugs, it also has the advantage of reaching into every area of your living space, making it impossible for bed bugs to run and hide. Best of all, a proper heat treatment will help you get rid of bed bugs in one day.
Why is heat treatment such an effective way to get rid of bed bugs?
A good heat treatment has the effect of “sneaking up” on bed bugs, sort of like the old story about the frog and the boiling pot of water. If you throw a frog in a boiling pot, it’s going to jump out; if you put the frog in room temperature water and slowly heat the pot, however, the frog will sit by and eventually allow itself to be boiled.
Bed bugs react in a similar manner to heat treatment. As the temperature throughout the house is slowly cranked up to nearly 120 degrees, the bed bugs don’t react – they simply sit by and allow themselves to be killed by the extreme heat. For this reason, a heat treatment is the only truly effective way to get rid of bed bugs – and in just about a day.
But a heat treatment should only be performed by a trained professional. If you think you have a bed bug infestation, call us at (920) 455-0373 for a 100% FREE inspection.
