Bed bug elimination

If you’re unfortunate enough to have a bed bug infestation and plan to tackle the problem yourself, be prepared to roll up your sleeves. Bed bug elimination involves a lot more than a can of insecticide off the grocery store shelf. These insects live with us for eons and while they were subdued in the late 20^th Century, they’re back and thriving.

Bed bug elimination is a lot like riding your home of fleas. You’ll have to thoroughly vacuum everything and wash whatever clothing and curtains that the bed bugs could have contacted. Bed bugs don’t travel fast and tend to stay where they can hide until a warm meal presents itself. 

A female bed bug lays one egg a day that will hatch in six to 10 days. A bed bug’s life expectancy ranges from four to six months, which means their population could swell without effective bed bug elimination.

What Bed Bugs Do

A bed bug’s food source is animal blood, which includes you and your pets. Their bites are itchy, can swell and cause pain. Some people and pets are allergic to bed bug bites, which exacerbates their irritation. Unlike mosquitoes and ticks, bed bugs don’t transmit diseases, mainly because the bacteria that enter their bodies from blood can’t reproduce.

However, the bugs will cause sleepless nights and plenty of discomforts. Unlike some pests, bed bugs thrive in both clean and dirty environments, so don’t blame yourself if they find their way into your home by hopping a ride on whatever things you bring into your home.

Bed bug elimination is so challenging because the bugs are tiny and will crawl deep into cracks in furniture or walls, through seams and welting on mattresses, couches, and chairs, and behind loose wallpaper and inside light switches and electrical outlets. They hide in clothing, backpacks, purses, and luggage, and even lived in chairs at Terminal 4 at Sky Harbor Airport in 2018.

Bed Bug Control

Back in the mid-20^th Century when the last big bed bug outbreak occurred, the primary mode of bed bug elimination was to use DDT, a highly toxic pesticide banned in the 1970s. Now bed bugs have built a resistance to all kinds of insecticides, which has forced professionals to find other methods of bed bug elimination. 

Experts now recommend skipping the chemical treatments and using the vacuum cleaner to pull out the bugs and their eggs instead. They suggest a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) bag trap the bugs and the eggs inside, along with disposing of it in a tightly closed plastic bag when finished.

At Budget Brothers, we believe the best ways to eradicate an infestation is to use heat. You can help by laundering the bedding and clothing in 140 degrees F water and using the hottest setting on the dryer is the most successful bed bug elimination method for washables. Steaming mattresses, carpets, furniture, and draperies is the fastest and easiest way to get rid of a bed bug infestation in home furnishings.

Cold has been tried as a bed bug elimination method but it’s not as effective as heat since these insects are cold-blooded and will go dormant in cold temperatures. Once they warm, they’re once again viable.

Post Bed Bug Elimination

Once the professionals at Budget Brothers have used heat for bed bug elimination, we recommend you encase your mattresses and pillows in zippered cases manufactured just for bed bug control. We also suggest replacing wooden bed frames with metal and eliminating upholstered headboards, if possible.

Only pest control professionals can solve your problem for sure. At Budget Brothers, we have professional equipment that eliminates bed bugs quickly. Contact Budget Brothers today to eliminate with bed bugs once and for all.