Using high heat to eliminate bed bugs is a safe and effective method that eradicates all stages of the pest. It also leaves behind no chemical residues in your home.
Before treatment begins, you should prepare your space by removing items that can be damaged by the extreme heat, including some electronics, fine jewelry and delicate clothing. You should also open dresser drawers and reposition clothes to improve airflow during the process.
Temperature
Bed bugs are stubborn and difficult to eliminate without professional help due to their cryptic lifestyle, resistance to common insecticides, and rapid reproduction rate. Home remedies and regular house cleaning methods like vacuuming and washing bedding at high temperatures may temporarily reduce adult bed bug populations but do not fully kill the insects and they often miss the hard-to-see eggs. Professional exterminators are trained to fully kill all stages of bed bugs and can use their specialized equipment to reach difficult-to-reach spaces where the pests hide.
Unlike chemical treatments, heat treatment warms the entire home to a temperature that bed bugs can’t survive extreme heat. This method gets into every crack and crevice where the pests hide, and is often successful in just one visit. It is a safe and non-toxic option that does not require the removal of furniture and can be used in conjunction with residual sprays, mattress and box spring encasements, and traps/monitors.
When a professional company performs a heat treatment, they will set up fans to circulate air and ensure that all parts of the home are reaching the necessary killing temperature. They also set up a portable furnace that generates the heat needed to kill the bugs and their eggs. This unit is placed in a corner of the room away from walls, draperies, and other obstructions. The fan and furnace will run throughout the duration of the treatment.
Before the technicians arrive, you will need to move as little as possible from the infested rooms so that they can treat all areas of your home and avoid damage. Some heat sensitive items like computers, TV’s, alarm clocks and other electronic devices should be removed and stored elsewhere for the duration of the heating process. Other items can be moved but should be covered to prevent any damage from the heat and should be carefully inspected prior to moving back into the infested area. Consider removing any heirlooms or irreplaceable items that are extremely valuable so that they can be treated individually.
The preparation steps for a heat treatment can be time consuming, but they are essential to the success of the treatment. By following these guidelines, you can be sure that the heat treatment will be as effective as possible and will allow your family to return to a bed bug-free life.
Time
Bed bugs cannot survive above a certain temperature threshold, which means that whole house heat treatments are very effective at killing them. Using an electric or propane convection heater system, rooms are brought up to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, where bed bugs and their eggs will die. A full home is generally treated in about three to six hours. The entire treatment time depends on the size of the dwelling and the extent of the infestation, so it’s important that your service company take a thorough walkthrough to ensure that all areas of the home are getting adequate heating.
Clutter and other objects can block the heat from reaching hidden spaces, so it’s a good idea to reduce clutter before a bed bug heat treatment. Items like stuffed animals, books, and magazines should be moved to other rooms where they won’t be disrupted or damaged. This decluttering also helps increase air flow, which is vital for proper heating of a room during a heat treatment.
Lounge chairs can be “flipped” to expose hidden spots in the backs or legs, while drawers and other furniture should be inspected to see if any bed bugs are hiding there. These small nooks and crannies can be difficult to get to with a vacuum, so this pre-treatment step is essential for complete bed bug elimination.
Plants are another common thing to remove from the house prior to a heat treatment. They can be damaged by high temperatures and can also spread their spores to other parts of the home. It’s best to keep pets outside as well, since they can be a source of contamination.
Depending on the scope of the bed bug infestation, it may be necessary to schedule additional treatments. This is especially true for severe infestations that have not been treated successfully with heat. In such cases, it’s important to understand the cause of the failure and determine if there are any areas that might have been missed or if there was re-infestation from neighboring apartments. Once this is understood, it can be corrected with a follow-up treatment.
Environment
There are many factors that can influence the effectiveness of a bed bug heat treatment. For example, a home with a basement or multiple levels of the house that are not easily accessible can be challenging for an exterminator to access and treat effectively. It is important for the company that performs your heat treatment to take these factors into consideration when evaluating your situation.
It is also important to remember that the optimum temperature for killing bed bugs, eggs and nymphs is 135 degrees Fahrenheit. A high temperature can cause some objects in a home to warp or melt.
If you use a mattress encasement during your bed bug heat treatment, this can protect the fabric of your mattress from the heat and help prevent any damage to your mattress. It is a good idea to take the time to find the best encasement for your mattress, as there are a variety of options on the market.
Some people believe that freezing cold temperatures can kill bed bugs. This can be true if you seal infested items in a plastic bag and place them in your freezer at zero degrees Fahrenheit for four days. However, it is more effective to have a professional perform a heat treatment for bed bugs in your home.
During a bed bug heat treatment, there are several steps that need to be taken to ensure that the temperature reaches a lethal level. This includes the use of air movers to promote the movement of hot air throughout a room and manipulating contents to expose hidden areas. It is also important to check the temperature of floor/wall and ceiling/wall junctions.
In addition, it is important to remove clutter from rooms that will be treated. This can reduce the time it takes for a room to reach lethal temperature and can reduce the likelihood that items will be missed. For example, a homeowner should inspect their couch cushions to make sure that all bed bug eggs and nymphs are exposed when the cushion is flipped over. This step will increase the effectiveness of the heat treatment and can help to prevent re-infestation after the heat treatment is complete.
Safety
Bed bugs are highly resistant to chemical treatments, and their cryptic lifestyles mean they are difficult to kill. With growing resistance, it is important to consider other options, especially for severe infestations. Temperature based treatments such as heat and freezing are effective alternatives that require less time to perform than chemical treatments and are less likely to leave behind live bed bug eggs that will allow the population to grow back.
Prior to treatment, a thorough inspection is necessary to determine the locations and severity of the infestation. Taking steps to prevent reinfestation is also crucial. This means being vigilant when staying at hotels or vacation rentals, thoroughly inspecting upholstered furniture such as sofas and recliners and making sure that your suitcase is completely closed after each use. This is a good time to consider using protective covers for your mattress and box spring that will seal the seams, tufts and folds of the mattress and box springs to prevent bed bugs from crawling out.
Insecticides can be used in conjunction with temperature treatments to ensure that all stages of the bed bugs are killed. They can also be used to treat hard-to-reach areas where heat may not reach. Several products are available including insecticide dusts that are non-toxic, and which work by causing abrasions to the exoskeleton of the bed bug thereby resulting in dehydration and death. These products can be applied to the inside of the bed frame, along the baseboards and in the corners and crevices of furniture items.
Before a heat treatment is done, it is important to remove any items that could potentially be harmed by the hot air, such as papers, glass items, knick-knacks and wall-mounted items. Computers, stereos, TVs, mp3 players and other electronics can be left but should be disconnected from power sources. It is also a good idea to take down pictures and other wall hangings, to avoid damage and to make it easier to monitor the area for signs of bed bugs after the treatment.
For furniture that cannot be treated with steam, Cryonite or insecticide spot treatments, a heat chamber can be used. These are large containers that can be placed over a piece of furniture and heated to a temperature at which the bed bugs die.