Get Rid Of Edmonton Bed Bugs Using Heat Treatments.
What is Heat Treatment For Bed Bugs? Why it Works
Heat treatments involve a Pest Management Professional (PMP) using specially designed equipment to raise the temperature of a room or your entire house to kill the bed bugs.
Bed bugs and eggs die within 90 minutes at 118°F – 122°F (50°C). which is optimal for eliminating bed bugs.
During a heat treatment, the air temperature in the room is typically between 135°F (57.2°C) and 145°F (62.7 °C). Fans are placed in the treated areas to circulate throughout the space to evenly heat all of the items in the room.
The (PMP) will place remote thermometers throughout the home, to make sure the right temperatures are reached, which is monitored closely to ensure that it gets hot enough to kill bed bugs.
A heat treatment typically takes between six and eight hours, depending on the condition of the area being treated.
The reason that this works is simply that they cannot live at extreme temperatures. At 70°F, they will live and even flourish. They will lay eggs and spread. When the temperature gets up near 140°F though, they cannot survive.
Evidence of Bed Bugs in Your Home
- Going to bed and waking with bites, welts or rashes. Bite marks may appear in a rows and clusters.
- Dark spotting or blood droplets on mattresses, pillows or bedding. These are waste products bed bugs excrete while digesting a blood-meal.
- Visible observation of eggs, molted insect skin, or the insect. The failure to locate an insect does not indicate they are not present. Adult bed bugs are difficult to locate, and immature bed bugs can be difficult to see due to their size.
Why Heat Treatment For Bed Bugs?
- Bugs Living Without Food – Bed Bugs are tough and resilient. They can survive without food/blood can live for as long as an entire year without having any food. Simply depriving them of this is not good enough.
- Bugs Living Without Oxygen -Bed bugs could survive up-to eighteen months without any oxygen at all. There are not many other organisms that can make such a claim.
They do not live in beds alone; they just go there because they need to bite people to live, and that is the best place for them to find another meal, the place where people will go and be still for long periods of time.
Preparation Checklist – Before the Bed Bug Heat Treatment Can Commence
Please DO NOT remove infested materials from the infested area. Except for the items listed below, leave everything in your home. It is important that you LEAVE everything in place.
High power fans are used during this process; loose papers should be secured or weighted down. Heat sensitive items should be clearly labeled and left inside the treatment area.
Making Sure Your Home is Suitable
- Making sure that the heat will not be able to escape the room/house. You may need to caulk cracks in the walls, especially around windows and doors. Foam can also be used.
- All furniture and clutter must be pulled away from walls at least 5 inches.
- Unplug all electronics except major appliances
- Permanently dispose of all trash and unwanted items before treatment.
- Vacuum or sweep up dust/pet hair as they are hazardous to our equipment and personnel.
- Take down, disinfect and remove vinyl or faux wood blinds have a low heat tolerance.
- Remove all pets and house plants (including fish aquariums) and litter boxes from the treatment area if present.
- Oxygen tanks, aerosol cans, lighters, fire extinguishers, ammunition, any other pressurized flammable or combustible items.
- Musical instruments including guitars, pianos and violins. Cases should remain in for the treatment.
- Crafts or items put together with hot glue gun.
- Video games, vinyl records, audio tapes, CDs & DVDs.
- Candles, crayons, cosmetic, lipstick, wax, glycerine soaps & deodorant sticks (or you can place them in the refrigerator).
- Fruits and vegetables, chocolate, wine bottles, cream liqueurs, beer, carbonated beverages, artificial sweeteners (can be placed in refrigerator).
- Plants, seeds, flower bulbs.
- Vitamins, medication, pharmaceuticals, ointments (can be placed in refrigerator).
- Oil paintings, pastels & acrylic artwork.
- Remote controls, garage door openers.
- Family heirlooms and irreplaceable items of value that may be damaged by high temperature (120F–150F)
- Deactivate sprinkler system, heat sensors, smoke alarms for duration of heat treatment as a precaution.
- Unplug all electronics such as Television & Stereo sets, DVD Players and Computers.
- Turn off all ventilation such as the Heating/Air Conditioning system.
- If a waterbed or air bed is present, drain of deflate bladders.
Clothing
- Bed bugs will often seek shelter within or under piles of clothing. Piles of clothing should be either hung up on hangers or spread out before the heat treatment commences.
- Wash bedding and washable excess clutter on high heat followed with a high heat dry cycle. After drying, remove and immediately place the clothing in a heavy-duty garbage bag and seal the bag by twisting the excess bag and wrapping the twist with tape.
- Large blankets and comforters can be draped over interior doors to limit bed bug harborage and improve effectiveness.
- Dresser drawers should be left no more than 1/3 full to allow heat to penetrate.
- Use only crates, bins or grocery bags for heat sensitive items.
- Air flow is critical to this process, over-packed closets and rooms may not be able to be treated properly.
- Any items (clothing, shoes, bags, valuables) taken out with occupant on day off heat treatment must be thoroughly inspected and/or sanitized before being reintroduced to treated area.
De-clutter your closets and storage areas to allow adequate heat circulation. There should be no build up of clothes, toys, papers, books, etc.
It is necessary for you and your pets to vacate the premises during the treatment. This process will require approximately 8 – 10 hours for completion; a more exact time will be discussed prior to the treatment.
Keep in mind, bed bug heat treatments do not provide any residual effects, and your home could quickly become reinfested after a heat treatment if prevention steps are not taken and new bed bugs are introduced to the treated room, they will not die unless additional treatments are provided.
We will often apply a residual insecticide to the border of the home/room being treated for bed bugs as a prevention step.
