After an extended stay at a hotel, motel, or vacation spot, you may have accidentally brought home an unwelcome and harmful guest!
With more people traveling and enjoying their time together, bed bug sightings have unfortunately risen, necessitating pest control intervention. Does heat kill bed bugs, or should you rely on other options to keep your home safe?
Keep reading to learn what you should do to remedy a bed bug infestation in your home. Plus, remember that Zunex offers premier bed bug elimination services to help you sleep soundly!
If you suspect you have bed bugs in your home, there are a few signs that may indicate bed bugs are nearby.
Bites can indicate that bed bugs have infested your bed, carpet, or other furniture. While bed bug bites may look and feel similar to mosquito bites, you can usually tell them apart based on location and frequency.
If you see fresh bites every night or week, there’s a good chance you have bed bugs instead of a run-of-the-mill mosquito problem in your backyard.
Small blood stains are another sign of bed bugs creeping through your covers. Whenever bed bugs bite us, they suck out blood for nourishment, leaving behind a bleeding wound once finished.
You could spot tiny pinpricks of blood on your sheets, blankets, or mattress, often no larger than a pencil eraser. Don’t worry, though! You won’t experience significant harm or damage from these bites.
Other signs of bed bugs include shells, eggs, feces, or even sightings of the insects themselves. If you spot a bed bug roaming your floor or bed, you may have a significant infestation hiding away.
It’s almost impossible to kill bed bugs using DIY methods. These pests often require professional assistance to knock out an infestation, using non-commercially available pesticides or other proven methods.
Because these pests can hunker down in hard-to-reach locations, you may have trouble finding them. If they’re not in the seams of your mattress, they may hide in carpet fibers or baseboards.
Many pest professionals can quickly locate the site of an infestation after a thorough inspection, like Zunex Pest Control’s trained technicians. We can knock out an infestation and prevent it from returning.
Eliminating bed bugs is vital, too. These pests can go months without food and slowly rebuild their population if you miss a few in your at-home efforts! So, what works for bed bug control?
Temperature controls are often the best solution for bed bugs. However, these solutions aren’t easy to complete alone. We highly recommend you turn to the professionals for any temperature-related bed bug methods.
If you have a handful of bed bugs lingering on a blanket or want to double-check your clothing after a long trip, you can easily pop small items into a dryer on the highest setting. This should eliminate some of the bed bugs in a pinch.
According to the University of Minnesota, bed bugs and their eggs will die when exposed to temperatures of 119° F or higher for around 90 minutes. However, most professional heat treatments take longer, often pushing the hot air through your home for hours.
Pest professionals will closely monitor the temperatures inside your home to ensure the optimal temperature is reached to eliminate the bed bugs and ensure no others slip through the cracks to reinfest your home.
So, does heat kill bed bugs?
High temperatures can certainly eliminate pests crawling through your home, but you should leave this method to the professionals.
Much of the specialized equipment is only available for pest control experts, and you can’t attempt these methods independently. Hiking your thermometer up to a hundred degrees won’t work and will only cause your heating bill to skyrocket!
Keep you and your home safe by contacting a pest control company for any bed bug issues that may arise. Plus, for extra measure, remove any easily damaged items before a technician stops by for heat treatment.
We know heat kills bed bugs, but what about chilly weather?
Similar to the toasty temps, a good chill can quickly eliminate bed bugs. However, we suggest another method if you have a significant infestation in your home.
Tossing everything in the freezer can work in a pinch for items infested with just a few bed bugs, but only if your freezer gets cold enough!
Check the freezer setting on your upright or chest freezer to see how cold the appliance can get. If the freezer maintains a temperature of 0° for four to five days, you can swiftly remove the bed bugs from your possessions.
However, if the temperature fluctuates, there’s a good chance these pests may survive to tell the chilling tale and continue to infest other areas. Only attempt this method if you’re sure that your freezer can stay at the below-freezing temperature.
Don’t try removing the bed bug population with the cold for large-scale infestations. Unfortunately, you can’t freeze an entire room, and many mattresses and furniture are too large for the freezers at home.
If you have a bed bug infestation, consider speaking to a pest control company to discuss your options. You can freeze infested covers, stuffed animals, and clothing, but leave the larger items to the professionals.
Thankfully, Zunex Pest Control can quickly get your home back in order. Want to learn more about our treatment plans or schedule an appointment? Contact us today!
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