Having bed bugs can be a very disturbing and stressful thing to deal with. Although, before you make the call to a pest exterminator, you must first examine your options. Most pest exterminators offer either heat or conventional/chemical treatments. Not all bed bug infestations are the same, so you want to take measures to ensure you’re tackling yours using the best method possible. Which method is the best to get rid of the bed bugs in your house? Let’s explore…
What’s Quicker? Chemical or Heat Treatment?
A heat treatment only requires one treatment visit, and it can be accomplished in one day. Therefore, no follow-up visits are required. So, your bugs will be gone in a single day, as opposed to weeks with a chemical treatment. That means that the occupants of your home or business don’t need to be displaced multiple times over the course of a few months and they won’t have to be bothered by the repeat preparation needed before each visit. This makes heat a very convenient way to get rid of bed bugs.
Which Method is More Eco-Friendly?
The most effective eco-friendly bed bug solution available is heat treatment. Heat treatment brings the overall temperature of the affected area up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 90 minutes. The heat quickly stops any bed bugs in their tracks and tackles their eggs as well, ensuring a new infestation doesn’t occur.
Which Method is Overall More Effective?
It has been found recently, that bed bugs have built a tolerance towards some of the harsh chemicals used in chemical treatments. Research has shown that modern bed bugs can survive more than 1,000 times the amount of pesticide that was considered lethal to them only 10 years ago. Since they are such resilient insects, when they sense danger they flee deep into wall voids and climb up into attic spaces to avoid coming into contact with chemicals, leaving you to face another infestation down the road. Heat is non-toxic and highly effective at killing bed bugs in all stages of development.
In conclusion, heat treatment gets the job done more efficiently and effectively and is better for our environment. Chemical treatments cannot be relied on alone to effectively arrest a bed bug infestation. Although, if chemicals are used, it should always be sparingly and in focused locations. The bed bug control specialists at Green Solutions rely on heat to destroy bed bugs. It leaves no residue or pollution behind. And, it relies on propylene glycol, not chemicals. They also use K9 bed bug detection to sniff out infested areas. Bed bug sniffing dogs are able to sniff out all living bed bugs in a home, even while they are still in their egg sacs. They are a powerful and essential tool in the fight against bed bugs.