Bedbugs are annoying little critters, and certainly ones you would hope never to have to deal with in your home. And getting rid of them is not just about bed bug spray. But how would you know if you have them? And what can you do if you have an infestation?
As humans have developed faster ways of getting around the world, so have bedbugs. They can hitch a ride in our suitcase or on our clothing, and have a huge thirst for our blood. The females can’t lay their eggs without a constant source of blood, and guess where that blood is going to come from!
I’ve done bedbug spray jobs where the whole room is infested with them; they get into curtains, walls and edges of carpets. They will lay their eggs just about anywhere within close proximity to their host.
How do you know you’ve got bedbugs?
Bedbugs tend to huddle together and are very easily spotted; they are often found in the joins of a mattress. A tell-tale sign that you have bedbugs is by checking the sheets on the bed. When they bite, the marks will leave blood spots on the sheets.
Interestingly, bedbugs seek out a new host by their body temperature and they can be picky on who they feed on. The higher a person’s body temperature, the more likely they are to be bitten. It’s quite normal for a couple sharing a bed for only one of them to get bitten. I’ve been to plenty of jobs where this situation has happened.
You can buy a bed bug mattress cover to prevent bed bugs from making a home in your mattress – read my earlier blog.
How do you get rid of bedbugs?
There are two ways to attack a bedbug infestation. Firstly with liquid insecticides – bedbug spray. The second is with heat treatment. Both are effective way but they both still have to be done following a number of steps.
With any spraying treatment, the room must be cleared of all clothing and bedding. These items will have to be thoroughly washed and then dried in a drier at the highest temperature setting. Then all other items left inside the room will need to be treated with an appropriate insecticide.
When using the heat treatment method, commercial heaters are placed inside the room to slowly bring the room up to the desired temperature. The heat treatment process will only work if the whole room can be brought up to the same temperature. This can sometimes be difficult depending on the structure of the building. Wooden buildings with lots of gaps in walls like Queenslander homes are much more difficult to heat up. In this situation, a combination of heat and chemicals is best used.
In most cases, a minimum of three follow-up visits is needed to establish whether the treatment has worked. It‘s also best to treat the rooms next to the affected room. Bedbugs will move throughout a building in search of new blood meals when an area becomes overcrowded.
Conclusion
Both bed bug spray and heat are very effective in killing bedbugs but they need to be carried out by a pest professional. Bedbugs are not a pest that the DIYer can try to tackle; they are best left to the experts.
If you have any questions regarding a problem with bedbugs please give us a call. We have been dealing with these little critters for over 20 years and are considered an industry expert.
