Phoenix Pest Guy Offers Top Ten Bed Bugs Tips

By Author: Fred Willey
Total Articles: 37
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1. Most important! Make sure you really have bed bugs, and not ticks, fleas or another insect - You can compare your insect to the pictures on the Invader Pest Management bed bug web page.

2. Do not panic! Eliminating bed bugs is difficult, but it is not impossible. Don’t throw out all of your things because most of them can be treated and saved. Throwing stuff out is expensive, may spread the bed bugs and could cause more stress.

3. Think through your treatment options — Don’t immediately reach for the spray can. Be comprehensive in your approach. Try other things first. Integrated pest management (IPM) techniques may reduce the number of bed bugs and limit your contact with pesticides. If pesticides are needed, always follow label directions or hire a professional.

4. Reduce the number of hiding places — Clean up the clutter A cluttered home provides more places for bed bugs to hide and makes locating and treating them harder. If bed bugs are in your mattress, using special bed bug covers (encasements) on your mattress and box springs makes it harder for bed bugs to get to you while you sleep. ...
... Leave the encasements on for a year. Be sure to buy a product that has been tested for bed bugs and is strong enough to last for the full year without tearing. Invader Pest Management can order mattress encasements for you for any size mattress or box spring.

5. Regularly wash and heat-dry your bed sheets, blankets, bedspreads and any clothing that touches the floor. This reduces the number of bed bugs. Bed bugs and their eggs can hide in laundry containers/hampers, so clean them when you do the laundry.

6. Don’t rely on do-it-yourself freezing as a reliable method for bed bug control. While freezing can kill bed bugs, temperatures must remain very low for a long time. Home freezers are usually not cold enough to kill bed bugs. Putting things outside in freezing temperatures can kill bed bugs, but it can take several days when the temperature is 0° F and almost a week when the temperature is 20° F. In Arizona, especially Phoenix, at no time is it cold enough.

7. Use heat to kill bed bugs, but be very careful. Raising the indoor temperature with the thermostat or space heaters won’t do the job. Special equipment and very high temperatures are necessary for successful heat treatment. Black plastic bags in the sun might work to kill bed bugs in luggage or small items, if the contents become hot enough (about 110°F for at least 3 hours). Summer in Arizona – this is very effective.

8. Don’t pass your bed bugs on to others. Bed bugs are good hitchhikers. If you throw out a mattress or furniture that has bed bugs in it, you should slash or in some way destroy it so that no one else takes it and gets bed bugs.

9. Reduce the number of bed bugs to reduce bites. Thorough vacuuming can get rid of some of your bed bugs. Carefully vacuum rugs, floors, upholstered furniture, bed frames, under beds, around bed legs, and all cracks and crevices around the room. Change the bag after each use so the bed bugs can’t escape. Place the used bag in a tightly sealed plastic bag and in an outside garbage bin.

10. Turn to the professionals, Especially a company that specializes in bed bug control, including heat treatment. Hiring an experienced, responsible pest control professional can increase your chance of success in getting rid of bed bugs. If you hire an expert, be sure it’s a company with a good reputation and request that it use an IPM approach. If the price seems to good to be true, don’t use them, bed bug control is not inexpensive, and certainly much more than a general pest control service for the normal bugs. Many low cost companies offer to control bed bugs by simply spraying chemical, but true professionals know that bed bug control is extremely difficult, and unless you are getting an inspection to identify the pests (making sure you have bed bugs), being provided comprehensive instructions for prepping for the bed bug treatment, being offered a heat treatment or combination treatment with some chemical plus heat, being told of the importance of bed bug mattress encasements, offered multiple treatments, and being told that you have to cooperate by cleaning up, possibly washing clothing, etc…. then choose another company.

Article Source: Invader.net