Bed bugs were a rarity in the United States until very recently. The bed bug problem affected everyone, from residents to guests in homes, apartments, and four-star hotels alike. We hear less about bed bugs on the news these days, but that doesn’t mean the problem has been solved. Indeed, it’s still a common complaint for many Washington, D.C. residents.
Bed bugs are very resilient, and this makes it hard to get rid of them once they’ve moved in. Simply washing everything, or even replacing mattresses, isn’t enough to eliminate the problem. The bugs often take refuge in out-of-the-way places, such as behind outlets and under peeling wallpaper, to avoid detection. They also get into your clothes and can be transmitted to a new host through casual contact, such as on the Metro or at work. Unless great care is taken to ensure that the pests have been removed entirely, an infestation can be impossible to get rid of. This is why professional pest control is often needed to fully eliminate bed bugs from your home. Click here for more important ideas about controlling pests.
Exterminators have several ways to treat spaces contaminated with bed bugs. Many exterminators use chemical pesticides to kill both bed bugs and their eggs. These treatments will usually solve the problem quite effectively.
Heat treatment is a newer option that fewer exterminators utilize. This type of treatment is as effective as pesticides in most situations. With this process, heat is used in lieu of chemicals to achieve the same result. Bed bugs cannot live at certain high temperatures, so the equipment is used to raise the temperature of the area to above that point, killing the bugs and their eggs.
While both options are highly effective, heat treatment does have several advantages over pesticides. First, the process can be done in a single treatment in a single day, instead of over the course of several treatments spread over several weeks. For many people, though, the real advantage is avoiding spreading dangerous chemicals through their homes that can make pets and children sick. This also means that your furniture, bedding, and other household items will not need to be protected or thrown away after the treatment process to get rid of the chemical contaminants. Heat treatment does not use chemicals, so you don’t have to spend as much time safeguarding your belongings. You can read more information about pest control here.
If you think you might have bed bugs in your home, call a professional exterminator to find out for sure. A professional will be able to identify bed bugs if they are present and can help you select the right treatment response. If you’d like to use a company that uses heat treatment, there are companies in the Washington, D.C. area that provide this type of service.
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