Bed bugs can be more than a nuisance–they are a serious health hazard to many Americans. Like mosquitoes and ticks, bed bugs are a parasitic insect that feeds on the blood of humans and other animals. This can cause severe itching and rashes over the whole body. Finding and killing them can be quite difficult because they like to hide in the darker areas of the house, not just in between the mattresses. One of the best treatments is using bed bug heat treating equipment in St. Louis.
Get Everybody Out
Bed bugs cannot live in heat conditions over 122°. The pest control technician will raise the interior temperature of the house to a range between 135° and 145° to get into the walls and floors where the bed bugs like to set up their colonies. This high temperature can also kill the bugs living in the bed or other hard to locate places. The high temperature can also affect not only pets and humans in the house, but softer plastic items or vinyl. The pest control technician will have a list of anything in the house that could be affected by the high temperature. All of these will need to be removed and treated separately.
Safety First
One of the biggest reasons to hire a technician that has been trained in heat treating is safety. They are controlling a giant heater that can damage the house and they should understand how the heat will affect it. Bricks and concrete react differently to heat than wood or metal. The brick and concrete will expand and move, weakening the support they provide. Metal will also expand but can soften and bend and everyone knows what happens to wood that his heated. The technician also needs to know how the heat will affect various safety features in the house. The heat can not only set off a fire detection system, it can melt the burglar alarm panel.
Monitor the Temperature
The first thing the technician will do is figure the volume of the house and determine how many heaters will be needed. They may use one heater that is moved from room to room in a smaller house. This keeps one room from being the hot spot and potentially being damaged. Larger rooms may need multiple heating units to prevent the bugs from escaping to a cooler zone. No matter how many units are used, temperature sensors are placed in each room to make sure the they get hot enough.
Follow Up
While heat treating is the most effective method for resolving a bed bug problem, it does nothing to prevent future infestations. That is why a comprehensive plan should be developed before bed bugs are detected. Regular inspections for many different types of bugs can detect them early and make controlling them easier. Preventative chemical measures can be implemented in high risk areas to keep the bugs from getting in the house. Once the colony is killed off, the chemicals can be used to treat their favorite nesting areas to make them less desirable for new generations.