Bed Bug Heat Treatments
Bed bugs are hard to control because they hide in tiny cracks in the room and on bed frames. Because we cannot use insecticides on household items like clothes, shoes, bedding, and children’s toys, another option is necessary. However, sprays are still used and are effective in treating bed bugs. It is challenging to spray every room or bed frame area thoroughly. Typical heat treatments many companies use with other non-chemical or chemical pesticides.
Thermal Death Limits
Research has taught us that the temperature for bed bugs and their eggs to die at a minimum is 113 degrees. This research was based on whole-room treatments, not direct heat-like steam treatments. Hence, new technology developments continuously maximize extermination.
Steam Heat Treatments
Steam treatment for pest control has been a long staple in the industry. Many prefer it over sprays on upholstered furniture and mattresses, carpet edges, and behind baseboards. However, steaming is slow, and the technician must be methodical. Slowness so the heat concentration can reach a desired level between 160 and 180 degrees over every square inch. Moving too fast or steaming too much pressure could blow the bed bugs and their eggs across the room.
Studies have shown that steam treatments are effective in reducing an infestation rapidly. However, steaming by itself will not eliminate the infestation. Furthermore, the larger the area, the more exhausted the technician will become during the treatment. You want the treatment at the end to be as effective as the beginning of the treatment. Typically, professional steaming will range in cost from $300 to $1,200.
Whole Room Heating Systems
New and effective heating systems technology capable of reaching temperatures of 135 degrees is available today. Using electric or propane-generated heat is used to raise the temperature in the room. Bobbi Ray’s Termite & Pest Control has opted for electric-generated heating fans for our bed bug heat treatments. The most significant advantage of this type of heat treatment is that the resident does not need to remove everything from the room.
Early systems could take hours to set up and down, costing over $1,000. Those fans weighed over 100 pounds and up to 200 pounds. Currently, the fans we use are much lighter but effective. The placement of the fans we use creates a convection-type environment reaching every part of the whole room. These high-velocity fans blow the heated air into all room corners, increasing temperatures between 120 and 132 degrees. Our heat treatment costs $300 for a whole room, and multiple rooms are reduced..
Summary
Overall, heat is a fantastic bed bug killer. Our portable heat treatment fans can treat whole rooms without damage to your home. These professional heating systems effectively exterminate all bed bugs and their eggs without a combination spray treatment. For more information, please email us at info@bobbirayspestcontrol.com or Call 405.887.2685.
